"How? I don't even know your name? Does Holos have an archangel on par with you?"

??? says "My name is Mythica and no, I am the only one of my rank serving the pantheon."

"Nice to meet you, Mythica. If that is the case, then I won't have any problems. I have already defeated a six-winged archangel of Holos."

Mythica says "You have?! Did you truly kill it or just banish it?"

"I took his core."

Mythica says "Then you truly killed it. I must say that I am impressed. It would seem that I was underestimating you."

"That's understandable considering you haven't even seen my true form."

Mythica says "Regardless, I will still stand by my words. I will respond to your call for aid one time. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to return and report to Lady Artlysa."

Mythica gives a nod of respect to both me and Amn, and then she is just gone. I will admit that she scares me a little, especially her ability to appear without warning. I didn't think that angels could appear without being summoned or the big beam of light showing their arrival.

Now that I know she can do that, I am going to be worried about her popping up randomly. Although, surely there are limits, like she can only do it every so often or where believers are. At least, I hope it has some kind of limit, or I am going to end up becoming paranoid.

Emperor Amn says "Well, Ash, thanks to you I now have a lot of work to do. Is there anything else that you wanted to discuss?"

"Oh, don't give me that. You are an emperor, all you are going to do is issue a couple of orders and then let your underlings figure the rest out. In fact, other than arresting a few people, you will probably leave most of the work to the other churches."

Empress Atesh laughs and says "He has you there, my love!"

Shiro says "And I already know which underling is going to get this dumped onto them. Don't I, dad?"

Emperor Amn says "Well, it's your own fault for complaining about wanting to do something more than just diplomatic work! Yes, Shiro, I want you to handle dealing with Holos' church. I will give you full authority to command anyone other than the royal guard. Do you think you can handle it?"

Shiro says "Of course I can! It is just a church, it isn't like I am facing an enemy army."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that. Considering that Holos was planning to rebel against the pantheon, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the church has an army. They had probably planned to launch a surprise attack on the other churches."

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Shiro says "You've got to be kidding me! Do you really think that a church could build a private army without the empire knowing?"

Emperor Amn says "Actually, Ash is right. I've gotten reports about all of the churches having small private forces. Never enough to be a threat to the empire, so we mostly ignored them. It wouldn't surprise me if Ash is right about Holos' church. So, you need to be careful. Remember to never underestimate your enemy!"

Shiro says "Alright, I will be careful. Do you think the other churches are going to use their forces?"

Emperor Amn says "Most likely. Why?"

Shiro says "Because multiple groups of armed forces moving around is going to make things complicated. I will need to make sure to deploy extra scouts just to keep track of who is who."

"My advice would be to let the churches do the majority of the work and just support them using the imperial military."

Shiro says "Why would I do that? If they do most of the work, they can also claim most of the glory."

"A couple of reasons. First, if the churches take most of the losses, it keeps them from becoming a threat. Second, without knowing what the demons might be up to, it is best to preserve your troops as much as possible. Third, if the churches expose their troops publicly, then later your father can order them to mobilize if the demons do attack."

Empress Atesh says "All good points. Ash, I didn't know you were this much of a strategic thinker. Shiro, you could learn a lot from Ash."

Shiro says "Yes, mother."

Empress Atesh smiles and says "Oh, that reminds me. Ash, when is the wedding going to be?"

"Ah, it has been delayed until our fight against the empire is done with. Don't worry, I will let you know early enough to get a new dress made."

Empress Atesh says "Oh, our new dresses are already made. I am more interested in seeing this kingdom of yours and what kind of things the shops have for sale."

Emperor says "Wait, why is this wedding costing me money?! We are just guests!"

Empress Atesh says "Because we are visiting his city for the first time. Or are you planning to deny us the pleasure of going shopping?"

Emperor Amn says "Of course not!"

"Wise answer."

Shiro stands up and says "If you will excuse me, I should get started on my new mission." Then she leaves.

Emperor Amn says "Alright, stay safe! Ash, will you join us for dinner?"

"Sure, but I may need to leave suddenly if something happens back on the peninsula."

Emperor Amn says "No problem."

Empress Atesh says "The ability to cover such vast distances with ease must come in really handy."

"It does, but at the same time it makes escaping my responsibilities a lot harder. Luckily, my kingdom isn't very developed yet, so it hasn't driven me crazy just yet."

Emperor Amn says "There are definitely times that I wish that I could escape mine for a while."

Empress Atesh says "I think most people who are in positions of power do."

I am saved from answering by the arrival of the servants carrying our dinner. While we are eating, we continue chatting, but keep the conversation to lighter topics. The meal is amazing, as always, and I even add a few new dishes to my pouch.

"I know that I brought you some trouble with my visit this time, but is there anything I can do to help? Anything that will benefit the empire?"

Emperor Amn says "Not really. At least, not that I can think of."

Empress Atesh says "It probably isn't possible in the short term, but opening up a trade route to us would be useful."

"Alright. I will see what I can come up with once I have some free time."

After that, we chat for a bit longer and then I gate back to the peninsula. The first thing I do once I am back is create a soulscape and invite Seronia and Krenocia. When they arrive, I tell them everything that happened in the southern empire.