A/N: Sorry about being a tad off-schedule. Was feeling a bit lazy last week… Well, that and I've gotten into Balatro recently. Fuck, that game is addicting.

Anyway, time for fun. By the way, if I did have a music selection for this chapter, it would be 'The Line' by twenty one pilots. You'll know exactly when…

A Vulpine Spanner in the Works

Chapter 59: Plans and Dead Men

[Ainz Ooal Gown]

"Lord Ainz, my spies have just reported some concerning news coming from E-Rantel," Demiurge announced as he kneeled before me. Hearing of news from E-Rantel worried me as it most likely meant that Kashia was involved.

"Go ahead to tell me, Demiurge," I commanded. It was better to know now than to delay news that I likely didn't want to hear.

The archdevil bowed his head and replied, "As you command, my Lord. Less than two days ago, a stranger entered the city wearing an armor matching the properties of prismatic ore."

That… I didn't expect to hear. There were two possibilities with this information, discounting the idea that this armor was fake. The first is that there was some stash of items that were beyond valuable which had been found by the residents of this New World. The second option… one I was more worried about, is that this was another Player that had arrived to this world and had just made their presence known.

That is, if they hadn't arrived here before us.

"Describe everything you know about this stranger," I quickly demanded.

"He seemed extremely boisterous and unconcerned with the guards at the city's gates. The man seemed so confident that he gave his name without hesitation, that of Thor Odinson."

I felt my jaw drop open as a feeling of horror washed over my body which my curse wasn't fast enough to stop. Thor Odinson? It had to be someone choosing a false name. Yet, even so, it meant that this person was definitely a Player from YGGDRASIL. After all, no one would be that stupid as to dress an NPC in prismatic ore armor.

"What did he look like?" I asked, hoping that it was just a fake name being used by a cosplaying Player.

"The man was large, taller than any my spies had seen before. He had red hair and beard along with blue eyes. The man made claims that the cloak he was wearing came from the shed skin of a Jormungandr made by his wife, Sif. Alongside his armor, the man had a singular weapon that consisted of a hammer that could float in the air which he called Mjolnir. Both hammer and armor were apparently forged by dwarven brothers named Brok and Sindri–"

I found myself tuning out Demiurge as I thought of how horrifying this was. As a rule, it was exceedingly hard for Players to make their characters look like a complete duplicate of bosses, mostly to prevent confusion and such from occurring.

But one thing that made this seem less like a cosplayer and more of the actual Thor was Mjolnir. The hammer was one of the few weapons in the game that couldn't be obtained since the devs of the game wanted there to be a few utterly unique weapons in YGGDRASIL to give them a sense of gravitas.

The closest one could get to obtaining Mjolnir was with the rare [Chosen of Thor] class which allowed the Player to temporarily summon a copy of Mjolnir made of lightning. Beyond this, it was impossible.

If Thor is actually here, did that mean that there were other gods from YGGDRASIL in this world? And if so, why weren't there religions of them?

"–ter going through the gate, the man wanted to go to a tavern, and was led to the inn that you and Kashia Blanc have stayed at before. After giving the innkeeper money for his food, the innkeeper made mention of the similarity of Thor's currency and that of Kashia's." Demiurge looked at me with a furrowed brow full of concern.

"It seemed that this Thor knew who Kashia was, and had great interest in seeing her. A little while later, and Kashia arrived, leading to Thor speaking with her about a request to bed the kitsune. After she turned him down, the man left the inn and disappeared in a vortex of ravens." Upon finishing his recitation of the report, Demiurge gave me an odd look. "Is something wrong, my Lord?"

"Very likely, yes. Immensely so. How much do you know about Thor Odinson?"

"Very little, my Lord. Who is this man?"

"If I felt optimistic, I'd say he was a Player pretending to be the actual Thor, but too much of your story matches what I know of him," Taking a moment to collect myself after my curse finished removing the emotional turmoil I felt, I decided to continue. "He is a being that I and my comrades, the other Supreme Beings, fought against before, sometimes winning these fights, but many times losing them. Thor is a god of significant power and strength."

The look that Demiurge gave me let me know that archdevil understood the gravity of the situation. "A god, my Lord? One of the beings responsible for your curse?" While not exactly what I had in mind, at least Demiurge got the picture.

"Yes," I answered, though I couldn't exactly say that it was fully accurate. Technically, no god has ever actually cursed me with my current issue, it was just a translation of my racial classes to this reality. But at the same time, that led to another pressing matter.

If this was the actual Thor, somehow transposed from YGGDRASIL to this New World, then I was in great danger. Within the lore of the game, most gods held a great hatred for undead, which was why almost all of them had the holy attribute attached to whatever damage they did.

Were Thor to learn of my existence, he might just come to assault Nazarick in an effort to kill me, and any other undead that I commanded in the tomb!

Focusing back on Demiurge, I could see anger in his expression, though I wasn't certain as to why. "My Lord, if this god is one of the beings that so unjustly cursed you, then we should take steps to eliminate this enemy before he possibly turns his attention towards you. Depending on if he's alone or not, it could be possible to defeat him by utilizing a barrage of powerful attacks before he expects them."

"Create a plan of attack after reading up on Thor in the library. I'm certain that a few of my comrades ended up writing whatever they knew of Thor in a bestiary or two. Following this, bring these plans to me to review," I commanded.

"Of course, my Lord. You shall receive my plans within three hours," Demiurge answered with a bow.

Normally, I would be hesitant on trying to make an enemy of such a being, but this was one of those times that I needed to act, not just for myself, but also to protect my subordinates. What propelled this thought forward is that Thor somehow knew who Kashia was. And with that in mind, I had to assume that he already knew about me. Then, a pragmatic thought came to mind.

Before he could get up to leave, I asked, "Before you go, were your spies able to discern if Thor seemed amiable to potentially creating an alliance with Kashia? That, and where it is that he might've gone?"

Demiurge disappointedly shook his head in reply, "I'm afraid not on both accounts, my Lord. My spy reported that it appeared Thor had whispered much to Kashia, but he was unable to hear what was said."

Damnit.

I needed confirmation on what was said. While I didn't want Kashia as my enemy, I also didn't want her strong enough to become more of a threat to Nazarick than she already was. Ever since she made mention of breaking the level cap, it gave me worries of what may happen years down the line if she became too powerful to stop.

Were Thor to be made her ally, it would give her an ally with the capability of fighting ten, all the way up to 30, max level Players. And when I finally rescue Albedo, Kashia and her possible ally of Thor would go after her again.

I couldn't allow it.

There were too many unknowns, and I had no doubt that Kashia would have counters to most scrying methods, that or ways to detect being scryed. And sending infiltrators too close would get them discovered and picked off.

That left a much simpler solution for such an issue, even if I knew it was crossing a line. The only solace I had in this is that the kitsune taken wouldn't have any memory of what happened after being returned.

"Wait, Demiurge," I said, causing the archdevil to stop in his tracks and turn to me.

"Is there another step to your grand plan that you wish for me to enact?" I gave him a nod.

"We need more information than is currently possible with our subtler methods. Go ahead with a plan to quietly capture one of Kashia's kitsune for Neuronist to interrogate. Once done, we'll erase their memories of the event and send them back unaware," I commanded, almost feeling like a judge commanding an execution.

"It will be done at once, your Majesty. We will acquire one for you within the next few days," Demiurge said with a slight glee in his voice. At least someone was happy about this series of events, because I certainly wasn't.

This was another step down the slippery slope for me, and I could only hope that Kashia never discovered what I had to do to protect my subordinates.

[Platinum Dragon Lord]

Day 60:

Piloting my armor to the edge of the southern border of the Slane Theocracy, I was pleased to find the person I had finally been looking for. It had been a few weeks of constant searching and guessing, but I managed to find her after utilizing multiple different means of scrying and tracking.

Rigrit could be so difficult to find, and that was with a clue on where she might even be traveling to. At least this didn't take any longer than it could have.

As I landed before her, Rigrit showed extremely little surprise at my arrival. In fact, she was smirking.

Examining her appearance, Rigrit was draped in that dark, hooded robe of hers I remembered her wearing during out adventures together that was clasped at her chest by a red jewel. Her white hair was still held in a single braid that fell from the side of her hood.

And despite all the age in her tanned, wrinkled skin, I could see that youthful amusement I remembered from so many years ago. It was a little relieving to see that she didn't have any animosity towards me after the breakdown of our team. Rigrit was one of the few beings in this world who I honestly saw as a friend.

The irony of a Dragon Lord finding more in common with a human than he did with his own kind.

"It's been a while, Tsa. Did you come here to chat or were you planning to help an old woman walk through the woods?" That got a good chuckle from me.

"I did wish to talk, but I could carry you if you felt too old and decrepit to walk yourself," I joked back. That caused Rigrit to laugh as she walked over to my armor and knocked her knuckles upon the chestplate.

"While the offer's appreciated, this old woman still has a few good years left before I become a bed-bound old maid." With that answer, Rigrit took a moment to examine my armor, and more specifically, the hole that the vampire Player had punctured into it. "Looks like you've been having some dangerous fun."

Nodding my armor's helmet, I answered, "Fun is an interesting way of putting it. There's been a few interesting developments that have occurred in the past few weeks that you need to know about."

Rigrit gave me a sly look and asked, "Would one of these events happen to be related to the golden pillar of mana that was impossibly visible from many miles away?"

"Yes, one of these events does relate to the pillar," I replied, fully attaining Rigrit's attention as I did so.

"Then go ahead, Tsa," Rigrit said as she motioned for us to start walking, taking the lead as I followed. "Tell me what events I've missed while trekking about in this part of the world."

"Almost a month and a half ago, I ended up discovering that Players have

returned to our world once again." That caught Rigrit off-guard, so I continued, "I learned this when I crossed paths with a vampire Player who managed to puncture my armor with just one attack."

"That is highly worrying," Rigrit remarked. "Were you able to defeat the vampire at least?"

I had my armor shake its helmet. "No, I was forced to retreat before the Player could cause any further damage to my armor. I was strategizing a method to deal with the vampire when another Player arrived and killed them."

Rigrit was quiet for a moment, then she asked, "Another Player… How many of them, that you're aware of, arrived to our world?"

"It's unclear. The only positive aspect of this other Player is that I can consider her an ally, and an extremely powerful one at that. After all, she was the one that created that golden pillar," I replied while thinking about Kashia Blanc, the kitsune goddess.

"A Player ally? Quite fortunate. If I didn't know any better, I might almost assume that you're trying to recreate the Thirteen Heroes again," Rigrit teased before her expression turned serious. "What do you know about her?"

"She's a kitsune goddess named Kashia Blanc–" Rigrit ended up interrupting me with a raised brow.

"A kitsune goddess? I'm surprised that you would be willing enough to consider a Player as a god. Additionally, what is a kitsune, since I've never heard of that term before?"

"To answer the easier question first, a kitsune is a fox-like demi-human with a human appearance aside from major differences, like their ears and multiple tails that they can grow up to ten of. This is in addition to their ability to shapeshift into complete fox forms that can be much larger than even horses."

Rigrit rubbed her chin in thought and said, "You know, that sounds similar to some rumors I've heard years ago of a fox-like bestial people to the far east. Perhaps they might be related?"

What Rigrit said was quite notable to me. I might look further into these rumors of hers when I wasn't as occupied like I am now. "Could be, but I'm not fully certain. As for calling her a goddess, it's because she literally is. She gains her power from worship in addition to what she has as default. Beyond that, her success in attaining strength and worship is highly necessary for what I've learned…"

My old friend's eyes narrowed, "What was it that you learned?"

A tired sigh escaped my lips before I answered, "A permanent connection of our world to others has been established. It will take a few years, but eventually the connection will be noticed by the inhabitants of these other worlds and they will come here. What makes it worse is that they are all, on average, significantly stronger than most of this world's inhabitants, even approaching the strengths of Players. And beyond just mortals, there are also gods; real ones, not Players who pretended to be."

"To hear it like that, I'm not sure on what we might even do. Just looking at humanity, we are weak on average, propped up only by the relics, teachings, and descendants of a bygone age. The elves survive because of an innate magical talent and the capricious whims of their king. The dwarves hole up in their mountains and ignore the outside world except on rare occasions. Demi-humans are typically strong individually, but rarely united to capitalize on that strength."

Rigrit sighed and looked at me, "I don't need to be old to see that our outcome looks horrifically bleak. Thirteen of some of the strongest inhabitants in this world, and we struggled to defeat the four members of the Evil Deities. Entire worlds made up of beings of a similar strength would be impossible to fight."

"Yes," I agreed before admitting, "Even were the Dragon Lords at their full strength, I doubt that we would be much more than a minor obstacle to entire worlds of enemies. It's why I became agreeable to the plan that Kashia proposed, unless I were to find something better." This earned me a suspicious look from Rigrit.

"What plan? From what I know about you, it's exceedingly hard to get you to agree to anything due to how… prideful you can be." Rigrit's accusation was quite accurate. Pride is a flaw of mine.

"It was the best idea that could give me time to continue planning. From what I learned of how true gods work in all of these worlds, they attain power through worship, and thus, wish to grow their followings. This world lacks any true gods, and because of this, all that power of many centuries of worship has stockpiled itself, waiting for a god to claim it. The moment the gods of these other worlds learn of it, they will rush here, likely provoking a war that would tear this world to pieces."

Rigrit gave a snort of amusement, "The plan is to get this Kashia to claim that power first before a divine war can occur. Is that right?" Rigrit was quick as always.

Nodding, I replied, "Exactly. Once she attains that stockpile, she will become stronger than any that might come here and act as this world's guardian deity." I kept an idea I might have regarding this stockpile to myself.

While I doubted it was actually feasible, and I had no reason to fully distrust Kashia's benevolence, it was always good to have a backup plan in case things went awry.

"And how would I, an old woman that was once a former hero, be useful in such a plan? I'm no priestess." That faux humbleness got a chuckle from me as I had already considered a use for Rigrit beyond her capabilities in magic and combat.

Deciding to start reeling in Rigrit's interest, I replied, "You know, one interesting thing about this goddess is that she's extremely young. Probably in her 20's or 30's from certain signs I picked up."

Rigrit chuckled, "Well now, here I am the fool for assuming that gods just pop out as ancient adults instead of growing up as children. Still, while that is interesting to know, why is it that you're telling me this?"

"Considering that you managed to become close to another young immortal when we were heroes, I had hoped that you could possibly replicate such a feat," I replied, receiving a laugh from my old friend.

"Tsa, I hope you don't expect me to start disciplining Kashia like I did Inberum? There's a bit of a difference between a young vampire coming into her strength versus a young goddess far beyond my skills." Rigrit remained in silent contemplation for a few moments before adding with a conspiratorial glint in her eyes, "You want me to get a measure of the girl, don't you?"

I nodded. "While I've managed to discern a bit of Kashia's personality and nature for myself, I feel that it would be wise to get someone else's opinion of the girl. Besides, you'd probably like her in addition to this being a new project for you. After all, from what I saw, she didn't fully comprehend her immortality until I brought it up, and with her likely becoming close to a few mortals, I've no doubt that it will weigh heavily upon her mind."

Even with her front of resistance, I could see that my words were getting Rigrit's interest more and more. She always did enjoy a good puzzle.

"I can see how you're trying to tempt me, Tsa," Rigrit remarked in knowing amusement. "But I won't deny that it is starting to work, my old friend. Yet, aside from measuring the girl, there is probably another reason for your request, aside from enjoying the company of an old woman."

"Sharp as always, Rigrit," I admitted. "I also wanted to assemble the few scattered allies of strength I have for potential future events. And with how Inberum, or Evileye as she currently goes by, is more open to you asking for aid than me, I'd be gathering two allies instead of just one."

Rigrit laughed before she finally nodded. "Alright, you've convinced me, Tsa. I'll take a look. At least it gives the chance while recruiting Inberum to see how my old team has been holding up since leaving the children in charge. Mind telling me where I'm going since I'll need to plan out a route when trying to find my brats first before checking on your brat?"

"I'll save you some time," I said humorously. "You'll find Inberum and your team around the capital of the Re-Estize. From what I know, they've been taking jobs directly from Princess Renner–"

A sly grin grew on my old friend's face as she interrupted me, "Spying on Inberum now? Should I be worried?"

"No…" Even simply piloting this suit of armor, I still found myself averting my helmet's gaze from Rigrit's. "I simply prefer to check up on my old teammates and ensure that they are alive and well."

"Look at that. The big and powerful Dragon Lord is actually a bit of a sentimental softie under all those shiny scales," Rigrit teased while poking my armor. "Mind enlightening me on those of us you do know still live? I haven't kept up nearly as well as I could on our former comrades."

It took a short moment to recall what I did know before finally replying, "Some of the team obviously died of old age. As for those I knew were still alive when I last found them, Gimleel had been with Legori on their way to sail west from a port in the Re-Estize Kingdom more than 125 years ago. Neither had any inclination of returning to their respective kingdoms or roles. Gimleel enjoyed exploring with Legori too much to be held down by ruling the Dwarven Kingdom. As for Legori, she'd never return to the Elf Kingdom as a noble due to Decem most certainly trying to have a child with her if she did come back."

"Reasonable enough. Good to hear that they went exploring together. By the way, did those two ever end up tying the knot after our group split up? The amount of tension between those two when we traveled together was enough to kill even the Evil Deities," I chuckled at question since the way those two danced between each other was obvious to everyone except them.

"They had a short child with long ears between them when they boarded the ship to head west," I replied, causing Rigrit to bark out a laugh as she patted my shoulder.

"I'm relieved to hear that they got their happy ending. Only thing that I find annoying is that if those two ended up getting married, then they should've at least invited me to the wedding!"

"You were probably wandering around the Baharuth when they could've gotten married, and considering how hard it was for me to find you, it would be impossible for them" I pointed out which made Rigrit huff in annoyance. "The last teammate I saw still alive was Jericho after he had scattered his swords and wandered north to be forgotten. If I had to guess, Jericho probably came back south years ago under a different identity, so I have no way of finding him."

While it is true that I couldn't actually find him, what wasn't true is that I had only found him just after he scattered his swords. More than 80 years ago, he and I crossed paths by happenstance. Thankfully, he wasn't angry like he had been upon first discovering my identity like the others. He looked mostly the same as I remembered, aside from a few lines of gray in his red hair that I attributed more to stress as a new father than age due to his demonic heritage.

After that, we chatted for a while, catching up with each other. From what Jericho told me; he had met a woman in E-Rantel and recently had a son with her while living the modest life of an adventurer. While his wife knew his history, he wished for it to remain hidden from his child.

Other than this, he had lived – to him, at least – a perfectly unremarkable life. When our conversation had come to an end, Jericho made me swear to not tell another soul about where he was, our former teammates included.

I kept my distance for decades, keeping small tabs on Jericho as I did so. He had become a grandfather when his wife died, and left the city to wander soon afterwards. The last I knew of his descendants, they were working in the Adventurer's Guild.

As for Jericho himself? He's gone to the unknown.

"That man really did hate the attention he received from stopping the Evil Deities. Ironically enough, one of the brats leading my old team acquired one of his swords. No idea on where the others might be though," Rigrit commented. "But enough nostalgia, where is it that I'll be going to find this girl after I've collected my brats?"

"One of two locations. You can find Kashia in E-Rantel or if she isn't there, then the Great Lake of Tob," I answered.

"Looks like this old woman has quite a bit of traveling to do, eh?"

['Princess' Renner]

Sitting behind my desk, with Tsunami at my side looking over the numerous reports I received, I had a small smile on my face from the numerous triumphs that had happened for me within the past two weeks. The delivery of food to each city in the kingdom had gone spectacularly. Talk of me among both the nobility and peasantry was non-stop and full of praise. Whatever detractors I did have from the nobility had any complaints squashed down.

The destruction of more Eight Fingers' operations under the squads I personally hired reinforced these praises. Even now, Blue Roses was returning back to the capital after annihilating three more operations.

With public opinion of me soaring, I had Tsunami, alongside a few hired agents, accelerate inciting the peasantry with ideas of my rulership. Normally, such work would take months, but due to kitsune being placed within other cities in tandem with the reliable and fast communication magics at their disposal, it was happening in mere weeks. I only need to keep this tempo going before the entire kingdom called for my coronation.

This led to the tasks I currently had Zanac performing. He was slowly rallying his allies behind me which, while a slow process, was helpful in my efforts. Yet, the more important task my older brother was making headway in was convincing Father to put me on the throne.

I didn't have him outright tell Father that he should make me his heir, just a nudge here and there to make Father feel as if he was the one coming up with this idea instead of being led to it. Ironically, him having a heart attack was actually proving helpful in this regard.

Father, while incompetent for this age of the kingdom, wasn't a complete idiot. He understood that his rule was quickly coming to an end, the time he had left being his final chance to cement his legacy as a king. Now, he didn't have time to deliberate for months on a decision, and that would cause him to be rasher in his choices.

And considering how obvious it was that I was his favorite child? Well, rash decisions were usually more emotionally charged than logical.

But that was only one triumph I was experiencing. Another came from the more… underhanded work that I had both Tsunami and Alfred perform.

Just two days after Father's near death, Duke Antonio suffered a dreadful heart attack himself that he was unable to receive any help for. From what was spoken of in the court, with how close Barbro and Antonio were, the obviously upstanding duke was heartbroken at how his best friend was actually a traitorous criminal working in league with the kingdom's enemies. Such a shame.

In the same vein, Barbro's wife, Deliah, had an awful miscarriage when she came to the castle to see the fate that had befallen her dear husband. The stress must've truly taken its toll on her mind and body to have caused such a tragedy.

On another note, I felt a small bit of satisfaction at having my worries of Deliah be proven correct. She was already pregnant with Barbro's child, so that removed whatever claim Marquis Boullope had to try and galvanize the other nobles behind him to overthrow Father.

With these events occurring, Marquis Blumrush was handling the massive windfall of lands and titles that came from Antonio's unexpected death. Tsunami had already started planting the seeds of insanity within the Marquis, and it wouldn't be long until he was rendered incapable of governance.

And these victories were just from setting up my ascension to the throne. Then, there were the events related to aiding my goddess, Kashia. One event involved the Church and its numerous failings that have befallen the organization.

There was the embarrassing scandal of Head High Priest Jonah Carpashin passing out drunk during a sermon. It has caused extreme outrage that one of the most prominent figures in the Church of the Four Great Gods has so sullied the Church's reputation as he did. And that ignores the talk of corruption that has been whispered in the city, helpfully facilitated by a few concerned citizens.

What also helped spread the rumors of corruption would be the 'aid' that the Church had given to the people of the capital. It was discovered very quickly that the food they had been distributing was rotten, or as close to rotten as it could get while still being passable for consumption. Then, there were the discounted healing services that looked completely greedy when compared to the free healing of mine and the Fox Princess' charity.

As for the Punishment Squad that the High Priests sent to cull any talk of the Fox Princess, they were easily disposed of.

Since that day, the High Priests had been left wondering where their squad had disappeared to. They were still uncertain, with the main theory being that they had been killed before they could arrive to their intended target.

With that being the most likely theory, it had put the High Priests on guard. And yet, they were only partially correct about this theory. The Punishment Squad was certainly dead, but the High Priests were incorrect on where the squad had died.

In fact, they had never even had a chance to leave the temple as Tsunami killed them when the squad had been in their rooms. Following this, she destroyed the bodies to prevent the High Priests from realizing how little their protections actually meant.

Regardless, this all led to a few members of the Order of the Fox Princess preaching about her to some of the masses in the capital while the Church was busy putting out fires of their – technically – own making while their leadership tried to hide in their grand temple due to — well-founded — paranoia of enemies waiting outside for them. The High Priests were becoming steadily isolated from the public, and that would serve to foster a growing resentment on top of everything else that they've been doing.

And if that wasn't all, there was also the problem of the Magician's Guild that Tsunami had marvelously settled with minimal issue. We had the head of the entire Magician's Guild organization in our control, and while it hadn't been planned, it was a helpful surprise for both of us.

The E-Rantel delegation had left days ago, after settling a few matters with the capital's guild branch. From what we knew from interrogating Arlan, he had kept his paranoid delusions to a section of his guild members, telling the rest that Kashia's imprisoned worshippers had been infected with a magical disease that was quickly being cured. After gaining control over his mind, we had him announce that the E-Rantel mages had been cured and were now able to go home.

With most of the members fully aware of Arlan's original plans being dead, or in two of the members' case, fully dominated by Tsunami, it had been simple work getting the rest to believe the lie. On that note, the dead members had all been 'transferred' to different branches under Arlan's orders. Replacing them were nine new members that had just arrived from the different guild branches after Tsunami called for them. None of the other guild members were aware of how these nine new members weren't actually human, or that in the coming days, many of their newer members wouldn't actually be human.

Tsunami's reasoning for doing this is because she wanted to hasten the spreading of our goddess' religion, with the capital being the central hub for doing so. While the E-Rantel Guildmaster, Theo Rakheshir, had the good idea of spreading Kashia's religion to the other cities, he was going slow since he, and his subordinates, went back to E-Rantel instead of continuing on to the other cities.

If I had to guess, he originally planned to come here and lay a foundation of worshippers in the capital before returning back to E-Rantel to retrieve a larger host of missionaries to send to the rest of the kingdom. A good idea, but too slow for Tsunami and I. So, we called in a few kitsune to speed up the religious fervor in the guild by revealing tomes of magic — copied from the ones Kashia had made — alongside her blood and its properties. With Arlan helping to endorse it, membership was steadily growing among the mages.

In less than a month, we'd send delegates of Maidens and kitsune escorts to the other cities to convert them as well. And with the news of the Church's failings, alongside darker rumors and murmurings spread by our agitators, the Order would swoop in to quickly fill the void that the Church was leaving. And amidst all of this, my ascension to the throne, followed by my sponsorship of the Order as ruling monarch, would cement the Order of the Fox Princess as the kingdom's official religion.

Aside from the gains we've made with the Magician's Guild and against the Church of the Four Great Gods, there had also been the very public event, a few days ago, of Hilma Cygnaeus' arrival into the city, escorted by two kitsune. First to the city guard, but then directly to the throne room.

[Days Earlier]

I had been in the throne room as Father was hearing reports of a few more nobles that had been arrested when the doors to the throne room suddenly opened up to reveal a few nervous-looking guards as they escorted a trio of new arrivals. "We have visitors, your Majesty!" one of the guards announced.

"Who have y— by the gods, what is that?!" Father questioned in shock, matched only both the other nobles in the room as the gazed upon our visitors. Yet, while everyone else was surprised, Tsunami and I were quite calm as both of us had been expecting these three to arrive in the capital any day now.

Two of the three were a pair of large foxes, both the size of a horse, with seven tails. One had green fur while the other had a mix of blue and white. In between both of them was a pitiful, ugly creature in a tattered and filthy dress. Both her feet were caked in a mixture of mud and blood that came from traveling many miles without any shoes.

She was even uglier than expected, with the multiple, twisting flaps of skin that fell down her face acting like a flesh beard. The patches of her visible hair that poked through the fleshy growths covering her skull highlighted the disfigurement while boils covered multiple other sections of her face.

For a former beauty that managed to captivate and control many of the kingdom's nobles with her appearance and charm, this was an immense fall from grace for her. I found it to be an amusingly fitting punishment, and based on the look in Tsunami's eyes, my… friend thought so as well.

Her visible eye darted around the room in a mixture of horror and shame as tears fell from it. "Greetings, King Ramposa," the green fox announced with a bow of his head that the blue and white fox matched. "With the Fox Princess' command, we bring before you Hilma Cygnaeus, one of the leaders of Eight Fingers. Do with her as you please as the Fox Princess thoroughly ensured that the hideous wretch suffered her deserved punishment."

With another bow from the pair of them, both kitsune vanished, as if they hadn't even been in the room to begin with. While everyone else in the throne room was rapidly questioning where they could've gone, Tsunami and I both knew that the pair were simply hiding from view. They were waiting for a chance to speak with us.

It was after Hilma's arrival that she had divulged to the court all her crimes. Father had her sent to the dungeons following this to await her eventual execution. Amusingly enough, 'King Eight Fingers' still hadn't received an exact date for his execution. One reason that I knew to be truth is that Father found it difficult to simply order the death of one of his family members. It just went to show how weak of a ruler he was.

Another reason that had been spreading throughout the court as rumor, more humorous than reality, is that the headsman was finding it difficult to figure out how to get a proper cut due to the way that Alecto was embedded into his throne.

Still, it just left another issue that needed to be handled before Father finally vacated the throne. I had to ensure that Alecto died before I was crowned since an execution to start off my rulership could harm the kindly 'Golden Princess' persona of mine. At the very least, there were a hundred different methods to have Alecto killed in a natural-looking way.

But that would have to be another day in the future. For now, he'd get to 'live', if one called being merged to a throne while locked in the dungeons as living.

I was pulled from my thoughts when there was a knock at my door. "Come in," I called out, watching as the door opened and my Climb, Alfred, and my newest subordinate, Brain Unglaus, entered the room. The three approached my desk, and I gave them all a bright smile.

"I'm happy that all of you have finally arrived," I cheerfully stated.

That was when Brain became the first to speak up, with a slightly eager tone in his voice, "Morning, your Highness. What do you have in store for us today?" To see the man now, compared to when Alfred brought him before me, was like night to day.

He wore a fine, gray coat over a dark shirt made of an indiscernible material, with a chainmail shirt underneath that. Brown trousers covered his legs while a pair of boots with steel caps over his toes went up to his knees. On his hip was the sheath to a foreign weapon known as a katana.

If it wasn't for the weapon, one might not think that Brain was actually my hired guard. Compared to most other guards of nobility, Brain lacked any real form of armor besides his boots and shirt, and even that was minimal. From what Brain had said, he preferred the mobility of being unencumbered by armor compared to the protection that it could give.

As such, I had Tsunami make him clothing that would be durable in a fight. Besides the slight protection it gave the swordsman, his new clothes made him more presentable in court since he would look unkempt otherwise.

Like I expected, acquiring him had been simple. The promise of generous payment had piqued his interest, but when I told Brain that I could give him the chance to grow stronger and be pitted against opponents of his skill level, that grabbed his attention.

"I'd like to believe that you're telling the truth, Princess Renner, but unless you're gonna have me spar with Gazef, I doubt that you have anyone stronger than him on your payroll," Brain said in a disbelieving tone with his arms folded.

"Please, Sir Brain, I would never lie to one I wish to make my new employee," I said sweetly to the swordsman, getting a raised brow in return. "I swear that everything I've promised has been the truth."

It amused me to see that my Climb was a little disbelieving of my claim, not that it wasn't understandable. For all my Climb knew, he and Alfred were the only servants I had with any combat capability, and Alfred's skills were weaker in an open duel than an unexpected fight.

"If that's the case, then I'd like some proof of what you are offering before I make a decision, your Highness," Brain replied, which I nodded to.

"I have no qualms about your request. In fact, it's why I had us meet in this room specifically," I said, motioning to the empty room of the castle that I had cleared in preparation to this meeting. "It gives you and your opponent more than enough space to spar against one another."

Brain took a moment to look around before asking, "And where's my opponent? Or are we still waiting for them to arrive?"

The clicking of heels echoed in the room as Tsunami sauntered forwards, unhooking the hooks keeping the side of her skirt together to free up her leg. "No need to wait, Mr. Unglaus. I will be your opponent," Tsunami stated as a trio of daggers floated out from the inside of her dress and hovered in an arc around her head.

"Wait, are you trying to tell me–" Brain stopped speaking for a moment as a change appeared in his eyes while his lips curled into a smile. "Oh, I see it now…"

If I had to guess, Brain's warrior intuition, honed after many years of training, allowed him to see a glimpse of the strength that Tsunami had been hiding. The only real question is how much of that strength can Brain actually see?

With a steady hand, Brain drew out his sword and held it before himself in a readied stance. "I didn't notice it before due to you managing to hide it, but now? I've seen enough trained killers in my life to know how they move," Brain commented with a growing excitement.

"Very astute of you, Mr. Unglaus," Tsunami replied as she removed her glasses and discreetly pocketed them into a portal. Not even I would've known this until Tsunami had actually told me about the ability herself. "I try to maintain a certain decorum when in the presence of my Lady unless the moment calls for my other skills to be utilized."

"Fair enough," Brain nodded in understanding. "But before we start, mind telling me your name?"

"Suzanne Zorra, Mr. Unglaus. Now, you best ready yourself," As soon as Tsunami said this, she rushed at Brain with two of her daggers arcing down upon the swordsman's head while the third stabbed towards his stomach.

I have been well-informed of Tsunami's combat capabilities. From her own admittance, she is better in magic than physical combat. On top of this, her speed could be much faster than what she was currently showing. I'd guess that it was to give Brain more of a chance to fight her.

Yet, even if she was a physically weaker fighter for someone of her strength, compared to Brain, she was in a realm of power beyond him.

Brain was put on the defensive as he was forced to deflect the blades swinging at him, barely being given a chance to retaliate. Most others would find such a combat scenario to be frustrating, but Brain seemed the opposite. Calm and in his element.

"I never knew that Ms. Suzanne was this skilled in combat," my Climb quietly remarked to me.

"Not just combat, my love," I corrected, innocently hugging his arm to my chest as I did so. I truly enjoyed watching my Climb's blush grow upon his cheeks. He was so easy to tease as he hadn't gotten used to my new displays of affection. "Tsu is also a skilled mage in combination with her brilliant mind. She is the perfect assistant and maid for me."

"How did you manage to find her, Ren?" I loved when my Climb referred to me by his affectionate nickname.

"I found her, just as she found me, with divine providence that I thank the gods for," I innocently answered. He wouldn't understand now, but soon enough when my Climb was made aware of my devotion to our new goddess, he'd realize exactly how literal I was being.

"Still, it's quite amazing to hear that someone of Ms. Suzanne's strength wanted to join you," my Climb said, watching the continued fight in amazement.

"It really is, my love," I finished, focusing on the fight once more as Tsunami pressed her advantage, incrementally increasing the power and speed of her daggers' strikes until finally knocking Brain's katana out of his hands.

I've no doubt he'd have made a better showing if he had actually tried fighting without holding back his skills and abilities. But he was probably trying to get a simple measure of Tsunami before doing anything more intense.

From the look on his face, the outcome of the battle was quite pleasing to him.

"You were holding back," Brain commented with a chuckle as he went to retrieve his blade.

"So were you, Mr. Unglaus," Tsunami retorted as her daggers floated back into the confines of her dress before she hooked the side of her skirt back together.

After Brain retrieved his katana and sheathed it, he looked back to me with a grin. "Perhaps working for you won't be that bad after all?"

"A few things, Sir Brain," I replied, looking between him, Alfred, Tsunami, and my Climb. "One matter is that I'll require that you and Climb both make a stop in the city to one of my charities involved in food distribution to ensure that there are no issues occurring. Following that, I'd like for you both to poke around some of the poorer parts of the capital to see if there is anything that the people there desperately need."

"Of course, Renner!" my Climb replied with a proud smile. Brain simply nodded with my Climb, a smirk on his face as he glanced to my knight.

"Calm down there, lover boy," Brain teased with a pat to my Climb's back, making him turn beet-red. Then, the swordsman looked to me, "We'll take care of it quickly enough. Gods know that I need a breather from the stuffiness of the castle and most of the nobles here."

I giggled at Brain's remark and nodded. "That's completely understandable, Sir Brain. The castle can be a bit overbearing at times to those who are unused to it," I replied before adopting a worried expression while clasping my hands together, as if in prayer, to enhance the 'Golden Princess' persona. "Just try to stay safe while out in the city. I wouldn't wish for anything to happen to either of you."

"You don't need to worry for our safety," Brain said in a confident tone as he grabbed my Climb by the shoulder and gave it a little shake. "Lover boy and I will be more than capable of handling ourselves, so there's no need to fret."

"Y-Yes, like Brain says, R-Ren, we'll come back to you in one piece," my Climb promised like an adorable puppy. I felt so impatient waiting for the day I could finally claim him, but I had to wait a bit longer before that promised day. When Father finally named me his successor, I would celebrate by taking my Climb that same day. It left me absolutely dripping with excitement.

But focusing on the current matters, there was another reason for sending those two out into the city, besides having the pair interact and develop a good relationship with one another. It was well-known among the peasantry that my Climb worked directly for me, so having him be sent to oversee some of my operations when I couldn't let the people believe in the idea that I was still watching over them, even if I couldn't be there myself.

"Then I wish both of you good luck and pray for your safe return," I said with an innocent and happy smile. With that, the pair left the room, leaving Tsunami, Alfred, and I alone.

Looking to Tsunami, I asked, "Have you heard anything from your subordinates, Tsu?"

"Not directly from my subordinates, Renny," Tsunami replied, using the nickname that she had taken to calling me by. "But the kitsune with them have told me that their journey to E-Libera is going smoothly. Soon enough, they'll arrive to begin spreading word of the Fox Princess."

"Excellent to hear," I complimented before looking to Alfred. "What about you? Have your nightly excursions proven fruitful?"

The butler gave me a bow, "They most certainly have, your Highness. I've formulated a strategy to remove a few troublesome pests in an unnoticeable manner. It will be but child's play to remove them from the board."

I smiled at the satisfactory answer. After dealing with my brother's spawn, there had been a few nobles I've noticed that have a potential chance to become a problem. Because of that, they needed to be dealt with before then. I wasn't fully worried, but just to be safe.

Regardless of if these nobles lived or died, I would ensure that they would be unable to affect my ascension to the throne.

Everything would all go according to plan…

[Lukrut]

Day 63:

The sunlight beat into my eyes from the window, mildly annoying me. At the same time, I could feel a slight chill in the air that told me that fall was nearly upon us. My one solace in this chillier morning is that the warmth from Kashia's body and tails again my body was more than enough to keep the cold away.

"Morning, Lucky," Kashia said, causing me to look away from the window and down to where she was resting on top of me, her chest against mine, with a bright smile that just lit up the room. They were matched only by her glowing, golden eyes that gazed at me with a loving warmth that I never wanted to stop.

In a nostalgic way, I did miss when her eyes had been naturally orange, but at the same time, I had more than grown used to Kashia's golden eyes as they are now. They made her look more the beautiful princess that she is.

"Good morning, my beautiful princess," I replied, receiving an excited shiver from Kashia's body in return before she leaned her head down and captured my lips with her own. When we finally separated, I found myself commenting, "You're up earlier than me for once."

"Or you were sleeping later than usual, ever think that?" Kashia replied with a giggle as she snuggled into my chest. "Though, the chilly air did act as a bit of a wakeup call this morning." As if to emphasize, her tails curled around both of us a little tighter.

I chuckled while wrapping my arms around my beautiful fox before pulling her closer to me. "Yeah, it seems that the season's changing now. Soon enough, we're going to need to deal with snow," I replied before adding, "It's a little funny that for a powerful goddess like yourself, you can get cold just like the rest of us mortals."

Kashia's eyes rolled in response, "I still get cold like everyone else does. It's just that I usually have enchanted clothing to mitigate it." Then, a devious smile grew on her face while her eyes turned playful, "Oh, well. Guess because it's getting cold now, I'll just have to cover up in layers around that time since I won't have anyone to keep me warm. You'll just have to imagine what I look like naked during the winter."

My worried shock must have been visible on my face since Kashia's laughter filled the room before she kissed me. "Hmm? You seem worried about that. Do you know someone or have some method to keep me warm?"

Hearing the challenge in her voice, I grinned and kissed her back. "As your attentive lover, it's my enthusiastically willing obligation to keep you warm," I said, receiving a teasing wiggle from her hips in reply…

Settling down to let our breaths catch up, Kashia remarked, "Certainly know how to keep a girl warm, I'll give you that. Wish that I had you around years ago since it would've made the colder months a lot more tolerable."

"Then how did you manage to tolerate the colder months without me?" I asked with a teasing smile.

"Well, when I was a little girl, whenever dad would see me wrapped up in my tail just shivering, he'd say, 'looks like Fox-Burrito season is here!' before grabbing the blankets in our home and covering me up in them," she said with a warm laugh and nostalgia in her eyes. "Then he'd make me warm broth, which was mostly just warm, flavored water with tiny bits of food in it, that he'd feed me before hugging me close and reading me a story."

"Sounds very cute," I commented before asking, "What is a burrito?"

That got snickering laughter from Kashia before she finally calmed down enough to answer, "Just imagine thin bread that's extremely floppy, like paper, which you roll food into and eat."

"Your home has a lot of weird food," I remarked while imagining a miniature version of Kashia snugly wrapped up in blankets looking like a cloth snowman. It was a little adorable.

"Not weird, just different," Kashia retorted as she got up from the bed and started gathering her clothing strewn about the floor and put it on.

I followed after her and did the same. As I did so, I couldn't help but notice how I didn't feel any of the normal fatigue I once did at the start of the morning or from the rigorous fun Kashia and I just had. It's strange, but for the past few days, I've felt like I've had a lot more energy than before.

Not to boast, but I had this feeling that I could probably run multiple laps around the perimeter of the city and still not feel tired. Maybe all this training was finally paying off? In fact, I also felt physically stronger as well.

That made me happy since it meant that I was becoming strong enough to protect Kashia and the others without failing.

Finishing equipping the rest of my clothes, I looked over to see Kashia staring at herself in the mirror as she put her beautiful hair up into its usual style. I found myself grinning as I approached my beautiful fox from behind and wrapped my arms around her waist before resting my chin on her shoulder. Our eyes met in the mirror and she smiled while leaning her head against mine.

"Ready for the day?" I asked.

"Yeah," Kashia said as she placed her hands over mine. "With you I am, Lucky."

We stood together like that for a serene minute before we were interrupted when the door to Kashia's Sanctuary opened. Separating, we watched as Ninya and Tuare came out.

"Good morning, you two. Ready to get started for the day?" Ninya asked with a stretch before readjusting her clothes. I then watched as her bestial features faded away to her human disguise, which Kashia also copied.

"Pretty much," I replied, noting an odd look that appeared on Ninya's face.

"Then let's get a move on. We're probably keeping Dyne and Peter waiting," Ninya said before she pulled Tuare out of our room and into the hallway.

I shared a questioning look with Kashia, and she gave a wry grin before answering, "She could probably smell it…"

"Oh…"

With that embarrassing revelation, we quickly left the room and exited the Hero's Respite to see Ninya waving to her sister as Tuare walked down the street towards Celly's restaurant. She then turned to look at us with a raised brow.

"Seems like both of you had an exciting morning…" Ninya said accusingly. Kashia and I easily nodded to it.

"Sorry, kiddo. We'll remember to go somewhere else next time we want to have fun," Kashia replied while tousling the younger mage's hair. We already began walking towards the Adventurer's Guild at this point.

"I hope so, my sanity can only handle knowing so much about both of you," Ninya said while readjusting her clothes again.

My brow raised at seeing this, and I ended up asking, "Your clothes okay? You seem to be adjusting them a lot."

Ninya's brows furrowed in annoyance as she readjusted her clothes once more and looked at me, "Yeah, it's just that my dress feels uncomfortably tight today," she answered, getting a small snort from Kashia which made the emerald mage look at her mother accusingly. "What's so funny?"

"I think your secondary body changes are starting to hit you," Kashia answered, getting a confused look from Ninya and I.

"Secondary body… changes…" A look of recognition appeared on Ninya's face before it suddenly reddened.

"Uh, what's so embarrassing?" I asked, feeling like I was missing a bit of context here.

While Ninya refused to answer, her face flushing even more, it was Kashia that had to speak for her, "Aside from her hairier changes, our little Ninya here," my beautiful fox put a reassuring arm around Ninya's shoulders, "is going to get a bit bigger, like me."

Kashia glanced down, and I followed her gaze, specifically to her chest. Then I understood, "A little bit, bigger?"

"Shut up, Lukrut!" Ninya squeaked out as she looked away from me.

"Alright, I'll keep quiet about it," I said and gave Ninya a pat on the back.

The rest of our walk towards the guild was pretty uneventful after that.

"Morning, you three," Peter greeted as we approached him and Dyne. "Good to see you all finally up and about."

"Well, we couldn't exactly leave you two alone," I retorted with a grin. "Who knows what you may have gotten up to with us not around?"

Dyne and Peter shared a look before the large druid replied, "I feel that Peter and I are the ones to least likely get into trouble of the group."

"They do have a bit of a point," Ninya conceded as we took the open seats at the table.

"Come on, Ninya," I complained while playfully poking her in the head. "Don't just allow them to win so easily."

She replied by poking me back, "It's a losing battle, Lukrut."

"You're no fun."

"But she's right," Kashia teased. "After all, you did end up punching a noble in the face a few days ago." That got a round of laughs from the table.

"Hey, you gave me permission to do it," I countered with a grin.

"Hmm, guess I did," my blonde princess admitted.

It was around this point that Dyne chimed in, "By the way, did anything happen after that? From everything you've said, the man was an idiot who was out of line, but he is a count."

Kashia answered for me as she shook her head, "Not really. Philip is all bark and no bite. Besides, with how he acted, most of the nobles would be more than understanding that he was let off easy considering what I could've done to him."

What Kashia left out is that all of Philip's servants were actually loyal to her and would prevent the little bastard from trying anything. Even if he did try, I'd make sure to kill him, especially if he got near Kashia.

"That's a bit of a relief right there," Dyne admitted. Then, an amused grin grew upon his face, "With our luck, I thought that we'd end up having to fight all of the nobles of E-Rantel for a moment there."

"Well, speaking of fighting," Peter interrupted as he pulled out a job sheet. "I got a simple gold-plate job for us in the south. Apparently, some monster has been slaughtering livestock of a few farmers."

"Any idea on what monster has been doing this?" I asked, reading over the job sheet and noticing that the best description is some type of insect-like monster that only came at night.

"None that I could figure," Peter replied with a shrug. "There are way too many different insect monsters that could fit the description."

"Then we'll need to proceed carefully," Dyne recommended.

It seemed like Kashia was about to speak until she stopped, her eyes becoming surprised, then confused, then annoyed. "Alright, guys," she finally spoke, slight exasperation in her tone, "I need to take care of a matter at the lake."

"Is it something bad?" I asked.

"Doubt it, more annoying than anything, but I'll need 30 minutes to an hour before I can rejoin you… Probably," Kashia finished as she gave me a kiss and got out of her chair to head to the Great Lake of Tob.

"Stay safe," Ninya said, receiving a nod and smile before Kashia went down the stairs.

That left us all pondering what might've happened for a moment. "Hope it's nothing too serious…" Peter said in thought.

I shook my head at the worry and explained, "Nah, from her expression, Kashia was more annoyed than anything else."

That thankfully put everyone else at ease.

But with Kashia having left to take care of matters in Tob, I realized that it left the rest of the team and I alone in the guild to talk with one another without my beautiful fox overhearing it. And one matter that I desperately wanted to discuss with them was finally given the opportunity with Kashia gone for a short while.

"Guys, Kashia's nameday is coming up in a few weeks. We should probably try to plan something out for her," I announced to my friends.

"Hmm, that could be tricky," Peter thought aloud with a hand under his chin. "Let's start with the easier decision first. Would we have a large party for her? A feast?"

Considering the idea, I realized that I knew just the place to celebrate a party. "I could probably get Celly on board to reserve her restaurant to use for a night. From there, we'd have to look into the situation for food. I don't exactly want Celly to feed us for free since that would just be abusing her hospitality."

"I'm certain that between us and our furry friends," Ninya said with a grin, "we could more than cover any food costs if we don't have it brought over in the first place."

"That would also lead to the guest situation," Dyne added in as he scratched his beard. "I'd assume that we'd be inviting friends and guests. How many do you think that'd put us at?"

We all considered that for a moment before we all came to a similar conclusion. "There's going to be a lot of guests…"

"We'll put a pin in that a little later," Peter said, concluding that area of consideration. "We'll have to figure out gifts since Kashia is definitely not the easiest to find gifts for, considering how she can conjure a lot of things up with magic."

"That's simple enough," I countered. "Kashia likes things with a sentimental value to them. As long as whatever we get for her is something from us, she'll be happy." Saying this, I was already considering a few ideas for things to gift her.

"Something to really think about," Dyne commented.

"At least we have time for it," Ninya said optimistically.

I chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. "You're right, we do have time," I agreed.

We have a lot of time to plan this out to be perfect for her.

[Unknown]

…Memory is a little fuzzy for me…

I remember a few things, before I arrived here in this expanse of nothingness. It's almost like waking up from a long dream.

The hazy memories, almost tangible enough to grasp onto, yet ephemeral enough to slip through my fingers.

How did I end up here?

What can I… What can I remember? It's so difficult to think about, and there's this fatigue that seems to want to just set upon me. But something tells me that I shouldn't, that I needed to stay awake.

For something important? For someone? For someones?

I think I remember something.

Well, more like colors. There was a lot of green, almost an overwhelming amount of it. I was afraid of that green, and I didn't know why that was? At the same time, did it say something?

Maybe…

But two other colors soon came to mind. White and gold. Unlike the green, I can clearly remember being happy. At the same time, why did I feel so sad?

There had been crying, and it utterly broke my heart to remember. I wanted to comfort the child making those cries…

I knew that voice. But where? It felt so important to me. I have to protect her. I have to make that child feel safe. She is my entire world…

She… I know it's a girl.

-o-r- -e - d- in -h- -l-

She said something that made me so happy. Then, I had gotten tired. I… I made a promise to her, didn't I?

What was it again?

A birthday. She is turning eight… No, she's 13. It's such a jumble…

But I have to get back to her. She's alone! She needs me!

Wa-e -, m-ta-!

Then, I felt something pull at my entire being. It dragged me from this tiring mental fog and towards a light in the distance. For a simple moment, I found my being stop, the pull still tugging at me, but I instinctually knew that I could choose to resist. I could refuse to go any further…

I could remain here if I wanted to, fall back into that deep, sleeping nothingness where I had once been. But then she came back to my thoughts, and I knew that whatever I wanted didn't matter. She needed me and I had to get back to her!

The tugging that had been weak turned into an extremely powerful pull towards the distant light that rapidly grew closer until it consumed my vision and all that was left was a bright white.

That light suddenly turned golden and I gasped my first breath in what felt like an eternity and my eyes opened to see a… blue sky…

Something about it didn't seem right. Like it should be darker. Yet, at the same time, this sky put me at ease and I gasped another greedy breath of air.

"Hello, mister?" I heard a girl's voice call out nearby. I was almost excited when I heard the girl's voice, momentarily thinking that it might be the girl from my foggy memories, but then the disappointment set in as I realized it wasn't her, it was someone else.

"H-Hello…" my scratchy voice weakly called back. It felt like I hadn't spoken for a long time, and trying to move any part of my body was like lifting lead.

I heard some rustling nearby before a little girl with reddish hair in pigtails, wearing a blue, woolen dress, appeared in my vision and leaned over me. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"I-I don't know," I replied with some effort.

The little girl gave me a concerned look before she looked away. "I'll be right back, mister," she said before rushing off, leaving me alone on the ground staring at that strange, blue sky.

"–ght over here, Enri! He looks hurt," I heard the little girl say as she quickly came back to my side with an older, blonde girl in a brown and white dress. Looking at her hair, I felt a small sense of recognition, but at the same time, I somehow knew that it wasn't the same as what I remembered.

The blonde girl kneeled down by my side and checked me over, seeming to blush for a moment before meeting my gaze. "Can you tell me what happened to you?" she asked.

"I don't know. I c-can't remember," I answered, trying to even faintly recall how I arrived here, yet receiving no answer.

"Are you able to try and sit up?" I couldn't even try to shake my head at the question.

"Can't move. Feel too weak," I said, trying my best to even move my body, but only getting a weak tremor from my limbs. "W-Where am I?"

"On the outskirts of Carne Village," the girl, called Enri, I was certain, replied as she gently helped sit me up, making me realize that I was as naked as the day I was born.

"Thank y-you, and I'm sorry a-about the exposure," I apologized, looking between the two girls.

Enri waved away my apology, "It's fine, mister. Hard to help it if bandits steal all your belongings."

"Bandits?"

Enri gave a shrug, "Only explanation for why you were left for dead out here without a single scrap to your name." She then seemed to take a moment to think about something before asking, "What's your name?"

I thought about it, attempting to recall, but receiving nothing in return. "I-I can't remember. Why can't I remember?"

"What can you recall?"

"Someplace dark, a few colors… and the voice of a young girl. She i-is important to me, beyond important, but why? She's alone without me…" The frustration must've been evident in my voice as Enri gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Relax for now. Let's get you taken care of first, then focus on everything else after that," Enri reasoned as she met my gaze.

"O-Okay," I agreed before examining the two girls, "I'm sorry to s-say, but I don't k-know if you'll both be e-enough to carry me."

That made Enri smile as she shook her head, "No need to worry, that can be taken care of." She then looked over my shoulder and called out, "Jugem, can you and a few of your boys help me carry this man back to my house?"

"Right away, Commander!" A male voice called out in reply. "You two, take his legs. Greer, you and I will get his upper body."

After these commands were made, I was surprised to see four short, green creatures, just a few inches taller than the younger girl, appear around us. A quizzical look appeared on my face and I found myself asking, "W-What are you?"

"We're goblins," Jugem answered, who I recognized by his voice. His expression looked slightly harsh as he gazed down upon me.

"Goblins?" I feel like the term was familiar, but I didn't get any sense of recognition like I'd seen a goblin before. "What's a goblin?"

The harsh expression on Jugem's face quickly softened and became filled with concern. "Seems like his amnesia's even worse than it sounds if he doesn't even recognize what a goblin is," Jugem commented to Enri as he, along with the three other goblins, went to either side of me and picked me up.

"We'll figure it out once we get him some clothes and something to eat," Enri replied. With that, the goblins carried me to what I assumed to be the village…