The king arrived in front of Asterios and the girls jumped out of a single gate to join them. He placed his hands on the young man’s shoulders and patted them with a smile.

“We thought you ran into more trouble. You haven’t been in touch since you guys departed from Dagger’s End. I assume you have arrived at the Demon Continent?” Welrond asked.

“Yes, we did. Apologies for not contacting either of you, Your Majesty, Your Highness. We’ve been busy with some… experiments. And I didn’t want to transfer myself with the ship on the move,” Asterios answered.

“We came as soon as possible,” Miria chimed in with a smile. “Master wanted to check on his mom first and I think it’s only natural.”

Welrond laughed. “Oh, of course. Family first, friends second. Admirable. Also, just Welrond is fine. No one is around currently. And I think Silvia wouldn’t mind you dropping all these formalities either, right?”

The princess walked closer to them and gave a light nod at her father. They must have been training intensely because her skin was covered with lots of little pearls of sweat, glistening in the sun.

“How is Miss Kindra doing by the way? You should have warned me that she’s a force to be reckoned with, hahaha! The two of us had a hard time keeping up with her during the negotiations! I’m not sure if even the presence of my advisors would have changed anything!”

Asterios smiled wryly. It really did seem like his mother had left quite an impression on the king. One glance at Silvia’s face confirmed that she knew that pretty well too.

“My mother is doing great, thank you. She’s complaining about the amount of work I have shoved onto her recently but she’s just like that. Ninety percent of words that come out of her mouth are teases,” Asterios replied. “Ah. She loves the flowers. I’m fairly sure they will keep her company in her personal office for quite some time.”

“Is that so? I’m glad, then! I didn’t know what to bring her when I was passing by, hahaha!”

“I don’t mind sharing a few tips regarding that. For any possible future meetings. I’m sure some will follow now that Hestizos and the royal family are to some extent business partners.”

Welrond raised a brow at him. “Oh? Is it really alright, though? You usually don’t share such influential information with the competition.”

Asterios smiled. “What are friends for?”

“That would be greatly appreciated! I’ll be sure to return the favor in double!” The king laughed heartily again while slapping Ast’s shoulders some more. “Now. Let’s forget about me and move on to more pressing matters. Is it time?” He glanced between him and Sylvia.

Selene nodded with a soft smile. “Master is ready to accept Silvia into our party. There are no issues to be resolved, I think.”

The person in question gave Asterios a thankful smile while slightly bowing her head. They could tell that she was really looking forward to joining them.

“There is one thing that I want to take care of, but we can do so with everyone present. We’ll be trying to summon another companion soon,” Asterios added.

Silvia’s eyes sparkled with curiosity for a brief moment and Welrond chuckled, taking back his arms and plopping a hand on his daughter’s hair.

“I’m sure she would love to witness the process if you allow her. Well then. Go make yourself presentable and grab everything we have prepared, Silvia. We will wait for you in the southern lounge.”

“Yes, Father. And thank you, Asterios. I truly appreciate you agreeing. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Silvia bowed towards them and quickly jogged away to the exit. Everyone watched her disappear in the passage leading out.

Welrond chuckled to himself. “She couldn’t stop thinking about you guys. She’s always been highly motivated to learn and train but the last two weeks were something else. It makes me happy to see her excited about something, no matter how many times it happens.”

“We promise to take good care of her, Your Majesty. Master knows how to treat a lady and is very considerate. And I’m sure both she and us will learn a lot from each other,” Miria said while hugging Ast’s arm.

“I can vouch for my Lord’s professional guidance with my soul, heart, and body. It’s only thanks to him that my century-old curse turned into a blessing. You couldn’t have chosen a better teacher, Your Majesty,” Selene joined in, taking Ast’s other side.

The king grinned at Asterios, who could only smile wryly.

“That’s what I like to hear. Just, please, don’t feel too nervous or concerned around her. I’m well aware of my image of an extremely overprotective father but Silvia is an adult. She can make her own decisions and takes full responsibility for them. Treat her just like any other girl if you would. She will definitely appreciate that.”

Asterios nodded. “We will try our best to leave all of that royal mindset behind, here in the castle. To a comfortable degree, of course.”

“Great! Now, while we wait for my daughter to come back, why won’t we talk a bit about Miss Kindra?”

Welrond approached Asterios and the girls stepped away to let the king place a hand on Ast’s back and lead him towards another exit. The beastfolk duo exchanged glances while smiling at each other knowingly before following after the men.

After around half an hour of casual back and forth between the king, Asterios, and the girls, someone knocked on the door to the chamber they had been using and Silvia walked inside, fully geared up.

In her right hand, she held a battle staff and everyone from Ast’s party could tell that it was different from the one she had used before. It was still made of black metal and had beautiful stylization, but it clearly gave off a much more durable feeling, perhaps even being an actual artifact weapon.

She switched her clothing and armor completely from what they had seen up to now. Silvia now wore a military-themed adventuring outfit of pure black with red details and bronze finishings.

The set consisted of black boots with bronze metal parts, tight black pants, a stylish black vest almost out of a suit, which had a bit of red on it too, and a long black coat, tightly hugging her figure and flowing down around her slender legs, with a red line running over each sleeve until the very cuff, fashionably folded outside. Black leather gloves with metallic knuckles covered her hands.

On top of that closed dark coat with crimson details, she wore a small dark brown breastplate, pretty much being one with the jacket and vest with how seamlessly it was attached to them. The only visible part of Silvia’s skin in this whole getup was located exactly above it as a bit of her cleavage had been clearly purposefully left exposed.

There was no hood or any other attachment, just the neat collar with those perfectly fitting red markings. It wasn’t necessary. The whole attire felt like it matched Silvia’s waist-long crimson hair with orange inner threads and tips flowing behind her back like it had been designed with the princess in mind from the very beginning.

Silvia combed through it as she walked closer to the sitting group while shaking her head, revealing more of those mesmerizing bright topaz fibers. She stopped in front of the coffee table everyone was sitting by and smiled softly.

“I’m ready to depart, Father.”

Welrond smiled back and nodded. “Good. I was wondering if you would ever come to use this set in my lifetime. I can rest easy knowing you have the best of the best on you.”

Meanwhile, as the father-daughter duo exchanged words, another discussion was taking place inside the heads of the other people present in the room.

~Silvia looks so cool in these clothes! She matches with Master so well! I can’t wait to see them fighting together!~ Miria’s excited voice boomed in their linked minds.

~Fufufu, you are right. If you didn’t know any better, you could assume it was designed after Master’s attire from their duel,~ Selene added.

~I have to admit she looks kind of badass in this. And I can tell that it’s not some random cloth which has only good looks and comfort to it. That breastplate is something special too.~ Asterios nodded at them mentally.

~This is great! With so many similarities, she will definitely love spending time around Master! It will be so fun!~ Miria kept flooding the connection with her excitement.

~Oh, for sure, she will, fufufu.~ Selene chuckled into it.

Asterios noticed Silvia’s eyes move onto him after the initial exchange with her father, during which the Summoner’s party had been able to form quite a few more sentences than them thanks to the sped-up mental connection, and he stood up with the girls following shortly.

“Amazing armor, Silvia. I’ve seen a few adventurers using a militaristic style for their outfits but none of them can compare to yours. It’s somehow perfectly on the edge of an adventurer and a military officer. Will it be fine for you to travel with such a style, though?”

Silvia nodded her head with a small smile. “Thank you for the compliment. And, yes, there won’t be any problems. This outfit is as far from anything our military uses as possible. There are no easily recognizable parts or ornaments. And I’ve never worn it before, as Father said. It has been designed for an occasion just like this, with my tastes in mind.”

A faint trace of rosiness tainted her cheeks at the mention of the last part and the girls chuckled to themselves. They couldn’t wait to learn more about the princess and her hidden preferences and likes.

“We’ll be honored with your presence in our party, then.” Asterios made a small bow. “We can depart at any moment.”

“Did you bring it, Silvia?” Welrond asked, walking to his daughter’s side.

She moved her battle staff behind her back, somehow attached it to something there at a diagonal angle, and returned her hand forward. With a faint glow, a solid wooden block materialized on top of her open palm.

The king picked it up and a small dagger appeared in her hand next. He used it to prickle his thumb before Silvia stored it away again. With a confident motion, Welrond pressed the punctured finger onto the wooden block and orange light ran around it in a straight line, revealing the item’s purpose as a sealed box.

He lifted the lid and revealed a soft cushion inside. On that cushion, lay a thin silver ring with some inscriptions on both the inner and outer side. The king picked it up and threw it at the group.

“What’s this?” Asterios caught the piece of jewelry and examined it curiously.

“A gift. It will definitely come useful during your journeys. Drop a bit of blood onto it and put it on,” Welrond answered with a smirk.

He did as instructed and let a bead of his blood fall onto the small band after poking his finger with his hidden assassin-like blade. Dematerializing his left glove, he slid it onto one of his fingers and the ring quickly assumed a perfect fit. Asterios could barely feel it even after covering his hand with the black spiritual material again.

“I assume it can do more than just resize itself to match the wearer’s fingers.” He glanced between the king and the princess.

Welrond nodded with the smirk still present on his lips and turned his head towards Silvia. When everyone was looking at her, she took off her left glove too and revealed an identical band hidden there.

“Ohhhhhhh! Matching rings! That’s so cute!” Miria gasped in excitement, making Asterios shake his head and smile wryly.

The ring shone faintly and briefly, and the previous dagger reappeared in Silvia’s hand.

“A storage artifact.” Asterios sent his spiritual consciousness into the thin band and found a quite sizable open space inside, comparable to a small warehouse. “I was planning to get one in the Demon Continent but something this big must be extremely expensive. Is it truly okay for me to accept this?”

“Don’t even think about returning it, young man. Let’s call it your payment for all the information you have shared and will share with me in the future.” Welrond grinned. “And the tutoring fee. I’m sure your time doesn’t come cheap.”

“It’s as Father said. I would feel bad inconveniencing you without compensating for it in any way. If there would ever be something you would like to get during our time together, please, let me know.”

Asterios tried to ignore the glances his girls were sending each other and nodded politely.

“I understand. Then, I humbly accept this token of your gratitude, Princess. As for the latter gesture, we will see how our journey goes. I promise to mention it if anything comes up.”

“Alright. I won’t hold you back any longer. Do pay me a visit from time to time whenever you can, okay?” Welrond stepped closer to his daughter and opened his arms.

Silvia smiled at him and hugged the king. “Of course, Father. I’ll ask Asterios to transfer me here once in a while, and we can talk through our artifacts too. Thank you again for this.”

They separated and Asterios exchanged a handshake with Welrond.

“Take good care of my daughter. You don’t want me to hear that you hurt her in any way.” The king squinted his eyes at him and squeezed his hand stronger.

“I would never,” Asterios replied with a confident smile and did the same.

Welrond then laughed openly and slapped his shoulder a few times. Letting Asterios go, he stepped back and watched how Silvia walked closer to the party of three.

She stopped by Ast’s side and extended her hand with a tiny smile. He took it and nodded. The girls jumped back to their realm.

“I’ll be going then,” she said to her father, who waved at her. “And also, good luck, Dad.”

Her smile grew a little when she saw Welrond's wide eyes as darkness swallowed her and Asterios. She found herself in the familiar void she had experienced when they had tested if she could bear the travel. Same as that time, Asterios held her hand and stood by her side.

“I wonder if he was so shocked after realizing that you know or from you calling him that.” Asterios chuckled as his voice boomed in the neverending emptiness.

“I bet it was the latter. He is not that oblivious to not notice that everyone has noticed,” she replied. “Also, Asterios?”

“Yes?”

“I would like you to just call me Silvia from now on.”

“Of course. It would be unwise to use official titles anyway. Hopefully, Miria doesn’t slip up in the open.”

“Thanks. I’ll be in your hands, then.”

“Same here.”

They spent the rest of the transfer in silence. Asterios tried to comprehend more of this weird space, as usual, and Silvia could feel that he was focusing so she didn’t bother him. The pitch-black abyss was a little scary but also very fascinating. Thankfully, she wasn’t alone in here.

Soon enough, the shadows retracted and revealed a red sky with a pink sun. Well, the sun was actually the same bright yellow as everywhere, but the Demon Continent’s weird spiritual atmosphere made it look like it was rosy.

Silvia glanced around the black metal shipyard in awe, taking in the sights she had never previously experienced outside of books and paintings. Plenty of demons of various subraces walked everywhere, dominating the population of Ashen Barrel heavily. Skin colors ranging in a full rainbow decorated the crowd, horns, no horns, tails, no tails, and plenty of other details. The demon race was very diverse.

Miria and Selene joined them on the metal platform a moment after Asterios and Silvia had arrived at their destination. Umbra took off to return to Svertaniel’s side, finished with his task of transporting them.

“So, this is the Demon Continent. It looks incredible,” Silvia mused.

“It certainly does,” Asterios agreed.

“We will have so much fun exploring it together for the first time!” Miria jumped around them enthusiastically.

“You mentioned a guide, right?” Silvia turned to Asterios and asked.

“Yes. We have a demon friend. He is waiting for us at the lodgings. We should go there and register properly.”

“Alright. Since I’m now part of your team, I’ll follow your lead.” She nodded and returned to looking around.

“Ummm… Master?” Miria shyly stepped closer and glanced at Asterios with an upturned gaze.

He plopped a hand on her black hair and petted her adorable ears. “What’s up?”

“What do you think… about… using your black and red clothes… while we are here? It would fit well, no?”

Asterios smiled seeing her expectant, a little uncertain eyes. He thought about it for a moment and his attire soon switched into the slightly draconic style. His boots, pants, and vest turned black, and his coat assumed a dark crimson shade, taking the texture of quality leather. Additionally, he connected to his second source passively and his hair changed into white while his eyes turned scarlet with dark fierce vertical pupils.

Miria watched the change with a warm smile, which grew bigger when they locked gazes afterward. Her tail started making more lively dances as she pulled herself closer to kiss Asterios on the lips. They exchanged a few tame pecks while she quietly purred into his mouth.

Pulling away, she noticed Silvia staring at them and blushed instantly, making Asterios chuckle.

“Please, don’t mind me,” the princess spoke before either of them could. “Don’t change how you hold yourselves just because I’m now around.”

“Well said.” Selene pulled herself into Asterios from the other side and also stole his lips for a brief moment.

He looked at Silvia after finally getting free. “Thank you. Just let us know if things turn a little too awkward. I can tell that the girls will at least try to fish some reactions out of you like this.”

“Oh, my Lord, it’s not nice selling us out like that, fufufufu~” Selene chuckled softly with a mischievous smile.

He kept looking at Silvia with one brow raised as to prove his point and she nodded with a small smile.

They left the docks and headed to the place Svertaniel was staying at. Umbra could just transfer them, but where was the fun in that? They had a completely new city to freely explore and take in the majestic sights of almost purely metallic buildings.

On the way to the Tilted Plating, Miria and Selene walked with their arms entwined with Asterios. Occasionally, they would pull themselves closer to, supposedly, avoid stepping onto uneven parts of the road. He was able to catch at least a few female demons sending him glances now and then.

“You are doing this purposefully,” Asterios said after another woman smiled at him in passing.

“I… don’t know what you are talking about… Master…” Miria replied quietly with a faint blush.

Selene chuckled softly and pecked his cheek. “We were just curious if that part about the female demons was true. And it seems like it was.”

He shook his head with a smile. “I enjoy having you close like this but let’s not overdo it intentionally. And there’s also Silvia now.”

“She said she doesn’t mind. Besides, it won’t be long before she joins us, fufufu~”

Asterios gave her the look. “Don’t try anything funny with her.”

Selene smirked at him but nodded. “We promise to be good girls.”

He sighed and looked to the front at the princess currently walking a bit further ahead. He knew he could trust Miria and Selene not to go too far and that they were just joking around. He grew to enjoy the fox lady’s mischievous nature. Kindra had kept teasing him even harder all the time in the past.

They noticed Silvia stopping abruptly, looking after something in her surroundings, and moving to a narrow side alley with a hasty step. Asterios and the girls picked up their pace too and headed her way, dropping the silly atmosphere completely.

But, before they reached the princess, she was already moving away from the alley even faster than she had walked towards it. She seemed a tad different but they couldn’t pick on exactly how and why.

Confused, the trio peeked into the dark avenue and quickly turned around to follow after their friend, picking up speed as Miria’s face grew redder and redder. A pair of demons were consummating their relationship by one of the walls. And they most likely didn’t know about the existence of the Alcove of Serenity.

“The people here… seem very… open… ehehe~” Miria giggled with her gaze shyly cast towards the ground.

Asterios chuckled awkwardly and stroked her ears. “Let’s get to the inn and find a nice place for our next summoning.”