"Well, that went well," Daz commented as he started up the car and began flying through the skies of Tokyo. "Besides me not getting any swords for Maddy, at least."

Rose snorted. "Could have gone better. Why'd you threaten him like that at the end? You don't need to swing your dick around wherever you go, you know?"

"Language," Daz immediately responded, earning him a roll of the eyes as Rose guarded her forehead.

Smiling, he said, "The asshole tested you. True, he felt insulted by talking to a child, but he'd probably not have liked talking to me either, let alone a 10-year-old kid, but he was underestimating you too much. That pissed me off. If he doesn't take you seriously, he sure as hell will take me seriously."

"Childish..." Rose muttered as her cheeks flushed red. "T-Thanks..."

"You're welcome," Daz happily replied.

"Man, you can really get around places when you have a car that can fly at a solid Mach-4, huh?" Daz asked as the Ridomochi Final Model was slowly descending towards New York City.

Rose yawned. "I already told you so. If this system had achievements, we'd have gotten a handful for travelling the most distance in the shortest amount of time."

"Is that so? Good to know I own the fastest personal vehicle on Earth," Daz said.

"Right." Rose didn't particularly care about that. She loved the car, but since she wasn't allowed to drive it, her enthusiasm about it had waned a bit over the past week. "I'll let you do all of the talking this time. I'm far too tired. As soon as we're given rooms, just leave that blue blob with me and go do whatever. Train or something," she said as she pointed at Mr Barrier who was snugly sitting on Daz's lap.

"I could always watch over you. You know, stand on your bed's headboard and act like a gargoyle?" Daz joked.

"Hehe, you've got the looks for the job," Rose mocked in jest.

Before long, the siblings had reached the outer rim of New York City. It would seem that much like back home, Emma Cromwell had done as Daz had and surrounded the place with a massive wall.

'Waterford's wall is still under construction, but this wall looks a little weaker than Fort Skip's Walls of Retylon, doesn't it? I wonder if it has a similar blacklisting feature? I don't see a magic barrier, so maybe it's more sci-fi-esque? It is made of metal, after all,' Daz thought.

He began identifying the buildings cresting over the walls all the way until he and Rose had gotten out of the car, he'd stored the vehicle in its key, then only stopped what he was doing when the two of them were approached by a group of people, all armed to the teeth with powerful looking equipment and items.

At the forefront of this group was a young woman a little older than Daz himself. She seemed to be about 23 or 24. She had a short bob-cut hairstyle and a few freckles could be found on her sun-kissed skin.

Attached to her hip could be seen a grimoire of some sort. It was ungodly thick and seemed rather heavy, but Daz didn't doubt for a second that it was exceedingly powerful. 'This woman... She's definitely Emma Cromwell, right? She has a magic class for sure if that's her weapon... Should I identify her? She works for Father, after all... That's a fairly decent reason to learn more about her...'

"Daz, I presume?" she asked as she approached him and Rose then stuck her right hand out.

Grasping it and shaking it lightly, "And you must be Emma Cromwell."

She smiled warmly. "That's me. It's great to meet you."

"Likewise," Daz passively replied.

'That's kinda creepy,' Emma privately thought in regards to Daz's non-reaction to her good looks. "And you're Rose?"

"The one and only," Rose answered without lifting her eyes from her laptop.

"Fantastic. Well, it's already very late, so why don't we go have dinner and then I'll escort you two to your lodging?" Emma suggested. "We talk politics and deals tomorrow."

Daz reached over the handles of Rose's wheelchair to lightly grab his sister's shoulders. "This little troublemaker is tired, so if you don't mind, have someone bring her to her room on her own. I'll happily have some dinner though, then, if you don't mind, show me any training areas you have? I don't need to sleep as a reaper, you see."

'He's willing to trust us with his sister?' Emma was sceptical. "Of course, that's perfectly fine. Alfredo, Jade, if you wouldn't mind. You can come join us after we're done. Also, if you're fine with it, Daz, I'd like to post a unit of guards around the building you two will be staying in. Just to help you both feel secure, of course."

"That's fine. I'll have my own guard protect Rose as well then," Daz replied with a small smirk. "Grand Summon: Jewelled Mountain Golem."

Suddenly, the already dusky sky got even darker as a massive lumbering figure appeared behind Daz and Rose. Tension filled the air as hands reached for weapons and saliva was swallowed nervously.

"Rimmy, come protect Rose with Mr Barrier, would you?" Daz asked as he picked up the furry creature sat atop his head and placed it on Rose's. "Mr Barrier is hardly known for his offensive talents. Keep your main body out here and protect New York City while we're here, please."

"Rimmy!" the golem responded loudly enough for half of the city to hear him.

Daz turned to the shocked Emma and his smirk evolved into a grin. "It's the least I could do while we're here."

A few moments ago, outside of Fort Skip's outer walls, Dorian was taking a break from being Crusher's lackey and was currently sitting with his back against the wall and with Rimmy's main body sat at his side.

The man leaned his head against the smooth rock of the walls as he stared up at the crimson sky. "I'm not sure how to feel about my dad being given a second chance, y'know?"

"Rimmy," the giant sentient person-shaped mass of crystals replied.

"I want to believe that he can change, I really do, but you saw how quickly he turned to liquor the moment things stopped going his way," Dorian said as he closed his eyes and laughed sadly.

"Rimmy," the deep yet soft voice of the city's guardian answered.

Silence reigned between the two of them for quite a while following that. Only the sound of construction could be heard in the distance.

Dorian's expression softened as his lips trembled before he quietly asked, "Do... Do you think I can make up with my dad again? He... He's a piece of shit but he's still my dad..."

Rimmy reached over with his massive body and used a single finger to rub Dorian's head. "Rimmy."

Laughing faintly then smiling with a refreshed look on his face, Dorian got up and dusted himself off. He sniffled a bit and wiped his nose before stretched his back. "No wonder everyone calls you the Guardian of Waterford. You really are relaxing to talk to even if I don't understand a thing you're saying... Thanks for listening, Rimmy."

Extending his massive fist and forming a thumbs up, the lumbering giant replied, "Rimmy."

The next second, he winked out of existence. Dorian stood there stunned for a while before he sighed. "I guess Daz summoned him? Did he get into a fight or something?"

Right then, Edward walked out of the northern gate and briskly approached Dorian. "Hey, Ahab. Crusher beat a few of the men that're still Evil to the brink of death. Madison won't go near them, Doctor Werthers sees no point in healing them, and that Ben kid from the kids that like fancy dress is asleep. Come use your Umbrella Acupuncture, would you? Crusher'll be pissed off if she accidentally kills one. You know how deadset on reforming them she is, and also how much she wants to pop their heads with her hammer herself if they stay evil by the time Daz's deadline hits."

Dorian sighed. "Why the hell did I get this stupid healing acupuncture skill again?"

"That was one hell of a surprise," a somewhat portly and dark-skinned man in his early thirties said to the other people sat around the table he was at. "It's incredibly large. At least 30-feet tall or so."

Emma Cromwell nodded. "Aila had mentioned it, and some of us saw it during the auction, but seeing that... thing so up close... That is not a normal summoned creature. I wonder how much that cost him or what insane feat he must have accomplished to earn it during the auction or even prior to that?"

A bubbly and big-breasted woman wearing a pair of black denim hotpants and a top that exposed her entire stomach raised her hand. "I say we invest in a mission or quest system! I want a golem like that. That thing looks hella strong."

Everyone agreed unanimously, so Emma made a verdict. "I'll set it up tomorrow. It's pricey since New York City isn't particularly compatible with a citizen-wide quest-slash-mission giving upgrade, but seeing so many examples from so many people - Daz included - and considering that we're all in agreement this time, think of it as already done."

A boy no older than 15 with bright blonde hair, a cute face and pierced ears held his chin as he leaned his elbows against the table. "Speaking of Aila, why didn't she show for this council meeting?"

"She's watching over Daz right now," Emma answered.

The boy smirked. "Is that a good idea? I mean, yeah, she's a total slut, but she still has feelings for Daz, right? She hasn't touched a man ever since he cut her head off in the auction. Weird fetish, but hey, who am I to kink shame her?"

Emma shook her head. "Aila's loyalty to His Imperial Majesty Davido Hamilio supersedes her personal feelings. She knows better than to let her heart make decisions for her, and, even were she to be swayed by King Daz, is that a problem?"

A few eyebrows raised at that. Emma smiled deeply and said, "He is still that man's son. You should all be perfectly clear on what His Imperial Majesty desires."

Silence and serious nods or grunts of confirmation rang throughout the room. "Excellent. Well, let's begin preparations for tomorrow's negotiations as well as for the proceeding party. This alliance is more important than anything thus far, even more so than our work with the presidential election before the system's arrival. Failure will cost you and your men their lives. Remember that."

Aila sat and watched as Daz magnificently flitted around the training field as he effortlessly defeated all of the simulated monsters and enemies.

Every few minutes his eyes would unfocus and seemingly stare at nothing, telling Aila that a skill of his had levelled up or perhaps that he'd learned a new one.

She held her chin in her hands as her mouth weakly sucked on the straw connected to her milk tea. 'He's really handsome...' she found herself unconsciously thinking as she watched the sweat drip down Daz's cold and expressionless face while he trained.

"Aila, here you are. Christ, I've been looking all over for you. I'm dying for it, so, wanna come back to my place like usual?" This was the third time that one of her 'friends with benefits' had approached her as she was 'supervising' Daz, and honestly, she was starting to get annoyed.

She raised her eyes for a moment and narrowed them dangerously. "You and I, we're not a thing anymore. Act like we never were nor ever have been."

The extremely fit and handsome man creased his eyebrows in confusion. "What the fuck? You weren't saying that last week when I had my dick jammed down your throat. What's gotten into you recently? I know for a fact that it isn't me, which is the main problem here."

Aila moved one of her hands and held it out while red lightning began bouncing between her fingers. "Don't tempt me to touch you again, 'cause if I do, I promise, it won't be pleasant. Go back to whatever you were doing before. I'm busy."

"What? With that loser?" the man said as he pointed at Daz. "He only beat you in the auction 'cause you let him. That's clear as day. Everyone knows it's impossible to dodge your lightning. How about this, I go kick his ass, then you ride me as a reward? Sound good?"

Aila sighed. "Sure, eat your heart out."

The man smiled charmingly. "Great. I won't be long. Well, I will be when we're alone..."

'Well, Daz was starting to look bored, so he won't mind... probably... Why was I so... liberal with my body before? I have more than enough experience to please him. Sheesh, I'm such an idiot,' Aila thought before she resumed sucking on her tea's straw.