The Fenrir's common lounge, also known as the Cloud Chamber, arguably stood out as the vessel's most aesthetically pleasing section. And naturally, as a sky ark bearing the honor and prestige of the royal family, every inch of its interior exuded graceful opulence, and the Cloud Chamber was far from an exception.

Intricate tapestries adorned its arched ceilings, depicting scenes of valor, conquest, and the history of the royal lineage, inspiring awe and reverence in all who beheld them. Glistening chandeliers made from enchanted crystals would cast a warm glow in the room at night, reflecting off the polished tiles below. Plush, celestial-blue cushions adorned with silver embroidery were arranged around stone tables embedded into the floor, providing a serene atmosphere for the royal family's moments of relaxation.

But the most noticeable part of the hall was how two sides of the triangular chamber were entirely transparent, offering its occupants a breathtaking view of the skies outside. As they sat down to enjoy tea, a hidden world above the clouds unfolded, providing a magnificent spectacle impossible to ignore.

The scenery served as proof that humanity had conquered the skies.

Placed at the forefront of the gigantic vessel, one could even see how the clouds parted as if to give way to its rulers. The edge of the floor and the ceiling seemed to merge seamlessly into the sky, and it gave one the illusion that they would fall to their doom should they take one step beyond it. But this danger didn't exist, for there was a solidly thick wall of enchanted steel, harder than a great many things in the world to block them off from the world outside.

As long as an Ascendant didn't try to ram through, everybody was safe.

'It's just as nice as I remember it.'

Reivan couldn't help but smile in nostalgia as he looked around. Few people could say they had ever boarded Fenrir, especially in recent times. After all, there wasn't a need for a member of the royal family to make an official trip abroad — especially one that wasn't hostile in nature.

As such, Fenrir went unused for many, many years, only serving as a massive expense for the crown — to both maintain and manage.

The ancient relics that served to decorate the interior had to be constantly taken care of, and the various adornments also had to be kept up to date and replaced with new artifacts every few years. No matter how wealthy the royal family was, it loathed to spend needlessly. And yet, Fenrir was still maintained, treated as a necessary expense.

It had been a long time ago, but Viktor and Vianna took him to see Fenrir when he was a baby. The colossal sky ark wasn't activated at the time and was docked at an island somewhere, but that hardly mattered to him at the time. For the baby Reivan, who mostly stayed inside, it was an exciting adventure.

'I'm not supposed to remember it though, so let's shut up about that.'

"Wow..." Jiji breathlessly marveled at the beauty around her. The hand gripping Reivan's arm gradually loosened, eventually falling to her side as she strolled off by herself.

It was her first time here, so her reaction was warranted. Reivan left her alone and headed toward the only other person in the Cloud Chamber.

At a table placed at the very front of the chamber sat a woman of refined age. She was not too beautiful or too ugly. Not too thin or too fat. Everything about her was average except for the grace by which she existed in the room. Her rich brown hair was secured in a tight bun behind her head with a blue ribbon. Since she wasn't a combatant and wasn't allowed to don a knight's uniform, she was wrapped in a white blouse with her gloved hands crossed atop her long blue skirt.

The woman naturally saw him coming and offered a light smile as she stood up and bowed.

"Good morning, Grand Minister Greteliana. Please rise." Reivan smiled as he gestured at an open seat. "I know there are other places to enjoy the view, but would you mind if I took this one?"

"It would be an honor, Your Highness."

"Wonderful."

At his prompting, they both sat down. Reivan was about to take out a tea set so they could have something to drink, but he noticed that the minister already had a cup on the table.

"It's hot chocolate, Your Highness." Greteliana picked up the cup and cradled it in both hands. "Would you care for a cup? It's my husband's home-brew."

Reivan nodded with a chuckle. "I would love to try some."

The minister placed her cup down and procured an empty one before taking out what looked like a metal wine bottle. She stood up and uncorked the bottle before carefully filling up Reivan's cup with both hands cradling the bottle.

"Here you are, Your Highness." Greteliana presented the cup with reverence and grace. "I prefer a slight bitterness with my beverages, so do forgive me if it isn't to your liking."

"Thank you. Smells good..." Reivan picked up the cup and inhaled some of its aroma. With a smile, he tipped the cup into his mouth and took a sip. "Hm... you weren't lying. It is bitter. But the richness makes it worth the initial bitterness. A statement that can be said about a lot of things. I like it."

"I'm sure my husband would be glad to hear that."

'...She's nice, I suppose. I don't know how good she is at her job, but she's at least a good person. Not that being a good person matters in this mission.'

In fact, the reason why Reivan wanted to sit down and talk to her was because he didn't know a whole lot about the newly promoted Grand Minister — except that she was an adherent of some obscure minor religion and also belonged to a family that had produced a Grand Minister in five consecutive generations.

'A political dynasty, huh?'

It was a term used negatively in his old world, but as far as the Kingdom was concerned, it was a great honor. Promotion as a bureaucrat was mostly based on merit after all, so being part of a political dynasty meant that one's family continuously produced people who had the ability to rise to the top.

And since high-level bureaucrats no longer received a salary, they also likely had alternative sources of income.

'She's apparently forty, so that means she got promoted to Grand Minister as soon as she became eligible. There's no way she managed to save that much money, so either she married someone rich or her family owns some businesses.'

Those weren't things he needed to know though, so Reivan wasn't too interested in trying to find out.

"Since you shared something..." Reivan cleared his throat and took out a box of triangular pastries. "These are called Tarmon. They're a delicacy in Arkhan, made from soaking a large fruit's seed in a special sauce for months to soften it, wrapping it in a special dough, and then baking it. As you can tell from how I described it, I have little idea what ingredients were used to make it."

"How quaint. Don't mind if I do." Minister Greteliana took out a fork and speared one of the pastries before placing it on a napkin. She then covered her mouth and took a bite. There was no particular reaction from her face as she chewed, so Reivan wasn't sure if she liked it. "It certainly tastes... interesting. Especially the juice that gushes out after biting the seed... I've never tasted anything like it, but I can see why this is a delicacy. May I have another?"

"By all means, feel free. I'm glad you like it."

"Your grace is boundless, Your Highness. It surprises me how you already have delicacies from the Technocracy when we haven't even gotten there yet."

Reivan did not miss the implied meaning behind her words, countering with a calm smile and vague words. "Let us just say that His Majesty, my brother, left me this task for a reason."

"I see." Greteliana giggled lightly as she covered her mouth with a fan that wasn't there until a moment ago. "That sounds promising."

"Yes. Ah, and by the way, I hope everything in Shinobu will run smoothly in your extended absence."

Grand Minister Greteliana was the highest-ranking personnel assigned to Shinobu City — one of the cities that bordered Worgon Outpost.

"I am in awe of your merciful thoughts to my hometown's people. But there is no need for concern." Greteliana smiled lightly, the barest hints of a wrinkle emerging on her face. "The previous Grand Minister of Shinobu had two proteges before he retired — me and my senior. I have left everything to my senior for now, so I'm sure it is in good hands."

'So she one-upped her senior, huh? I guess that's a flex. It means her ability is enough to trump seniority and experience.'

Another reason could be because of the connections her family had in the city, but Reivan felt no need to bring that up. Even in a semi-meritocracy, some bias was unavoidable. If you had to pick between two subordinates with equal skill, then it was natural to pick the one who had connections.

"Hello, Minister Greteliana." Jiji placed a hand on Reivan's shoulder while waving at the other woman, apparently having finished admiring the Cloud Chamber. "I hope you don't mind if I sit with you two?"

The older woman shook her head and smiled. "It would be my greatest honor to share a drink with two royal family members."

"Great." Jiji slowly and gracefully sat down, apparently having switched over to her public face. "It has been a while since we last saw each other."

"Indeed. It was at the Prime Minister's birthday party a few months ago, yes?" Greteliana took a sip from her drink before continuing. "I must say, your speech, though spoken in a lighthearted tone, was surprisingly moving."

Jiji giggled politely, covering her mouth with a pearly white hand. "Thank you very much. It was worth the effort spent refining."

"Yes, but it wasn't as surprising as your appearance here today. Perhaps my eyes deceived me, but I don't believe your respected self's presence was mentioned in our itinerary."

Reivan scoffed, shaking his head. "That's because she wasn't supposed to be here. She's a stowaway, Minister Greteliana."

"Goodness."

Jiji stepped on Reivan's toe under the table as she laughed nonchalantly. "I simply felt as if my skills would be better served helping my beloved older brother in his task. There won't be any problems since I've accomplished everything that I needed to accomplish for the next week."

"So that's how it is..." Minister Greteliana nodded in apparent understanding of something before smiling warmly at them both. "It seems that the two of you are very close. It is a wonderful thing to see for a subject such as myself."

"Yes, me and my brother are very close. Close enough that I know he'll cause a mess if left alone..."

"Hey." Reivan reached over and grabbed his sister's cheek, causing a fit of giggles for both women. "I'm not that bad. Oh, and on that note, regarding how we do things when we arrive... I am aware of how difficult it can be if one has an incompetent superior. And loathe as I am to admit, I am not in my preferred field of expertise. So I plan to depend on your wisdom, Grand Minister Greteliana."

The older woman's eyes briefly widened before softening noticeably. She bowed, placing a hand over her chest. "In truth, I was secretly troubled by that, Your Highness. I'm grateful for your understanding. Please, use me and my wisdom as you see fit. This life of mine, I have already decided to dedicate it to my homeland."

"Right. Oh, but we still have to protect the royal family's prestige, so on the outside, you will still be running things by me before implementation. From the public perspective, I am in charge. I just wanted to let you know that I will probably never go against your advice."

"Of course."

Reivan downed the rest of his drink and wiped off any stains on his mouth with a napkin. "Has my brother told you of our overall stance?"

Greteliana shook her head. "There has been very little time. And I was honestly shocked about everything, barely finishing preparations to depart."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Understandable. I was also surprised by all this. In any case, our current stance is to Promise nothing and commit to nothing."

"Huh." Jiji chimed in, her head tilted. "I thought the entire point of sending and stationing a royal at the embassy... was to forge closer relations? Won't it be hard to do that if we don't give in even a little?"

Reivan nodded. "That's right. That's why there are some exceptions. We're allowed to give some stuff away."

Greteliana raised a brow. "Such as? Surely we won't be distributing holostones en masse?"

"No. It would be foolish to improve their long-distance communication ability more than we already have. This whole affair is an experiment. Arkhan and Argonia have gotten close and we just want to show Arkhan that we aren't necessarily ignoring them... and that we might be a better ally."

Jiji rested her chin on her palm and hummed in thought for a moment. "So His Majesty wants to incite hesitation? Or maybe delay the solidification of the republic and the empire's alliance?"

Greteliana gasped, as if in realization of something. "When it comes to the conflict between the empire and the kingdom, Arkhan has always tried to be a neutral player — though from my point of view, this neutrality is caused more by indecisiveness due to their inferior government system than a true desire to sit on the fence. Just our outward seriousness in improving relations with them will inevitably pull some of them to our side... A brilliant play from His Majesty."

Reivan smirked. "Exactly."

'I didn't even have to explain it. Man, being around smart people really makes me feel dumb... But whatever.'

"We're allowed to give out some mostly inconsequential things." Reivan continued with a casual tone. "I... came up with some ideas a couple of months back. Ideas we haven't even implemented back home. Among some other things that aren't vital for when war breaks out."

"I see, I see..." Jiji nodded sagely before snorting. "Well? Do you plan to tell us, dear brother?"

"No. I still haven't decided on the final list of assets we can negotiate with. His Majesty has left the final decision to me in this matter, so we stick to the Promise Nothing and Commit to Nothing stance while gathering information for now. Don't worry, I won't take too long in finalizing the list of negotiables."

"Very well, dear brother."

"Understood, Your Highness."

'I also have to get in contact with all the spies and see how far they've penetrated into Arkhan society... and how many of them are still alive.'

The complete list of spies that were sent to the republic was top secret knowledge, to the extent that their identities were strictly on a need-to-know basis. Not even other spies knew the existence of the others, so oftentimes, they unknowingly clashed.

Only the Aizen's kings knew, and Reivan was added to that list a few hours ago.

Upon arrival, he would have to slowly establish correspondence and come up with a plan of action — and by him, he meant Gwen or someone else who was good at scheming.

With that out of the way, Reivan leaned back on his chair with his legs crossed and switched to a lighter topic. "Grand Minister Greteliana, I'm afraid that I don't know much about you."

"Understandable." Greteliana giggled. "I am nothing but an old lady who was only recently promoted. If the second prince knew too much about me, I would start to fear that I had somehow been added to the royal family's watch list."

"I suppose so." Reivan chuckled along with her for a while before waving his hand. "Earlier, you mentioned something about how you think the republic's government system is... inferior? Did I hear correctly?"

"Yes, Your Highness. You heard correctly."

"I see... Can you share your thought process? Perhaps it will give me insight on what type of person you are."

Greteliana pursed her lips for a moment before nodding. "I do not mind. But it might be too long and boring, Your Highness."

Reivan shook his head and gestured for her to go on. "We have time. I'm very interested in what you have to say."

'This outta be good.'

Democracy was a system of governance that most countries back on Earth used, so Reivan was curious what someone who grew up in an absolute monarchy thought about it.

"Well, first, let us look at things in a simple way." Greteliana turned to Jiji. "Princess?"

Jiji was momentarily surprised but recovered quickly. "Yes?"

"Let us say that you are forced to make a very important decision that had an entire nation's fate at stake. And that decision is diplomatic in nature."

"Go on..."

"Let us say that you are completely and utterly unskilled in this area, and cannot come up with an answer by yourself. However, you are only allowed to ask for advice once, and you can only ask two people. One is myself, and the other is Prince Reivan."

"Okay..."

"Who would you ask for advice? Me or His Highness'?"

"You, Grand Minister Greteliana." Jiji instantly answered. "It's not even a question."

Reivan frowned at her bluntness, but he couldn't really argue. He also wouldn't choose himself.

"Understandable." Greteliana nodded as if there was nothing strange with Jiji's answer. "Now, let us say that the decision was related to swordsmanship?"

"My brother." Jiji instantly answered again.

"Again, understandable." Greteliana smiled and then got to the point. "You knew whose counsel to seek because you were perfectly aware of our strengths and weaknesses. However, in a democracy, the majority of people cannot be sure, no?"

"That's true..." Reivan bobbed his head, ruminating on her words.

"And sadly, the nation's leaders are decided by the majority of the people." Greteliana sighed while shaking her head. "Furthermore, most people live their whole lives only worrying about themselves, or on a slightly wider scale, their families. Their ordinary everyday lives don't demand that they see farther than next week or the week after that. It cannot be helped that their views are narrow. They cannot be blamed if they do not know how to consider the nation as a whole — to see the bigger picture, as quoted from The First King's Notes.

"If taxes are raised, they will be disgruntled. They will complain. Most will not see how their pitiful individual contributions were collected and turned into something greater. Something that would better everyone's lives. They cannot see how more roads were built elsewhere, stimulating trade, providing more diverse diet possibilities, and making medicine far more accessible. They cannot see how those roads gradually stimulate the economy and how it increases the prosperity of their lives.

"All they will ever see is how their taxes were raised from ten coins to eleven. Then they will stew in their anger and gather, making sure everybody knew just how mad they were — as if it was their god-given duty."

"And it is precisely these people who decide who leads the country...? They know nothing about how a nation is led and can barely take care of themselves, but they get to decide who makes the rules? Really? Is there not something wrong with that? If one gathers a hundred idiots in a room, and they all say that the sky will fall tomorrow, does that mean that the sky will fall tomorrow?"

Grand Minister Greteliana sneered before taking another sip of her drink to whet her throat. "Utterly foolish. I understand the appeal though. It certainly feels good to feel important — to feel as if my opinion actually matters in how the country moves forward. But goodness, if it isn't self-destructive. Now their leaders don't even have to be good at their job, they just need to be popular.

"It only takes one fool to sit in a position of power, and everything will be ruined. Just look at the republic now. Whose idea was it to have people pay for citizenship? And there's a voting fee? It's a small amount, but there are plenty of people who have enough trouble putting food on the table even skipping meals from time to time. They wouldn't spend it on voting. And this has subsequently caused politicians to abandon pandering to the lower class, worsening those people's situations even further."

"Well..." Jiji sat up straight, a little breathless. She turned her pretty little head toward her brother with a smile. "I'm won over. I didn't think the republic was that bad, but from the Grand Minister's words, it seems I still lacked understanding. Thank you for enlightening me, Grand Minister."

"It is my pleasure." The older woman bowed with a sheepish smile. "I got a little bit heated there, Your Highnesses. It's not as if I deem our system as supreme. The only reason it has worked so well is that the royal family never abandoned the oath of the Founding Father. It can only be said that Aizen was fortunate to be blessed with good rulers, so our prosperity cannot be linked to our system of governance alone."

"Indeed."

"And it's not that democracy is without its merits. It's just... there are far too many opportunities for corruption. After all, the people who crawl into seats of power are, ultimately, commoners. They have a propensity for selfishness, which should not be blamed on them because they were raised to only think of themselves. They worked hard to get to where they are, so they are more prone to thinking as if they deserve to advance themselves a little, even if that comes at a cost to the people they promised to serve. And once they start, it becomes easier for them to do it again. And again. And again.

"The republic's current state is evidence of this. Just look, they apparently ban private ownership of slaves but look at them. Their underground slave markets could rival the empire's."

Reivan nodded to himself, remembering how Elsa was once a slave. Even his newest subordinate was one.

"It's not as if only commoners are prone to corruption though." Jiji chimed in, her arms crossed over her chest. "Argonia Empire's lords have proven that, from what I've heard."

"Yes, Your Highness." Greteliana nodded. "My main gripe about democracy is how it gives an unnecessary amount of power to the ignorant and gullible. The chances of having a fool in a seat of power are, I believe, not that far off from the empire's power system. Despotism has been in fashion there for multiple generations."

Jiji giggled at that. "I think that's enough talk about political views and whatnot. Grand Minister Gretelia, I heard that Asuna City has recently..."

And just like that, the conversation immediately turned to gossip that Reivan could not follow. So he merely sat there and became a decoration, admiring the view around him while remaining silent. Eventually, though, they were forced to stop when Greteliana suddenly stiffened.

"Oh, it is that time already..." The older woman suddenly took out what appeared to be a silver pocket watch. Small blue runes were glowing at its back as the device vibrated. She looked at the time, somewhat troubled, before turning a sheepish smile at the two royals. "Forgive me, Your Highnesses. But..."

"Ah, please don't mind us. It's because of the religious sect you adhere to, yes?" Jiji suddenly piped up, a crimson blush on her face as she covered her mouth.

"That's right. I'm surprised you know of it, Your Highness. We're a small gathering of like-minded individuals. Were you perhaps interested in—"

"NO!" Jiji's tail shot up in the air as she waved her hands furiously in front of her. After a moment though, she must have realized that her denial had been too strong, so she calmed down and cleared her throat. "No... It's just that your Sect's leader submitted a petition asking for aid to construct a small temple. But I refused it since we're not allowed to give any religion special treatment... aside from waiving land ownership taxes."

Greteliana's nostrils flared in anger. "How dare they... I'll have to talk to them about this... I've already warned them that it was about this topic, you see."

"Yes, well, they didn't push the issue too much. And since they haven't been cleared as a harmless religion yet, I took the liberty to perform the initial interview of your general practices... That's how I came to know."

"I see. So that's why. I'm glad that our small little group's name has made it even to the ears of the royal family." Greteliana giggled with a hand over her mouth before standing up and bowing. "Thank you very much. If you ever have need of me, please don't hesitate to summon this humble one."

After bowing low toward Reivan and Jiji, the Grand Minister scurried off in a hurry. Reivan followed her with his eyes for a moment before releasing the question in his head.

"That's right. She's not a Sormon adherent. Do you know about her cul— I mean, her sect, Jiji?"

"Yes..." Jiji's face was still red and the white cat ears atop her head were dropping adorably. "They, uhm... They're big on the whole celibacy thing, among other stuff."

"Celibacy... So like, they don't have sex?"

"That's what that means, yes." The young cat-eared woman cleared her throat and tried to speak calmly. "It's against their sect's rules to participate in coitus for most of the month. But at the end of the month, they absolutely must have intercourse."

"Huh." Reivan's eyes widened for a second as he mulled over his sister's words. "So it's required? That's crazy. What happens if they don't have a..."

Suddenly, something clicked in his head.

"Wait, Jiji..." Reivan squinted as he stared at his tomato-faced sister. "Is this a sex cult? Do they, like, have orgies and stuff?"

Jiji covered her face in embarrassment and slowly nodded. "Even the temple's purpose was basically so their unmarried adherents could find partners without trouble... And just now, she probably left to... Uhm... relieve herself alone. It's a scheduled thing for them, apparently..."

Reivan listened to his sister with a slack jaw.

'Wow. This is what happens when a culture is too uptight?'

The First King must have been a catholic because one of the cultural traditions he'd established was the discouragement of premarital intercourse and divorce. This meant that most men and women were chaste until their wedding night, and unfaithfulness was heavily frowned upon to the extent that one's relatives might literally disown you. This cultural norm encouraged individuals to be more cautious in selecting potential partners, leading to a prolonged courting process that could last for months or even years before a genuine couple was formed. And only after the couple was wed would they finally engage in intimacy.

Polygamy ever only became a thing because of war — in the kingdom's early days, an overwhelming majority of combatants were male, and so, this meant that casualties were also mostly male. The kingdom simply wouldn't have survived if it stuck to monogamy, and so, the king at the time made the hard choice to go against the First King's vision.

Nowadays, this was no longer a problem, but polygamy had been around long enough that it had been integrated into the culture in a strange way, making it impossible to remove at this point.

Furthermore, it would make it difficult for the Ascendants who had multiple partners already. What were those people supposed to do if polygamy was suddenly abolished? Divorce? They already had double-digit generations of progeny.

Nothing changed the fact that the vast majority of Aizen's people still generally kept to the norms of protecting their chastity until marriage, as well as only having intercourse with their spouse.

It was because of this cultural norm that whorehouses didn't exist in the kingdom.

And that may have been the reason why there were so many sex cults sprouting up in the kingdom — a nation that generally left religions alone as long as they weren't dangerous or sacrificing babies to demons. Even if it wasn't culturally acceptable, some lusty individuals must have discovered that their debauchery was slightly more acceptable if they said it was their god telling them to act that way.

'That's... So that graceful minister was... Well, no, she's married, so she doesn't need to go to the orgies. She can just do it with her husband... But what if...'

Reivan's opinion of the lady was rapidly changing. Though her capability seemed to be good enough based on today's little meeting, she seemed like someone completely alien to Reivan now.

Or that was the case until he realized that he'd been part of orgies too.

'Wait... Have I? There weren't any other men there... Just me and a bunch of girls... Is that still an orgy? Does there have to be two or more of each reproductive organ? Fuck...'

It was a shame he didn't have access to Urban Dictionary or Google anymore.

"Gah! I don't wanna talk about this...! I'm too pure for this!" Jiji seemed to have reached her limits. With a red face, she stood up and pulled on his sleeve. "Yani! Let's go around and see the rest of the ship! It's not every day we get to ride on this big old hunk of metal!"

"Sure, sure..." Reivan chuckled, still reeling from his recent discovery. He followed his little sister out of the Cloud Chamber and into a quiet hallway with priceless paintings and marble busts of dead kings. Once he was sure nobody was missing, he leaned over and quietly whispered to his sister's ears. "Grand Minister Gretelia sure had a lot to say about democracy, huh?"

"Y-Yani, you're too close..." Jiji pushed his face away, her ears tickled by his breath. As they walked in step with each other, she seemed to sense that he wanted to talk about something sensitive, matching his volume. "I bet she'd be surprised to know that democracy was something Aizen introduced to the world."

"I know, right? One of my ancestors really messed up, huh?" Reivan shook his head and sighed. "He never would have guessed that, centuries later, his descendants would treat his actions as the biggest stain on the kingdom's history that the world will never know."

The Aizen Kingdom's greatest mistake.

It was accidentally paving the way for the Magitechnocratic Republic of Arkhan's birth.