"I want to go to Iceleon." Lavender declared as soon as we returned home.

"But it's cold out there!" Irene almost panicked as she looked at the serious Dryad.

"Whatever has happened there, it may affect Arcadia, and we don't even know what it is! I must get to the bottom of it." Lavender said calmly.

"Lavender is right. We can't afford to waste the opportunity to investigate an anomaly like that." Luna sighed. "I will go with you."

"Maybe we all should go?" Amber proposed. "After the subjugation forces finish with the local Dungeon, we could try to figure out what's going on."

"But..." Irene lowered her head and suddenly smirked. "Ok."

"Don't you even think about using a Miracle to restore the weather, Irene," Lavender warned her, seeing her smirk, making the High Elf frown in defeat. "Or at least, not before we run out of other options. We don't know what consequences it would have for the weather on the rest of the continent."

"Hmmm... A ski resort wouldn't be a bad idea." I hummed, wanting to find a bright side. "Actually, a big, luxury complex, with private hot springs and outdoor activities... Oh, that might be nice."

"Hot springs?" Irene twitched with her long, Elven ears. "You promise?"

"Yes." I waved my hand and summoned a small war table we often used to play or project the buildings for our use. "How about something like that?"

A fairly large alpine-like luxury resort emerged from the table. I made it larger than usual because I wanted to add all those nice wooden details I always liked in any mountain region of my old world. Of course, it was mostly made of wood with the addition of stone.

"Can you both be serious for a moment?" Amber rolled her eyes.

"Oh, we are serious!" Irene put her hand on her chest and pretended to be gravely offended. "Contrary to you, sister, Theon and I won't be chasing Dragons, but instead, we will focus on building an Arcadian military base!"

"With a luxury resort?" Amber crossed her arms and frowned at us.

"It's more of an administration centre required because of our presence. There will also be the barracks for troops and a harbour for our ships. Oh, and the embassy! Let's not forget about it. It's a serious operation." I retorted with dignity.

"Pfff... Fine." Amber gave up seeing that I wasn't going to be serious anytime soon. "But I don't know why you chose to act like this, it's not like you, Theon."

I sighed and put together my hands. "Tell me, how exactly should I act, Amber? I'm not crazy enough to believe that I can fight the weather. There is a limit to what I can fight using our armies, our navy, or just my power. If that abnormal weather is not the result of some mad godling or mage, there is really nothing I can do."

"I... I guess you are right." She sighed and sat heavily on my lap. "I just got used to you having a solution to everything."

"Hmmm... Not this time." I slowly shook my head. "I understand that you want an explaination for what happened in Iceleon but sometimes you just have to weather the cataclysm."

"What if that's impossible?" She asked quietly as her emerald green eyes looked at me with sadness.

"Everything is possible if you can prepare for it." I shrugged and pointed to the table with my chin. "The Dungeon will be the best place for a staging ground in case of country-wide evacuation. In fact, I prefer that solution over their woefully naive idea of staying in Iceleon. I have already received the first reports about their infrastructure, and it's so bad that I'm shocked they neglected gathering wood for so long."

"What?" Amber blinked in stunned shock.

"To heat a single home of Iceleon, they used the same amount of wood that we would use to heat ten. Considering the fact that only homes outside of Dungeons in Arcadia are heated with wood, you will have the scale of the problem. We don't have the resources necessary to support them."

"But you have promised them..." Lavender looked at me in disbelief.

"Yeah. That's why I will build a huge city that will be able to shelter more than half of their population. We will forcefully evacuate every town and village from the remote reaches of the Kingdom. Only the biggest cities have any chance of surviving a prolonged winter. It is a slim chance but it is still better than supplying smaller settlements."

"Oh. I see." Lavender smiled brightly. "With most of their population in the Dungeon, you will also gain a lot of mana."

"Yes. I will use it to expand that city, if necessary, giving you time for your investigation." I shrugged. "I never said it was pointless. I’m simply considering it might be something we can't do anything about."

They all looked at me in silence but I could see the different reasons behind their quietness. Amber and Lavender were a little bit ashamed for thinking I was indifferent to the suffering of those people. Irene wanted to help but she wasn't going to allow me to waste any more resources than necessary; she was happy I was going to build a resort. Luna was stoic as usual - as long as I was fulfilling my role as the Champion of Eriar, she was happy and defended my decisions. Hestia, Aoi, and Cahrona were politely disinterested but my words about a vacation made them happier. Freya was present in body only; her mind was far away and, most probably, she was focused on her beloved Dwarven City. Only Mia and Tia looked a bit tired and it was apparent that they couldn't focus. Which, in turn, made me a bit worried.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Mia? Tia? Something wrong?" I asked them upon noting they were panting.

"We don't feel good..." Mia yawned and Irene stood up instantly.

"You should have told me earlier!" The Saintess approached them and extended her hands over their heads. The twins momentarily were covered in golden light, but it disappeared as suddenly as it showed up. "Strange... You are healthy, and for sure, there is nothing wrong with you. My skill insists that you are simply tired and you should rest more... HA, HA!"

Irene turned around with a smirk and raised finger. She looked at Amber, who had already sighed, knowing what Irene was about to say.

"That only shows how much we need those vacations!"

"Fine! Fine!" Amber threw her arms into the air, almost hitting my nose with her elbow, which provoked an evasive manoeuvre and a few giggles. "Sorry, Theon..."

"It's fine." I smiled back, chuckling myself. "So, go pack your bags, Girls... Oh! Amber and Cahrona could you please wait a moment?"

"Sure," Amber replied but, unsurprisingly, none of them walked away.

"I wanted to ask you both about Theresa Iceleon," I asked with a neutral voice.

Only then did my other wives shrug and leave to prepare for our little trip to Iceleon. Amber simply sighed, however, Cahrona was upset.

"I'm glad that you dismissed her proposal before she managed to finish it." The redhead Half-Elf said slowly. "I can't put the feeling I had into words but everything was warning me against her."

"She seemed to be responsible, respectful, and honest but that was just a thin veneer, Theon. I saw her feelings and she is not, how to put it nicely..." The Succubus hesitated for a moment.

"You don't have to, Cah." Amber interrupted and the Succubus burst into a chuckle.

"In that case, she is a cold, narcissistic brat who just recently woke up from a dream where she was the centre of the universe. Who knows? Maybe the weather anomaly is the best thing that could happen to her? She seemed to have already realised how her status depended on those people whom she considered inferior." Cahrona finished with a shrug, stretched her black wings, and stepped toward us. She put her hands on her hips and cutely puffed her cheeks.

"She didn't strike me as particularly arrogant or manipulative..." I furrowed my brows. "She was also honest."

"Oh, I do not doubt it!" Cahrona waved her wings and grimaced as if it pained her. She looked as if she was itching and she scratched the top of her right wing. "Yes, she is not the worst person, but she is too ambitious to stomach being just 'another of your women', Theon. She might have some decency to not challenge Me, Lavender, Hestia, Mia, or Tia, for various reasons, but others would be under constant attack. Especially Amber and Luna. It's hard to believe that she would change... Don't get me wrong!" She suddenly raised her hands in a defensive gesture, blushed, and smiled awkwardly. "I'm the last person to say that others can't change like that. But such change requires a lot of effort and Theresa is, currently, not willing to apply any. Her emotions are clear on that subject."

"Well, then..." I laughed and shook my head in disbelief. "I was going to tell you that your behaviour helped me a lot in our beginning. I was way too curious about your current reasons. If not for Lavender’s questions, I would have asked about it earlier."

"So you don't plan to take her as your next bride?" Cahrona asked with consternation in her voice.

"Hahahaha." I started laughing and managed to grab Cahrona by her waist making her briefly shriek and start laughing. "That's not happening. I'm already happy and I don't plan to ruin everything."

•••

What came next was easily predictable for anyone who knew me. I decided that the Princess was going to be the problem of Lieutenant Commander Victor Thornton. With another destroyer out of the shipyard, HMS Scimitar was transferred to the First Fleet and received its first mission. While I was reluctant to make that decision initially, I quickly realised that it was the only valid option. The First Fleet, along with the First and Fifth Legions, were going with us to Iceleon. The Princess, who was a bit shocked by the scale of Arcadian involvement, was sent home to warn everyone that help was coming. Freya, who was responsible for Dungeon affairs and the subjugation of new Dungeons, was thrilled with the prospect of commanding two full Legions. She even wanted me to act as her advisor and her excitement was contagious. So the very next day, Dauntless' battle group departed Avalon. Knowing Janet, she will charge at full speed and arrive at Iceleon's sole Dungeon within thirty-six, maybe thirty-eight hours. After this deployment, I have to give the First Fleet at least a month vacation...

The following day was very straightforward. All my wives disappeared into their respective offices as if our absence was going to paralyse the entire country. Well, it could have, but with Dungeon Move, we could instantly travel between Dungeons under my control. Eva couldn't decide if she wanted to accompany us but, the more she considered it, the more she wanted to go. After all, most of her friends were going. Speaking of which, I looked over the list of people who were going with me, made me realise that building that luxury resort wasn't a bad idea at all. All Flower Girls were going, as well as Fjorla and Lydia who recently returned from Hilgvar after that purge. Cédric stayed in the province hunting down the remaining slavers. Slavery was illegal in Hilgvar but not in Verksa under the late King Gilmour. Tia outlawed it, but she was met with a huge resistance from the people. Of course, once they learned about the marriage of their unpopular Queen with the ruthless and bloody Emperor Theon Avalon, all complaints ceased overnight. The fate of slavers from Cridia and Berna was well-known; in fact, the exaggerated rumours about how my Guardsmen made a sport of hunting the slavers, most probably, had reached every corner of Aderon.

And I liked it that way.

Anyway, the list of people was long, and funnily enough, the two names that should, in theory, start it, were at the very bottom: Nathaniel Drake and Vernon Stronghand. I should have taken Ban but he wasn't going anywhere without Annika who recently began feeling unwell because of her pregnancy. As unfortunate as it was normal, she had to endure it and no magic could help her. She simply had to rest and that was something we could encourage, so she rested. Since Annika wasn't exactly the type of person who would lie down and read a book, we, and by we, I mean I, employed Marie to ensure her mother was resting properly. So, Drake was going with us if the Icelonians wanted to discuss anything military-orientated. Also, I will be busy building a military base and waiting for Vernon's reports about the Icelonian mines. I was a little bit excited about the various winter-oriented activities, to be honest. I will admit that, from an outside perspective, it must have seemed like some kind of insanity. We were going to a country on the brink of destruction, with people desperately fighting for their survival among the clutches of icy storms, and I planned to build a snowman.