I sleep so deeply that waking up surrounded by eight balls of furry cuteness is a complete surprise. How they managed to climb into bed with me without waking me is a mystery. I am just glad they did it in their shrunken forms or I might have been smothered.

Getting out of bed without waking any of them is probably impossible, but I still try. I fail, of course, and as soon as one of them wakes up, the others get woken up. My plan of getting some work done ends up getting side tracked by play time.

I only get saved when Yui announces that breakfast is ready, which triggers a stampede. Unfortunately, I am underneath that stampede and I get thoroughly trampled by my own kids. Of course, they don't care, all they care about is who gets to the food first.

By the time I pick myself up and head to the dining room the kids have already started eating. In fact, they have already put a huge dent in the amount of food provided. Luckily, sprites come in with new platters of food to replace those that have been emptied.

I sit down, grab a plate, fill it with food, and start shoving the food into my mouth. I am eating like a pig, just like my kids are, I guess that they take after me. Then again, we are all beasts so we don't really worry about manners when no one else is around.

Kechara says "Dad, you have been really busy. Is there anything that we can do to help you?"

"Not at the moment, but in a few days we will be sending units into the empire. They will be going to rescue slaves, any of you that want to can help."

All of the kids immediately say that they want to help, which I was expecting. I tell them to head to the military base in a couple of days and report to Leonarr. It will be a bit dangerous, but no worse than going into the shadow plane.

As much as I don't want to see my kids get hurt, I know that I can't shelter them from everything. After all their exploring in the shadow plane, the kids should be at a decent level. Most humans won't be a serious threat to them and they won't be alone.

They will have beastman troops with them, so the danger will be pretty small. Besides, this is a good chance for the beastmen to meet the kids and get used to them. Some of them already know the older kids, but they haven't met the younger kids yet.

The kids also need to get used to working with the beastmen and this will be a good start. All in all, the kids helping out with the attack should be good for everyone. It will also keep them busy and entertained while I am occupied dealing with politics.

Speaking of politics, I should be getting back to the new city, people are probably looking for me. I quickly finish eating, give the kids some love, and then gate back to the new city. As soon as I step out of my room, I get told that I am wanted in the throne room.

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Curious, I head to the throne room where I find the chiefs waiting for me. Out of habit, I walk to the throne and sit down, but I am surprised when no system activates. It is only then that I remember that I am not in the elven city and this is just an uncomfortable seat.

Before I can think of getting back up, the main doors of the throne room open. Two people enter, one I don't know, but the other is someone I am very familiar with. It is Myria and as soon as I see her looking at me, my heart rate increases.

Myria walks forward, kneels, and says "I, Myria, chieftain of the bunny tribe, swear the loyalty of my tribe to his majesty, King Ash!"

??? kneels and says "I, Krukel, chieftain of the owl tribe, swear the loyalty of my tribe to his majesty, King Ash!"

"Myria, what's going on? Since when are you the chieftain of the bunny tribe? What happened to your mother?? Krukel was it? sorry, give me a minute."

Krukel says "I understand."

Myria says "I became the chieftain two days ago when I defeated my mother. I wanted to bring the bunny tribe to your side and be of use to you."

"You didn't need to do that, I know you didn't want to be the chieftain."

Myria says "Being a chieftain is nothing compared to being one of the queens of the new nation. I need to learn how to handle the responsibilities that I will have if I am with you. Especially since I know that you will avoid them as much as you can. I can't just leave everything to Lin after all."

"Uh, fair enough. So then, how did you end up coming together with Krukel?"

Myria says "He wanted to join you a long time ago, but my mother took him prisoner. She wanted to use him to lure you to her, but then you disappeared and her plan fell apart. She still kept him prisoner, waiting for you to return. I found him after I defeated her."

"I'm sorry, Krukel. It sounds like you went through a lot in order to find me. May I ask why you came looking for me so early?"

Krukel says "It is my own fault for getting caught. The former chieftain was rather unstable and I should have avoided her. Why I want to join you has to do with my people and the procedure that you came up with."

"I have heard that your people are excellent healers, but what does that have to do with the procedure?"

Krukel says "My people actually don't have any special talent as healers. What we have is above average intelligence. We decided long ago to learn healing arts to prevent us from being oppressed. Our bodies are weak, but our minds are strong. That is why we are interested in the procedure, we think we will be gifted mages."

"That is very possible, but the procedure only creates a fake core. It is possible that it will allow future generations to have a real core, but that isn't guaranteed. You understand that right?"

Krukel says "Yes, I am aware, but a small chance, no matter how small, is better than no chance at all. So, will you accept my tribe?"

"Of course I will. My goal is to unify all the tribes and I prefer to do so peacefully. If you hadn't come to me, I would have come to you."

Krukel says "That's great! What can we do to help?"

Myria says "Wait, what about me?"

"Krukel, how soon can your people be here? Myria, I didn't think you were even going to give me the option to say no."

Krukel says "Some should be close enough to be here in a couple of days. The rest will take a little over a week."