Of course, we had some logistics to work out first. Who would come with us? Iris was recruiting people in the Empire and forming an army for us. If she stayed we would have some eyes on what was happening here, and she could continue growing our forces. But there was some risk involved. Also, we needed someone to escort Lucy’s parents. With us gone there was no point in them staying with the army. The fey realm was an unknown, it would be best if they simply went to our county.

While I wanted to see my lands, and castle, the Beira situation was sort of urgent. Which meant we would rush towards the Lady of the Forest . Iris, Nira and the new recruits would go to our county, while Shani, Lucy, Lily, Adhira and myself would go to the fairy realm. Of course, Lilith would accompany us as well.

Lilith brought Sir Francis and Erin with her. Packing was simple, thanks to magical storage and off we went. Everyone in our group was strong enough that we could travel a lot faster than a regular human. It was still a long journey though.

“Are we going through Iron Rock?” Lucy asked, as we made campo in the evening.

“I think that is the fastest way.” I was wise enough to bring a map. “We can reach the lake, fly over it and then enter the Dwarven Kingdom through Iron Rock. From there we will enter the Dominion in the south east. The Lady of the Forest should be in the territory of Aerin, she is the queen of the wood elves.”

“Where is her territory? Is it close to our county?” Lucy inquired.

“Hm. Not really. Our county is in the north east. The wood elves are further south. Her territory borders Beravis.”

Lilith studied us with interest but did not comment. I had no idea how much she knew about the Dominion. Actually…

“Lilith, do you have any cults inside the Dominion?” I asked.

“There are some succubi, but elves are usually more interested in dealing with fey than demons. It’s hard to get a foothold there.” She replied.

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While we were talking, Lily pulled a small stove and pans out of her storage necklace. Then she started cooking. I was not even aware that she had acquired such equipment.

“Uhhh, what do we get for dinner?” I asked, getting distracted by the sight of food.

“Sadly, I was not able to acquire anything truly exotic. But I do have some rock bear, they are said to have an earthy flavour. I intend to grill some steaks and serve them with a creamy mushroom sauce. There will also be some freshly baked sourdough bread.” She said.

Meanwhile, Lucy was examining the small stove. It was a rectangular thing with an oven at the bottom and two hobs at the top. “How does this work?” She asked.

“It is a magical device, there are runes crafted into the stove. I need to power them with my magic. As a succubus, I have certain fire powers that are excellent for cooking!” Lily declared, proudly.

“You… you are using your magic for cooking?” Erin asked.

“Obviously. I am a true maid knight. I shall perform all my duties to the best of my abilities!” Lily explained.

Erin looked at her mistress, then back at Lily. “Um… could you teach me?” She asked.

Lily smiled and summoned a cutting board. “Of course! You can start by chopping mushrooms and onions.”

Lilith watched the maids while they prepared the food. “You know, I usually just carry already prepared food in my storage. I have never considered training my stronger subordinates in such mundane tasks.”

“But what if you encounter something delicious on your travels? Having someone with you to prepare anything you find or hunt has its advantages.” I pointed out. “To be honest, I have considered hiring a proper chef but it seems like that is not needed. Lily is showing a lot of interest in cooking.”

It was a recent development. Or more accurately, I had only recently become aware of it. Apparently Lily had been training for a while now. I didn't even know that she had acquired a fancy stove.

While I pondered that I pulled a barrel of dwarven ale from my own storage. Good food needed something appropriate to drink. Lucy joined me as I started filling mugs.

“Do we need to get Lily a bigger storage?” Lucy asked.

“I am not sure how much space she has. I gave her access to my account a while ago, so she could outfit the other maid knights and buy whatever they needed. It looks like she made some excellent purchases!”

Hm, thinking of purchases. Were there magical tents? We had a big one and some nice furnishings. But what about amenities? I could carry a tub and we could use magic to fill it with water, but it was not that luxurious. Could I come up with a ritual to create a hot spring? Lilith had her servants build a small one back in Heliar…

“What are you thinking about?” Lucy asked me. I suppose I had been lost in thought.

“I am just wondering how to make our travels more luxurious. Do you think I should work on a ritual that creates a small hot spring?” I wondered.

“That would make it very easy to follow your trail, unless you destroyed those hot springs after moving on.” Lilith sounded amused as she made her point.

But her point was valid. Maybe I could create and store a hot spring instead?