“Are you ready, Illia?! I got us some extra punch.” Elen’s voice called from outside my room, so I put down my borrowed pen. Planning what I would do with the information from yesterday and then writing a little on my bucket list took a long time, but I was ready.

One night without sleep wouldn’t stop me now.

“Coming right up.”

I then took a last check on my look and headed to the door with a few bottles in hand, finding the group waiting for me outside: two maids and two princesses. A hell of a good morning if you ask me.

“Good morning, milady.” The two maids greeted me almost at the same time, even if with different tones. I had yet to pick the name of Eve’s red-haired companion, though.

From what I could see, she was of a different kind.

A little less proper looking in aura and better skincare, but messy hair and wrinkled clothes. Not that I couldn't fix her without much trouble. I could see notes of makeup too, so she had the tools already.

Other than that, she was the shortest of the group, even if not by much. Half a ruler in relation to me, maybe? She also made me sure of bias in how these maids were chosen. Her body’s proportions were very skewed to the bottom, although her chest was less… lacking than Eve’s.

A passing grade already, but I could get her higher in two hours.

“Lady Illia…” Valiria made a small curtsy while I was analyzing her maid, and I hurried to answer in kind.

Not much more to say about her still. The same bombshell body and almost overwhelming beauty as her sister, but longer hair and a dress instead of some short clothes. Made her feel a little unapproachable, but it seemed to be an impression only.

“I thank both of you for the help, princesses,” I added after wasting some seconds to eye everyone. “Having all the backing I can will be important.”

“No, I have to thank you for trying to help while Sir Hayato is wounded. Anything that can give him time to recover… even if I can’t see how you’ll do so.”

“Better seeing than hearing…” I answered curtly as I couldn’t explain very well anyway. “Should we go?”

The princesses nodded, and we started to walk towards the throne room, the place where the big important meeting was going on. They were so stuck on there that I heard people saying the king wouldn’t even accept petitions. It was so bad that no one other than two messengers, who only worsened the situation, managed to get there since the meeting started.

That was all I knew from the small briefing Elen gave to us while en route. Enough to get an idea of the situation and that was it. Everything else could wait.

So, using the princesses’ authority, we soon crossed the blockade on the room and made our way into the throne room. Getting there turned all eyes, either in surprise or judgment, towards us, though. The whole group of a little more than half a dozen people, all staring at me and surrounding a map-table.

I knew some of them even.

The huge old knight with a somewhat dandy-like face, AKA the royal guard captain, who was the closest to the table; a librarian-looking middle-aged lady I knew was tasked with overseeing the bureaucracy of the castle and was sometimes at the library; an almost-too-old-to-move lady stuck to a wheelchair and wearing priestess clothing who took care of the royal library; and lastly, and as obvious as it was, the royal couple at the back of the room, though the queen seemed to be the more active of the two this time.

Bare minimum in personal and likely only the ones the king could trust. Also, probably only people who knew about me well enough.

Having them all looking at me made it feel as if I should start running away still. I had enough backing and a goal, but it still felt bad... I could hold on, though. I hope so... And I’m not hiding behind Elen because I got scared, of course.

The door on my back was closed now, so it wasn't as if I could flee anyway.

“Eleonora and Valiria…” A very stern voice that I was hearing for the first time came from the queen as she stared down at Elen. “Is this about the letters? Because we are yet to get a concrete plan. It is too soon to deploy you…”

“This isn’t about us, mom. We’re tagging along with… Huh? Oh! There you are. Go to the front and say your piece, Illia! It's great news too.” The less princess-like of the two people around pushed me from my strategic spot and to the focus of the talk. “Calm down and explain everything as best as you can. We got your back.”

Her words weren’t any different from what she would usually say, but the pat on the back was nice once in a while. Having her sister nod in acknowledgement even if all she knew was the little we could tell her on the way here was also assuring. It made me think she was too easy to trust people, but I would keep that for myself.

So, I took a step ahead and watched while some people had a little bit of trouble locking their eyes on me. Something I was starting to notice was more than the usual ‘ignore me’ from back home... Very weird.

How the king was so focused on me while showing clear interest was a little scary, though. He was looking at me as if he was sure I had something good to say for some reason…

“Good evening, your Highness… -ses? And everyone else too.” I greeted everyone in the room in my best tone and posture, even if only to buy more time. “Can I infer that with the hero down for now you’re all planning for a war? Or two of them.”

Looking at the map in front of me while buying time gave me a good idea of the situation. A map of Prourene with parts of each of the neighbors and the northern wastes, all filled with colored tokens. Easy to guess and very numerous tokens too. Seemed like we were very outnumbered here…

“That is…” The queen looked a little put off by my question for a minute, but she looked at her partner and then back at me with a more controlled expression. “That is correct, Ms. Illia, but why is it relevant for you? No offense, but even with your ‘inquisition’, I don’t think you have enough to take on this.”

“I understand you would think so, but could I have an explanation of the situation before bringing my proposal? I’m almost certain that it’ll be useful…”

That was only half-true, but it didn't matter. I needed some time to get my trick working. I wasn't used to this one artifact and needed some time to be flashy enough.

And no, I don't care if there were better ways to do it. The shock value was too good to not go for this method.

“Do ask my daughter instead. Interrupting a meeting only to…”

“Explain to her, Cait.” The king broke his silence suddenly and with a small smile forming on his face. “I want to see what your new trick is, Ms. Illia… Giving you time to play around won’t be a problem. And don’t worry, everyone in this room knows about your work outside.”

Was he seeing it? How exactly?! I didn’t point it out, so… Was he so used to me that he managed to go through this messy skill of mine?! Are you…? No, no. Ignore it for now. Focus on the artifacts…

“Thank you, Your Highness,” I answered while shaking off the weird feeling that I had someone who knew too much looking at me. “Then please, could you start with what happened with Mr. He… I mean, what happened with Mr. Hayato? How wounded he is, especially.”

While I was speaking, most of my mind was on the flimsy blade at my hip and at the huge magical circle on the floor. It wasn't the 'body' of the artifact per se, but focusing on it was easier, I felt. It was flashier too since the whole thing could shine if I did things right.

The flashier, the better.

“If you believe it will do any good, Hellion…” The queen bit the bait and moved on to where I’d like her to. “Then, since you are here already, could you report what happened back there, Valiria? A direct witness would know more.”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Ma’am!” The more serious princess on my back answered in a powerful tone. “It’s a little hard to explain, but we cruised the wastelands without any problem until we found the source, a ‘demon core’ was it this time, which we beat. There wasn’t much until there but on the way back… Well… We were ambushed on the way back by some shadows. They beat us and I used the artifact waystone in a hurry. All else is as you know, Lady Illia.”

“Young Neil heard the same from the other two, dear, and the records match it. Unexpected that we were not dealing with a more active source, but that seems to be an abnormal case already.” The old lady in the wheelchair suddenly interjected in a frail voice. “There were signs of an incursion ending too, so it should be right.”

“These kids would’ve managed the fastest demon subjugation expedition in history if it wasn’t for how they came back...” The royal captain added from his side and then went further into it. “It is hard to be sure everything was over with it, though. Without the carcass of the core or time to be sure the incursions were over, the only confirmation we have is what the mages felt, but they can be wrong sometimes...”

“We were attacked while still inside demon territory, so I can’t confirm anything too. It is very possible we fought something minor than expected due to some trickery.” The silver-haired and dressed princess continued in a more somber tone. “But I don’t think whatever ambushed our convoy later on was a demon, either way. They looked the part, a little, but they were too coordinated. It was… too smart? They singled us and forced Sir Hayato to take hits to protect the less-armored ones in our group…”

“Looks like you’re on the same line as us, kid. Especially with the letters we got today…”

“Letters? Like, war declarations?” I asked, even if only to be sure. For good or bad, I already had a good idea of their ways of solving conflicts.

“Both our eastern and western neighbors called their grievances on us again, even if only the few ones they can prove. The south is still restless, so it is possible they may make a move soon if we take too long.” The librarian lady was the one to talk this time, though what she said was a little more than I thought would be happening. “They gave lenient time frames to answer, but… We have reports of skirmishes already, do we not, Neil?“

“We can hold out! All we have to do is hold until the next incursion and they’ll be forced to retreat, or even better, we disprove their claims and let their population wear out.” The gargantuan knight went on with the backing of some nobles. “Give the order and we’ll show those weaklings that they won’t be stealing from us cheaply. No reason to risk giving them more in a duel they’re sure to not respect.”

“That’ll only weaken us all. We can’t fight them without risking a total collapse of all realms and neither can we win without going that far, and they know that.” The queen answered this time while her husband kept staring at me without saying anything. “We can only fight until the end or give up and hope for a chance in the future.”

“Either that or we call our right to Divine Judgement since they do not wish to do so themselves.” The lady in the wheelchair calmly said. "Bet everything on the gods' favor and on justice."

“A Divine Judgement, eh…” I muttered while trying to push everything I had about this in my head.

It was a system said to have been created by the local gods themselves as a way to have the sentient races solve their conflicts without relying on war. A way to force them to keep their resources pooled together against the demons, it was said, but I saw it more like a way to not waste armies against heroes.

Even those champions seemed like too much of a pain to deal with armies, and who knows how many thousands you would need against an overpowered protagonist... Putting these crazies to fight each other was much cheaper. Another explanation was that it lowered the chance of a country fracturing the others and ending with a new demon problem.

The challenging side could only ask for what they could justify very well while the other side could demand reparations on top of such too, so one was discouraged from doing so.

Forcing everyone to have a good reason to fight was good at keeping them focused on the real problem. No war without casus belli the gods could accept was a good rule in my head. There were even accounts of disasters caused solely because the result of a Divine Judgement was ignored.

The problem was that this thing was somewhat of a team duel, though.

Alliances could mess things up a huge time there, especially when, from all I read, everyone had a reason to dislike Prourene. This place was only in one piece because they could summon overpowered people somewhat at will. Overpowered summoned person who wasn't exactly around right now...

“I saw both Lazzos’ and Blanchelle’s champions already, and I don’t think we have anyone capable of matching them,” Elen added from her perspective as someone with first-rate data on these things. “We would have a chance with the hero, but if they both come at the same time…”

“That is what we also believe, Eleonora. But that is what they want. If we call the fight, then they will be able to push more demands instead of only their fair grievances.” The queen concluded as if it was a matter of fact. “We are having trouble deciding how to deal with the situation for these reasons... It’s why I call for surrender of the territory and buy time for now.”

“I said it before, and I repeat, we should rally and fight them! We had a deal, so justice will be on our sides.” The commander barked in an angry tone. “Our armies are more powerful, even if less numerous, so we can hold.”

“The territories claimed by the Republic are where most of our iron mines are, and the Divine Federation says one of our biggest cities is rightfully theirs since it’s a holy site... Losing them would be very costly for sure.” Valiria added from her our position, which seemed to perk the general and his side of the discussion. That is until the queen answered her daughter.

“Losing even more in a war that would be even more skewered towards our enemies’ side is even worse. We better wait and hope the hero will wake up. Even if we tried to bluff and make it so they would decide to back down instead of risking a real war, I do not believe they would... They didn’t call for a Divine Judgement right away because they knew that. We lack enough to make them feel threatened, so they can move like this.”

“Then all we need is a new hero, right?” Elen spoke for the first time since the start of the conversation and with a tone that was very far from everyone else. “If we have one lying around, even without the forces to actually win, we can make them give up, right? Would be too costly. That’ll all you saying, mom?”

“And you think your friend there can pretend to be one, Eleonora? Even if she knew what her abnormal magic does, her mana is on the level of an average knight at best. It would be too risky for her and for us.”

“Now that’s where you’re wrong, milady.” I interrupted her since enough time went on that I could showcase the whole trick here. “I’m currently showing something that must, without doubt, be considered in your plans for the future. Just pay some more attention… And sorry for the table.”

I then pointed my hand up, to the multi-layered magical circle slowly forming above me while the one on the floor started to shine. A huge surprise for everyone around and a rush of temporary worry in their eyes right before, as if to worsen their surprise, every single token over the table blew up, leaving holes in their places. Holes that were filled with glass shards I used the summoning circle before having them fired with wind magic.

Almost too much for a demonstration and I was a little worried that the shots would bounce on impact, but it worked. Getting to make it do so meant using four artifacts almost at the same time. The summoning circle to bring the ammo (also known as simple marbles), the black saber to shoot them forwards with wind magic, the mirror to create some cover to the spells, and my gauntlet to make the whole thing look more impressive.

“Wouldn’t you say I can make do?” I said while everyone was still too shocked to react. Not that I wasn’t very worried about how they would react to this. I would probably be surrounded by blades again if it wasn’t for the risen hand of the king and the two princesses around me.

“Are you using the artifacts or is it something you can do by yourself?” He asked first in a very serious tone but then continued some seconds later. “And how well can you control it, Ms. Illia?”

Did he get it?! This guy is a little... Focus! Don't go losing it right now.

“It’s a little more complicated than just using them, Your Highness, but I need to be close by for it to work. Part of the trick is the fact most wouldn’t pay much attention to me, though… Only you did for some reason.”

It wasn’t something I could use many times too. Even with the mana potions I took earlier, I couldn’t repeat it more than twice. It was showy and seemed powerful, but was very limited too.

“You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t have a plan and you wouldn’t need to be here for the questions you were making. Eleonora or Valiria could have answered them.” He explained with the usual smile that made me want to punch the guy. “I have a good grasp on how you work, Ms. Illia, so it is easy to guess what your aims are. Seeing you try to buy time meant you were doing something else, so all I had to do was pay enough attention and find out... Not that I can explain how any of this works. Randoul never came back with the answer too.”

“The workings are still guesswork for me too, but I know that I can somewhat ‘control’ artifacts. I would love to hear more, but who knows when the dream voice will give me any more information…”

“And what do you plan to do with it?”

“Fight if I can, but I don’t think I can… I can pretend to, though.”

“So that’s how it is.” The king smiled back at me and then closed his eyes in deep thought for a moment, coming back from it without his smile. “It is indeed a powerful ability, but can you do enough with it? You seem to be at your limit after this little demonstration already.”

Here he goes again... I was sure I could pretend to be fine for a little longer, but this king kept on picking my lies.

“No idea. I need to test things more, but it should work... It has to work.”

“I see… This is something we should consider in our discussion, but there is a need for some tests before.” The king went on after taking a look at the other people around him. “Go rest for a little and stay ready... We will make a decision as soon as possible.”

The king’s advisors were already discussing between themselves after my little display, but they all stopped to agree with the current proposition. Not exactly what I would like since it wouldn’t cross out the chance of getting sent home, but I couldn’t see a way to argue against it.

Forcing them to make a decision right away wouldn’t make much sense anyway. I showed them what I could and made my point seen, so now it was only wait. Now it was on their side to decide what to do, and on me to pray they would do what I wanted to.

So, although I didn’t wish so right now, I gave them all a curtsy in answer and tried to keep myself steady as I walked outside. I even managed to fall to the ground only after the door was closed… Pretty much flawless.