It was a very long two days. Emilia’s emotions ranged from terrified hysterics to venomous rants about how pathetic she was and Subaru had no choice but to manage both.

Even the slightest hint of frustration in his voice would send Emilia crashing onto another spiral of despair.

By the second day’s end, Subaru was absolutely exhausted. He felt that he had accomplished nothing today to justify feeling tired but trying to keep Emilia from going into another meltdown was extremely emotionally draining.

As the sun set, the pair were sitting silently in their bedroom. Subaru was struggling to conceal his frustration and Emilia knew that she was helpless to avoid causing it.

Emilia’s sharp hearing heard footsteps on the stairs and she instinctively tightened her grip on Subaru’s arm.

She heard Subaru let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“I expect more of that liquor for this!” A girl’s voice said petulantly. Emilia thought it was the girl who she’d been talking to the other day. She couldn’t remember her name. The entire day was a blur to her.

Subaru chuckled. “I’ll go shopping as soon as I can.”

“Great. You need me for anything else?”

“No. You should get some sleep.”

“You’re leaving?” A soft voice said, sounding disappointed,

“Nah. I live here. It’s just been a long day.”

Emilia heard the girl walking down the stairs.

“Master…?” A soft voice said falteringly.

Subaru chuckled. “‘Subaru’ will be fine.”

The room was silent for a moment. “Miss Emilia? What happened to you?” She asked quietly.

Emilia stiffened. The voice sounded familiar.

Subaru gently took Emilia’s other hand and drew it toward the speaker.

Emilia whimpered and struggled to pull her hand back but Subaru wouldn’t let her. He stretched her hand out with gentle but inexorably pressure.

Emilia felt a soft hand under hers and she flinched back as if she had touched something hot.

“Miss Emilia? What happened?”

Emilia’s unseeing eyes widened. “Petra?”

“You’re still wearing my bracelet,” The girl murmured in surprise.

“Emilia,” Subaru said quietly. “I’ve asked Petra if she would be willing to work for me for a while. She’s going to stay with us and help me to take care of you, OK?”

Emilia’s blind eyes flickered back and forth between the two voices.

“Emilia has been through a lot lately,” Subaru explained to Petra. “She’s had… a very rough time…”

“I can see that,” Petra said sympathetically.

Subaru drew Emilia’s hand back to Petra’s hand and this time Emilia flinched less. After a moment, Emilia held Petra’s hand as well as Subaru’s.

The trio sat quietly for a moment.

“Petra, how’s your mother?” Subaru asked.

“Much better. Thank you,” Petra said warmly. “She’s going to stay in Arlem for now but I promised to send her some of my earnings. She should be very comfortable from now on.”

“I’m glad,” Subaru said. “Let me know if I can help. Mili, Petra, and I are going to work together to take care of you from now on. So it should be a little easier on both of us.”

Emilia’s hold on Subaru’s hand become a death grip. If she still had her mana to enhance her strength, she would have broken his hand easily.

Petra whimpered slightly, feeling the same pressure but she didn’t try to remove her hand from Emilia’s grip.

“That’s why I wanted to ask Petra to come here,” He continued patiently. “You trust Petra, right?”

Emilia didn’t answer right away but she finally gave an abrupt nod.

“I promise I’ll do my very best to take good care of you, Miss Emilia!” Petra swore.

Emilia took a ragged breath. “Emilia,” She whispered. “Just Emilia, please.”

Emilia drifted off to sleep shortly after that and Subaru and Petra stepped out of the bedroom.

“Thank you for coming, Petra,” Subaru said. “You can’t imagine what this means to me.”

“I’m happy to help. Subaru, what happened to her since you left Arlem?” Petra asked.

Subaru sighed. “That’s a very, very long story…”

Petra lowered her voice. “Meili told me about Taiyang.”

Subaru heart stopped. Shit! I was so desperate to get another pair of hands to help take care of Emilia I never realized that I’d need to justify Meili’s escape from Taiyang! I didn’t even think of giving Meili a story to tell Petra! I was just desperate and sent her off with a letter and a bag of gold coins!

Subaru was groping for anything to say and coming up empty.

Petra looked annoyed. “That wasn’t a particularly pleasant trick you played, Subaru,” She scolded him. “I know that you needed to get Meili out of there quickly and so that nobody knew it was you but why do all that?”

What is she talking about?! Shit! I don’t know what Meili told her!

“It was… the best I could come up with,” Subaru said lamely.

Petra sighed. “Well. Thanks for the medicine, Subaru. You probably saved my mother’s life! She felt much better the instant she took it.”

Subaru hesitated. “I’m just sorry I couldn’t do more,” Subaru said, trying to be noncommittal.

“Any sightings of Capella?”

Huh? “Nothing… recent,” Subaru said, wondering what he should say.

Petra sighed in relief. “So the plan worked? Capella is out hunting down ‘Taiyang’ and ignoring all of you?”

Oh. Now I get it. Meili must have told Petra that I invented Taiyang as a way of keeping Capella off balance and that I went to Arlem to rescue Meili because I found out that Capella was getting too close to tracking her down.

That’s probably not the whole story that Meili told her but it’s enough to work with. I’ll ask Meili for the details tomorrow.

“So far, so good,” Subaru replied. “‘Taiyang’ has built up a terrifying reputation and nobody knows that it’s all smoke and mirrors. It’s the only way that I could keep Meili and her sister safe.”

Petra looked very cross. “I understand why you had to do it, Subaru but it still wasn’t very nice of you! You scared me half to death! I thought that you were going to take Meili away and eat her or something!”

Subaru winced. I actually do feel pretty guilty about scaring Petra. What’s worse is that I was doing it deliberately. I was so angry after finding out that Roswaal had stolen the spirits that I was basically throwing a tantrum and Petra got the brunt of it.

“I’m sorry, Petra,” Subaru said sincerely. “But I needed you to believe it! I knew that Capella could come sniffing around at any time and if you weren’t genuinely terrified, she might have been suspicious or even tried to interrogate you. I couldn’t take the chance of her hurting you.”

Alright… that was a huge ball of lies but at least they’re lies motivated by real feelings…

Wait… What the hell did I just say?

Petra sighed. “It’s alright, Subaru. I can’t really stay mad at you after you saved my Mom’s life. Twice. And then saved Meili’s life. Twice.”

Wow. That almost makes it sound like I did some good stuff on this world.

“Petra,” Subaru said slowly. “You understand that Taiyang-”

“I won’t say a word, Subaru,” Petra said. “I know that you’re trying to distract your enemies and I don’t want to do anything to disrupt that. Besides, it’s a maid’s responsibility to keep her master’s secrets,” She added primly.

Petra, you’ve been spending way too much time around Ram…

“Alright but please don’t say anything about Taiyang to Emilia. She’s been through so much already. I really don’t want her to worry.”

Petra nodded.

“One more thing, Petra,” Subaru sighed. “I may need to leave sometime over the next couple of days. Some of the people I’m involved with have a lot of problems and I need to try to help fix them. I may be gone for a few days.”

Petra smiled at him. “If anyone can help them, you can, Subaru.”

Subaru felt almost ashamed by Petra’s faith in him. “Well. Here’s hoping,” He replied.

Subaru hesitated and then took a deep breath. “Please take good care of Emilia while I’m gone. She’s my whole life.”

Petra nodded solemnly. “I’ll take very good care of her, Subaru. I promise.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Master Subaru,” Chandler said ebulliently the next night. Chandler was a goat demi-human with massive horns and a short goatee. His knees bent backwards and his feet were hooves. “You have my gratitude for pulling me out of a… rather unpleasant situation.”

“You understand the terms of your stay here?” Subaru asked pointedly. They were meeting in a room in Koi’s basement that straddled the line between bedroom and jail cell.

“Oh yes! I need to create some special documents for you. Perhaps for some property dispute?”

Subaru pulled out two sheets of paper. “I need a single copy of the first and fifty copies of the second message,” Subaru said, handing it to him. “You’ll find samples of the necessary handwriting here,” Subaru tapped a pair of folders on the desk.

Chandler pulled out the paper and read it.

His face paled. “Oh my,” Chandler whispered. “This is rather… more intense than the jobs that I usually get involved with…”

“You’ll start immediately,” Subaru said. It was not a question.

“Um,” Chandler hesitated. “I’m not sure-”

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure that you’re provided with any resources you need,” Subaru said pleasantly. “And should there be any trouble, just remember, Lady Koi is sleeping right upstairs…”

Chandler’s eyes bulged. “Lady Koi?” he whispered. Apparently Chandler hadn’t forgotten his attempts to double-cross her in the past.

Subaru stared at him, expressionless.

Chandler swallowed hard. “I’ll start right away, Master,” He said in an unsteady voice.

A few days later, the Black Silver Coins had a meeting at Koi’s manor.

There weren’t any real problems at the moment so the only thing that really came out of the meeting was Subaru rewarding his bosses with a Year each for their loyalty and Cynthia asking Subaru to increase production once again.

Weird. I’m suddenly making more gold than I know what to do with.

If nothing else, I won’t have any trouble paying Petra’s salary.

After Cynthia had left, Subaru asked Koi and Senko to stay behind and discuss something.

“As I mentioned previously, I want you ladies to begin to stockpile large amounts of nonperishable food and low-skill weapons like crossbows,” Subaru began.

Senko and Koi both sat there looking curious.

“There’s about to be a war in northern Gusteko,” Subaru explained. “As well as a trade embargo as soon as I can set it up. I’m going to dispatch Elsa and Meili to disrupt supply lines to the army. Once that happens, the soldiers will respond by confiscating food from the peasants and the gentry. There are going to be a lot of hungry people up north. They’ll pay a lot for food.”

“I hadn’t heard about any war!” Senko said in surprise.

“That’s because I haven’t arranged it yet,” Subaru sighed.

Koi stroked her delicate chin. “Forgive me, Master but can these people afford to buy food? The peasants in the northern provinces are fairly poor.”

“They’ll be able to afford it once they steal some gold,” Subaru replied. “The peasant revolt is going to be pillaging a lot of mansions in the near future. I’m going to make the peasants very angry and then you’re going to sell them those crossbows at cost. They’ll steal money from the nobles and they’re likely to spend it all on food, clothing, weapons, and other necessities which you’ll sell to them at a markup. You’ll make your money back and then some. That’s how we’re going to out earn Scrofa!”

Koi’s jaw dropped. I’ll make a fortune if this goes the way that Taiyang plans! The army will certainly commandeer the peasants food when they run short and then the peasants will be desperate and starving. The peasants may be penniless for the moment but once the fighting breaks out and they start raiding noble estates they’ll have the gold to buy food. And the army will in turn take that food forcing them to buy more! Even the nobility will be going hungry and lining up to buy food from me.

This is second or maybe third fortune that Taiyang has handed me in as many weeks! Where has Taiyang been all my life?

Maybe I should encourage Senko to set her cap for him after all…

“Do you understand the plan?” Subaru said pointedly.

Koi started. “Oh! Of course, my Master!” She said with a low bow that Senko mimicked. “Your generosity truly knows no limits. Even when ordering me to work your will, you still offer me fantastic possibilities for personal gain and profit.”

“I’ll be taking ten percent of those profits by the way,” Subaru added.

“Of course!” Koi replied. Ten percent is a pittance in this business. Most bosses take twenty at least from their underbosses. I doubt that there’s any way Taiyang doesn’t know that. He’s simply being charitable. Not that I’m complaining.

“Senko, did you handle that paperwork for me?” Subaru asked.

Senko nodded. “As you requested, Master,” Senko handed him several sales orders, revealing that large amounts of expensive chemistry equipment and supplies had been delivered to a small house a good distance outside of Ivada. The recipient was listed as one ‘Al Freid Nobel.’

Senko continued, “An agent of mine purchased the house anonymously and we’re ready to act on your order.”

Subaru inspected them quickly. “Perfect. Good work, Senko,” Subaru said.

Subaru returned to the guest house only to hear giggling from outside. He looked around the corner and his jaw dropped. The yard was covered with mabeasts. Meili and Petra laid on top of a pair of Guiltylowe, laughing their heads off.

“Subaru!” Petra shouted with a huge grin. “I’m riding a Guiltylowe!”

“I can see that,” Subaru murmured. “Where’s Emilia?”

“Oh, she’d fine, Subaru,” Petra replied. “She’s taking a nap so Meili invited me out to play with her friends.”

Subaru glanced at Meili, noting that Petra had clearly jumped exponentially in her opinion by being so fascinated by her Guiltylowe.

Later that night, Koi and Subaru were talking in Chandler’s ‘room.’ Chandler claimed that he had finished the job and that he was ready for it to be inspected.

“Any word?” Subaru asked Koi as Chandler fussed with the last page.

“Cynthia claims that these radicals are being difficult,” She admitted. “They’re offering us four hundred gold pieces and they say that’s their final offer. Should I lower the price?”

Subaru thought about it for a second then shook his head. “Five hundred is the offer. I want them to dislike us.”

“But, Master,” Koi murmured. “We want them to succeed and we don’t need the money.”

“If we make it too easy for them, it will make them suspicious,” Subaru answered. “We don’t want them to think of us as allies. We’re just cut-throat merchants. That way, they’ll put us out of mind quickly.”

Koi thought it over then nodded.

“Excuse me?” Chandler called. “I believe I’m ready.”

Subaru walked over to the desk Chandler sat at and looked at the sheets of paper he was handed.

“It went splendidly,” Chandler said proudly. “Definitely some of my best work.”

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment and studied the letters that Chandler had forged. He saw nothing obviously false, either in penmanship or diction.

Subaru restarted time.

“Are you pleased?” Chandler pressed.

“It’s… satisfactory,” Subaru replied distantly. Subaru passed the sheet of paper to Koi. “You know what to do with this,” He whispered.

Koi nodded. “Cynthia will have it by tomorrow night.”

“Then I’ll just be leaving,” Chandler said cheerfully, getting up from his desk.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Subaru disagreed.

Chandler blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You’re not going anywhere until your work has been ‘accepted’ by our ‘clients.’”

Chandler looked outraged. “That’s outrageous! We had an agreement! You have no right-”

Subaru grabbed Chandler by the throat and slammed the astonished goat man against the wall. “Listen to me. If your forgeries pass inspection, then you are free to go,” Subaru said through clenched teeth. “But if there is even the slightest flaw then I will wrap you up in a ribbon and hand you to Koi myself and I will pump you full of enough amphetamines and coagulants to make sure that she can take her time killing you!”

“Ah!” Chandler gasped. “Alright. Alright! They will pass! I promise you.”

Subaru pulled Chandler close enough for their breath to mingle.

Chandler’s eyes bugged out of his head as he gasped for breath. “They… will… pass!” Chandler breathed.

Subaru dropped Chandler on the ground and left the room.

Koi leaned against the wall looking at Chandler speculatively. The goat demi-human looked up at her in terror. Koi had no idea what ‘amphetamines’ or ‘coagulants’ were but she was intrigued by the concept all the same.

The next night, Cynthia had an audience with Vlad an Voivode. They walked through the weed-choked ruins of the Voivode castle. After centuries of warring with damn-near everyone, the castle had been reduced to ruins. Only a little over a quarter of it was still habitable. The Voivode family had simply moved all their possessions into the remaining area and let nature reclaim the rest. Cynthia and Vlad were walking through a large topiary where dozens of statues had been engulfed by ivy and other creeping plants. A servant trailed far behind them, just in case they needed anything.

Vlad an Voivode, a huge man with flaming red hair, walked beside Cynthia. His face was twisted in frustration and he was grinding his teeth.

“I don’t like extortion, bitch!” Vlad snapped.

Cynthia simply shrugged. “I resent your implication! I came here in response to your request. You asked me to use my resources to obtain any information I could about Siros’s plans. I managed to oblige you, at considerable expense I might add, and you had promised to recoup my loses if I was able to provide you with the evidence. Now, I’m offering to fulfill our deal. I would make your decision expeditiously if I were you, however. The life-expectancy of some secrets can be numbered in hours. If you want it, you really should take it quickly.” Cynthia was not overly concerned about Vlad’s rage. She had been dealing with Vlad for years and they’d had a decent working relationship.

Vlad pounded his fist into his other hand. “Alright,” He growled. “Three hundred gold coins and not a copper more!”

Cynthia reached into her pocket and handed a piece of paper to Vlad.

Vlad read it slowly, his eyes visible moving over the short missive.

Cynthia watched his eyes bug out. “Bullshit!” He roared.

“I thought you’d find that interesting,” Cynthia commented.

“There’s no way that Kairei is stupid enough to attack me!” Vlad shouted.

“She did defeat Sanshi,” Cynthia observed. “It might not be as stupid as you claim. Especially once she’s able to gather her strength and deploy it all against you.”

Vlad gaped at her. For a moment he looked so furious that Cynthia worried that he might actually strike her. Then Vlad seemed to consider her words and he growled faintly.

Vlad shook his mane furiously. “Get out of here! And if you say a word about this, I’ll have your head mounted on a pike!”

“And my money?” Cynthia asked calmly.

Vlad gestured dismissively toward the servant following them.

Vlad’s servant hurried up to Cynthia. “This way, lady Cynthia. I’ll arrange your payment immediately.”

Before Cynthia was quite out of sight, Vlad gave a roar of fury. He drew his axe and started swinging at a small, thorny shrub nearby. Vlad hacked at the springy bush until he’d knocked off all its foliage but the tough, springy bush kept jumping around and the shaft wouldn’t cut.

Cynthia looked over her shoulder and smiled as she was led away.

Three days later, Subaru was called to an emergency meeting in Siros. Subaru had told Anri that he had decided to go into business with Senko and that if she needed to get in touch with him, the merchants of the ‘Inari Trading Company’ would know where he was. Subaru and Senko had greased a few palms in Siros and gotten a Master Merchant’s license for Senko and permission to open a shop there. They’d also managed to avoid involving Anri in the matter which pleased Subaru although the price of the license had been extravagant.

Subaru found Anri, Radu, and Gustov in the conference room. Anri looked frantic. “Subaru! You’ll never believe what happened!”

Subaru sank into a chair with a sigh. “What now? Are the Demi-Humans rebelling? Is the Divine Dragon attacking Gusteko? Did the Witch of Envy break loose?”

Anri opened her mouth and then hesitated. “Damn, Subaru. That imagination of yours is an absolute curse, isn’t it?”

“It’s been a long couple of weeks,” He admitted. “Let’s skip the guessing game. What’s going on?”

“Vlad an Voivode has attacked Siros!” Anri cried.

Subaru blinked. “He did?!” He asked in genuine surprise. Wow. I know I set this situation up but I expected him to make threats and demand an investigation, not just immediately attack on such flimsy evidence. Is he really that dumb?

Anri nodded. “His men attacked some villages in northeastern Siros. There were… heavy casualties…”

Subaru bit his lip. “This isn’t your fault, Anri. Nobody could have predicted this happening,” Subaru said firmly, uncertain of who he was trying to convince.

“Luckily, our soldiers were nearby,” Gustov broke in, “And they were able to push Vlad’s men back.”

“Then we got even more bad news!” Anri said in exasperation.

“What?” Subaru said in surprise.

Anri started to explain but she struggled to find the words. Finally, she gave up and handed Subaru a piece of paper. Then she buried her face in her hands.

Subaru read the letter and his jaw dropped. The missive was so absurd that Subaru actually read it three times just to convince himself that this wasn’t one of the letters that he had ordered fabricated.

“Anri,” Subaru said plaintively. “Am I reading this right?!”

Anri sniffed. “If you read that the Hierocracy wants to put me on trial for ‘disrupting the natural order’ then you read it correctly.”

“Technically, it’s not the Hierocracy,” Gustov amended. “Just the radical faction of the Church headed by Patriarch Subata.”

“Uh,” Subaru interjected. “Can they do that? I mean, they’re just a part of the Hierocracy. Can they really issue a binding proclamation?”

“‘Binding’ is debatable, Subaru,” Anri answered. “The Gusteko Hierocracy experiences long periods of paralysis and that encourages Patriarchs to strike out on their own and form factions. How ‘binding’ a proclamation is, largely depends on how many provinces decide to enforce it.”

“Fortunately, it appears that the bulk of the Hierocracy refused to sign off on this,” Gustov continued. “Only Subata’s radicals signed.”

“Hardly a surprise,” Anri rolled her eyes. “Those arch-conservatives vote not to seat our Patriarchs every year unless we first accept censure for our crime all those centuries ago!”

“Obviously, you’re going to ignore this demand, right?” Subaru asked.

“You mean, am I going to surrender myself to a kangaroo court where I’ve already been explicitly assured of the verdict?” Anri asked. “No, I wasn’t planning on it!”

“The church senses that the power-structure of Gusteko is destabilizing,” Radu worried. “Ever since we conquered Sanshi the entire country has been on edge. The northern provinces are demanding to know why we couldn’t leave well enough alone.”

Subaru snorted. “‘Well enough?’” He asked incredulously. “Yeah. Everybody except the people on the bottom were happy with the way things were. Then the folks who’d been kicked to the curb stood up for themselves and now folks are unhappy with the disruption in their safe, comfortable lives. Tale as old as time.”

“Subaru,” Anri said intently. “I don’t know what to do. There’s a real chance of Brokvar, Hilde, Craite, and Voivode uniting against us and if that happens-”

“Anri,” Subaru cut her off. “That’s going to happen.”

“What do you mean?”

“Everything that I’ve heard so far suggests that these people view you as subhuman. They’re going to try to put you back in your place. We’ll just make sure that it won’t go well for them.”

Anri’s face was grave. “Subaru, do you really think that we can weather storm against all four provinces?”

Subaru burst out laughing.

Anri pulled back, looking very affronted.

Subaru noticed her expression and checked his laughter. “Oh. You were serious,” He murmured. Subaru cleared his throat. “Yes, Anri. I am completely sure that not only can you weather the storm but you’ll emerged as the undisputed strongest House in Gusteko. Those northern Houses are clueless. This is a terrible time for them to attack.”

Radu and Gustov shared a dubious look. “Lord Subaru,” Gustov murmured. “Perhaps you would consider enlightening us?”

Subaru sighed. “OK. First of all, you should send a message to Griest telling him to close the northern border. The only people allowed to cross are registered as Siros or Sanshi citizens.”

“What will that do?” Anri asked.

“The northern provinces need goods from the south. They’re not self-sufficient countries, they depend on trade to survive. Every time that goods pass through another pair of hands, the price doubles. Forcing Siros and Sanshi merchants as intermediaries in all northern commerce will skyrocket prices in the north while at the same time, swelling your coffers.”

Anri digested that. “What will happen to the merchants who come north to Siros but are forbidden to travel on?”

Subaru shrugged. “They’ll pout. They’ll scream. Then they’ll either sell their goods here or they’ll take their goods home. The local merchants will step up in a few weeks and bring the surplus goods north for a nice profit.”

“If the prices surge, the northern peasants may not be able to buy all those goods at all,” Radu argued.

“Right. Then the goods hang around Siros and Sanshi and drive the price of goods down, allowing the local peasants and townsmen in Siros and Sanshi to rebuild now that the war is over.”

Anri frowned. “What if the northern princes retaliate by closing their own borders?”

“We couldn’t be that lucky,” Subaru chuckled.

“Huh?”

“Them closing the borders means that instead of goods just being expensive, they’ll be completely unavailable. That will not make the princes popular with the peasants or the nobility and they’ll be staring down a rebellion in short order.”

“Then what?” Anri asked.

“I doubt that the northern provinces will be willing to attack Sanshi at that point. But you’ll want to have forces ready to secure your northern border just in case they try again. You’ll also need to send a missive to the full Hierocracy asking for them to provide arbitration of your dispute-”

“A sound idea, young Subaru,” Gustov interrupted apologetically. “But I’m afraid that is utterly futile. Until the Holy King dies and a new one is crowned, the church is all but paralyzed. And none of the splinter groups are likely to come to our aid in any case.”

“I know that,” Subaru said with a rueful chuckle. “We’re just moving the church into position for our ‘attack,’” He smirked. “Anyway, while you’re sabotaging the northern houses economically and trying to demand the Hierocracy of the Church to get off its ass and do its job-”

Gustov winced at this expression.

“-I’ll deal with any armies that they gather. I’ll play the same game I did with Sanshi: cut their supply lines and force them to fall back. Armies are very expensive. After a few weeks of marching back and forth trying to reach Siros without a solid supply line, they’ll be struggling to make ends meet. Their soldiers will be tired and hungry. The peasants will be furious because the armies keep stealing their food and the prices in the north have skyrocketed. Then you can start to negotiate with the other Princes from a position of unassailable strength.”

Anri, Gustov, and Radu shared a long look.

“It’s not… a bad plan,” Radu admitted.

Anri considered it gravely and then nodded.

Subaru sighed. “Alright. I’ll go prepare to get to work. It looks like I have a long couple of months ahead of me.”

That same night, Argus an Craite, Donar an Hilde, Patrick and Brokvar, and Vlad an Voivode meet in a small room in the palace in Hilde. Vlad had his right arm in a sling and he seemed visibly furious about that.

Donar slammed his aged fist down on the conference table with a thump. “Are you a complete fool?” He growled at Vlad. “You’ve started a war!”

“I’ve prevented a war! Or at least delayed it!” Vlad shouted back.

“By attacking unprovoked?!” Donar roared. “What madness motivated you to do this without even a discussion?!”

“Discuss what, old man?!” Vlad shouted back, leaping to his feet. “Should I have taken the evidence to Kairei and ask her if she’d like to discuss it?!”

“Evidence?! What evidence?” Donar shouted. “This scrap of paper?! Did you even try to have it verified?! Did you ask an expert to compare handwriting samples?! Where did you get this?!”

Vlad sunk back into his chair with a sullen look on his face. “From an old ally,” He said quietly. “A very reliable ally.”

Donar’s head sank into his hands. “The madness of these days! Is everyone trying to destroy the kingdom?!”

Argus grabbed his shoulder. “Old friend, we don’t have time to mull over Vlad’s idiocy right now.”

“Hey!” Vlad shouted.

Argus ignored him. “We need to focus on what to do next,” He continued. “And what Kairei will do.”

Patrick gnawed at a finger. “If Kairei wanted to attack Voivode, I’m not sure that I could blame her.”

“What?!” Vlad exploded.

“Except it isn’t that simple,” Argus growled. “There’s only two ways into Voivode territory: through Sanshi and through Craiteland and Hilde. If Kairei tried to attack through Sanshi, she’d fighting up into the mountains. It would be suicide.”

“You think she’d try to attack through our lands?” Donar asked skeptically. “That would mean violating both of our territories just to pick a fight with Vlad. Surely, Kairei wouldn’t be so foolish.”

“Would it be foolish?” Argus grumbled. “If I were Kairei, I’d be pretty certain that Vlad had our blessing to attack. After all, his men did travel through our territory and we didn’t say a word.”

“They sneaked through our territory, you mean!” Donar said, looking daggers at Vlad.

Vlad snorted and rolled his eyes.

“If you were Kairei, would you believe that?” Argus asked pointedly. “Even if the evidence Vlad found is fake, she clearly has territorial ambitions. Her forces are all gathered on my southern border.”

“Likely just to protect against further incursions,” Patrick pointed out.

“Maybe,” Argus admitted. “But maybe not. Frankly, I’d feel more comfortable if you would all gather some extra troops in my lands as a deterrent. At least until everything calms down.”

The next morning, Subaru said goodbye to Emilia.

“I’m really sorry, Mili,” Subaru said as they sat in the bedroom. “I’m going to need to be gone for a few days. But it’s really important. Not only will this help Anri but it will get us the treasure we need to make the medicine to cure you.”

Emilia took several deep breaths. “I’ll be fine, Subaru,” She said in a fragile voice but she was clearly giving it her all to act cheerful. “Petra is here. And Senko might pop by again.”

Petra was setting up the small table in their room for breakfast. She paused long enough to nod enthusiastically. “We’ll have lots of fun while you’re gone, Master Subaru.”

Emilia actually laughed. “Master Subaru. It just doesn’t sound right, does it?” She asked fondly.

Subaru shrugged. “I think I’m starting to get used to it.”

Petra continued. “Senko brought us lots of books and games so we should have plenty to do while you’re gone.”

Subaru sighed. “I know, Petra. Thank you. I don’t think I could bare to leave here if I didn’t know you were here keeping Mili safe.”

Petra blushed.

Subaru wrapped his arms around Emilia. “It’ll just be a few days,” He promised. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Emilia hugged him tight. “I’ll be fine until you get back. Please give Anri my love.”

Subaru made a face. “Well, I don’t think I’ll actually see Anri on this trip. I’m just helping her,” He said evasively. “But I’ll tell her when I see her,” He said with a sigh.

Emilia bit her lip. “And… you’re taking Elsa with you?”

“That’s right,” Subaru commented. “Is something wrong?”

Emilia’s face twisted with indecision. She adored Meili in spite of the girl’s strangeness but no matter how nice Elsa acted, Emilia would never forgive her for nearly killing Subaru. It was on the tip of Emilia’s tongue to warn Subaru to keep a sharp eye on the assassin and make sure she didn’t try to hurt him again but her own doubts stilled her warning.

Emilia knew that her judgment was pathetic and that anything she could possibly think of had long ago been considered by Subaru. Finally, she just decided to hold her tongue. Emilia had learned over the years that bad things happened. But if she stayed quiet and didn’t try to do anything, then at least those bad things wouldn’t be her fault.

“It’s nothing,” Emilia whispered.

Before Subaru, Meili, and Elsa left, they check in with Koi.

“Everything go as planned?” Subaru asked.

Koi grinned. “Perfectly, Master,” Koi purred. “The fools accepted the entire shipment. They resisted our fee at first but finally they agreed. Senko has laid down a flawless paper trail as well.”

Subaru nodded. “Excellent work, Koi. And Senko too. I’m heading up north to take advantage of this.”

“I’d wish you luck, Master,” Koi said smoothly. “But I’m well aware that you’re beyond such trivial concerns. Tell me, Master. Do you believe you will acquire more Years on this mission?”

“Several hundred with any luck,” Subaru said matter-of-fact. “And yes, Koi. As I have taken careful note of you and your daughter’s loyalty and ability, several of these Years are earmarked for you.”

Koi grinned and bowed low. Her face was impassive but her tail twitched eagerly.

Patriarch Subata of Combë stood in the center of the Aberdeen Cathedral in southern Craiteland, not far from the Siros border.

Patriarch Subata was an old man who was made of nothing but skin and bones. He seemed swallowed up by his red ecclesiastic vestments.

Nearly a hundred other Patriarchs lined the stone seats of the great meeting hall in the apex of the Cathedral. Many of them had been Subata’s political allies for decades and they had all gathered here today to make a stand, even if the greater Hierocracy refused to.

“Is this everyone?” Subata asked his secretary, Brother Ucera.

“This is everyone who promised to attend, Your Eminence,” Ucera said with a bow.

Subata nodded and approached the pulpit in the center of the room. “Let us not beat around the bush. We all know why we’re here. The province of Siros has stuck out its neck too far this time. They have never been true children of the Church! Their heritage is streaked with dirty demi-human blood from Kararagi and Lagunica!”

This got a murmur of approval from the crowd.

“Give these knaves an inch and they take a mile,” Subata thundered. “We must take action now before it is too late! Holy King Gilecomgain was a fool to be persuaded to reinstate them to the rolls of Gusteko!”

There was another murmur but this one was less supportive. Regardless of how any of the Patriarchs felt about Gilecomgain politically, he was still alive and he was Holy King. Subata sensed this and dropped that line of attack.

“Our Holy King reacted to the plight of Siros’s people with mercy and forgiveness,” Subata said soothingly. “He dared to hope that after centuries of exile and deprivation, the people of Siros might have learned proper behavior in the eyes of men and gods. The Holy King took a chance on them. And look at how they have repaid him!”

The response to this was much more enthusiastic.

“Demi-humans running rampant through Gusteko!” Subata shouted. “War in the southern provinces! Witches on the prowl throughout the lands! And now, Princes Kairei dares to ask the Church to intervene and mediate a settlement? I say no! The province of Siros must not be simply removed from the rolls of Gusteko once more. They must be dissolved! Cleansed! No root nor branch shall be spared from this culling! We must harry them from our lands until once again our people can exist in peace and safety and Gusteko is as the Gods envisioned it: a holy land, cultivated for the safety of humans everywhere!”

The Patriarchs cheered.

“If the Hierocracy is paralyzed then we will speak in its stead! We will call for a Holy War against Siros! All men of good conscience must take up the sword against these foul swine! And then there shall come at last a time of blessed peace!”

Then the world ended.

Subaru, Elsa, and Meili sat on a blanket on a hill some distance from the Aberdeen Cathedral. Meili’s mabeasts sheltered in a forest nearby. Aside from that, they could have been any other small family out on a picnic.

“What are we doing here exactly?” Elsa asked, knitting a doll.

Subaru shrugged. “Mostly just making sure that this thing gets done. Also, you’ll never see something like this again. Hopefully,” He added. “So you make as well take in the spectacle.”

“And after this, we head up north and pick off the supply wagons again?” Meili asked.

“That’s the plan,” Subaru answered.

“Huh. It’s almost like we’re ending up back where we started again,” Meili mused.

Subaru shook his head. “Not even close, Meili. We might be doing some of the same things but we’ve all come a long way since then.” Subaru hesitated. “We’ve… become friends,” He said.

Meili’s eyes widened. “You mean it?”

Subaru chuckled. “Of course, I do. I mean, you’re both absolutely fucking insane and a pair of mass murders but… hell, who am I to talk? I’ve lost track of how many people I’ve killed since I came here! I’m waging a whole war for my own profit! So, yeah. I mean, I think of you as friends. I don’t know how you think of me. But… you’ve done right by me. You’ve earned my loyalty. As far as I’m able, I’ll always try to do right by you.”

Meili frowned. “Your loyalty?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t loyalty… something you show to your boss?”

Subaru snorted. “It’s a two way street unless your boss is shitty.”

“I was thinking of Mother,” Meili explained.

“As if by example,” Subaru snorted. “Capella never cared about loyalty. She just wanted your obedience.”

“What’s the difference?” Meili said.

Subaru thought for a moment. “Obedient is when someone does what you want because they fear that you’ll punish them. Loyalty is when someone does something for you when you have nothing to offer or threaten them with. Obedience is commanded. Loyalty is earned.”

Meili frowned and pondered that for a moment. Then her eyes widened. He’s right. We were ‘obedient’ to Mother. We hated her. We feared her. As soon as the faintest possibility of escaping her came up, we seized it with both hands and never looked back.

But Subaru… I’m not afraid of him. I mean… I know that he could kill me easily but I also know that he won’t. He might not even kill me if I gave him a reason to. He’s never punished us, even though he could have. He’s been kind to us. Kinder than he had to be.

Meili and Elsa shared a look and Meili was sure that they were thinking the same thing.

Subaru has our loyalty, Meili thought with something like amazement. Subaru… earned our loyalty. If Lye or someone showed up and offered to set us ‘free’ of Subaru, I’d warn Subaru. Even if he lost his power, even if he had no way to help me or protect me, I’d still want to help him. I care about him. Like Big Sis.

Meili opened her mouth to share this remarkable revelation but before she could, the mother of all thunderclaps erupt from the cathedral far in the distance.

Meili watched in shock as the massive structure blew apart into shattered beams and crumbling stone and quickly collapsed in on itself.

“Huh. You were right. I’ve never see anything like that,” Elsa murmured. “What do you call that stuff?”

“Dynamite,” Subaru murmured.

“Well, it was worth the wait, I must say,” Elsa said.

“Remember, remember, the fifth of November,” Subaru muttered.

Meili frowned. “What does that mean?”

Subaru blinked and though about. He even triggered Reason and Judgment but the words he had just said meant nothing to him.

“I… don’t know. I don’t know… why I said that,” Subaru admitted.

Meili gave him a worried look.

Subaru cleared his throat, stood up and stretched. “Well, we’re done here for now. What do you guys say we go hit up a bar?”

“Great!” Meili cheered.

Subaru laughed. “I’m raising a delinquent here!”

Meili looked up at Subaru quizzically. “You let me kill people for you but my drinking is what pricks your conscience?”

Subaru burst out laughing. “Thanks for that, Meili! That makes me feel so much better!”

The trio walked away from the hill.

“We’ll meet up with Koi’s people in the morning. They’ll help us make the wagons disappear. And they’ll spread those forged church documents that Chandler made through the north.”

“Subaru!” Anri shouted as he walked into the council chamber a few days later. “Thank you for coming so quickly!”

Subaru frowned. “Um. Did you call me?” Subaru asked.

Anri blinked in confusion.

Subaru shrugged. “If you sent me a message, I didn’t get it. I was just in the neighborhood.”

Anri sighed. “Well, it was good luck anyway. We have an emergency.”

“An emergency?!” Subaru asked, sitting down. “I thought the war was going great for us! So far, nobody has been willing to attack Siros at all!”

“It’s not the war,” Radu interjected. “There was a terrorist attack in northern Gusteko. A cathedral was attacked.”

Subaru frowned for a moment. “That’s terrible and all,” He said without much concern. “But how does that affect us?”

“Subaru,” Anri whispered. “The cathedral wasn’t just attacked. It was obliterated. It was like some foul act of witchcraft.”

Subaru squinted at her. “I got to admit that I’m skeptical of that, Anri. People just yell witchcraft if they don’t know what happened. Also, why do we care if something in an enemy province gets blown up?

“Because who knows if those terrorists will attack us next?!” Anri pointed out. “We could be blown up!”

Subaru thought that over and shrugged. “What do we know about these guys?”

Gustov sighed. “A Craiteland splinter group who calls themselves ‘The True Way’ have taken credit for the attack.”

“What do they want?” Subaru asked.

Gustov shook his head. “They’re a group of antihierachical radicals.”

“Antihierarchical?” Anri repeated.

Gustov nodded. “They hate the Hierocracy. They blame the church government for most of Gusteko’s social and political problems. They want to see the Hierocracy disbanded and for individual Patriarchs make ecclesiastic decisions for their own districts.”

“Guessing the church doesn’t like them too much,” Subaru commented.

Radu shook his head. “They’ve been suppressed several times over the years but they never did anything this aggressive before! Where did they even find this kind of power?!”

“A witch?” Anri suggested.

“Anri!” Subaru reprimanded. “The witches are dead! You sound like one of those superstitious Sanshi peasants.”

“Sanshi swears that a witch has come back! They call him Taiyang!” Anri pointed out.

“I’ve heard,” Subaru sighed. “He doesn’t exist.”

“How do you know that?” Anri asked.

“Because for one thing, at least half of the things that they’re blaming Taiyang for, I actually did. There is no Taiyang. He’s just an excuse for Sanshi to explain losing the war to a group they consider inferior.”

Anri cocked her head and thought about that.

“We don’t believe it was a witch in any case,” Gustov sighed. “My Shadows managed to dig out some interesting information. Apparently, the terrorists purchased this weapon from an alchemist in Kararagi called ‘Al Freid Nobel.’”

“Your shadows deserve a prize,” Subaru commented.

Gustov squinted at him. “Thank you,” Gustov said in confusion.

“Can we find him? We need to question him.” Anri said.

Gustov shook his head. “Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, a few days ago, his home blew up in a similar explosion to the one that leveled the cathedral. Perhaps it serves him right for playing around with powers he could not control.”

Anri thought for a moment. “I suppose that means the problem is solved,” Anri said.

Subaru squinted at her. “…Maybe. Assuming that explosion really was an accident. And assuming he didn’t give someone else the recipe for his explosive!” Subaru pointed out.

Anri’s eyes widened. “That… is not a pleasant thought…”

Subaru shrugged. “There’s nothing we can do about it right now. We’ll just have to keep our eyes open and see what develops.”

Anri nodded in agreement.

Subaru got up. “If you guys will excuse me, I really need to get home,” He sighed. “I haven’t seen Emilia in days.”

Anri sighed. “Give her my love. Tell her I’m sorry that I’ve been so busy but I plan to see her again as soon as time permits,” Anri said sadly.

Subaru stared at Anri for a moment. Her obvious guilt at neglecting Emilia melted his heart toward her, just slightly. “I will,” Subaru said, giving her a friendly hug.

“Um. There is one more thing,” Gustov murmured. “Unfortunately, I received some more information just before this council meeting. And… It’s a doozy,” He admitted.

“What is it?” Anri asked.

Gustov sighed. “Evidently, shortly before their deaths, Patriarch Subata and his faction issued a proclamation.”

Anri rolled her eyes. “Wonderful. So what did they proclaim? That Siros is evil? That the House of Ithil are servants of the devil? That Siros clergy participate in wild orgies where they copulate with temptresses from the void beyond this world?”

“Hey,” Subaru muttered. “Why don’t you ever invite me to any of those parties?”

“Because Emilia would kill us both,” Anri said without batting an eye.

Subaru chuckled.

“Yes to all of your questions,” Gustov continued, “But there’s more.”

“What is it?” She asked.

Gustov groped for words and then shrugged. “Here. We managed to obtain a copy. Read it for yourself,” Gustov said, pulling out a sheet of paper that was very familiar to Subaru and handing it to Anri.

Anri quickly read it and then her eyes bugged out. “This is ridiculous!” She gasped.

“Someone want to clue me in?” Subaru grumbled. “All I can see is that the handwriting is terrible.”

Anri’s eyes were huge. “The supply-line raids are starving the northern armies,” Anri said in a shaken voice. “The armies are responding by seizing food from local villages.”

“Anri, that’s not your fault,” Subaru said sympathetically. “They started this war. You didn’t.”

“I know that, Subaru,” Anri said. “That’s not the problem. The peasants have responded to these food shortages with… some small rebellions. Nothing more than large riots for the most part.”

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“OK,” Subaru nodded. “I mean, you can hardly blame them.”

Anri took a deep breath. “Patriarch Subata is claiming that since these peasants are acting to protect their food supply from the armies they are, in effect, sabotaging the war effort against ‘the evil Siros’ and therefore they are in defiance against the Church.”

“Is anything not in defiance of the Church?” Subaru rolled his eyes. “Can you guys even go to the bathroom without prior approval?”

Anri ignored him. “Subata is now arguing,” She whispered. “That any peasant who attempts to defy the army should be made an example of. He and his family should be seized and placed into bondage as slaves…”

“What?!” Radu shouted.

“That’s just stupid,” Subaru said.

“Grandfather,” Anri whispered. “What’s the reaction?”

“My Shadows report that the north is boiling tonight,” Gustov said seriously. “Subata sent this proclamation out to most of his allies, who are all the kind of hardheaded reactionaries who might support this ridiculous scheme. But most of them were sensible enough to recognize this paper was the proverbial keg of lantern oil and they concealed it from the public. Some were not that intelligent and they ordered it copied and published as a threat against any more defiance from the peasantry.”

Anri closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.

“The result is about what you would expect,” Gustov admitted. “Rebellions have exploded all over the north and radical anti-church factions are springing up left and right.”

“They’ll be slaughtered,” Anri whispered. “The peasants don’t have any weapons!”

“Yes, they do,” Gustov answered. “My people still don’t know how but someone has been smuggling significant caches of weapons into the northern provinces. Particularly crossbows.”

“Hm. Easy to use and they neutralize armor,” Subaru muttered. “Those peasants might stand a chance after all.”

Anri shook her head in disbelief. “Subaru, do you have any idea how those weapons are getting north?”

He thought about it for a moment. “I’d guess that some ambitious smuggler saw a way to make a huge payday when we closed the borders. Sell the peasants weapons at cost and then once they’ve stolen money from the nobles, sell them everything else at a hefty markup.”

Anri pondered that for a moment. “It’s hard to believe that smugglers can be that well organized…”

Subaru frowned. “I do have a few connections with local smugglers from back when I shipped supplies to you during the war,” Subaru reminded her. “I could do a little digging for you if you want. Maybe we can find a few names.”

Anri considered it then shook her head. “No, it doesn’t matter now. Gusteko is on fire. Every other concern becomes secondary until we find a way to put it out.”

“Any reactions in Siros?” Subaru asked.

Gustov shook his head. “Very minimal. Our people are pious but they’re only considered provisionally part of the Holy Church. They tend to ignore Hierocracy proclamations. Especially ones this stupid.”

“Well, that’s good at least,” Subaru said.

“Subaru,” Anri murmured. “Do you think that there’s anyway for us to end all this conflict before it tears the kingdom apart?”

Subaru stared at her for a long time. Alright. Anri has been very useful. In spite of her screwing me and Emilia in the past. And I’ve effectively won Scrofa’s challenge at this point. If I’m getting ready to wrap things up, I might as well ensure that Anri gets a payday out of it as well. That would make Emilia happy… “There’s one way. But you’re not going to like it,” He warned her.

Anri gave a helpless laugh. “I don’t like any of it! I haven’t liked any part of this since this whole mess started all those months ago!”

“Point taken,” Subaru admitted. “Have you been sending those requests for a mediation to the Hierocracy like I asked you to?”

Anri rolled her eyes. “Yes. For all the good it’s done us.”

“What do you mean?”

Anri snorted. “We just sent our fourth request and we finally got a reply. The Hierocracy basically told me to stop bugging them and that they aren’t interested in getting involved in our problems.”

Gustov shook his head. “A truly shameful way for Patriarchs of the Church to speak.”

“But useful,” Subaru grinned. “Do you think that you can publicize that response?”

“Sure, but what good will that do?” Anri asked.

“Because, I think that it’s time for you to ‘reluctantly’ proclaim yourself queen,” Subaru said.

Three jaws hit the floor at the same time.

Anri recovered first. “Subaru, what are you talking about? The Hierocracy proclaims who rules.”

“Except that they’re not doing that,” Subaru pointed. “They’re not even establishing a regency in the Holy King’s incapacitation. They want the world to adhere to their schedule. That’s not how life works. The Church has openly, repeatedly, and publicly abdicated its responsibilities to preserve peace and tranquility in Gusteko. Someone needs to step up and end this destructive conflict. Somebody needs to be the adult in the room. And it might as well be you.”

“The Church would never stand for it!” Radu scoffed.

Subaru laughed. “The Church doesn’t have anything to say about it! Have you been paying attention? Everyone is furious at the Hierocracy. The peasantry in Siros blame the Church for their being excommunicated for all those years and the peasants in the north are openly demanding that the church do something, anything to rein in this destructive war and have been ignored. Now they think the church is poised to turn them all into slaves! If you tell a man that someone is planning to sell his wife and children, you get him very excited very quickly!”

“Subaru,” Anri whispered. “You’re talking about… a revolutionary change. All authority in Gusteko flows from the church.”

Subaru looked thoughtful. “Nobles tend to think that lines of authority are set in stone but at the end of the day, most people just care about having a roof over their heads and good food to eat. The Church has pushed people too far. All it’s going to take is a little shove to shatter those chains of authority.”

Anri gave him a suspicious look. “Why do I get the funny feeling you had something to do with fanning anti-church sentiment in the north?” Anri murmured.

Subaru shrugged. “Because you know me and you know how I work. That said, I was expecting the northern armies to have a few riots they’d have to put down. Even I couldn’t have foreseen how dumb Subata’s faction would have to be to issue a proclamation like that. That’s on them!”

The room was quiet for a long time, Radu and Gustov stared at Subaru in absolute shock.

Anri made a rueful expression. “I must admit, it’s not… the worst idea I’ve ever heard,” Anri ventured.

“Anri!” Gustov gasped.

“Grandfather, you’ve told me time and time again that the Church already has too much power in temporal affairs,” She reminded him. “The papal authority has been growing unchecked for centuries and if somebody doesn’t pull the Holy King up short, every prince in Gusteko will become little more than his vassal! I’m a true daughter of the Church, Grandfather but I won’t kneel to the Holy King and receive my crown back from him in some contrived little ceremony that has no purpose other than my humiliation!”

Gustov just stared at her.

Radu and Gustov were both speechless.

Anri drummed her fingers on the table. “Alright then. How do we do this?”

“Start by issuing a proclamation of your own,” Subaru suggested. “Make it clear how reluctant and regretful you are to have to take this step but someone needs to be the adult in Gusteko and stop the wars. You’re proclaiming yourself Queen and if the other four Houses don’t submit, then they’ll be considered in rebellion and you will march into their territory and force them kneel.”

Anri bit her lip. “Subaru, we’d be outnumbered-”

“Not as much as you think. The northern armies are in tatters. They have no supplies, their attention is divided due to the rebellions, and their morale is exhausted at this point. They can’t weather an assault from Siros and the princes know it.”

Anri thought that over.

Subaru continued. “I’d also recommend making public that recent response from the Church. It should really tick everybody off with how dismissive the church has been toward people’s life-and-death problems. Take a few days and really polish this proclamation. It might be the most important decree of your life. Once you’re ready to publish it, my people will ensure that it’s also circulated throughout the north and that the peasantry are all in favor of it.”

“Do you really think you can do all that?” Anri asked in disbelief.

Subaru shrugged. “Since coming to this world, I’ve discovered that manipulating public opinion is as easy as giving people a convenient target for their frustrations.”

Anri nodded. “Alright. I’ll start working on it immediately.”

“Oh. One more thing. How’s the food situation in Siros?”

Anri blinked. “Fine. We have plenty of food. With the northern borders closed, food is extremely cheap here.”

“Yeah. I’d like you to extend an offer to the Church. Tell them that since your feud is with the northern nobility and not the peasantry, you’re willing to ship a few thousand tons of grain north if the Church will vow to be the guarantor of it. Because the grain is to feed hungry peasants not soldiers and you don’t want it misdirected.”

“I doubt that the Church would agree to that,” Gustov warned him.

Subaru chuckled. “I doubt they will too. And we can publicize that refusal as well.”

Subaru walked out of the room.

“A very strange man,” Radu noted.

“But a gifted one,” Gustov replied. “Also, speaking of men, have you considered what we talked about yesterday?”

Anri sighed. “I’m not… ready to marry yet… And let’s be honest. At the moment, there are very few options even on the table.”

“Canmore-” Gustov began.

“Is not an option,” Anri said flatly. “Malcolm an Griest won’t even let Duncan marry Deann. He would never give permission for me to marry Canmore. Unless we want to threaten to kill Canmore if he doesn’t,” She added sarcastically.

Radu nodded. “I know you don’t care much for most of the nobles-”

“That isn’t the problem,” Anri cut him off. “I always knew that I wouldn’t love my husband,” She added carelessly. “Gods, I always thought that romances like Emilia’s only existed in books…”

Gustov nodded sadly. “Romance and love are rare things in royal marriages. The first concern is always alliance. The second concern is ability, hopefully to create gifted children.”

Anri nodded. “I’ve occasionally thought about asking Subaru and Emilia if they would consider doing me a large favor…”

Subaru, Elsa and Meili were riding through the forest, discretely following a carriage.

“Any word from the north?” Subaru asked.

“You mean Chandler’s papers?” Meili replied. “Oh yeah. Those are making all kinds of noise.”

“Do people believe them?” He pressed.

Meili nodded. “I haven’t heard of anyone questioning if they were genuine.”

Subaru gave a sigh of relief. “Perfect. I was worried I was making a noose that would catch around our necks.”

“Subaru,” Elsa asked. “One question. What do we do about Chandler?”

“Hm,” Subaru thought about it for a long while. He stared off into the distance. “Elsa,” He said thoughtfully. “I’ve decided I really don’t like loose ends.”

Elsa smiled beatifically.

“Koi wants a piece of him too,” Subaru mused. “Why not invite her to watch? That way you’re both happy.”

Elsa squealed. “I love having an audience!”

That evening, Cynthia was riding in a carriage toward Ivada for a conference. She first realized she had a problem when the carriage slowed down when they were only halfway there.

Cynthia took a deep breath and stepped out of her carriage to find her guards were completely surrounded by a legion of soldiers.

The leader was an enormous bear demi-human with a savage grin.

“Arktos,” Cynthia murmured.

The bear demi-human chuckled. “Lovely to see you again, Cynthia. How long has it been? Ten years?”

“I forget,” Cynthia murmured, her face pale. “I believe it was right after my Father and Brother died and when I asked for help to salvage their division, Scrofa suggested that I abandon the Coins and just get married and pump out a few children.”

“You’ve got to admit. It was good advice,” Arktos smirked. “If you’d done that, you wouldn’t be in this mess right now.”

The air suddenly became cooler and a chill wind blew.

Arktos’s grin faltered.

One of his soldiers gave a cry of alarm as a shadow figure emerged from the forest. At his side was a beautiful woman, a young girl, and countless mabeasts.

“Honestly,” Taiyang whispered. “I expected you to attack hours ago.”

Arktos looked at the mabeasts for a moment, realized that his odds of escape were essentially zero and then drew his enormous claymore. “You knew about this?!”

“After losing his own wager,” Taiyang murmured. “Scrofa had to do something. Logically he’d decide to prove that I couldn’t protect my own people. Senko was no good as a target. She isn’t even a member of the Coins. Koi wasn’t a good option, even after all these years as an underboss, many still view her as an outsider. So I knew when Cynthia left for this conference, you’d attack her.”

“Can I get started, Master?” Elsa cooed.

“Yes, yes,” Taiyang said with a dismissive wave. “But I do have one special request…”

The round conference table was packed with men. They were almost all demi-humans and almost all of them were looking with pronounced dislike at a ponderous figure seated at the far end of the table. The pig demi-human was enormous, overflowing the comfortable chair he sat in.

“It’s time for us to unite again,” Scrofa said in a deep voice. “We’ve been divided for nearly two years. All kinds of outsiders are creeping into our organization.”

“As far as I recall,” Lepus muttered. “You were not invited to this gathering, Scrofa!”

Scrofa’s snort sounded very much like an oink. “I invited myself. It’s time for this matter to be settled.”

“I feel like Taiyang might have something to say about that,” Ailuro said. “I think we all remember that you lost your own bet to make more coin than Taiyang. You had at least double the resources that Taiyang possessed and he still out earned you by a two to one margin. I’m not sure that I like anything you’re selling at this point.”

“He was able to profit off a war!” Scrofa protested.

“Lucky him,” Lepus shrugged. “It’s still embarrassing that you managed to lose.”

“We should wait for Lady Cynthia to arrive before proceeding,” Ailuro agreed.

Scrofa smirked. “You’ll be waiting a long time. You see-”

“Evening, all!” Cynthia said cheerfully, walking into the room with a bag under her arm.

Scrofa’s jaw hit the floor.

“Sorry I’m late,” Cynthia continued. “My Master had to deal with a little incident on the road. Arktos popped in for a chat.”

“Interesting,” Lepus murmured, looking back and forth between Scrofa and Cynthia.

Cynthia walked over to Scrofa. “Master Taiyang is just itching to have a nice long talk with you, Scrofa,” Cynthia continued in a cheery voice. “He even sent you a present.”

Cynthia handed Scrofa the bag. Scrofa slowly reached in and pulled the contents out.

It was a bear skin.

Two days later, Scrofa was finally back in his mansion in Vollachia. He reclined on a couch in his private study with a glass of wine in his hand and rubbing his forehead. He had no illusions about what he’d lost. Scrofa had fled the meeting in fear for his life. He now had no chance of becoming King. His odds of even remaining in control of Vollachia were poor, much less Lagunica.

I need to do something to salvage this. Maybe I could fan some anti-witch sentiment? Only a few factions of the Black Silver Coins actually worship Typhon and the other witches. The rest of us see them as superstitious fools.

I can’t make an accommodation with Taiyang now. After all this, he’s going to try and make an example of me. I’ll spend the rest of my life in hiding…

The study door opened.

Scrofa jumped. “Hey! What are you doing here! Who let you-”

Scrofa trailed off when he saw who his guests were. There was a beautiful woman, caressing a bloody knife and a little girl with a wolgarm standing behind her. And that meant the the unassuming young man between them was…

“How did you find me?!” Scrofa gasped.

Taiyang shrugged. “We followed you, of course,” He said. The young man walked into the room, ignoring Scrofa and looking through his shelves, studying Scrofa’s precious treasures and antiquities.

“Followed me?!” Scrofa echoed incredulously.

“Yeah. For two days. How many times did you have to circle back on your trail anyway?” Taiyang grumbled. “We were all bored to tears.”

Scrofa shook his head. “I don’t get it!” He whimpered. “If you knew where I was, why didn’t you just kill me?”

Taiyang didn’t answer at first. “Ah!” he said in delight, looking at the Black Stone Scrofa had just recently bought from House Griest. Taiyang smashed his fist through the glass without scratching his skin and removed the bobble.

“Is that it?” The little girl asked.

“This is it!” Taiyang said with a foolish grin.

Scrofa took a moment to collect his thoughts. “Are… are you telling me you came all the way here… just for that?!”

For the first time, Taiyang looked at Scrofa. “Well, I hope you didn’t think that you were important enough to get my attention.”

Scrofa was speechless.

Taiyang walked out of the room without a backward glance. “We’re done here. Elsa, feel free to enjoy yourself.”

Elsa gave Scrofa a beatific smile and he felt all the blood drain out of his face.

“Any word about the northern armies?” Anri asked as they sat in her conference chamber.

“They appear to be running around in circles a great deal,” Gustov replied. “My Shadows can’t figure out what they’re trying to do!”

“They’re chasing shadows,” Subaru quipped. “My people are very busy making sure that any supplies sent to the armies never get there. The forces of Voivode, Craite, Hilde and Brokvar are responding by seizing food from the communities in their own provinces to keep their armies eating. To further complicate things, there have been inexplicable uprising in the northern provinces. In every province, some surprisingly well-armed peasants are demanding reforms and threatening violence. On top of that, the treasuries up north are nearly empty. Marching armies around for weeks at a time is very expensive.”

“Our forces have solidly rebuffed them from entering Siros,” Radu added. “The armies of Siros remain at the border and they’re apparently pretty comfortable there. I’m assured that morale remains high. The northern armies can’t seem to get together for a pitched battle. All that we’ve had so far is skirmishes. Best of all, we haven’t tried to advance into their territory. So we haven’t broken any laws and given the Hierocracy an excuse to denounce us.”

“The four Houses can’t coordinate,” Subaru explained. “Some of them refuse to push into Siros without solid supply lines and some want to charge ahead anyway. This is an army with four different commanders who aren’t on the same page. They’ll fragment apart soon if we keep up the pressure. The northern peasantry is furious. Prices are sky high, the soldiers are taking the food out of their mouths, and they feel like the war isn’t accomplishing anything.”

Anri thought for a moment. “Should we invite the princes to come negotiate?”

Radu and Gustov looked thoughtful.

“I’d give that a little time,” Subaru suggested. “Time is definitely on our side. I have an appointment to talk to some of the Patriarchs in a few days. If we can win them over then the Princes won’t have any choice but to come to the table.”

“I don’t give you good odds of convincing them, Lord Subaru,” Gustov warned him. “I know those men. They don’t change their minds.”

Subaru shrugged. “Nothing to lose by trying. I’m only wasting my breath and I got plenty of that.”

Anri laughed. “Alright. We’ll give you a few days to try and work your magic and then we’ll talk to the princes.”

Anri got up and left the room and the men followed her.

“Oh. Patriarch Gustov,” Subaru said with a friendly smile. “There was something I meant to tell you.”

“What’s that?” Gustov asked as Radu and Anri walked away into the hall.

“Stop sending Shadows to follow me,” Subaru said smiling.

Gustov didn’t change expression. “I don’t know what-”

“The poor girl had a nasty accident,” Subaru said sadly. “I took a shortcut through a mabeast lair and… well, you know. If only I’d known she was there, I could have warned her.”

Gustov frowned and his eyes glittered. “What exactly is your business here?”

“My business is my business,” Subaru said bluntly.

“Not when you have this much influence over my granddaughter.”

“Maybe you should talk to her about it then.”

“You’ve been in Gusteko for a matter of weeks,” Gustov growled. “And in that time you’ve broken centuries of Gusteko power-structures apart. And all done to place my daughter on a throne that hasn’t existed since nearly the time of the Great Cataclysm. And I keep wondering why.”

“I like Anri,” Subaru shrugged, surprisingly himself that he wasn’t lying. “That’s all.”

“Why do I not believe you?” Gustov said in a deathly whisper.

“Because you’re a suspicious old man,” Subaru said helpfully. “Because you believe that nothing is free and no act is truly altruistic and the more an act seems to be altruistic the more suspicious it is.”

Gustov glared down at him. “I lost my other son several years ago. He perished in battle with his wife and queen. Their children and Radu are all I have left. And I watch threats to Anri very carefully.”

“Yeah except Malcolm Griest,” Subaru yawned. “That one seemed to have slipped by you.”

Gustov’s face twisted in fury. “Make no mistake, boy. I will find your secret. I can promise you that.”

“Well, don’t send anyone after me that you really care about,” Subaru said with a smile like a drawn blade. “My secrets are mine. If you want to learn them, there’s a high price required. And it’s paid in blood.”

Gustov glared at him.

Subaru waited a moment and then walked away, dismissing him from thought.

Subaru quietly opened the door to the room he shared with Emilia.

Emilia was sitting quietly on the bed.

“Hey, Subaru,” She murmured with a broad smile. Emilia’s eyes were still foggy but the black marks that had crept up to her neck were beginning to fade.

Subaru pretended to be annoyed. “Ugh. You always know it’s me! No matter how I try to change my walk, you recognize me!”

Emilia tittered. “Well, I know you so well!”

“I brought you some more Azoth!” He said cheerfully. Subaru looked around the room. “You’re in here all alone?” He asked, irritated.

“I haven’t been alone for long,” She reassured him, taking and drinking the purple liquid. “Petra stayed with me all day. I told her to go relax because I knew you’d be here soon.”

Subaru slid onto the bed beside Emilia and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry, Mili. You must feel so bored coped up in here all day,” He murmured.

“It’s not so bad,” Emilia shrugged. “With Petra and the other maids around, I have plenty of company. Even Senko visits me regularly.”

“That’s nice of her,” Subaru commented.

Emilia gave him a shy smile. “Also, I have a surprise for you, Subaru.”

“What’s that?”

Emilia drew herself up proudly. “Petra took my wheelchair outside today!”

Subaru gasped. “Really?!”

Emilia nodded with a huge smile. “We were only out in the garden for a few minutes, Subaru but I made it outside! That’s a big thing for me!”

“That’s huge!” Subaru said, wrapping his arms around her. “Oh man. We need to celebrate. Maybe I’ll ask Niobe to bake a cake…”

“Just promise me you won’t ask Petra,” Emilia cautioned.

“Still?! I thought Niobe was teaching her how to cook!”

“I believe she is trying. Almost everyday she tries,” Emilia sighs. “I can smell the smoke from up here…”

“Well, we can’t all be great chefs,” Subaru shrugged. “Mili, I’m so proud of you. I know you must have been scared to death when you were outside-”

“I was terrified,” Emilia admitted with a shudder. “But I kept pushing myself. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life as a bird in glass cage that you need to protect. I’m going to help. You’ll see.”

“Gilded cage,” Subaru corrected.

“Huh?”

“The expression is bird in a gilded cage.”

“Oh.”

They were both quiet for a moment.

“Anyway,” Subaru continued. “I wanted to ask. Did you get any sun while you were out there? You told me that the sunlight striking those black marks hurt you.”

“Not as much anymore,” Emilia smiled. “The marks fade a little more with every drink you give me. I’m really getting better, Subaru. I can almost make out your face!”

Subaru grinned and he held her closer. “Really?”

“Almost. Your face is really blurry though. Actually, it’s kind of an improvement.”

Subaru pretended to be mad and poked her side.

Emilia giggled. “Do you know what’s for dinner tonight?”

“I didn’t ask,” Subaru replied. “I just told Niobe to bring us up some plates when she can. I only hope that it’s not mutton again…” Subaru made a face.

“You don’t like mutton?”

“I’m fine with mutton. Just not three times a day,” He gagged. “Gusteko needs a better favorite dish.”

Emilia chuckled. “Subaru,” She whispered. “How long are you going to be home after that trip to Pardochel?”

“For a while!” Subaru said cheerfully. “I’ll have meetings and all that usual garbage but I’m not planning on another overnight trip for a good long while after that.”

Emilia snuggled against him. “I’m glad. I know that you’re extremely helpful to Anri and that we need to help her after everything she’s done for us… but I miss you when you’re gone.”

Subaru gently kissed her temple. “I miss you too. Constantly. But it’s almost over. The northerners are coming to the last gasp. The war will be over in a few months and then you and I will have nothing better to do than sit around and read everyday.”

Emilia smiled up at him. “I hope you’re not too tired. I want to read a lot tonight.”

“I’ll manage,” Subaru replied. “How far ahead did you get in the book while I was gone?”

“Nowhere. That’s our book,” Emilia said firmly. “I waited for you to come home to keep reading.”

Subaru’s eyes got a bit watery. “You didn’t have to do that…”

“Of course, I did! So after dinner you had better be ready! I want to find out what happens when Sophia finally meets the Devilish Count!”

Subaru thought about it. “I’d bet they probably end up having sex,” He said matter-of-fact. “Really awkward sex too. She’ll push him away at first and then cry out that she hates him. Then she’ll surrender to her passions and they’ll make passionate love until she becomes a whole new woman. Then in the morning she’ll say that it was all a mistake and that she still hates him. What do you think? Am I close?”

Emilia grabbed her pillow and started beating the laughing Subaru over the head with it. “Never mock Sophia and the Ruby Princess!” Emilia laughed.

The door opened and Niobe walked into the room holding two trays of food. Her eyes were baffled as she took in the scene. “Excuse me, Masters, am I… interrupting something?” She murmured.

Emilia blushed.

“Not at all, Niobe,” Subaru replied calmly. “Grab a pillow and jump right in.”

Emilia hit him with her pillow again.

“So what do you think?” Subaru asked. He sat in a small conference room in the Basilica at Pardochel with five Patriarchs in red robes. They each had at least one secretary or assistant with them and they all glared at Subaru with palatable hatred.

They had never met before but the Patriarchs had entered the room looking at Subaru as if he was the scum of the earth. The fact that he was a foreigner and also one of Prince Kairei’s advisers was enough reason by itself for them to despise him. His ludicrous request for the Patriarchs was just icing on the cake. However, the fact that he had the unmitigated gall to bring a small girl to the meeting was completely beyond the pale and established that Subaru was not even taking the meeting seriously.

“I think that you’re an absolute fool,” Patriarch Uvon muttered.

There was a murmur of agreement.

“You know, you do get that accusation a lot, Subaru,” Meili commented.

Subaru shrugged. “Fair enough.”

Uvon shook his head in disbelief. “Did you really come here expecting us to agree to appoint Kairei Queen?”

“I had my hopes,” Subaru admitted.

“There hasn’t been a secular Queen in Gusteko since House Griest lost the throne centuries ago! And you think that we’re going to hand the title to House Ithil?!”

Subaru considered the question for a moment. “I think that you don’t have a lot of choices,” Subaru said bluntly. “Thanks to Subata, the peasantry all across the country are howling for your blood. The northern provinces are too exhausted to defend you and House Griest won’t bother helping until and unless Kairei tells them to. That leaves you with some pretty narrow options.”

Uvon took a deep breath. “I will die before I see a mutt like Kairei on the throne!”

Several Patriarchs murmured in agreement.

Subaru shrugged. “Well, it’s your prerogative to make that choice. But if it might change your minds, I brought you all a little present.”

Meili jumped up and handed each of the Patriarchs a small pouch.

Uvon stared at Subaru in astonishment. “Are you trying to bribe us?”

Subaru just gave them a friendly smile.

The Patriarchs looked suspiciously at Subaru as if suspecting they were the butt of some joke as they opened their bags.

As soon as he did, Uvon gasped. “These are my prayer beads!” He said in a choked whisper. “I used them just last night! I couldn’t find them this morning. You stole them from my room?!”

Meili gasped. “These are yours?!” She said in astonishment. “That’s amazing! We just found them on the street today. By complete coincidence!”

“Then why did you give them to us?” Uvon growled at Subaru.

Subaru shrugged. “Well, they’re church stuff. You’re church people. We just thought that you would like them,” He said pleasantly.

“We didn’t have any idea that these were yours, Mister. Honest.” Meili said, her eyes huge and her voice innocent.

Uvon scowled. “Are you threatening us?”

Subaru looked shocked. “Threatening you? I don’t remember threatening anyone. Do you, Meili?”

“Oh no, Subaru,” She said firmly. “We were very good today.”

“Yeah. Especially for us!” Subaru laughed.

Meili laughed along. “Yeah. Usually we do threaten people when they’re dumb enough to tell us ‘no’ but we haven’t threatened anyone today.”

Subaru smiled. “Glad that we cleared that up,” Subaru said and Meili nodded cheerfully.

Subaru looked at the Patriarchs who held their beads in trembling hands. “Anyway, we’ll just show ourselves out. Kairei’s coronation comes up for a vote this afternoon. Remember to vote your conscience. I hear it’s a silent killer.”

Subaru and Meili walked down the steps from the towering Basilica. “Well, that went well,” He mused.

“That was fun!” Meili giggled.

“Yeah it was,” Subaru admitted. “Remind me to do something nice for Elsa. I still can’t believe she pulled this off without getting caught.”

“That’s my Big Sis!” Meili said proudly.

“That was a beautiful story,” Emilia sighed, her eyes still foggy like a frozen lake.

“I liked it too,” Senko said, putting the finished book down. Senko sat at a table and Emilia sat beside her in the wheelchair.

Senko was a regular guest at the house. At first she had just come to deliver reports and attend meetings with Subaru. However, one time when she had come for a meeting, Subaru was late getting home because of dealing with some other business. Petra had been rolling Emilia’s wheelchair down the hall and they had met Senko.

Emilia, wishing to be a considerate host, apologized for her somewhat scatter-brained husband and invited Senko to join her for tea.

Senko, overcome with curiosity, agreed.

Subaru came home a few hours late and, after apologizing for his tardiness, they did have their meeting. But Senko also spent a very enjoyable afternoon with Petra and Emilia and she took to visiting Emilia in the manor when her duties allowed.

“Are you leaving now?” Emilia asked.

“Yes. I’m sorry, Emilia but my mother is throwing a party tonight for a variety of important guests and I offered to help,” Senko said, standing up.

“Oh. Is Subaru going?” Emilia asked in a suddenly somber voice.

“I don’t believe so,” Senko said after a moment’s thought. “I believe he and Miss Meili are still off negotiating in Pardochel right now.”

“He is. But he’s supposed to be back sometime tonight. Anyway, give your Mother my regards,” Emilia said quietly.

Senko gave a slight bow. “I most surely will,” She said, walking out of the room.

“Senko,” Emilia called out.

The kitsune stopped.

Emilia took a deep breath and rolled after her a bit. “Lady Senko, I have a question for you. And… I’d appreciate you being completely honest with me.”

Senko hesitated. “Alright,” She said, her tailing twitching.

“Are you sleeping with my husband?” She asked calmly.

Senko started. “No, Lady Emilia!” Senko said. She considered her next words for a moment but if Emilia asked her to be completely honest, then she would do so. “I did make the offer when I first came into his employ but he declined.”

Emilia sighed. “Maybe I should have a talk with him about that,” She murmured.

“A talk with… Lady Emilia, why would you want me to sleep with your husband?” Senko asked in disbelief.

Emilia scowled and hit her thighs with her fists. “I can’t even feel my lower body much less move it! I can’t… do anything with Subaru right now,” Emilia whispered sounding ashamed.

Senko made an awkward expression. She cautiously cleared her throat. “Err. Lady Emilia… you… do know that there are… numerous ways to bring a man pleasure without… requiring your lower body, yes?”

“Really?!” Emilia asked excitedly. “Like what?!”

Senko bit her lip, uncertain if she wanted to laugh. “Um. I could… walk you through a few ideas tomorrow if you wish, Lady Emilia.”

“Yes! Thank you so much, Lady Senko!” Emilia said gratefully.

“It’s my pleasure, Lady Emilia,” Senko said, bowing and slipping out of the room. Her last view of Emilia was of her rocking excitedly in her wheelchair, a happy smile on her face.

On the bright side, at least I can finally tell Mother that all those years of courtesan training have come in handy at last…

A week later, Argus an Craite, Patrick an Brokvar, Vlad an Voivoide and Donar an Hilde sat in a small conference room in Kocytos. They’d come here for a meeting with Princess Kairei to hopefully resolve the war and the Princess was late.

The four princes fidgeted but no one seemed inclined to talk with each other. They were all angry and frustrated. The war had tested each of them and their alliance. Argus had broken off from his former allies Patrick and Donar whom he believed were too cowardly to attack at a disadvantage and bring the war to a speedy conclusion. Argus had joined forces with Vlad in attempting to harass the forces of Siros but with only half their forces, they did not have the numbers to achieve success. They had been beaten back with significant loses.

Meanwhile, Patrick and Donar were working feverishly to try and get a defensible supply line to the Siros front. Unfortunately, the sheer amount of manpower necessary to ensure that the goods for the armies weren’t stolen, inexplicably devoured by mabeasts, or simply disappeared was enormous. Worse, the peasant rebells were also fighting to seize whatever supplies they could. Even finding men brave enough to be willing to make deliveries at this point was a huge problem. After enough wagons had been destroyed by mabeasts, merchants simply refused to bring the goods. Instead Donar and Patrick had been forced to use soldiers to bring the goods, accompanied by escorts in force. This raised the price for each good that the army actually received to a ludicrous height.

The silence drifted on and as the wait continued with no foreseeable end, the Princes’ tempers worsened. This delay wasn’t an accident. The Princess wasn’t just late, she was forcing them to wait on her. This was a deliberate attempt to show rank before the summit even started.

Vlad pushed away from the table and was about to storm out of the room when the door opened and Subaru walked in.

“Good day, gentlemen,” He said cheerfully. “I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”

The princes gaped at him.

Donar, the wily old statesman, recovered first. “We were under the impression,” He said in a near growl, “That we were coming here to enter into negotiations with Princess Kairei. We expected to be negotiating with our equal.”

“I know that,” Subaru agreed, sitting down. “The problem is, her Majesty isn’t your equal. Really, the sooner you all get that through your heads, the better off you’ll all be.”

The princes all scowled at him. Vlad reached for his battle-axe only to discover that it wasn’t there. All of the men had been prudently disarmed before attending this summit.

“Is there any point to this meeting or does Kairei simply want to waste our time?” Vlad demanded.

“There’s a point,” Subaru assured him. “This is the part where you all surrender,” He explained.

The princes were struck speechless.

Subaru sighed and pushed back from the table. “Now, I’m sure you’re all ready to pitch a fit, shouting and making demands and protests, and all that bullshit, so let me boil this down for you. Next month, you’re all going to kneel before Kairei and make your vows of fealty to the Queen in the Basilica at Pardochel.”

Donar had been prepared to throw these absurd demands back in Subaru’s face until a single word stopped him cold. “The… Basilica?” He whispered.

Subaru nodded. “Yeah. The Gusteko Holy Church has seen the necessity of backing the Queen’s claim. She will be crowned next month,” He mused.

“That’s not possible,” Donar gasped. “You’re lying…”

“Holy King Gillecomgain isn’t even dead!” Patrick objected.

Subaru chuckled. “Kairei isn’t being appointed ‘Holy King.’ She’s being crowned as Queen of Gusteko. There won’t be another Holy King. Or if there is, he’ll control the Church and nothing else.”

“The Hierocracy would never accede to that,” Argus shouted.

“The Hierocracy is bordering on irrelevancy,” Subaru replied in mocking voice. “Individual parishes all over the kingdom are now refusing to acknowledge the authority of the Hierocracy. Not to mention all the churches in the north being burned by rebells while your armies are too busy running in circles to stop it. Peasants and town people all over Gusteko are fed up with the Hierocracy telling them what to do and then refusing to follow its own rules or even protect them from rampaging armies. The Hierocracy has agreed to endorse Kairei. They’re hoping by the time Kairei dies, they’ll be strong enough to claw their authority back. Personally, I wouldn’t count on that but hey, it’s good to have dreams.”

The princes were stupefied.

Subaru stood up and gave them a sly grin. “Each one of your provinces is completely exhausted. Thanks to Griest and Kairei’s embargoes, your economies are in the tank. Your armies have emptied your treasures, depleted your morale, and turned the peasantry against you. Last time I checked, all four of you were facing a different peasant uprising in your own province.”

Donar scowled at Subaru. “You are very well informed,” He growled. “I keep wondering how the peasants are getting so many weapons…”

“Personally? I’d guess smugglers,” Subaru replied after a moment’s thought. “The embargoes have given smugglers opportunities to make obscene profits. Selling weapons doesn’t seem to be out of the realm of possibility.”

“Cheap weapons. They’re selling them cheap,” Donar said, gritting his teeth. “In fact, for the peasantry to have bought so many weapons, some interested smuggler must be practically giving them away…”

The princes all glowered at Subaru.

He smiled back. “Next month at the full moon, Kairei will be crowned Queen. You will all be there to offer the traditional oath of loyalty. Those who do not appear will be treated as in rebellion by her Majesty and then her army will cross the border into your provinces. And given how tired and frustrated your soldiers are, that will not go well for you. Any questions?”

Argus snorted. “Just tell Kairei to remember that it isn’t her that mocks us but her advisers! Kairei is a foolish girl who would be nothing without wiser men pulling her strings!”

“Why don’t you tell her yourself?” Subaru said sweetly.

Argus was silent.

Subaru smiled. “See, she does mock you. That’s how impotent you are, Argus. You don’t dare insult her to her face because, even if you are right, if you hurt Kairei then her allies will hurt you. And you know that. The reason why you’re afraid of making Kairei angry is irrelevant. Just remember that you are afraid of her and we’ll get along just fine.”

Subaru held their gaze for a long time until something subtly changed. The fire burning in their eyes began to flicker and die down. They were all too old, too tired, or too smart not to know when they were beaten.

Slowly, the princes bowed their heads sadly.

“See you next month,” He said cheerfully, walking out of the room.

12 months later

“…And our earnings appear to be up five percent this quarter,” Koi murmured. Cynthia, Koi, Subaru, and Farouk sat around a small conference table in a dim room at Koi’s mansion. Subaru had dispensed with using shadows to mask who he was at this point. Every member of the Coins in the world recognized him as their effective leader. While the Tong had never sworn official loyalty to him as the King of Shadows, everyone knew who truly held the power.

Subaru nodded. “Cynthia?”

Cynthia sighed. “Vollachia has cracked down on the drug trade and they’re working hard to burn the fields we cultivated with our drugs. This has severely cut into our supply.”

Subaru scratched his chin. “Funny. I would have thought that with a war with Lagunica going on that Vollachia would have been too busy to worry about the drug trade.”

Cynthia sighed. “I don’t know why we got their attention so suddenly but until we can find a new source of supply, our profits from Stregno, Black Root, and other herbs will be crippled.”

Subaru glanced at Farouk. “Speaking of which, do you have an update on our special project?”

“Special project?” Cynthia asked.

Subaru nodded. “Growing drugs in Vollachia, despite the long growing season, is proving just too complicated,” Subaru said dismissively. “The Coins’ presence in Vollachia isn’t strong enough to protect our crops at the moment. Therefore we’re planning to move our farms to Gusteko where we can isolate and control our production.”

Cynthia cocked her head in confusion. “Um, forgive me, Subaru,” Cynthia murmured. “But nothing that we sell can grow in Gusteko…”

Subaru smirked and turned to Farouk.

Farouk cleared his throat. “We’ve harvested our second crop of Black Root at the experimental ‘greenhouse’ you created, Master. It… smells much better,” Farouk said with a laugh.

Subaru chuckled.

“Smells… better?” Cynthia echoed in confusion. “How are you growing Black Root in Gusteko?! The plant is tropical.”

Subaru smirked. “Under my direction, Farouk and your man Alex that you lent us, have been engaged in a pilot program to cultivate Black Root on the Gal’Gath-thon Plateau. It’s remote, isolated, has access to a staggering amount of sunlight and the hot springs provide free and easy access to heat all year long.”

“Aren’t those springs supposed to be poisonous?” Koi objected. “I’ve heard that they reek of rotten eggs.”

Subaru nodded with a pained look on his face. “Yeah. There’s a lot of sulfur mixed into the water, not to mention the fact that the water is close to boiling temperature. That’s how we lost our first crop. I tried using the hot water from the springs to heat the greenhouse directly. It worked but after the harvest, the Black Root all stank of rotten eggs and we couldn’t get the odor out. My bad. Anyway, now we don’t use the spring water to heat the greenhouse directly. I’ve invented central heating. We use the boiling water from the springs to heat up a tank of oil and use that to circulate heat through the greenhouse. So, no more odors.”

Koi and Cynthia shared a confused look.

Farouk cleared his throat. “For the record, Master, Alex was absolutely baffled by your instructions but he followed them closely. There’s no soil nurturing the plants and barely any water being used. He has no idea how the crops grow at all, let alone so big and so fast-”

“It’s a technique pioneered a few centuries ago by a woman named Daphne,” Subaru explained. “She discovered a means to literally double the production of current crop lands using a science called hydroponics. Unfortunately, Daphne wasn’t very good at communicating or expressing herself to regular people. After listening to her talk for a few hours, the local farmers walked away thinking that she was advocating some strange kind of religious observance, not helped by the part where she urged them to save their urine and then boil it…”

Farouk gave Subaru a strange look. He cleared his throat. “…Anyway, as per your instructions, we’ve saved all the urine from the workers on site,” Farouk murmured. “We boiled it dry and mixed the remaining… whatever that white salt is called, into the water that feeds the plants. We also added the ammonia that you brewed for us and the um… what did you call it, ‘lime sand?’ Anyway we mixed all that together and fed it to the plants.”

“What’s the result?” Subaru asked.

Farouk hesitated. “Well, I don’t know if Alex knows what he’s talking about but-”

“Alex is one of my best growers,” Cynthia cut in. “If he says something, you can believe him.”

Farouk shrugged. “Alright. Anyway, Alex claims that if this growth rate holds steady, we ought to be able to cultivate 50% more crop in less than a quarter of the space than he’s used to. Plus there’s no need for a fallow season and the crops can be grown all year round.”

Cynthia gasped.

Subaru chuckled. “I’m going to call this experiment a success then,” He mused.

Farouk nodded. “One thing though, Alex wanted me to tell you that the water is getting too… ‘alkaline,’” Farouk fumbled over the unfamiliar word. “And that’s reducing the plant yield. He wants to know-”

“Tell him to boil the smelly, spring water and take the yellow salts left over when it evaporates,” Subaru said immediately. “Mix them into the water we feed to the plants. It’ll counter the process of the lime and the ammonia.”

It was clear that Farouk had no idea what Subaru was talking about but over the past year, Farouk had gotten used to following orders he didn’t understand. “I’ll pass that along,” He promised.

“What about the other greenhouses?” Subaru asked.

“Other green houses?” Cynthia asked.

Subaru glanced at her. “A few weeks ago, once we were pretty sure that this idea was going to work, I bought the Gal’Gath-thon plateau,” Subaru said bluntly. “It was amazingly cheap.”

“Not so amazing,” Koi replied. “Most people don’t want to live somewhere that stinks of rotten eggs.”

Subaru shrugged. “Anyway, we own the entire territory and can use it for production. Farouk has had the Gusteko craft guilds working nonstop producing our materials for the greenhouses. How long until they’re ready?”

“We should have enough greenhouses to completely match Cynthia’s current supply in ninety days,” Farouk replied. “And we have another group of greenhouses already under construction. We should be prepared to triple our current production of herbs inside the year.”

Subaru frowned. “No. We don’t want to do that. If we produce that much supply, the price will head for the basement. We’ll just use the greenhouses to duplicate our current supply and then fine tune it as demand fluctuates. We’ll use the additional greenhouses to produce fruits and medicinal herbs for Senko’s company. It will help launder our profits anyway.”

Farouk nodded.

“Cynthia,” Subaru said.

Cynthia snapped out of her reverie. “Yes, Subaru?”

“Ninety days is your timetable. Coordinate with Farouk,” Subaru instructed. “I want to have enough manpower and supplies to bring those greenhouses into full operation at that time. Pull your people out of Vollachia for now. There’s nothing down there worth fighting over anymore. I’ve been hearing through the grapevine that Vollachia is likely to have bigger problems to worry about than us in the next few months and we’ll slip back in once they’re distracted. Meanwhile, the greenhouses will give us all the product we could ever need.” He looked more closely at Cynthia. “Are your coffers holding up alright?”

“…Why do you ask, Lord Subaru?” Cynthia asked suspiciously.

“You’re having a lean year,” Subaru said with some sympathy. “It happens. But your divisions are very profitable. Once we get your people set up in Gusteko, your profits will surge. Let me know if you need a bridge loan until then. I don’t want you to cut personnel or equipment. Letting your division shrink due to this temporary disruption would be a waste of everyone’s time and money.”

Cynthia nodded.

“Anything else?” Subaru asked all assembled.

Nobody said anything.

Subaru shrugged. “Alright, nothing heard. Talk to you all next month,” He said, standing up.

The other mob bosses stood as well and started to leave.

Subaru found himself walking beside Koi as they departed. “I assume that smuggling from Gal’Gath-thon will be manageable?” He asked.

Koi nodded. “It’s in the middle of nowhere and close to the border of Kararagi and Lagunica. Smuggling the goods should be trivial.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Subaru replied.

“Lagunica is still reeling from the Vollachian offense in the southeast,” Gustov said.

Subaru, Anri, Radu and Gustov sat around the conference table. Radu had pressured Anri to wear a much fancier crown since her coronation but since she was still growing into it, it fell down over her eyes a lot.

Radu looked speculative. “This might be a good time to attack Lagunica,” Radu mused. “Lagunica can’t fight a war on two fronts and we could reclaim Ganaks and the territory we lost to Lagunica centuries ago.”

Anri frowned. “We just negotiated some very favorable trade agreements with the dragon kingdom,” Anri objected. “I’m not thrilled about jeopardizing that.”

“It’s also a bad idea politically,” Subaru said. “Lagunica is already on the back foot in this war. If Gusteko attacks from the north while Vollachia pushes in from the south, then Lagunica is simply going to implode. No matter how much territory we gobble up, an emboldened Vollachia is still going to be right on our southern border. And the disruption in balance between the nations would likely kick off a general war which I don’t think any of us want.”

“No!” Anri shuddered.

“Ganaks is a prize that can’t be overestimated!” Radu argued. “It was the original capitol of Gusteko until House Griest lost it and with it their throne. Anri, you recovering the city would solidify your legacy and silence any objections to you as the rightful queen!”

Anri hesitated.

“I think we should take a different approach,” Subaru replied. He sat up straight. “Let’s offer Lagunica a deal. They give us Ganaks and I’ll win their war for them. That way Vollachia is humbled, a long way from us, and we get what we want. It’s all upsides.”

The trio pondered that. No one in the room questioned if Subaru could win Lagunica’s war.

“Lagunica is desperate, Anri,” Gustov admitted. “If we made this offer, they’d probably have no choice but to accept the deal.”

Subaru frowned. “Gustov… has… has there been any news?”

Gustov shook his head and favored Subaru with a cold look. He still mistrusted Subaru but he’d grown willing to do him a favor on occasion. “No, Subaru. I’m sorry. I ordered my Shadows to investigate but they turned up nothing. Nobody has seen or heard from Sir Reinhard, Miss Felt, or Master Garfiel in close to a year. The kingdom has been searching for the Sword Saint frantically without success…”

Subaru sighed and leaned back in his chair. “They can’t be dead! What in the world could kill Reinhard?!”

Gustov bowed his head. “I do not know. But Vollachia was confident enough in his absence to attack and thus far, their gamble has paid off.”

Subaru looked off into the distance with a moody expression.

Anri thought for a while and finally nodded. “Very well, make Lagunica the offer. But insist that they throw in the Elior Forest and the region around Arlem village as well.”

“Huh?” Subaru asked in surprise.

Anri looked intently at him. “For one thing, we need a buffer. I don’t want our capitol located just a few miles from the Lagunican border. More importantly, Subaru, it’ll make some of your… personal concerns easier to manage.”

Subaru didn’t respond right away. “Thanks, Anri,” He murmured.

“Hey, Mili,” After the meeting ended, Subaru opened the door to their room with a sigh. “I’m back.”

“Hi, Subaru,” Emilia said, putting down her book and rolling her wheelchair over to him. Emilia’s eyes had recovered and were now a radiant purple again. “How’s Anri doing? She seemed really stressed when we had lunch last week.”

Subaru sighed. He walked over to the counter and poured himself a drink of strong Gusteko liquor and downed it in a shot. He made a face and gagged. “Anri is working hard to find more chores for me!” He grumbled.

Emilia chuckled. “Why? What has she asked you to do?” She said knowingly.

Subaru slumped into a chair beside Emilia. “I’ll tell you later,” He sighed. “It’s going to be a pain.”

Emilia gave him a fond smile. “Maybe. But I bet she’ll still talk you into it,” She teased.

“Hey! Whose side are you on?!” Subaru protested in mock-frustration. “You’re supposed to be my wife!”

Emilia laughed. “Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?”

“No. I think Anri’s dropped all the anvils on me this afternoon that she could reasonably be expected to,” He replied. “Want to read the next volume from the Crystal Princess series until its dinner time?”

“Of course, I do!” Emilia said quickly. “I hate having to put it down!”

Subaru helped Emilia climb into bed and laid down beside her as Emilia pulled out the book.

“It’s your turn to read,” Subaru said.

Emilia thought about it. “Are you sure about that?” She asked skeptically.

“Probably not but who cares? I read to you for freaking months while you were blind! You’re going to owe me chapters for the foreseeable future!”

Emilia poked him hard in the stomach, forcing Subaru to sit up straight with a gasp. “Be nice, Subaru,” Emilia said primly.

Subaru sighed and wrapped his arms around her. “I think we may need to store up a lot of quality time over the next few weeks. I think there’s good odds I may be bolting down south to stop a war…”

Emilia smiled sadly. “I’ll miss you very much,” She whispered. “But I know that you’ll make millions of peoples’ lives better by going and stopping the fighting.”

“When did I become responsible for the whole goddamn world?” Subaru moaned.

Emilia kissed him. “There’s nobody else I’d rather trust with this world, Subaru. It’s like I’ve always told you: My Subaru can do anything.”

So that’s where we stop this little journey of ‘what might have been.’ I don’t really plan to revisit this timeline in the future so consider the rest of this story some long term spoilers.

Once the deal between Gusteko and Lagunica had been struck, Subaru, Meili, and Elsa went to Vollachia to kill Emperor Vincent. They caught him and his guards traveling across the kingdom and attacked.

Cecilus Segmunt, the Blue Lightning was protecting him. Elsa was ecstatic to engage with the legendary warrior but she still expected to die within seconds.

Unfortunately for Cecilus, Taiyang’s Endless Hunger drained his mana and reduced him from invincible to merely inhumanly dangerous. Elsa was still no match for Cecilus and he quickly managed to cut her head off. Cecilus’s heart stopped when her severed neck healed before her head could even slip off her shoulders. Then Elsa resumed the attack. Cecilus slashed her stomach and stabbed her heart but without effect. By now, Elsa was armored with centuries of Stolen Years and she was nigh impossible to kill, even for a now frantic Cecilus.

At this point, Subaru and Meili had succeeded in killing all of the guards as well as Emperor Vincent. With nothing left to fight for and clearly facing an unnatural opponent, Cecilus fled.

Subaru wasn’t particularly pleased with Elsa, reminding her that she was supposed to ‘distract’ Cecilus, not pick a fight that she couldn’t possibly win and asking her if she had any idea how many Years of Vitae she’d just wasted.

Elsa calmly pointed out that Subaru had just harvested lives from more than thirty guards and assuming he got a Decade a piece from them due to using the Philosopher’s Stone, she’d be back up to full strength in no time.

Subaru gave up trying to make his point. Elsa was simply Elsa.

The murder of Emperor Vincent ended the Lagunican-Vollachian war as Vollachia quickly embroiled itself in a violent civil war over who would claim the throne.

At Subaru’s suggestion, once the Lagunican-Vollachian war had end, Queen Kairei formed a strong alliance with Lagunica and Kararagi to oppose Vollachian territorial ambitions.

Lagunica had yet to put a King on the throne. Crusch had fallen in battle against Vollachia, Priscilla had mysteriously disappeared, and Anastasia had withdrawn from the selection after concluding that being King of Lagunica was no longer a sound business opportunity. Thus, it was clear to everyone in the world that, for the moment at least, Queen Kairei was the dominant political force on the continent. She relaxed Gusteko’s restrictions on foreigners and demi-humans and as as a result, trade in the north surged.

The hardliners and the church often attempted to gather up the resources to depose her but once Kairei had retaken Ganaks and assumed her throne in the ancient city, people across Gusteko hailed her as a Queen whose rule was ordained by the Gods and her opposition failed to find any purchase and crumbled. Her foes continued to try to remind everyone of Kairei’s strange connection with the legendary Witch of the Frozen Wastes but by now, the only people who even believed in the Witch were Kairei’s most implacable foes. The rest of Gusteko had come to dismiss the existence of the Witch as a rumor invented to excuse the many mistakes of the incompetent House Griest and to undermine the queen.

Lady Koi’s smuggling division shrank after the annexation of Ganaks. As time went on and open trade agreements between the nations grew, smuggling became less and less profitable since most of what Koi was able to smuggle were simply drugs. Subaru elevated Koi to Boss of Gusteko and Cynthia to Boss of Lagunica as her Father and Brother had been before her. Elsa remained tightly connected with Cynthia and Koi and the Black Silver Coins knew that one only crossed the Bosses at peril of their life.

Senko’s entirely, without question, law-abiding business, the ‘Inari Trading Company’ surged. Koi had her doubts about Senko’s ability to run such a large business but Senko quickly proved herself to be a shrewd and ruthless businesswoman and her organization sank deep fingers into all four kingdoms. Many established merchants did not welcome the new competition and they attempted to extricate the newcomer from their markets by fair means or foul. However, the Inari Trading Company did not forget its sordid roots and when anyone attempted to play dirty with Senko, they often discovered that they had bit off a bit more than they could chew.

The name of the trading company struck many as odd and more than a few people approached Senko seeking to purchase kitsune pleasure slaves. Senko regretfully informed them that she did not sell kitsune but that she’d be interested in buying any that were currently on the market and that she would pay top dollar. This led to Senko becoming involved in a variety of kitsune slave trading and kitsune breeding operations across the world. Strangely, Senko’s extremely high offers to purchase kitsune invariably seemed to fall through at the last minute. Then the slave sites would inexplicably get mauled by a horde of savage mabeasts, leaving no survivors. Rumors persisted, however, of a legendary haven set deep in the Elior forest, a village called ‘Kyubi’ that was believed to be populated entirely by kitsune who had escaped from slavery and desired to live out their lives in peace and safety. An entire community of kitsune was a prize that many slavers would risk death to obtain. And they did. The mabeasts in the Elior Forest were savage and few slavers who entered the trees ever emerged alive again.

During one such rescue of a kitsune breeding farm, Senko met a fox named Yako and later they fell in love. Koi never considered the humble, plainspoken kitsune remotely good enough for her daughter but she learned to keep her mouth shut. To Koi’s considerable chagrin, Senko wasted no time in presenting Koi with the title of ‘Grandmother,’ a pronouncement that sent Koi racing to her mirror looking for wrinkles and gray hairs, features fortunately prevented by regular doses of Subaru’s Vitae. As if once wasn’t bad enough, Senko proceeded to give Koi another five grandchildren, all of whom absolutely adored their classy and sophisticated Grandmother to the point of being a nuisance.

In time, Koi retired from the Coins and spent her days divided between being the respected grand dame of the village of Kyubi and being a grandmother to Senko’s many children. Koi remained in Senko’s home until the day she died. Senko cherished the company of her mother and best friend and the pair almost never quarreled. Except on those rare occasions when Senko felt a need to remind her mother that hiring Elsa was not a reasonable reaction to her grandchildren being teased at school.

Almost seven years after Ganaks and the surrounding lands had been ceded to Gusteko by Lagunica, Petra finally left Subaru’s service. She had carefully trained the local sisters Donna and Dana to replace her and she assured Subaru and Emilia that they would be well cared for. The parting was teary but Petra invited them both to the wedding.

After a multi-year long distance courtship, Petra returned to Arlem and married Lucas. They planned to travel to the Lagunican capitol so that Petra could open a dress shop. Subaru gave Petra a sizable pension in gold coins as well as a large amount of seed capital as her primary investor. Petra and Senko had grown very close over the years and Senko pulled several strings to ensure that Petra’s shop exploded in popularity, convincing and bribing opinion makers to wear her clothing at public receptions.

Meili was persuaded to be maid of honor at the wedding. The now ravishing young woman earned a great deal of attention from the men in Arlem and who made it abundantly clear that she couldn’t have cared less about any of them.

Following the wedding, Subaru and Emilia made a visit throughout the area and Subaru was astonished at how much respect and goodwill his name still commanded. They also encountered Rem and Ram during the ceremony. However, all four considered their prior relations to be something that belonged to another lifetime and none of them found that they had very much to say to one other.

Subaru built a summer estate for Emilia near Rixum, close to the shortest path to the elven village. Over the years, Emilia slowly came to accept that she would never break the curse on the elves. She offered the village to Senko’s kitsune as a haven, thinking that her people would be happy to offer succor and sanctuary to another oppressed race. The kitsune came to revere the elven statues and they constructed a massive shrine on the hill of frozen elves. It was considered a high honor in the village to be entrusted with tending to the statues.

Subaru devoted his time between helping Anri in Ganaks to keep the world together and experimenting in his workshop in his mansion. Subaru continued to tinker in both machines and alchemy and he invented and reinvented many fascinating devices that improved the quality of life for people around the world. Subaru made an agreement with Senko to be his exclusive manufacturer and distributor of his designs and they both became fantastically rich. Subaru and Emilia had little use for money and they devoted most of it to building schools throughout the realm and trying to foster universal literacy.

Emilia regained her sight within eight months of drinking Azoth and recovered the use of her legs within two years. Sadly, she never achieved her dream of becoming a mother. The Black Dragon Blood had resulted in Emilia becoming permanently barren. This cast a pall over her life that never quite lifted.

Anri never married. She was well aware that in Gusteko, conservative as it was, if she ever married she would make herself vulnerable to a coup as a not-small subset of the populace would consider any male ruler to be preferable to any female one.

Anri did eventually have a child. After some years, she had gone to Subaru and Emilia and asked for their assistance with an extremely personal favor. Anri needed an heir and she wanted Subaru’s considerable gifts to be passed on to her child. Emilia, having come to terms with the fact that she would never have a child of her own, heartily endorsed the idea. Subaru was somewhat reluctant but working together, the girls prevailed upon him.

To facilitate a legitimate heir, Anri suggested a marriage that would be in-name only. Emilia was willing to tolerate this but Subaru resolutely put his foot down and Anri had to come up with an alternative approach.

Anri was delighted the day she scandalized the conservative factions of Gusteko by claiming a consort. There were long traditions of this in Gusteko. For centuries, many princes of Gusteko had taken consorts, even women who were already married to other men, with said man’s permission or without it, and used them for procreation or recreation. Anri, however, was the first woman in history to demand this privilege, a fact which amused her greatly.

The princes were livid both about Anri claiming this privilege and also that she dared to choose an untitled foreigner for the role instead of a more respectable option. They hoped to make hay out of this scandal but Prince Donar, grand old man of Gusteko politics, calmly explained to them that Anri had outsmarted them and that was that. By choosing a consort who was an untitled foreigner, Anri had made her assassination completely unthinkable. If Anri were to die, then her offspring would take the throne and until they were grown, by law, Subaru Natsuki would serve as regent. If Anri were to die childless, then Subaru Natsuki, a foreigner and a man of common blood, had good odds of being crowned king simply to avoid a civil war.

In essence, the princes were helpless about this situation and could do nothing but accept it.

Once the proprieties of Subaru’s consort-status were resolved, Subaru, Anri, and Emilia spent the night together.

Subaru had occasionally fantasized about having a three-way but in practice he found the experience to be fairly awkward. No one quite knew what to do that night but they managed. They night was not especially erotic or romantic but it was warm and fondly familiar and the trio got through the night with a great deal of cuddling.

A few weeks later, Anri knew that she was pregnant. The experience that they had shared would never be repeated but all three thought back on the moment with fondness.

Emilia and Anri both thanked the other profusely for allowing them to be involved in the matter, Emilia for offering Anri a worthy donor for her heir and Anri for giving Emilia the chance to have a child to love, even if just as a doting Aunt.

Nine months later, Anri gave birth to a healthy baby boy that after great discussion they named Perseus at Emilia’s insistence.

Subaru and Anri were often frantically busy with their responsibilities. Although they made as much time for him as they possibly could, Perseus spent most of his time growing up with his ‘Auntie’ Emilia who spent every moment possible with the boy. One night, Perseus confessed that he wished Emilia was really his mother, a comment that made Emilia’s heart want to burst from both joy and sorrow.

Emilia calmly explained that she had also been raised by a woman who hadn’t given birth to her because her mother had been… unable to raise her. But this just meant that Emilia had two mothers who loved her very much and she encouraged Perseus to think about it the same way.

Meili remained with Subaru and studied under him as an apprentice, learning about strategy and tactics. Meili would later replace Koi as the Boss of Black Silver Coins in Gusteko.

Late in her life, Meili became pregnant after a one night stand with someone she’d met at a party. She later gave birth to a daughter she named Elisa after the girl’s god mother Elsa. Meili stayed with Subaru and Emilia as her delivery grew closer. Meili felt confident about her skills as a mother as she’d helped raise a number of babies over the years.

Subaru and Emilia returned home from a walk the day after the delivery to hear a crying baby and a frustrated Meili. They found that Meili was attempting to feed her newborn baby steak-cuts. It appeared that all of the ‘babies’ that Meili referred to helping raise were actually Guiltylowe kittens. It rapidly became apparent that Meili had no idea how to be a mother but with the help of Senko and Meili’s other friends, she was learning. Elisa grew up surrounded by Senko’s children. Because Elisa was the youngest by a goodly amount, they all spoiled her outrageously.

Elisa inherited her mother’s Divine Blessing and ability to communicate with mabeasts and later became the fabled guardian of the Elior Forest. Subaru instructed the forest mabeasts to obey her commands and she spent much of her time patrolling the forest for intruders whom her mabeasts fell upon with great savagery. Local legend held that the Guardian was in fact an elven witch who roamed the forest clad in nothing but her long hair and riding on the back of a great Guiltylowe. She was reputed to offer the virtuous a kiss and her protection.

Elisa always found these legends very amusing.

Due to a change in this time-line that’s blink-and-you-miss-it, Subaru never encountered Korë. In fact, rumors of witches in general soon died down. After a season of the Witch Cult displaying more activity than they’d shown in centuries, the Cult seemed to virtually vanish from the continent overnight. They would periodically reemerge to raid small isolated villages and carry off the inhabitants to a fate that no one cared to guess at. Even the Assassin’s Guild grew silent. No one was quite sure what was happening and only a few became concerned that it portended anything ominous.

Because Elsa and Emilia never fought in Iruk, Lagunica and Gusteko never entered into conflict and the Triumvirate remained in the shadows. They assumed that now that the upstart Subaru had disappeared things would get back to normal. They were to be very disappointed.

Subaru waited for years but he never heard from Roswaal again. He used every resource he possessed to try and track down the missing mage but he never found so much as a clue. Finally, he threw dignity to the winds. He went to Ram and literally begged her to tell him anything she knew about Roswaal and the missing spirits. But Ram knew nothing, or at least was willing to say nothing, and Subaru returned home in defeat.

Subaru and Emilia never discovered exactly what had happened but they concluded that Roswaal was most likely dead and that this had put Puck and Beatrice forever beyond their reach.

Subaru pursued his dream of making Anima with vigor but with a steadily sinking heart. Eventually, Subaru became capable of producing Anima, something that he thought should have made him feel euphoric but instead left him extremely somber. Subaru and Emilia had a long talk that night and they came to the decision to abandon the plan to fix the world’s memories of Emilia. With the loss of the spirits, Reinhard, Felt, and even Garfiel, there was simply no one left from their ‘old lives’ who actually mattered. Even Petra and Meili wouldn’t have been very affected by the addition of a few weeks of memories compared to the years they had already spent together. The lovers had to accept that any chance to repair the losses suffered in their the past had escaped them and that they needed to concentrate on their future.

Shortly after Perseus was born, Subaru left Gusteko on a quest to try and discover what had befallen Reinhard, Felt, and Garfiel. Subaru was only supposed to be gone for a week but he went missing for a full three months and all the forces of Gusteko and the Black Silver Coins failed to find him. Subaru was only located when he had finally returned to Gusteko, his face drawn and haggard with fear.

He ignored everyone’s questions and demands for explanations. He told no one what he’d found or where he’d been. He only wanted to hold his family close and wouldn’t let go of them for a long time.

The only thing that he ever said on the matter of what he’d seen was: “It’s too late. There’s nothing we can do about it now. Maybe if I’d found out sooner but… There’s nothing we can do about it now. We’re all on borrowed time…”