Chapter 26 - The General Feeds the Phoenix

I ended up going to bed late after spending a lot of time listening to stories and greeting people. In reality, I spent most of the time just greeting adults from the village and soldiers. Some of them introduced themselves by their last names, saying they were in the same role as their great-great-grandfathers, and shared long stories about my family.

It was a bit challenging pretending to be a child who pretends to be a mature child. A part of me was reminded of my time as a General, where men and young soldiers would come to greet me or even dare to ask me to be their teacher.

I missed using the Aura…

"I see you're already awake," said the Goddess, looking at me.

Athena was lounging casually in a chair in my room.

"Oh my god..." I glared at her and pulled the covers over my head to go back to sleep.

"Hey! I'm just sitting here quietly and let you have your rest. At least talk to me a little now that you're awake. I have nothing else to do and I can't even walk around," she said.

I looked at her again and sighed.

"Why are you haunting me? I'd prefer if it were my friend Charon."

She let out a laugh.

"You know Charon hates you, right? I think he has a genuine hatred for you, and I haven't even reached the point of hating you despite you killing me."

"My relationship with that guy is much deeper than you think. We're practically brothers."

She scoffed.

"You broke his boat, his staff, and then fired him from the realm of the dead. You basically took away his livelihood and reason for existence."

"Brothers fight too, you know? We're good now, and I bet he forgave me."

Athena started laughing.

"Sure, of course he forgave you… and here I thought I was the Goddess of Lies. Are you the Sovereign of Lies?"

I threw a pillow at her, but unfortunately, it passed right through her and landed on the armchair.

"Very immature of you, although perhaps it's just a reflection of your age. In that case, would it be immature of me to ask for maturity from a child?" she said, pondering.

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'Knock, knock,' someone tapped at my door.

"Oh, someone's coming. I need to hide," she said.

"You're a ghost, and only I can see you..."

"I know, idiot. Just turn around so I can disappear." I turned my head, and when I looked back, she was gone.

I checked under the bed just to be sure and then looked at the phoenix sleeping on top of the wardrobe.

That woman bothers me even after she's dead...

'Knock, knock.'

"Young master? May I come in?" Martha asked.

"Yes, you may."

I was so worried about checking if the Goddess of Strategy was hiding under my bed that I forgot about the door.

"I brought your breakfast," she said, entering my room and placing a tray full of delicious food on my bed.

"Thank you, Martha."

She smiled at me and left the room.

On the tray, there was also a large piece of raw steak on a plate meant for the phoenix. Sifu told us that she is a carnivorous animal… including people. If we fed her meat, she could grow and develop more. He said I could have the option of teaching her to eat fruits and seeds, but that would hinder her development. When my aunt heard this, she ordered us to keep giving her meat.

I guess she wants you to get really big…

"Young master! I forgot to tell you something." Martha came back and opened the door just a crack.

"Lady Margaery asked that you get ready for a visitor from the capital."

"A visitor?"

"Someone will be coming to see you and confirm your existence. In the kingdom, there is a rule and a registry control for noble families. They will also take an image of you to keep in the kingdom's records."

She closed the door again and left.

"How organized," I said as I got up, placing the plate with the meat on the wooden table.

"You eat a steak like this every day... I hope you're only like this because you're still growing, or I'll be in serious trouble if I have to feed you once you're huge," I said, looking at the sleepy phoenix.

Sifu said that as she grows, her body will require less food since she needs to eat a lot as a chick to generate the energy that will make her grow.

Deep down, I hope you don't get too big, but how large can you get?

KATHERINE EVENHART:

We were in the throne room discussing our next steps in the morning. In that room, it was just me, Margaery, Sifu, and Hugo. My friend wasn’t on the throne but rather standing with us near the door to the Hall of Kings. The four of us had gathered to discuss a single issue and to ensure that no information could reach the Royal Capital.

"Are you sure no local saw that destroyed ship?" Margaery asked.

We had debated this issue several times before, but now that a representative from the Royal Family was coming, we felt nervous.

"I'm sure, and I indirectly checked with all the people who live there. The area we stayed in was around the forest on the coast, and the locals avoid that place to preserve nature. They wouldn't dare even pluck a leaf from those trees," Hugo responded.

Sifu scratched his beard and said, "I know we've discussed this before, but are you certain you want to conceal from the kingdom that we found a Human Empire vessel in such a place?"

Margaery bit her nail but then stopped. "It's the only way we can prevent them from knowing about the existence of that bird and my new chains of fun… I don't want to risk them knowing we have the phoenix, and hiding the ship's existence is the best option. That sea is cursed, and whoever dares to enter those waters rarely returns. I don't know how the Human Empire got the brilliant idea to go to that hellish place, but if they sent 100 ships, I doubt more than 5 returned," our queen said.

Hugo sighed.