It was now springtime, and Sundell's construction was underway. During the previous fall, I had people working around the clock to dig ditches for plumbing pipes and future sewer drains. It was time to create the equipment necessary to bring everything to life.

Plumbing is a remarkably simple concept.

Imagine a water cooler. There's a large barrel filled with water, and at the bottom, there's a dispenser. When a person twists it, it allows water to flow with gravity—that's how sinks and showers work. But the cooler is a water tower, and the valve is a sink. The strange part to conceptualize is that water is moving up against gravity. However, it's no different than a water hose shooting out water despite you holding it in the air—pressure is just pushing it out.

It's not easy. To control pressure, you must still create supply, drainage, and vent pipes. There are nuances like creating bends in pipes called "traps" to prevent sewer gases from entering buildings, skill-increasing valves and backflow preventers, and other nuances. However, it is simpler than it appears: create pipes, hook them up to a water tower, and let the pressure fill the pipes until someone hits a button or turns a knob. That's it.

We'd have to overcome a few hurdles to make them.

First, creating the pipes required a new machine called a rolling mill that would elongate pipes.

Next, we'd need a threading machine, machining equipment that can accurately and consistently cut uniform grooves into metal. That way, we could twist our pipes together instead of welding them. By standardizing the process, we could also revolutionize the world with it.

Third, we'd need to build a water tower and pump to take the water to the sky.

Fourth, our professionals would take care of some magical engineering stuff once we get there.

Fifth, a firm desire to take a shower!

God. I haven’t had a shower in nearly sixteen years. I desperately needed one!

I gave the water tower's construction orders and then went to Carter.

"Now that we have a steam engine, it's time to get serious," I said to Carter. The life in the man's eyes was long gone, and he nodded like a zombie.

“Okay.”

I chuckled and continued. "From now on, machines will make most of your metal, and you'll only use skilled blacksmithing for artistic pieces."

He blinked twice with a lifeless expression, staving off sleep. "I can't wait."

"To do that, we will create a universal standard for thread sizes for screws, bolts, nuts, brackets, and pipes. Then we'll export those requirements to machines to rebuild elsewhere. That way, people in Elderthorn, Silverbrook, and Sundell will make the same size screws."

"That sounds like a lot of work, boss," Carter sighed, looking at Thea, asking her to help convince me to have mercy.

"It is, but once we do that, we'll mass-produce metal for the entire world. Your shop will cater to millions with non-stop exports," I said. "It's perfect because none of our surrounding kingdoms are metal exporters."

Improving agriculture will destabilize the world by lowering the prices of crops. If someone could import our apple for one cent or buy it from the local barony for one dollar, they'll just stop buying from the barony, their tax revenue would go to hell, and serfs in that area would starve from unemployment.

Since this was an agrarian economy, I single-handedly threatened the entire world. That's why King Redfield didn't just let me go around changing things.

However, we could revolutionize metalwork because the only metal exporter on this side of Novena was Ironfall, and fuck those guys. So it wouldn't be so bad if I unleashed it, allowing countries around me to prosper while strangling that territory off the map. It was perfect. Win-win. Let's go.

"I don't doubt you, but…." After a deep breath, Carter looked me square in the eyes. "Do you understand that if we do this, we'll end up at war with the Dwarves? They are the metal exporters."

I frowned, my enthusiasm wavering. "What do you mean?"

"Look, boss," Carter began, rubbing his hand along his fuzzy head that he hadn't shaven in two days due to non-stop work. "The Dwarves in Dragon's Peak are the metal standard of the world. If you need something big and metal, you go to King Thrain. They're already probably pissed about the steel and tryin’ to steal it, but if you cut them out on big stuff, they'll send their wyvern army here to steal our technology and kill us."

I ran my fingers through my hair and took a deep breath, wafting the smell of steel, sulfur, and chemicals as I paced in his workshop.

'Withhold the desire to offer them cooperation or death, Ryker,' I internally seethed.

It was getting harder not to become an evil, number-hungry warrior conqueror-type billionaire dictator by the day. Not because I wanted to be rich, but because I didn't want any more problems!

I mean, really. How much violence does it take to bring people a reliable stovetop?!

It was exasperating, and no matter how popular Gandhi's words were, violence does solve problems—elegantly. If it didn't, people couldn't quantify how effective Gandhi's "peaceful" hunger strikes were by the number of dead bodies and burnt buildings that followed them.

Ahem. For all its elegance, simplicity, and time efficiency, I shouldn't use violence as a first resort without first luring my enemies into giving me a striking reason to annihilate them.

Thea stepped in front of me and put my hands on her ears, and I began kneading them in front of Carter, whose expression was a mixture of jealousy and vexation.

"Can we negotiate with them?" I asked, calming down. "I'm happy to give them the steel recipes and other things as well."

Carter raised an eyebrow. "You'd give them steel?"

I looked around us with a mocking smile. "Isn't it nice when you can hire people to get stuff done instead of taking in a 20-year apprentice?"

He frowned. I was mocking the guild system, which was designed to protect trade secrets. In pursuing that, people couldn't hire people without dedicating years to training them in the arts. With the new system, we trained whoever wanted to work and fired the people that did poorly, and the results were night and day. It was comical.

"It's time to stop getting attached to secrets," I said. "We can give people recipes all day. What separates us is that we're making machinery to automate and quantify things. Every time we make a steel ingot, it will be the same steel ingot, and we'll use that to make a hundred screws. We'll then transport these screws at a fraction of the cost of everyone else. Secrets make no difference."

Even if people had the secret sauce, the same equipment, and everything else, we would still pillage the market through the supply chain and other technology. With that in mind, I wanted companies to have my technology. If everyone started using steel, they'd buy steel from the cheapest producers: us. They'd buy their machinery from the best machining producers: us. These top-secret trade secrets were a god-class guerilla marketing strategy.

This is what patents did to technology on Earth, and it turned out alright for the people on top. Now, that person is me.

"If you say so…." Carter groaned, grabbing a cup of fresh ground coffee from the table and swigging it down with disdain. He was a milk-and-sugar kind of guy and forgot both. "I guess you could try, but I wouldn't go there blind. King Thrain isn't known for being carin’ or understandin’."

"Great, someone that understands the virtues and drawbacks of violence," I noted briskly, seeing a silver lining in everything. "I'll offer him steel for Mythril, and if he doesn't accept, I'll offer him death or peaceful economic pillaging. Got it."

"Please don't say you're serious," he said.

I separated from Thea and looked at her. "Do you want to offer the Dwarves cooperation or death? Physical or financial?"

"I'd love to!" Thea chimed, giving me an idol-like smile while clasping her hands together.

"Look, boss… you shouldn't base your decisions on someone who can make anything you say or do sound cute.

"Do you hear that, Thea?" I asked, rubbing her ears. "Even this big ol' softy thinks you're cute."

Without giving Carter time to persuade me otherwise, I walked out of the room, kneading Thea's ears while she giggled and hugged me.

---

Lyssa sat on a chair in front of a wide range of cosmetics and brushes, applying them to Zenith's face in the parlor of the new manor. She had a quizzical expression as she watched Zenith interact with her servants like she was a princess. "Why do you follow Ryker, Zenith?" she asked. "You don't seem like the type that would devote your loyalty to someone or aimlessly follow a kid."

Zenith blinked twice at the woman as if she were mad. "What are you talking about? The Young Master's greatness is unparalleled; I'd be a fool not to follow him."

"No, I just meant more like... you transporting him everywhere," Lyssa clarified. "That doesn't seem like something you'd do."

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Are you decent, Zenith?" Young Master Everwood asked from the other side of her door.

"I~am," Zenith said. "Come in."

He walked into the room with his cat woman maid, and both greeted Lyssa and engaged in small talk for a moment.

“So why are you here, Young Master?” Zenith asked.

“We’re treating the dwarves to diplomacy or death… literally or economically,” Young Master Everwood said, avoiding Lyssa's steely glare. "Two things: do you have grudges with your kinfolk on Dragon's Roost, and do you want to collect on them?"

"Plenty!" Zenith stood with a wide grin. "Let's go immediately." She turned to Lyssa with a smug smile that implied that she had won, and the confused woman was a fool for even asking.

Lyssa's eyes glazed over as they exited the room, and she sat back down. "That woman made me pull out cosmetics for nothing," she grumbled, picking up the brushes. "So I'm gonna use them, goddamn it!"

Her cheeks got rosy, and she pouted in the mirror. "Ryker said I could, anyway."

---

Sundell is located in the west center of Novena. To the north is the kingdom of Goldenspire, and if one continues north, where it gets very cold, they will eventually reach Dragon's Peak.

Dragon's Peak is the home of the Dwarves, ruled by King Thrain, a seasoned miner and warrior deep within the mountains. According to legends, they live in a city deep within the mountains, which is… lively.

For now, we traveled with Ajax and Graken, my two guards, who were still recovering from getting ditched in the kingdom during the onset of conflict. Therefore, it was kind of a work vacation, assuming the rumors were true.

It was a five-day trip to Dragon's Peak, spent traversing a sea of golden wheat, followed by an ocean of green and silver from the Silverbark Forest, an expansive marshland, and finally, an expanse of white-topped mountains.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

The glacial land surrounded Dragon's Peak on the west, and beyond that was an expanse of blue trees that combed through the massive mountain ranges. Moreover, it was impossible not to see a massive plume of mist shooting through the air, turning to snow after.

This phenomenon was caused by the Dragon's Roost, a massive volcano in the heart of the Dwarven kingdom, right next to the capital, Kraghammer. Since the volcano was active, it shot steam across the sky. Since it was below freezing everywhere else, the steam turned to snow, creating a snowglobe effect around the area around the clock.

It was a surreal sight.

That backdrop greeted us as we flew into Dragon's Peak. Thea shivered and gripped me tight, enjoying that we were sharing a blanket. I smiled and continued narrating a "fake" fantasy story I read as a child. It was a peaceful ride.

As for Zenith, Dragon's Roost is where she was born. As ironic as it seemed, the weather didn't bother her in the slightest. She was jazzed up to return home; we could see it from her creepy panting breath, creating large steam plumes in the icy cold.

It wasn’t a good sign.

“Zenith says that we’re approaching Dragon’s Roost,” Thea announced. “So… hold on tiiiiIIiGHT!”

Thea gripped my waist for dear life as we experienced 10 Gs of gravity and barreled from the sky overhead straight towards a raging, shooting out crystalline confetti.

Within seconds, Zenith had already maneuvered through the mountains and corrected our course, gliding in the air, stirring up a wild reception of roars from wyverns sleeping on the volcano for warmth.

She opened her maw wide. “GYARRRRRRRRRAAAAH!”

"Didn't you ever hear of letting news spread by word of mouth?" I huffed. "Not only does it prevent direct confrontations, but it also gives people time to let their imaginations magnify their fear!"

Zenith ruffled her back as a way of saying, "deal with it," before we landed in a strange enclave on a large platform with a designated perching with a changing room conveniently located underneath it. That way, there was a place for her to fall into after her transformation.

Talk about efficiency!

Once Zenith transformed, she called for Thea, who quickly ran into the changing room while Ajax, Graken, and I met a group of hooded people who rushed in with fierce expressions.

I promptly returned a mocking smile.

"What are you smiling at?!" A man with blonde locks yelled in Drakonik, the language of the wyverns. He looked like a Chad with two quadriceps that could rupture a watermelon and forearms that could nuke a mosquito if he flexed while it was sucking blood. However, Drakonik is characterized by deep, resonant sounds and a complex system of hisses, roars, and growls. It's absurd to hear come out of a human's mouth, which completely killed his vibe.

"My apologies. I was smiling at your militant arrival of our mutual friend," I replied.

"Mutual friend?" he scoffed. "That's my betrothed, you swine! It's unbelievable that she would show her face after the disrespect she's brought upon us. Wait... " His eyes widened in shock when he realized I was speaking Drakonik.

"Oh, so you're Abel," I said. "Sorry to break it to you, but you and Zenith... you're broken up."

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Abel snarled, stomping towards me.

"I'm the person warning you that no amount of regret will bring you back together, 'you swine,'" I replied.

As the man barreled towards me, Ajax and Graken stepped in front of him.

Abel raised his hand. "Get out of my way! You filthy low-born—" He stopped talking when his attempt to swat Ajax aside like a pest was met with the man grabbing his forearm and squeezing. The wyvern man could only watch in disbelief as a human froze his movements!

Still, the power and experience disparity was vast. Even so, it left him stunned, with his mouth agape.

"I suggest you reconsider Abel Narmox," I recommended. "You raised a hand against my people, and they have treated you rather amicably despite that. So I suggest you back off."

"You're unbelievable," Abel snorted, freeing his arm and circling his colorful-robed people. "Will you allow someone to invade your home—”

“WAIT FIVE MINUTES, YOU INSUFFERABLE FOOL!”

Zenith's irritated voice echoed through the cavern, causing people to whisper in Drakonik with muted excitement.

My eyebrow twitched when I heard what they were whispering.

Princess Veil.

"She didn't think to mention this before we started insulting a prince?!" I seethed internally. "I'm okay with insulting princes, but not on their goddamn territory! I hope this guy's parents don't show up!"

Every major country has a semi-nuclear archwizard, a handful of wizards, and a variety of mildly overpowered mages. However, the leaders, like King Redfield, are ancients who have monopolized power and built it over God knows how many centuries. I'm still uncertain about their power and don't want to test my luck.

The only reason I came barreling in here was that Zenith said it was okay, something that seems a lot less likely by the second!

"What? Are you just now realizing who you're talking to?" Abel snorted, spitting on the ground.

I chuckled and took a deep breath, turning and locking my eyes with his. "Don't say things you'll regret. I may now know who you are, but you still don't know who I am. So watch your tongue."

Abel's bloodlust multiplied, and his eyes burned with scorching embers. He released a surge of magical pressure and struck Ajax in the chest.

Ajax grabbed his arm, but Abel's arms ignited with flames, forcing him to let go and crash into a cavern wall. Graken came next, taking a kick to the chest and flying into another. Abel approached with heavy steps after showcasing his power. "Do you still think you're tough, little—"

A sudden blue flash shot into his periphery, and he turned just in time for a small hand connected with his jaw, sending multiple teeth flying as his body crashed into the wall with 20 Gs of gravitational force.

BOOOOM!

The entire cavern shook, and the hooded figures turned to the attacker, only to discover... they were a cat maid.

It was surreal. No one there was prepared to recount that a feline beastkin, famous for becoming twisted pets of violent races, knocked out a wyvern prince! They would hang!

I smirked, hugging Thea from behind to prevent her from attacking others as she yelled at them in cute Skylandish speak, which was far more horrifying after what they had just witnessed.

“Who disturbs this place!”

A thundering voice reverberated through the cavern, making everyone flinch. Excessive magical pressure followed, making it difficult for me to breathe.

"Zenith owes me a serious apology," I grinned fearlessly, preparing to grab Thea and run. "She said she wanted to settle a score, not trigger a war!"

According to her: "I want to slap my ex-fiancee. My people settle disputes with violence, so it shouldn’t cause too much trouble."

It sounded reasonable!

Now it comes out that she’s a princess, and a man with power outstripping King Redfield shows up? Yeah, she better apologize!

A man with flowing silver hair and blue robes walked through the cavern, dropping his subjects to their knees from his magical pressure.

Thea trembled in my arms, and I held her tightly.

"I'm here to do business with the Dwarves; one of your people attacked—”

My breath strained as the man looked at me and released even greater pressure.

He looked at me with sharp purple eyes. “You come here riding on a lost princess, let your people run amok, and then you DARE claim that one of my people attack—”

"You're unbelievable! ALL OF YOU!"

Zenith stormed out, wearing a hood, but her eyes blazed with blue hellfire. "You all knew I was here! Abel knew I was in this goddamn room. And I told everyone to wait five goddamn minutes, but instead, you stole my... confidante, and I need her back!”

The man’s eyes widened, and he reached out his hand. “It really is—”

Zenith slapped his hand and grabbed Thea’s. "I need Lady Lockheart, and you're all going to wait five damn minutes! Insult King Everwood again, and I'll prove that the century I spent training in the Nightshade Forest wasn't for show!"

Thea tried clinging to me, but I released her, propelling her towards the dressing room like a slingshot. That left me and the stunned man staring at each other.

“My name... is King Veil,” King Veil announced, appraising me. “You’re King Everwood? That’s hard to believe.”

"Would anyone else be with a wyvern from the Nightshade Forest?" I asked.

My words pierced him like a hot blade, and he fell silent. “How did you survive?” he asked after a few moments.

“We became strong—fast,” I replied.

"It's much easier to believe you're a reincarnation," he narrowed his eyes, looking at Abel's body.

"The beastkin in the maid uniform did that," I countered. "Surely you don't think a powerful reincarnation also spends their time pretending to be a maid, do you?"

He closed his eyes and took an impatient breath. “I welcome you to Dragon’s Roost,” King Veil said. “Contingent upon you apologizing—”

"I ASKED FOR FIVE MINUTES!" Zenith burst out of the dressing room, wearing a flowing red dress and masterfully applied makeup.

"Is that Princess Veil?"

"What happened to her... you know..."

"Did she get healed?"

"There's no way. She's even more beautiful than before!"

"Did she acquire a legendary body constitution?"

"Is that even possible?"

"And her power..."

Zenith walked up to her shocked father and gave him a lethal glare. "Did I hear you ask Young Master Everwood to apologize for defending himself?" she snapped.

The right half of King Veil's face spasmed. "Did I just hear you refer to this boy as 'Young Master'?"

Zenith smiled. "Yes, as a matter of fact, you did hear me call King Everwood 'Young Master.' Or did you think I would return to this kingdom now that I'm pretty again? Now that you welcome me again?"

He frowned. "Neither I nor anyone else cast you out of this kingdom."

"You didn't?" Zenith laughed. "So you let a man lock me in a room and never let me see anyone? So that he could fulfill his legal obligation to marry me but never have to face the humiliation of doing so?"

My blood boiled when I heard the full story and unleashed all my magical pressure, creating a suffocating environment.

"I may not be as strong as you, but I'm not weak. I was forged in the Nightshade Forest, just like Zenith, Thea, and my army. So I suggest you punish that man for attacking a king before I take it as a declaration of war."

King Veil met my gaze head-on, studying my expressions. Then he turned to Zenith, whose face was red with fury, and Thea's, flashing with murder. He sighed, snapped his fingers, and Abel's body radiated in soft turquoise light, healing his wounds and mending his teeth.

"GuuahhhHhHH!" Abel gasped, pushing rocks off him. "Where?! Where is that swine?!"

He stumbled to his feet and scanned the area until he spotted me standing with King Veil. A wild grin spread across his face. "Hah! Did you think you could come into this place and assault a princess, you fucking—"

"SILENCE!" King Veil commanded. "You will face punishment for your actions!"

Abel turned his head with the fluidity of a rusty cog. "W-What? WHAT?! This bastard hit a prince, and you aren't seeking his head as compensation?! What kind of monarch are you?!"

King Veil's face stiffened, and he took a deep breath, showcasing iron will and self-restraint. "Unbelievable. You are truly a chimera of belligerent traits."

"W-What?!" Abel stammered, glancing at me and then noticing Zenith. "W-W-Wait, Zenith?! Is... is that you?!"

A thin smile twisted on Abel's face, pushing past the pain and humiliation. "It's been a while, hasn’t it—"

King Veil's cheek twitched, and he waved his hand, sending a wave of magical pressure that brought Abel to his knees. Then he turned to me. "What punishment do you propose?"

His narrowed eyes indicated he would humiliate him, but I should choose my request wisely, considering the strategic diplomatic implications.

"I came to trade with King Thrain," I announced. "We stopped in Dragon's Roost first because Zenith wanted to slap her ex-fiancé. I was unaware she was a princess or he was her fiancé. However, considering how things have developed, I believe that Zenith slapping him as punishment would defuse the situation for all parties.”

King Veil looked at the snowy sky above with a strained expression. It seemed as though the weight of his years had finally caught up to him, and now he lived in a world where allowing his daughter to slap her proposed son-in-law was a strategic diplomatic move. What a joke.

“Abel!”

Abel looked at the man in horror, feeling the pressure lift from him. "W-What?"

"You attacked King Everwood of Elderthorn," King Veil declared. "Do you comprehend the severity of your actions?"

Abel's face turned pale, and he looked away from me. "H-His guard..."

"His guard what?" King Veil smirked, glancing at the cat maid. "Don't tell me you're claiming a maid harmed you?"

"N-No..." Abel stammered.

“So you understand the nature of your inemptitude?” King Veil pressed.

Abel's face reddened with humiliation, and he turned away, falling silent.

"I'll take that as a yes," King Veil said. "Now stand. King Everwood demands that Princess Veil slap you as punishment for your transgression."

Abel’s eyes widened, turning and seeing Zenith giving him a glance that was corrosive enough to eat through steel. “W-What?”

I turned to Zenith. "Don't kill him. You've already caused enough trouble by not revealing your identity, so keep diplomacy in mind."

King Veil nodded in approval, relieved that I hadn't come here to start a conflict after all.

"W-Wait... Father..." Abel stammered.

"I am not your father," King Veil declared. "I would have been if you had married my daughter instead of postponing the marriage until we found a suitable healer. Since you didn't, you have insulted a king and brought tension to this kingdom. Now stand!"

Abel stood on shaky legs, gazing into Zenith's eyes filled with a mix of awe and fear. "You look... stunning...." He gulped, unable to restrain himself, and his eyes wandered down her figure with a racing heart. "Please come back and join my harem. I'll make you my first wife—"

Her backhand struck his jaw, sending him hurtling into the cave wall like a meteorite, causing the entire area to shake.

I pinched the bridge of my nose in exasperation, taking a deep breath to calm myself as rocks tumbled from the ceiling.

King Veil covered his forehead, shaking his head in vexation.

It was almost a bonding experience.

In a twisted political controversy kind of way.

Classy.

“Ahem!” King Veil coughed. “Unbury him and speak nothing of what happened here today lest you wish to hang.”

His people gulped and quickly freed Abel from the fallen debris.

King Veil turned to me. "Now that I know Princess Veil is alive, I cannot allow you to leave with her. Therefore, neither I nor anyone else saw you or her here. Do you understand?"

I met his words with a conciliatory gaze. "Understood."

He turned to Zenith. "Once I confirm that Princess Veil is indeed alive, I will send word to the Everwood Kingdom to arrange a meeting with King Everwood."

With those words, he walked away, making swift declarations that speaking of this event would be met with death.

I like King Veil a lot.

With a weary gesture, I turned to Zenith, who wore the biggest shit-eating grin I had ever seen. No, it wasn't as wicked as when I fed her greatest enemy to her, but that was different. Sort of.

"Are you satisfied?" I sighed.

"More than satisfied," Zenith declared, her pupils constricted. "I am at your service, Young Master."

"Alright, let's heal our guards," I said, hugging Thea to calm her anxiety before using healing minor magic on Ajax and Graken.

***

Zenith led us through secret passages within Dragon's Roost mountain.

It was a massive volcano, and we spent half a day descending the steep incline from the summit until we reached closer to the base. It was nightfall when we reached the area; by then, we could hear Kraghammer, the Dwarven Kingdom. The area had a pulse, throbbing with deep bass, and a festival happening in the snow.

"It seems the rumors were true!" Thea exclaimed. "Isn't it exciting, Ryker?"

"Ex~cellent," I sighed. "I can hardly wait."

According to legends, the Dwarven capital of Kraghammer was renowned for its exceptional metalwork and nightlife scene. We were here to trade steel recipes for peace. However, I had a feeling that King Thrain wasn't someone so simple to work with.

After a moment's pause, I grinned and reached into my spatial pouch.

Thea pouted. "Why are you grinning like that?"

I smiled and pulled out a bottle from my storage. "I was just thinking, if I can get peace for steel, what can I get ethanol?"