I goggled, my jaw cycling as Shia stared into me. My mind went blank, and I stammered, searching for any words to explain what we’d been talking about.

Was it okay for her to know about the System? What would happen if I told her? Moreover, how did Tenma know about it?

A freezing shudder ran down my spine. He’d called me a User, and refused to divulge anything else, but to me, it was obvious.

He could access it himself.

But in that case, what would his class be? Conqueror, maybe? If so, where was all the conquest?

We might not have even had the same class options. Most of what the System did seemed to be based on my actions, after all, and somehow, I couldn’t see the Demon Lord building amphitheatres and giving people hope.

And where was his country? His people were Demons, but what land did they occupy? I doubted ‘Hokage’ was a class, so it probably wasn’t a hidden village anywhere. A different landmass, then? He’d been able to appear in my Council Chambers with no issue; distance wouldn’t bother him.

Ugh, too many questions! This included the one I didn’t want to ask, about the ‘Evremar’ Tenma had mentioned.

“Excuse me?” Shia clapped her hands before my face, drawing me back to reality. “Was it a pleasant experience on the Astral Plane? Have you returned to us…” — she cleared her throat — “Your Highness?”

I gawked. Since when was Shia so… bold? She’d shown flashes of her wit before, but never anything this full-on. My cheeks heated up, and I exhaled.

“Why do you have to annoy me like this?”

She shrugged, an impish smirk taking root. “Because it’s hilarious.”

Sighing again, I rubbed my forehead. Maybe that could work as a subject change, but given how heavy the air felt, I figured it wouldn’t be very effective.

“You really wanna know about the System?” I asked, my tone serious. She nodded excitedly, like a child at Christmas being asked if they want an early present.

Honestly, I could relate. I had questions burning a hole in my stomach non-stop.

“In that case,” I said, “you’ve got your secrets, and I’ve got mine. How about we swap?”

“What… do you want to know?” she said, furrowing her brow.

“Tell me about the Divine Grimoire.”

Her lips parted, and she gasped, her shoulders tensing as she stiffened. “I… um…”

“Listen,” I said, “before, I didn’t care, it’s whatever. But now? Now, the fucking Demon Lord just marched in and made a fool of all of us over that book. So, yeah, I’m gonna need to know.

“Where did you find it?”

“Here,” she admitted, gazing at the floor. “I found this location when I was still a student.”

“What is this place, anyway?”

“It’s a vault.” She gestured around at the myriad of items. “Full of items the Academy deemed too dangerous for public consumption.”

“Then how did you get in?”

“I’m immensely clever,” she said, puffing her chest. “Naturally, I checked if it was supposed to be here before I liberated it—I’m not a thief. You already have Cannara for that.”

I rubbed the back of my head. I couldn’t argue there… “Then, in broad terms, what does it do?”

“It allows me access to certain Divine spells impossible to learn otherwise, and enhancements to my regular magic.”

“I see.” The power of a god at work, then. Apparently. “How do you think he found us? Can he sense its use?”

“Maybe he can perceive the activation of its enhancements, but otherwise, I’m unsure.”

“Okay—try not to use it unless you need to, then. We don’t need him coming back.”

“Okay.”

The air grew still. Honestly, I didn’t see much point in limiting its use, since Tenma already knew where we lived, but it was better safe than sorry.

“It’s your turn,” said Shia, glaring at me shakily. “What is the System?”

With a sigh, I gave in to it. I told her.

Of course, I missed out a lot of parts—like [Combat View], since I wasn’t sure how she’d react to knowing I looked through her eyes while she was checking out the others—but the general gist was there.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She stood, slack-jawed, and I could almost see the thoughts racing behind her eyes. “But that’s… no, I see… if I added that multiplier…”

After a while of muttering, during which I could only stare and wonder what the hell was going through her head, she snapped to attention, her expression glittering.

“That’s completely impossible!”

“Says you,” I replied, smirking. “But when you think about it, you could read every book in the Royal Academy’s library and you’d still know nothing.”

She pouted. “Are you saying I know nothing?!”

“Well, you know more than me,” I said with a half-smile

“So,” she asked, “is that how you talk to us telepathically?”

“Yep.”

“And how you have the uncanny ability to always locate exactly who you require, when you require them?”

“Yep.”

“What else can you do?”

“Secret.” I stuck my tongue out. Then, I swallowed my consternation and asked, “Have you ever heard that word he mentioned before? Evremar?”

“Hmm…” She pursed her lips. “Now that you mention it, it strikes me as familiar. I’m unsure where, but I’ve definitely encountered it before… I’ll have to research it.”

“All right,” I said, nodding. “Let me know what you find out. For now, take us home.”

Nodding, she waved her arms and turned away, and energy began thrumming in the air.

***

“All right,” I said, sinking back into my throne. A group of six bewildered Specialists, plus Shia, all retook their seats, glancing at each other with uncertainty. Duke Kalvin was being tended to by the Royal Doctors, which existed, apparently.

It was a royal tradition to keep one’s own physician, but that then begged the question of why they hadn’t shown up on my Specialists tab. I’d check again later, but for now, I had a meeting to resume, though with a new item on the agenda.

Nationalised healthcare, let’s go.

I cleared my throat. “So, where were we?”

“Sire,” said Konstantin, looking shocked, “with all due respect, what in the Pits?”

“What do you mean?”

“We were just attacked by a Demon Lord, who was chasing a Divine Relic apparently owned by one of our fellow Council members, and who you then chased through a portal, before returning covered in black soot acting as if nothing had happened.”

I nodded. Yep, that about summed it up. What’s more, no one had seen him come in, and the worst injuries belonged to Duke Kalvin, so if not for the witnesses in this room, it might as well have been a dream.

“I thought it was badass,” said Cannara, lounging. “Monumentally stupid, but badass.”

“If we’re done questioning my decisions,” I said, “can we get back to the meeting?”

“I thought you wanted us to question you?” said Hana, genuinely confused.

Simmering, I shook my fists. “Look, can we just get on with it, please?”

“Sire?” said Kell, still breathless. “Shouldn’t you, I don’t know, decompress after a confrontation with the Demon Lord? I imagine it was very stressful.”

“Good imagination.” I frowned, an uncomfortable feeling taking root in my belly. “But the country doesn’t stop having problems just because I got a bit stressed.” After the incident with the Verards, I’d locked myself in my room for three days.

Never again. As much as I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, there were more important things to do.

“Still,” said Scarlet, smirking, “surely nobody would dispute you a little time to yourself, don’t you agree?”

I narrowed my eyes. If Scarlet wanted me to do it, I definitely wouldn’t.

“When the people of this kingdom are in despair, who do they turn to?” Resting my cheek on my hand, I sighed. “If all they see is darkness, and not a speck of hope in the place, what can they do?

“Whether it’s from the front lines or behind them, a ruler needs to inspire their people. Be the final light of hope that stands against the darkness. So no matter how scared I am, or how much I wanna go find a nice spot to cry, it doesn’t matter.

“I have to stay strong.”

No one rebutted me, so I considered my little speech a success. Thank you, [Persuasive]. Hana nodded, then stood, clearing her throat.

“Sire, what happened?”

“It wasn’t the real Tenma,” I replied, sighing. “It was a Construct. He was mistaken,” — I glanced at Shia, who shrank — “thought we had something we don’t. Luckily, Shia thought quickly, and that’s the end of it. Next topic?” I didn’t want to mention Evremar until we knew more. Was it a person? A place?

A force of nature?

Hana—as well as literally everyone else in the room—opened their mouths, then shut them again. “We were discussing how best to reclaim Shal for the kingdom,” she said.

Cannara huffed, throwing her head back. “Can I leave?”

“No,” I said, smug. If we made a plan, she’d forget it anyway, but I could at least make her listen.

“Should we meet with Duke Shal?” asked Shia, already preparing her magic. She spoke normally—her lilting tone uneven—but I could hear a difference. It was shakier than usual.

In other words, Shia wanted out, probably before the uncomfortable questions started. Well, that’s what she got for keeping secrets. I chose to ignore that I was also keeping the System a secret, and that I’d covered for her.

“Maybe,” I said. “What can you all tell me about him?”

“An absolute bore of a man,” said Scarlet, twirling her hair. “Has far more money than brains, and tends to spend it all looking for mystery and adventure from the comfort of his drawing room. I imagine he lost his spine many years ago, because all he does now is copy the decisions of Duchess Vissel. At least when it comes to the important things.”

I looked to Hana for confirmation, since she seemed to have information on the nobles, and she nodded, so I accepted it.

“Duchess Vissel,” I said. “She lives in Caltan Bay, right? The port?”

“It’s only a fishing port, actually,” said Arter, having returned to his sketches. “The mountains cut off the sea route.”

“I see.” Well, Ruler View had taught me that, but couldn’t she still trade with Antira across the bay? “Most of our textile business is in her duchy, right?”

“Correct,” said Hana.

Interesting. The fish could be a helpful addition to our food supply, but the duchy would also add to aggregate demand. I’d have to tread a fine line, but it should be okay if we made the agriculture network more efficient.

Better roads would also reduce transport costs, and therefore the overall price.

“We’ll target her first, then,” I said, rising. It appeared my day was only just beginning. “Shia, take me to Caltan Bay.”