"Right, now that everyone is here." Adam began to explain the situation with a grave expression on his face, "In short - Cardina is under attack."

"Under attack?!" We jolted, "You mean another war?"

"No, at least, I don't think so. Ugh, it's too early to decide." He grit his teeth.

"Then start from the beginning and explain everything." Cecily urged him, "Stop beating around the bush already, Adam. We won't get anything done if you keep stalling."

"Dad's blowing things out of proportion again." Allen rolled his Eyes, "He's afraid of animals now."

"Allen, the adults are speaking!" Elaine reprimanded him, "Honestly though, it's tough for even us to believe it, but what Allen said is indeed what's happening."

"The animals of the continent, big and small alike, have been causing more and more issues for us." Adam stated, "More and more reports are coming in of lumberjacks and fishermen getting attacked by sharks, bears and wolves. Even just recently there was a kid who got his face mauled beyond recognition by an angry squirrel while he was playing just outside his city's gates."

Animals attacking humans? What the hell, that sounds so farfetched, no wonder Allen said what he said. Hell, if the man telling me this wasn't a good friend, not to mention the highest-ranking noble of the continent, I'd laugh at him too. But isn't this spike in animal related attacks just some sort of coincidence?

"That poor child..." Anna looked at the floor, her Eyes expressing her condolences for her.

"So wait, the animals are banding together to start a war against us? Is that what's going on?" Eleanor tilted her head, "Yeah, I don't think anyone would believe that in a million years."

"They're still attacking separately, and for now we can't think of why they're all doing it." Elaine explained, "Right now, the biggest theory floating around is because of the recent large-scale urbanization of Cardina. Nothing like this has ever happened before, when the country was mostly forests, mountains and valleys."

"Take their land, they retaliate to take ours, huh?" Cecily thought for a moment, "Logically speaking, it'd make sense, but are all the animals so smart to think like this?"

"Of course they are. There are plenty of animals whose knowledge of the world is far superior to even some humans, from my experiences." I recalled my furry companions throughout the years, "Besides, they all speak the same language, so I'm all but certain that it's only a matter of time before they think of working together to achieve this common goal."

"Well, if it's stopping a war between humans and animals from breaking out you want, then you've come to the right people!" Issei suddenly piped up as he gave me an over the shoulder hug.

"Excuse me, we were in a rush to explain everything, so we didn't quite get the chance to introduce ourselves, but..." Elaine glared at him, Othelia and Aru, "Just who are you three?"

"Me? Mufufu...! Rejoice, royal mortals, for I am...!" Aru immediately started her grand introduction, though I kept it short for them.

"This is Aru, he's Issei, and the girl sitting to your left is Othelia." I pointed to everyone with my thumb, "They're friends, so no need to up your guard so much."

"Hey." Allen popped up from behind Othelia's seat, "You single?"

"Allen!" Elaine got pissed.

"Haha, no worries! Please don't be mad at him." Othelia chuckled as she smiled back at the boy, "You know, Allen, I'm really not sure myself."

Hearing this, Issei kind of turned his head away out of guilt. Everyone in the room kind of felt the tension between the two, even the king and queen, so we all kind of felt awkward about it.Allen, on the other hand, did not. His youthful naivety spoke before his brain could think up a proper reply, just as it always does, so he didn't quite give her the answer she was looking for.

"You stupid or something?" He pointed to Issei, "You that guy's queen or not? Make up your mind, dammit. A woman mustn't be this indecisive."

"H-Huh?" Othelia was, frankly, at a loss for words at this harsh reply, "T-Then, no... I guess?"

"Besides, queen is kinda..." Issei sat there with flushed cheeks.

"Don't mind him, haha..." Adam patted Issei on the back before leaning in to whisper, "Since he only ever sees royal couples, he thinks every couple is composed of a king and queen."

Damned prince, I hate royalty with a burning passion. Can such a privileged child even exist though? He's a bit older than Cene, but he still doesn't know this much? God, I can just imagine how much he's gonna get picked on once his rich-ass parents send him off to university. Ugh, I just hope he enrolls in Dimitri Uni with Cecily and Meil, for his own sake at least...

"Hm?" The king inspected Issei's pure black Irises, "Now that I took a closer look at you, I think you remind me of someone, lad. Tell me, have we met before?"

"Nah." Issei shook his head decisively, "I know who you are, king Adam, because your face is plastered on every shil in Cardina, but I doubt you'd know some random guy like me."

Huh, they've never met? But wasn't Issei close with Grim when he was the Famed Inventor? If Adam was Grim and Marina's best man for their wedding, then that means they were surely both around them at the same time. Living in the same castle town, at the same time... Yeah, there's just no way they've never met. I should probably Analyze Issei's thoughts just to make sure, then.

"Damn, if this guy recognizes me, I'm dead." The screen serving as a teleprompter popped up next to his head, "Fuck, of all the people this family had to be friends with, they chose this asshat? And he's so buff as well, he's practically all muscle now. He'll snap me like a twig! I need to hide my identity at all costs, but I already gave away my name out of habit! Uuu...."

Well, that's a surprise. So Issei and Adam aren't on good terms? He also knew him from before he got buff, so that's quite a long time ago. Seriously, what the hell is the story between those two? To be so scared that he'll kill you the moment he finds out your identity, you must've really fucked up, huh?

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"So, where did these attacks all take place as of now?" Cecily asked, "If we mark down all the locations on a map, we might find a pattern and predict where the next attack will be, helping us defend the people there."

"Ooh, good idea!" Eleanor jumped from her seat lal cheery, "I'll go get my map!"

"See, that's the thing." Adam sighed, "The beasts run amok only in certain places. For now, it's pretty local."

"If I recall, the order was - Sabljevo, Bosorog, Senčje, and the last one was in Hronik." Elaine pointed out all of the places on the map, "If their goal was to reach Centralis and attack the royal family, they wouldn't take such a roundabout path."

"It's random, because they're not colluding on anything." Allen sighed, "My parents are paranoid, but at least you guys should see reason. Come on, tell them they're worrying over nothing!"

"No, there is a pattern..." Cecily looked at the map once again, completely ignoring Allen's scoffing and pouting, "Sabljevo is known for its clearwater beaches. Bosorog is the place Lune and I once went to for a weekend escape from Nelly. Senčje might be kind of in the sticks, but it's a beautiful hilly region where a national park resides, and Hronik, well, that's still a mystery."

"I still don't see it." I shrugged, "So they're mostly all nice spots to go sightseeing?"

"Yeah, exactly." She explained, "The animals are chasing after someone, surely, since the path is kind of going from the dock in Meridia to Centralis."

"But we've never been to those spots, though." Elaine debunked the theory.

"Yeah, so what if the animals aren't going after the royal family then?" Cecily raised a good point.

"Ohhh, I get it!" Issei realized, "The person they're chasing is a tourist who's currently going to all these places!"

"Yeah!" She high-fived him, "Everyone wants to see the world if they have the means and money to do so, plus there's a lot of people who choose to travel the entirety of Cardina because of its cultural diversity. This person, whoever they are, is surely the key to ending this crisis."

Whoa, leave it to Cecily to get so much from so little. She's competent in battle, a true master assassin through and through who excels in almost every weapon imaginable, but that also seems to lend itself nicely to her deduction abilities. Seriously, she just keeps pleasantly surprising me more and more by the day...

"Alright then, if that's the case..." I turned to the oddly silent Water Goddess, "Aru, could you look into this person with your powers?"

"Powers?" Adam tilted his head at my surprising remark.

"Hmph, no can do." She stuck her tongue out as she turned to face away from me.

"God, don't make me do this..." I rolled my Eyes as I facepalmed, "Fine, ahem - Water Goddess Allucius, could you please use your divine powers to look into this person?"

"Allucius!?" The royal family jumped from their seats, "Edward, have you gone mad!? Using our continent's deity's name in vain...! What the hell is wrong with...!"

"Heh, that's more like it!" She turned to scan from southeast to southwest, "Huh?"

"What's the matter?" We asked.

"N-No, he's here, it's just..." She looked a little unnerved, "What the? Maybe my Eyes are deceiving me? I see someone walking, no, limping forward, but who exactly it is is hidden even from me. Like a human shadow."

"A human shadow? Are you hearing yourself, little girl?" Adam couldn't help but approach her in the hopes of intimidating her out of faking being their Goddess, "Identity theft is a serious crime, and you could get seriously hurt if you continue. I'm a nice king, so I'm warning you this time, but next time someone not as kind might come in and-"

"Your wife is pregnant with a girl." She blatantly revealed to everyone in the room.

"H-Huh?" Even Elaine was taken aback.

"Yep, just a week in, though. There's no way anyone that's not omniscient would know." She elaborated, "It's gonna be a girl, and you will name her Edna, named after the queen's grandmother."

"H-How did you know my grandmother's name...?" Elaine was at a loss for words as she absentmindedly rubbed her tummy, "S-She died when I was four, not even my husband knows of her..."

"Y-You... What are you...?!" Adam kind of stepped back, now fully afraid of the Gods' powers.

"Congrats?" Issei was the first to congratulate them, and everyone else soon followed, though the air was way less joyous and way more awkward.

"Damn, stupid name." Allen immediately voiced his complaints, "Mom, please don't go with that. I really don't want to have to call my little sister Edna."

"Hey now, my name was supposed to be Edna." Eleanor furrowed her brows at the little boy.

"Ed and Edna? No wonder your parents changed the name!" He replied, "See mom, their parents were smart, so you be smart as well."

"That's enough!" She hushed him, "B-Besides, there's no proof yet of this girl's predictions even being true."

"...So are you gonna name your daughter Edna or not?" Othelia asked just to make sure.

"Maybe." Elaine looked away, prompting Allen to groan loudly.

"I'm not calling my little sister Edna!" He tried desperately to negotiate, "Try Eva or something, that's way cuter!"

"I think Eva is a wonderful name, son!" Adam tried speaking up, but was immediately shut down by his angry wife.

"No! We made a promise, didn't we?!" She yelled, "If it's a boy, you get to name him, and if it's a girl, I get to name her! Her name is Edna and that's final!"

"R-Right." Adam kinda sulked, "Edna it is..."

"Daaaad!" Allen started a crying fit.

"Sorry son, this one is out of our hands..." He said with a single tear in his Eye.

Geez, looks like majority votes don't work in their household. Edna's a nice name though, don't know what they're on about. But I can't say that, they'd never help me out from here on if I did. Hence, I will comfort the both of them like the shameless suck-up I am.