The visit to Wendy's store wasn't as bad as I was afraid it would be, mainly because Wendy took one of my jokes seriously and even expanded upon it. Instead of making a corner with sofas for tired husbands, she built an entire pub, cosily situated on the first floor with a great view over the shop. There were plenty of tables to eat typical bar food like hamburgers or a very light but tasty beer. It had a few billiards tables, dart boards, and even a table football. Unlike the previous visits, Wendy's shop was always full. So while Amber, Freya, Mia, and Tia were intercepted by Wendy and her most skilled assistants, I was directed straight to the pub by one of the shop stewards.

The silence that spread across the bustling establishment once I walked in was amusing. There was an awkward pause and I knew there was nothing that I could do. I simply asked them not to make any embarrassing scenes. I shouldn't have been surprised, after all. I was their King- well, an Emperor now, but that was just a technicality. I was someone who they respected and feared alike. I sat on an oversized and unoccupied couch in the corner and contemplated returning to the girls until one guy approached me. He was a towering Wolfkin that needed just a few more patches of fur to pass for a werewolf. He was at least as tall as I was, and his white hair and fur were almost glowing in the dimmed light of the pub. He kneeled in front of me and lowered his head, and as he did so, I felt his gratitude simply beaming from him. I noticed that most of the men in the pub came closer, full of similar feelings.

"Thank you, my Lord," he said with a firm voice despite his tears falling. Most of the people followed suit, kneeling and saying their thanks. "I see in your eyes that you don't understand our gratitude. You told us that you just did what you felt was right. I can kneel here for the entire day, but it wouldn't be enough to thank you. But I must thank you. Your soldiers saved everything dear to me from the jaws of death. My wife, my daughter, and my son are alive only because your Immortal Legion arrived in time to save them in Falmir."

"Falmir... I'm so sorry." I lowered my head. "Please, raise everyone."

"I'm afraid I can't, my Liege." He shook his head stubbornly. His every word was full of unshaken honesty and loyalty I wasn't expecting. "I wasn't there when I was most needed, and that will haunt me forever..." His voice now trembled. There was pain in his words- things he blamed himself for and would rather not speak of. But I know his pain very well.

"If you were there, you would be dead..." a sad-eyed, elderly Human said, cutting through the silence that befallen the place. "I survived only because I was a Human..."

"Gentlemen..." I said firmly but with an immense and genuine sorrow in my voice. "I never wanted it to end like that. But ultimately, what happened in Falmir was the consequence of the rise of Arcadia."

"If you say so, my Lord. But even if you order me to believe that, I won't obey. Once the great flags of Avalon rose over Falmir, everything changed. Your soldiers were everywhere, tending wounds and making sure that no one got hurt. They fed everyone and made sure that children and elderly were safe," the large Wolfkin said, slowly raising his head. "Since that day, everything has changed for the better. You never abandoned us or left us to our own devices."

"And I never will..." I stood up from the sofa and picked up two sets of darts. "What's your name?"

"Rhys, my Lord."

"Do you fancy a game, Rhys? I played darts a very long time ago, so it might be fun." I said, offering him a set of darts.

"As you wish, my Lord..." he said, but I saw confusion in his eyes.

"The nobles and royals had to sow fear in your hearts to make you obey them because their rules worked as long as you couldn't rebel," I said, throwing my first dart that landed on some miserable twenty points. "As long as you obey Arcadia's laws, you don't have to be afraid of me. I'm telling you that in case one of you thinks I would act like one of the insecure nobles with a fragile ego you knew from before."

"I... Damn, my Lord..." Rhys snorted as the tension in the room slowly dropped.

"Oh, please... What's the worst thing I can make you do? Sentence you to live in a Dungeon?" I chuckled, and finally, everyone laughed. "I was sent to be a guardian, but as you all know, I ended up as the Emperor of Arcadia. I guess I can work with that, too."

That was welcomed with another round of laughter. Rhys rubbed the back of his head with a smile. "You are certainly different, my Lord. And I have worked for many nobles before."

"I want all of you to be proud of the country we built together. Unlike the rulers before me, I would rather have your respect." I throw another dart straight into the bullseye. "But... I must make myself clear. There are rules that shouldn't ever be broken."

"Well... Your rules are fair and simple, my Lord." Rhys nodded and then it hit me.

"Waaait a minute... A huge Wolfkin... The white coat... Rhys the Shadowmoon?" I said, and he twitched.

"Yes, my Lord." He nodded as the last of my darts hit another bullseye.

I started laughing and patted his shoulder, making everyone confused. It took me a fair moment to calm down, but the situation was absolutely comical.

“His story is a good one, though!" I said, and after one more short chuckle, I patted the huge Wolfkin shoulder once more. "At some point, my wife Luna wanted to use the entire Inquisition just to find you."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

He twitched even more at that, and I saw fear in his eyes; I dismissed it with a quick shake of my head and an even wider smile. I grabbed his arm and raised it as if announcing a boxing champion.

"This guy is a fucking legend, everyone!" I continued, and the people focused solely on Rhys, who started feeling uncomfortable. "Not only did he protect his charge from not one but three assassination attempts made by my agents, but he also managed to enter Avalon without triggering all the bells within the Inquisition Headquarters. I salute, you, however…! The reason why I don't make a big deal of it is because Mr Rhys is a war hero and totally on our side. So with all that, let's call it a misunderstanding in the past that should stay there."

Everyone started cheering and raising toast after toast. Even Rhys relaxed once I called him a hero and I'll be damned if he wasn't one. When the cheers calmed down, I grinned. I even chuckled when I heard some people shyly demand a story.

"He protected the Lord of Falmir during our war with Cridia. However, once Falmir was simply gifted to Berna, Rhys killed the guy and burned his camp to the ground. The Lord, I have already forgotten his name, was responsible for coordinating Bernan forces within Cridia. Except for Josla, only he knew where they were stationed, and only he and Josla could issue them orders," I explained and chuckled again. "But Rhys wasn't done! With his group of mercenaries, Rhys ambushed and cut down every single Bernan Paladin and Cridian Soldier in the area. They not only hampered the moves of the Bernans but also destroyed the entire chain of command in the region. We thought we were so lucky that Bernans and Cridians weren't coordinating their efforts, but it was all thanks to Rhys!"

Now, the cheers were even louder. I was still patting his shoulder as the doors to the pub opened, and a boy, maybe ten years old entered, followed by a girl who appeared to be about fifteen. They looked around only to freeze in shock upon seeing me and Rhys.

"It's all right!" I smiled, seeing their worried faces. "Are they your kids, Rhys?"

"Yes, my Lord!" He nodded proudly. "Alanis and Garhys. My children."

The kids approached us and tried to kneel but I stopped them.

"I see that we might not finish our game today, Rhys, but I would certainly like to finish it later." I extended my hand, and he accepted it with a firm handshake. "Also, go and visit the Royal Military Academy. Luna and I have a job for someone like you."

•••

I left the bar right after Rhys and went looking for Amber, Freya, Mia, and Tia. The evening turned into night but to my surprise, they had finished shopping before I found them. There was no evidence of how much they bought because they already packed away their findings in their storage rings. We returned home and as Mia and Tia went to their guest rooms, I took a little time to bathe. The night was warm, but the air had already started to change, as autumn was just around the corner. I gazed at the stars that covered the skies above me, akin to diamond dust. The water was pleasantly warm, and the outside pool, situated on one of the top floors of the Palace, was one of my latest whims. I still found it extremely funny to be able to change anything around me with just a thought.

"Creative mode enabled..." I laughed to myself and added a small, decorative garden with a waterfall on the other side of the pool.

"I see that you are having fun," Aoi laughed, but the voice betrayed her anxiety despite her efforts to be amused.

"I mean... Why not?" I smiled at her as she approached me. "Are you not sure about the peace conference?"

Aoi stopped to stand at the glass doors leading into the inside bath. Well, at this point, it was a private aqua park, but we all thought about it as our bathroom. Her golden hair, which was much longer now, was wet. She made two steps toward the edge of my pool and visibly trembled. She dropped her bathrobe and quickly slipped into the water beside me.

"A bit," she admitted with a worried voice. "I was so confident back then, but we will leave in just three days. Now... I just don't know."

"I should be there…” I sighed and smiled at her. ”Our demands are pretty reasonable, so you don't even have to try. Of course, there will be some issues you will have to improvise, but essentially there is nothing you have to be worried about. If the Union is going to choose violence, Janet will simply erase them. We can only ask them to cease any hostility against Metaka, Hilgvar, and Arcadia."

I pulled her closer to me and she sighed.

"I know... But I don't want to come out as some arrogant bitch who just orders people around."

"Language, my Lady," I scoffed and started tickling her. "I won't allow anyone to call you that, even you!"

She laughed and tried to protect herself, but I was faster. I stopped only when she started begging for mercy.

"Please, Theon..." She tried to contain her laughter, her bad mood now gone. "You think I'll do good?"

"I know you will be perfect." I kissed her. "Besides, you even have to be a little bit arrogant. You can't be nice to bad people, Aoi."

"I... Why?"

"Because they will try to exploit your good heart." I shrugged. "Don't worry. Allow Mia, Tia, and Cassmira to speak first. You don't even have to speak with the Union's representatives if their kings and queens don't arrive personally. Pull out the 'I'm offended' card and see their self-confidence crumble like a castle made of cards."

"Hmmm... That's some sort of idea." She slowly nodded and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Also, don't let them go with 'I'm not authorised to do that' bullshit. If they even utter something like that, just end the meeting, ask them to send someone competent, and tell them to stop wasting your time."

"That one I figured out myself," she chuckled.

"I trust you, Aoi. I know that you are more than capable of dealing with that situation. If they choose peace, that's great. If they choose violence, then we are going to annihilate their royals and all nobles, or at least most of the nobles, and we plunge their country into chaos. Then we will eat popcorn while we watch their country burn. Okay, we don't have popcorn… so we will eat those small salted pretzels. But you have the picture." I grinned. "I don't want to expand Arcadia now. It's already huge."

"I know..."

"I am going to send with you two squads of the Mobile Infantry," I said, seeing her hesitation. "If anyone is looking for trouble, this is going to be the fastest war in the history of Aderon."

"I just... I just want them to simply stop. To abort everything and just let us all have peace." She sighed and snuggled herself to my side.

"Me too, my Dear." I sighed as well and rested my head on the pool wall behind me.

"Thank you for worrying about me, Theon."

"And I won’t stop worrying until you return safely..."