Annette was waiting outside Gordon's office. She bowed and asked, “Is there anything else I can do for Your Excellency?”

I stared at her for a second, thinking of many things. “First of all,” I began, walking to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. “Don't call me glorious...”

She straightened and gave me a nod. “Alright,” she agreed with a smile. “Anything else?”

“I'd like to see your mom,” I told her. “Could you guide me?”

Her feline ears shifted a little and she gave me a nod. “This way, please,” she said and turned around.

I followed.

We walked through the palace towards the back, then out to the gardens.

A small plaza surrounded by tall bushes with flowers all over them welcomed us.

The Queen was sitting at a table with four other individuals and going through some documents.

To the right of the monarch sat a male Shishi Tigea wearing a thin robe. To her left was a female Dhar'Ji Tigea wearing a shirt and shorts. Next to her was an identical female Shishi Tigea wearing a simple dress. The last one was Prince Rinald wearing a loose shirt and pants.

They had tiaras on top of their heads.

Behind them, a pole held a parasol, casting shade on them.

“How are things going?” The Queen inquired, writing something down on a sheet of paper without lifting her eyes.

Annette cleared her throat and announced, “Her G... Excellency Natasha has come to see you, Dear Royal Mother.”

The five looked up from the documents, locking their eyes with mine.

The Queen quickly stood up and bowed. “Your Excellency,” she greeted me.

Her children also stood up and bowed, greeting me just like Josalia did.

I tried not to sigh.

Still, I had decided to have a talk with her so we could solve misunderstandings.

With that in mind, I walked to her.

She straightened up, looking at her feet.

“How about we have a chat?” I offered.

Her eyes widened and she looked up at me. “...Your Exce-”

“Natasha is fine,” I interrupted her with a laugh.

She nodded and turned to her children. “I'll take a break for a while,” she informed them.

“Leave it to us, Royal Mother,” Rinald replied with a charming smile.

The rest nodded and returned their attention to the documents.

“This way...” the Queen hesitated for a second. “Natasha,” she finished.

I nodded and followed her through the gardens until we reached a bench overlooking a wide field of flowers.

Josalia gestured for me to sit first.

I did and patted the spot next to me.

She sighed and took a seat by my side, then looked at the scenery in front of us.

“How long have you been Queen?” I asked while looking at the flowers.

“Seven hundred and forty-five years,” she replied. “Gordon and I were crowned after his Royal Mother passed of old age.”

That's a long ass time, I thought with a hum. “I was out of line when I told you how to deal with your family,” I admitted.

Josalia laughed, “Not really, but I get your point.”

I nodded and thought for a while. Well... she's the Queen and a Merchant, I considered and asked, “What do you think about monopoly?”

“That's illegal,” she replied almost instantly. “It serves no purpose other than stagnation, be it financial or otherwise.”

“How about if a single family owns, say, the newspaper in a city,” I suggested. “Like Ren Dabrak, for example.”

“Lady Dabrak's family owns Riverfield's newspaper. Not the country's,” she pointed out. “And there's two other newspapers in Riverfield. Those deal with different matters than hers, however.”

“Like?” I probed.

“There's the Church's daily publications which promotes healthy habits, information of when and how the people can schedule an appointment with a healer, information about Chasers and their parties if they need new members, obituaries, report the death of a God, etc,” she replied. “There's the Watchers fliers about public safety, announcements of the cases they work on when they're closed, the rare missing person post, reports of dangers outside of city walls, and bounties. Lady Dabrak's newspaper deals with politics and informs the people of the decisions made by the local nobility, announcements regarding other countries' political scene when news get there, announcements from us Royalty if we need to relay information to the masses like the death of a member of our family, information about traditional events, etc,” she finished. “For example, she'll report about Gordon's recovery in her newspaper.”

“Huh,” I uttered, a little surprised. I didn't see any of that... I should read the newspaper.

“Monopoly of violence is strictly illegal in all countries of the world,” she continued. “The State has its own force to protect whoever is in charge... like our Royal Guard. The Watchers, who deal with public order, are a private organization. The Army was under Royalty during the wars, but it has since moved to be under Nobility, or private if not a Monarchy.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“What about Chasers?” I inquired, thinking of an Adventurers Guild I had yet to encounter.

“Chasers are free agents. They make use of the bounty system facilitated by the different City Councils to get work if they need it. Chasers used to be part of an organization that gathered them, but a few leaders got overconfident and crossed a Halve, resulting in their disbandment a long time ago. It's illegal for Chasers to form an organization greater than twenty members since then,” she chuckled the last bit.

“I see,” I muttered with a disappointed nod. “All over the world?”

Josalia nodded. “Eternal Edict,” she replied. “Every country has to follow and enforce them.”

“Eternal Edict?” I repeated. “Like... some shit we Halves enforce on the world?”

“Precisely.” Josalia nodded. “There are quite a few, do you know them?”

“First time hearing about this,” I admitted with scrunched eyebrows.

The Queen hummed. “I trust Lady Pofeta is teaching you about the world?”

“She is.” I nodded. “We've been focusing on E'er and the production of E'eral utilities.”

“Ah, well,” she muttered with a slow nod. “That's more important, to be honest.”

“Can you tell me a few?” I requested, looking at her.

She gave me a smile and nodded. “The first ever Eternal Edict was to help newly born Halves if found and redirect them to the Gods.”

My eyebrows went up at that. Nobody had told me anything about that.

“The second Eternal Edict was the founding of the countries. Your predecessors gave people the right to rule others under a plethora of conditions,” she explained. “For example, if the people are unhappy they have the Halve-backed right to remove the rulers however they see fit.”

“Right.” I nodded.

“The third was that, no matter what, Divine Lands are not to be invaded. Any attempt to do so would result in the death of everyone involved,” she continued. “No questions asked, no chances given.”

“Makes sense,” I agreed.

“The fourth was to seek approval from Halves if a country wanted to establish a prison,” she sighed, “Queen Abrielle, the Monarch that founded the Endless Pit, went through a long procedure for it since it was a forced labor prison.”

“I see.” I leaned back on the bench.

“Many Eternal Edicts are warnings to people ruling countries... that are honestly common sense, but times were different back then. The latest is the ban on war by Her Excellency Filestra,” she summarized.

“Any special one I should know about at the moment?” I inquired, looking back at the flowers.

The Queen thought for a second. “Countries are not allowed to gather forces outside of their borders, have more than ten operating mines at the same time, and cull monsters for the sole purpose of territorial expansion.”

I nodded a few times. “Got it, thanks.”

“Not a problem,” she replied with a polite smile.

I decided to change the subject. “I noticed you have twin daughters,” I pointed out.

The Queen's face lit up with a beautiful smile. “They are my treasure. I had the fortune of having an ovum fertilized by Gordon, and another by André simultaneously. Truly a miracle.”

My head swam in confusion for a second until her words clicked. “Wait, that can happen?” I blurted out in disbelief.

She nodded with a proud smile. “Very rarely, and only once in the history of our family,” she smugly bragged.

“Impressive,” was all I could say, then noticed a little something. “Your other husband's name is André?”

She nodded. “Yes, he's the caretaker of Ancestral Animals,” she replied. “I believe you met him the first time you came.”

“I did...” I nodded. Wasn't his last name La-something? “His level is impressively high,” I recalled.

The Queen covered her mouth and laughed in joy. “He accompanied His Excellency Miraztor for a few decades. We met when they visited and he stole Gordon's attention, then mine,” she giggled with a warm smile. “He chose to stay after the three of us spent a few nights together.”

Talk about paradigm shift, I thought with a chuckle. “So you conquered him?” I joked.

Josalia's brown cheeks darkened with a blush that contrasted with her snow-white hair. Her feline ears twitched and her smile turned into a sly grin. “Naturally,” she replied with the confidence of a dom in her eyes.

“Queen, indeed,” I laughed and nudged her shoulder.

“Gordon greatly enjoys it,” she bragged.

Well, that came out of nowhere, I chuckled.

“I could give you some pointers, if you want,” she offered with a raunchy smile.

“What?” I asked in confusion.

She shrugged. “You have something about you...” she squinted at me. “Like a potential of sorts.”

“You think so?” I titled my head, a little interested.

“I know so,” she replied with an arched eyebrow.

I considered for a second. Who better than a literal Queen to point me to be a better top... “Sure,” I replied, feeling my smile turn perverted.

I am, after all, a degenerate.

----------------------------------------

After a very productive chat with Josalia, I went back to the apartment.

She was very eager to answer questions both political and... specific to other kind. The objective of having a better relationship with her went smoothly in various aspects and I moved away from my bias against mothers.

All in all, great success.

I knocked on the door and Thelea opened after a few seconds.

“Hey,” I greeted her and went inside. “How's it going?”

The giant woman placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a knowing smile.

I was amazed at her head not hitting the ceiling.

“Four days, huh?” she teased while wiggling her eyebrows.

I nodded. “Four days, indeed.”

She chuckled and let me go, then walked to the living room.

I followed her and found Bonte, Bromisnar, Lapia, and Pokora chatting.

Thelea sat next to the catboy and patted his head.

I sat next to Pokora and let out a long sigh.

“How did it go?” Lapia probed.

“Fine,” I replied. “We have to dress to impress.”

They nodded.

“Could I talk with you, Poko-Poko?” I poked the Elf's shoulder.

Her eyes widened and she turned to Lapia.

The Wizard shrugged and shook her head.

Hmm? I tilted my head at the interaction.

The Archer turned to me and nodded, avoiding my eyes.

“What's up?” I probed. “Did I miss something?”

Pokora blushed and took a deep breath, “Sure, let's talk.”

I glanced at Lapia for any clue.

My girlfriend just smiled.

“Let's go to my room,” I offered and stood up.

“Y-your room?” Pokora stuttered.

I gave her a suspicious look and nodded. “I want to know if you have clothes for a Royal Banquet,” I explained, a little confused with her reactions.

“Ah,” the woman uttered with... disappointment, then stood up and followed me.

I'm definitely missing something, I concluded and guided her to my bedroom.