“Ghuhahahahahahaha! My thanks, dragonewt girl! I’m not a fan of Aurena’s blind little pups, but white spells are far more useful than any other healing method. A salve wouldn’t heal those wounds!”

“Oof!”

The first thing Ghorush did after I healed the two baseball-sized holes in his arms was to smack me right in the back, nearly knocking me over due to size and weight difference alone. Dragon or not, I wasn’t as heavy as my original form right now. Otherwise, wooden floors would just crack under me.

“Well, that’s the least I could have done after making your arms practically useless.” Neill suddenly grabbed my shoulder and pulled me closer to her, looking prideful as she stared at Ghorush, who was just getting up from his bed in the infirmary. “Hmph! That’s how a victor should act, ha!”

“… So you nearly ruined his life as a warrior because you thought I could cure him? Neill? Isn’t that going too far?” I glared at my reckless sister. “Tch, bad loser.”

“Shishihahahahaha! But look at that! You closed up his arms to the point he could smack your back! See, I knew you had in you, Hestia! Huep!”

“Waaaaah!” Neill suddenly smacked me in the back, too! “Stop it! Stop hitting my back! Also, control your strength if you do so! I don’t care how it isn’t hurting me, stop doing so!”

Warrior idiots…

One minute, they were trying to kinda kill each other, in the other, they became fast friends. At least, that was what it looked like when I saw Ghorush laughing merrily, congratulating Sis for her victory over him. Despite her laser beam from her unicorn horn possibly stopping his life as a fighter, he still took the loss well, praising her for giving him a wonderful fight.

Just like my first impression of him when I first met him in the royal rumble, he was a real battle junkie.

When Neill literally dragged me to the infirmary after her win, we saw the tall leonid literally shun the priests away from him, only accepting potions from the alchemists. From what he just admitted, it seemed he wasn’t a real fan of Aurena’s religion and its followers. Reminding me quite a bit of the lizardmen I met in the Belzac forest.

He did try to reject my help, showing more suspicion of me compared to when we first met. Still, to the victor went the spoils, and he was a firm believer of that motto. Sis wouldn’t accept his reluctance of getting healed by a priestess of Aurena, so in the end, she persuaded him to have my flames and [Major Heal] patch him up.

“Hmph!” Ghorush jumped off his bed, which comically broke apart after he did so, probably due to his weight.

“S-Sir, you shoul—” One of the alchemists tried to stop him, but the blunt beastmen didn’t care one bit for their complaint. Shoving them aside, he came over to pat Neill’s shoulder.

“Good fight. Hope we can repeat that again, but for real next time!” He grinned, showing off his massive canines.

Unperturbed by this, even taking it as a sign of goodwill, she slapped his burly forearm lightly before bumping her fist against his. “I fight for glory and respect, leonid. That’s the thing that separates us. Death sounds like a pain for my tail.”

“Ghuhahahahaha! Fine! Each warrior to their own. At least, our wish to become stronger and fight powerful opponents is still the same. The Elemental Kings might not watch over us anymore, but I am sure the Spirit of Fire would have been pleased with our performance!”

Once again, the leonid brought up the Elemental Kings, the former primarchs of this world. Curiosity got to me at this point, as it was clear this guy grew up in a place where the Origin God faith was less prevalent.

“You don’t seem like a follower of any Origin or Subordinate god,” I brought up to Ghorush, causing him to frown.

“Hmm. Curious, priestess? I thought you were more a fighter-at-heart with how you fought with us, but I guess blesseds of Aurena aren’t that interesting.” He shrugged, but his words didn’t match his posture. He looked like he was willing to talk, instead of brushing me off with a bored look.

This guy really is curious, huh? More to him than a berserker.

“My master is a follower of Istari, so I can’t help it. Also, not often you meet somebody like you around in this part of the continent,” I replied, earning me another shrug from him.

“Hmm. If we’re talking, then not here. Too stuffy.” His mouth then turned into a fat grin, even drooling a bit. “Ha! The best way to celebrate a victory is with food and booze! Treat me, and I’ll speak, old comrade-in-arms!”

“H-Huh, food?! Now?” I flinched, not expecting that answer.

“Of course, now! Stomach’s empty!”

“Hmm, sounds good!” Neill immediately agreed with him while rubbing her tummy, before attempting to persuade me. “Come on, it's lunch break now! It’s two bells worth of time. We’ll eat, have some good time, and you can then go do your whole noble shtick. Come on, let’s invite the others, too! More the merrier!”

“Ghuhaha! Glad to hear you agree, fellow warrior! After battle feasts are the best! Best time to remember how you’re alive, while your foes aren’t!”

I was really tempted. I haven’t eaten anything yet after my match, so maybe this was as good of a time as ever. Honestly, with Neill’s lion mane-like hair, she looked a bit like a leonid when I compared Ghorush with her. Acted like him, at least.

I technically had a meeting with Prince Markval’s mother and also Duke Alberstien, so I was a bit nervous to delay it any further. I had my responsibility and I was sure Tasianna would be angry at me if I delayed it… but learning about this lion guy? It was very hard to choose in the end…

… but, I already made a promise to attend.

“Well, your word is your reputation.” Neill nodded understandably, while the leonid groaned in dissatisfaction. “The break is long, though, yeah? End it quickly and come join us! I’ll take everybody else while you and Tasianna make pleasantries with those humans.”

I was lucky to have an understanding sister, knowing what I wanted to do instead of being a princess. Of course, since I outranked every noble in this country by a mile, I technically could act like the spoiled, unruly imperial princess, but that was a cliche I wasn’t willing to do. My parents raised me better than that.

Besides…

This will be a good chance to speak with them about the impending attack.

I had already talked to Jethro and Alistar about my fear of an invasion, and hopefully they also informed the others about it. However, to make sure, I had to speak with them personally. We didn’t know who we were up against, so it would be better to deal with everything now.

So, with Neill taking everybody out for some lunch, Tasianna and I went over to a separate section of the arena, after she helped me get into a dress. If this were a normal building, you would think the arena was linked with another place through a long hallway, but this was a dungeon. Just like my subspace, the interior could be changed however you wanted, disregarding its outside appearance.

After I presented myself, the knights bowed and an attendant dressed like a butler came over to greet me. He bowed deeply before addressing me properly. I asked him why there wasn’t a queue for the banquet, which he answered was ‘cause another entrance was at the audience area for the nobles. Naturally. I should have guessed that part.

“Princess Anasthasia had anticipated you coming this way,” he told me. I nodded and thanked Anasthasia for predicting my obvious path.

Going through the doors, my eyes widened a bit as the hallway looked more like a castle’s garden path. Beautifully maintained shrubbery, flower beds aplenty, and an area so beautiful and peaceful you wouldn’t believe it was placed next to a blood sport arena. Just seeing the artificial sky was a clear reminder this place was a dungeon.

“My lady, may I ask you a few questions?” Instead of me, the butler began speaking with Tasianna. Due to our rank difference, the butler knew he couldn’t address me directly and had to go through Tasianna first. “Her Grace had informed me to ask for Her Imperial Highness’s title and spot in her house’s hierarchy. If I may, could I ask you for them?”

“I presume to int—”

“HOW DARE YOU!”

Ooooooh, here comes the drama popcorn…

Tasianna, interrupted by a loud yell, immediately darted her head towards a mostly-enclosed area with a silver status of Yeostar, large enough for me to see it over the shrubbery walls. The attendant next to us instantly flinched, looking like cold sweat was forming on his forehead. Unfortunately for me, I recognized that voice, and was already imagining something bad about to happen.

With a weary mind, we walked over to the local, only to suddenly hear glass splintering, causing us to move faster. Once there, I saw Prince Markval forced behind his mother by the woman herself, while the four princes of the Divide stared her down. Next to them stood Duke Alberstien and Alistar, both looking mortified.

On one side, the princess regent was scowling at the four princes with a broken wine glass laying before her. On the other hand, the princes looked horrified at the regent’s behavior. Taking a step back, the princes protested at her obscene actions.

“You cannot spew such insults into our faces, Regent Estelle. For a princess, your attitude towards us is discourteous to the extreme! Such a manner of speech deserves nothing but ire from the Goddess!”

“You have welcomed us well but your conduct just now is like lifting a mask! You are your son’s — the future prince of Yeos — representative, so why must you antagonize us? His future allies? Pah!”

The fear in their faces instantly disappeared as if it wasn’t there in the first place. The four men immediately transitioned into humiliating the regent for what they said were demeaning comments. However, as I had just arrived, I didn’t really know what happened.

However, under this storm, the regent didn’t falter, instead, her expression contorted even further. “A-Antagonize? Nonsense! Nonsense! Y-You dare bring up my husband’s death as if it’s some foregone event in the past, stating how we lost power in my country! How dare you! How dare you assume that of us! That we are weak! What are allies when all they wish is to usurp our land!”

“What nonsense are you talking about, Regent Estelle?!” One of the princes shouted, although I had already forgotten who he was without my parallel minds helping me remember. “We suggested we help you! Your borders are filled with bandits ransacking your villages and robbing merchants coming from your home to our nations! Where are you soldiers? Knights? Why haven't you issued this to the mercenary guild?”

“Not to mention those abominable goblins and kobolds! My Veignneight has been attacked by those beasts for a while now, and from the look of it, they are coming from the west. From our neighbor — you, Yeos! Stamp those vile beast’s nests, or do you expect me to continue spending my country’s coffers on solving your issue?”

“Nonsense! Foul trickery!” she shrieked, almost sounding hysterical. “Our land is protected by God Yeostar, always a shining jewel for the Goddess’s army! Small pests are to be expected, for rats to squirm everywhere in this world! Alistar! Tell them! What bandits and goblins do they speak of?”

“U-Uh, Lad—” But stuttering like that only allowed the regent to continue, not letting him say anything.

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“See! He cannot say, for there are none! Do not come to our land making these outlandish accusations, only for you to try to offer ‘aid!’ You only seek to invade us!”

“You delusional woman!” And the climax was reached. The four sovereigns had faces as red as tomatoes. “Our states are also in danger of all these troubles and you make our offer for goodwill sound so devious! Paranoia has enraptured you, you foolish pariah!”

“How dare—”

“Please, stop!” Alberstien finally moved in between the two groups, trying to stop them. “Princess Estelle, please, these are our guests! We cannot jus—”

“And you! You repulsive villain! You were the one who pushed my husband to the death! Puppet maker that you are!”

“I did no such thing! His Majesty died a true and honorable death as a warrior prince! Do not make light of his death, Princess Dowager!” Alberstien shot right back at the princess, causing her to flinch back, looking like she was just betrayed.

“… Now, I get it. Not only the Empire, but also to these worms. Make my son your puppet to control it in the shadows for them! You, no, all of you!” The regent raged on, pointing at every noble in the local area in a mad rush. “Traitors! All of you are traitors! None of you will harm my boy! NONE!”

She then grabbed Markval’s arm, tugging on it roughly. “Markval, we must leave now!”

“M-Moth—” The young prince cowered, unable to stand up to his mother’s glare. The boy from before wasn’t there anymore, replaced by the same fear I noticed on the first day we met in his court.

“Alistar, we leave now! Escort us back to our rooms! Now!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Alistar saluted and immediately followed after them, unable or unwilling to say anything.

Holy moly…

I didn’t know what just happened, but I was right to call this drama popcorn. That was insane, and in a bad way. And that showed with the awkwardness in the air as all the nobles kept quiet, staring as their monarch was dragged away by a helicopter mother.

In the meantime, Duke Alberstien tried to speak and appease the princes, but it all fell apart. They only listened to his plea before rejecting it without thinking about it. Tasianna and I immediately hid ourselves, unwilling to speak with them currently. After they left, so did many other nobles, finding the atmosphere too stuffy to continue.

Poor banquet, I pitied the chefs and attendants who prepared the three tables full of food and wine I saw in the party. It seemed like it would be either wasted, or given out to the populace as leftovers.

After most of them left, Tasianna and I entered the place after we checked everything. Outside of a few servants, only Duke Alberstien was there, waiting for some of the former to fill his wine glass and put food on his wooden plate. After they were done, he went over to an unoccupied table and began eating, solemnly with nobody else around.

We stopped at his table. He didn’t seem to have noticed me.

I took a seat. “Eating alone?”

“The royal coffers are low enough. As Seneschal, I shall not waste the money and effort I invested here.”

“Commendable. I didn’t expect you of all people would say that. Wasting food should be a crime,” I replied, thinking about my time in the Belzac forest and how hard it was to get food all alone.

“Hmph, you are exaggerating, I hope. Wasting food dishonors the hard work our serfs and land perform to provide us nobles and our armies with plenty of sustenance. However, to make it a law where breaking it would force us to punish them? We are no barren country with food problems.” He kept eating while talking with me. “Does Kargryx have such a law?”

“I’m speaking randomly, don’t mind me.” I kept a nonchalant attitude with him, finding no need to act like a noble right now. “Soooo, what happened?”

“The four princes suggested giving up some of our land to them since we have lost military strength. Too much to protect them. Slighted, looking down at Prince Markval and our previous sovereign, the regent lashed out.” He clenched his knife, digging it harder into his place as if he was letting his anger out on it. “Women… emotional beings. Unfit to rule, unfit to lead.”

“…” I stared at him, causing him to put his utensils down.

“I apologize. I should—”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Jethro already gave me the full brunt of your country’s nobility’s misogyny.” I smirked, finding it funny how it really was ingrained in two high-standing officials in this nation’s government. “If you expected me to be angry and shout at you, well, don’t bother. I’m reserving that for when I meet the people responsible for Saintess Eshe’s death.”

“…” The man looked at me blankly, not saying anything. He stroked his goatee before continuing his meal.

“Where are Princess Anasthasia and Jethro? Shouldn’t they be around?” I brought up, not wanting this to end up in silence.

“Both, not here. Sir Jehtro is probably taking care of that little problem you found out.” After he answered that question, he then laid his utensils back on the plate, before looking at me. “Princess Hestia, why are you here? As you can see, your appointment with the regent is not available.”

“I still have one for you, Duke Alberstien,” I replied. “Don’t forget we had one after the third match. I had to leave before I could speak with you, so I wish to continue it now.”

“Hmph. Of course. The death of a Folschreckian noble, correct? I heard from a knight how Sir Larent was livid when he saw Sir Arlond’s body. Everything really is falling apart after our army marched off to the war. We cannot even please a dragon royal.” He wiped his mouth with a handkerchief before taking a sip from his wine, beginning to look irritated as he looked around the empty venue. “Tell me, Princess Hestia. What does the Goddess think about us? What is God Yeostar thinking? Why have us suffer all of this? Did we not do our best to serve them by helping the Empire in war effort? Why do we deserve all this punishment?”

Yeostar answered while Aurena didn’t, probably too busy to deal with something like this. Even Yeostar’s answer sounded a bit too corporate PR, but it was purely ‘cause I had that lecture just today. I understood their reasoning, but regurgitating that to Alberstien wouldn’t solve anything.

“Do you really think you are serving them correctly? Disregarding the whole female problems you have with a female Origin God as the country's main religion, do you honestly think what you are doing is correct?”

“Of course. Yeos is the land of knights, dedicated to Yeostar, the God of Knighthood, Bravery, and Loyalty. The Empire has done so much for us over the many years we’ve been their vassals. They united us humans together to tackle our enemies, protecting us so we can prosper.”

“What about the War for the Faefolk?” I pointed out, causing the man’s eyes to twitch.

“Mistakes have been made, yes, but don’t you understand, Princess Hestia, without the Empire, the demonkins and the beastmen barbarians would have overrunned our homes decades ago! How could we stand around, not doing our part to help them? These wars can never end, if we don’t do something!”

“And, I get it. Loyalty is something important and how you speak about fighting with the Empire instead of shirking your responsibilities does sound brave, but have you tried to take a step back and observe how your country is operating?”

“What do you mean by that?” Alberstien asked me suspiciously, unsure what I was talking about.

“I mean, come on, your very capital isn’t acting anywhere close to these ideals you’ve set for yourself. I’ve heard from many people in the city how many commoners despise beastmen due to the war with Carmaniate. Their sons and daughters were conscripted before being sent to die for the Empire. None of these people are knights, but you send them out anyway.”

“A war cannot be won with quality alone. We humans cannot afford such an advantage compared to you dragons or the elves. We need numbers; high quantities of levies to protect us from the beastmen, while the Empire’s elite forces take on the demonkins. We humans fight wars on two fronts, so we must make drastic decisions.”

He had his argument ready, despite how he sounded like he didn’t care much about the commoners who fight in these wars.

“Then what about all the gambling your people are doing during these matches? Despite being a knight country, you sure put in a lot of effort to make your blood sport very entertaining for the common man and woman. Blood enjoyers, yeah? Revel in gore and viscerals!” I imitated the announcer’s voice but made it extremely heroic to joke about what I said.

“Yes, well, we cannot control the masses, right? Our people are happy, and that is what makes a good country, in my opinion. Gambling? What are we to do? Outlaw it? It will still be performed underground, far away from our reach. At least right now, we can prevent outside manipulations.”

Yeah, but internal cheating is okay, because it’s there to make things more exciting, right? Sure, I have no evidence, but come on, what have been my matches?

“Urgh, you aren’t understanding what I am telling you,” I massaged my temple, a bit fed up with how he was trying to skip over the implications. “Your people need you here. Not out there, fighting for a war while you are weakened! That is what I am trying to tell you here in the Goddess’s stead!”

“Are those Her Holiness’s own words, or your opinions?” He stared me down, leaving me literally no choice to wiggle around.

“Mine, of course. Don’t presume the Goddess has time for every single problem in this world!” Those words accidentally caused Alberstien to raise an eyebrow, looking at me as if I was heathen or something, but I was simply speaking the truth! “See, what I am trying to tell you is that you should focus on your country’s problems, first! Bandits, those grimgarians, pirates, and not to mention all that damn money you need!”

“… Hmph, so you have joined the Princess’s camp, huh?”

“Stop trying to be pedantic about it!” I bashed the table with my fist, angrily staring at him at how unwilling he was to take on advice. “Sure, I might be a naive young girl, but this little girl has been inside your damn city. Walking around with the normal folks and also went out to fight grimgarians for your country. I have spoken with people who express complaints and those worried about pirates attacking your incoming merchants!”

I scratched my head to calm myself down, before standing up from my seat. “Here is the thing, I didn’t ‘backstab’ you, I was already trying to help Anasthasia. She knows full well the coffers are empty and wishes me to help, similar to you. You even admitted the money is tight. I brought over help from Artorias, helping me prepare for the concert in the city right at this moment!”

“… Hmph, I had figured the Princess had spoken with you earlier than I expected from how everything was resolved. During our first meeting?”

I nodded. “Yes, but if you call trying to help another country joining a faction, then do just that. You have plenty of problems on your plate, as I could see. Not only domestically — with a young prince and his unbalanced mother — but also with foreign politics. However, even if you don’t trust women because of your country’s ill-perceived views, at least, trust Anasthasia. She’s really trying her best for this country she loves. And I — a woman, too — am trying my best to find out who the enemy is, despite how much I want to cancel my Divine Quest and leave this place.”

“…” The duke remained silent, looking at me as if believing I wasn’t done talking. Taking it as a hint, I let out a deep sigh.

“You, Jethro, and Anasthasia. Three factions, all wishing well for your country, but none of you can work together. The pen, the sword, and the heart. You can’t advance or grow as you are, right now.”

He drank his wine glass empty when I ended, looking pensive as he stared at it. “…Then, what do you expect me to do, Your Grace?”

“Communication. You need to do your job as a seneschal and help Prince Markval finally spread his wings, instead of having his mother chain him down. I’m not saying get rid of her, but help her see the errors of her ways, otherwise, I will believe you are pulling the strings. Using the poor kid as a puppet. If you really want your country to survive, with threats within and outside, then start helping those who care to make a change.”

And with that said, I left him alone, hoping my words would help both Anasthasia and Renee in their goals. Jethro and Duke Alberstien were pivotal players in this country’s government. I had spoken my piece to them. Now, it was time to see if Yeos can transform into a place where I would wish to come back for a summer vacation… or not.

I then left the arena without changing my dress, finding it too cumbersome to ask Tasianna about it. Strangely enough, we quickly found Neill and the others, as we noticed Ghorush, Sis, and Mother having an eating contest.

Those fools…

I shook my head as Ghorush and Neill had to forfeit before Mother showed any signs of giving up. I also smacked Neill on her head, as she allowed Mother to pay for everything. That meant, it came from my wallet!

“Mine!” I stole away Mother’s food after the contest was done and began devouring it like a post-hibernation bear. Talking with that duke made me sooooooooo hungry, and if I had to pay for all this food, then I sure would have a bit from it!

“H-Hey, Hestia! I like that one!” Sis complained, but I was a voracious being made from pure hunger, desiring everything she paid for with my damn credit card!

… Then again, I could also just use the sun and feed myself with solar energy to fill myself up, but, eh.

In any case, after our meal was over, we went back to the arena where the remaining matches of the day began.

Naemon vs. Random Yeosian Noble

Joek vs. Renee

Random adventurer vs. Alistar

Random Yeosian knight vs. Larent

Were the last matches of the day. Naemon won his match pretty handedly as the noble couldn’t compete with the sandstorm he could conjure up, while Renee only narrowly won her match against Joek. He, from what I knew, seemed mute, so her silence field was practically useless to him. He could chant his spells in his head. Renee only won against him after using her wind constructs to overturn his sandstorm onto himself.

For the last two matches, Alistar was the winner while, as he mentioned, Larent forfeited his match completely, angering sooooo many people in the arena. Some even called for his head. Others, like Alistar, were disappointed.

With the tournament done for today, I attended some meetings with the people Tasianna made appointments with me. Mostly clothiers and armorers, which Neill loved so much, she didn’t even complain about coming. She was very interested in the clothes, wanting to see how the noble’s clothes would change with an ocean next to them.

Renee and Rita said their goodbyes here, while Mother, Tasianna, and the twins joined us, making this pretty much a family outing. Strangely enough, freaking Ghorush kept following us around despite where we were going. It seemed like he and Neill actually became good friends after their food match.

Well, not like it harmed anybody.

Anyways, after all that fun, the next day came to us. The schedule was a bit more lenient as only four matches were being held today. As such, the tournament ended earlier than yesterday, which was great since I had plans elsewhere.

Me vs. A random merc from Neill’s round

Empire knight vs. Fargryneill

Naemon vs. Renee

Alistar vs. Random Yeosian Knight

And that was it, really. Arlond died, so I swept his opponent in less than five seconds and so did Neill with her opponent. Naemon and Renee was another extremely competitive match, since both were normal humans, using their abilities to beat each other. This time, however, Renee was actually able to use her silence field well, defeating Naemon with a surprise attack with it. Ending the day, was a very chivalrous match between the Knight-Commander and one of his comrades, ending in Alistar’s win.

And that was how the fourth day of the bracket stage ended. And since we ended early, I could finally take the nexus back to Griffonpeak to pick up a very special object I had paid big bucks for.

Our party’s very own [Crystal of the Divine System].