"I can certainly understand that. I don't want to be the king, but I don't have a choice."

Emperor Amn says "What would you do if you weren't the king?"

Lin says "He would just run off on random adventures one after another!"

"I would focus on getting stronger. I want to be strong enough to wipe out the demons on my own. That way, my people wouldn't have to die in the war."

Emperor Amn says "That is a noble goal, but is that even possible? Can someone really become that strong?"

"For most, it would be difficult if not impossible. It is a bit easier for me since I am not a human. With enough time and luck, I could even become a dragon."

Empress Atesh says "Really?! That would be amazing! We only have legends about dragons and how powerful they are. If even part of those legends are true, wouldn't you be close to being a god?!"

"Dragons are as powerful as gods, just with less rules and restrictions."

Emperor Amn says "How would you know so much about dragons? Why do you sound as if you have met a dragon?"

"Because I have met a dragon and a couple of gods, so I know a little bit."

Shiro says "Really?! Just what kind of adventures have you been on?!"

Lin says "Oh, he has been on all sorts! It is amazing that he has lived through all of them. What is even more impressive is how many of them feature women who fall for him."

"Hey! That's completely not true!"

The emperor and his wife laugh at our antics, but I see disappointment on Shiro's face. I am guessing that that was Lin's goal in teasing me like that in front of her. She probably wants to discourage Shiro from falling for me, but I doubt she has to worry about that.

Luckily, we are interrupted before things go any further, dinner is served. We take our places around the table as a long line of servants bring in serving dishes. Surprisingly, there are a large number of dishes that I haven't seen before.

Once the dishes are on the table, the emperor dismisses the servants and the guards. Once it is just the five of us in the room, we dig in and start enjoying the food. The conversation while we eat is kept intentionally light so as not to ruin the mood.

The food is amazing, the chefs obviously did their best and even added extras. The emperor tells me that the extras are so that I can add anything I like to the pouch. The fact that he remembered about the pouch is rather touching and makes me happy.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I end up adding a dozen new dishes to the pouch and will probably add more when dessert is served. In fact, since Lin is here, if I don't add the desserts to the pouch I will be in trouble. She loves her desserts, even though she only eats small portions of them.

Even with that I have heard her complain about her weight a few times. Not that I have noticed any extra weight on her, but what do I know, I am just a guy. My opinion is that her body is perfect and I have made sure to tell her that.

Besides that, I have made sure to show through my actions how beautiful she is. Also, I do my best to make sure she gets plenty of exercise and has fun doing it. Given all that, I still am not stupid enough to tell her not to eat any desserts.

When most of the dishes are empty the emperor rings a small bell and the servants enter. They clear away the dinner dishes and another group enters carrying dessert dishes. As expected, the desserts are even more incredible than the dinner dishes.

All of the desserts that aren't already in the pouch end up getting added. Lin is eating the desserts with a guilty but happy look on her face, but she doesn't stop. When she finally stops eating, she starts talking about clothes with the empress and Shiro.

The three of them seem to be getting along fairly well which makes me happy. Now that the dessert is done with, the conversation is no longer restricted. That means that I can finally satisfy my curiosity and ask the emperor about the desert.

Emperor Amn says "Using gear made from the corpses you provided us, our troops have been having a lot more success. They have managed to push back the desert by ten feet or so since you left."

"That's pretty good. Have they found any clues about the source of the desert or anything like that?"

Emperor Amn says "Unfortunately, no. While our soldiers have gotten stronger, not one of them is strong enough for that. To find clues they would need to penetrate deep into the desert. Right now, that would be suicide for anyone but you."

"Ah, that's too bad. I wish I had the time to go and find out what is going on in there."

Lin says "Maybe after the demons are defeated you will have a chance to go explore the desert."

"That would be nice, but I doubt it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things go."

Emperor Amn says "If my people manage to discover anything, I will let you know."

"Thank you, but don't risk your soldiers just to satisfy my curiosity."

Empress Atesh says "Don't worry, we won't. However, we do plan to continue working to push the desert back."

Emperor Amn says "That's right and our allies are doing the same. We want to reclaim all the land that the desert has taken from us at least."

"That's understandable. Land is always important for any kingdom. Although, I'm not sure how useful the reclaimed land will be. The desert should have left it fairly barren, right?"

Emperor Amn says "Surprisingly, no. Other than being completely drained of mana, the reclaimed land is perfectly normal."

"That in itself is extremely weird. The land should be unhealthy just from being drained of mana."

Shiro says "Our mages agree with you. They are conducting test on the reclaimed land, but there are no results yet."

"Once the desert retreats, does the land slowly recover its mana or does it stay drained?"

Emperor Amn says "The area that was recovered first is recovering, but the area closer to the desert is still completely dead."

"The sands of the desert are probably draining away the mana from the land directly in contact with them."

Emperor Amn says "That would make sense, but what can we do about it?"

"I can't be sure, but maybe have your mages look for a way to isolate the desert from the surrounding land. That will prevent the desert from stealing more mana from the surrounding land. It should at least keep the desert from getting stronger."