"During the continuation of the Congress-Rebel Senators hearings, a large number of families who have had family members killed during the Philadelphia Invasion appeared online and on television to express their opinions.

One angry father stated, "We're literally fighting against an enemy so primitive that they're literally fighting against our tanks with spears and arrows! Both my sons fucking died against this enemy! I say something must be done about this! Just kill them and get it over with."

A mother stated, "We should not be working with the people who attacked us. Why do I care if there are different factions in this Empire? They are all monsters. The government should kill them all.

Other families have been thankful for the help of allied natives in bringing back family members that were taken during the invasion. It was an Imperial traitor who helped the US Rangers found five prisoners last year. A recent rescue with about one hundred Special Forces from US, Brazil, France, Japan, and Canada attacked what is called a Haryo Facility, rescuing twenty-three prisoners from three nations.

According to the Pentagon's insiders, this is the second rescue on a Haryo Facility, rescuing an unknown number of prisoners. The insider stated that everyone is being sent to an undisclosed medical facility to help with their recovery.

Many of the families are still upset that their family members have not been found. After the First Raid of Sadera, only four other prisoners were found as the war progressed. Princess Pina stated that many were spread across the Empire as gifts to their loyal subjects, a taste of what treasures lay across the Gate.

If the two rescue missions are true, then the number of people freed by the Empire has reached about sixty-four. While no one knows how many were taken, experts believe around one hundred and ten were taken.

However, Congressman Lane Moore of New Hampshire has stated that "allying with locals like the rebel Senators and Princess Pina is NATO's best way to find more camps where the rest of our people are. They know that world, and they have the contacts to find them."

A stranger PETA spin-off species rights group came to the capital to express their opinion. After talking to one of their members they stated they are protesting the government extermination policy against races like goblins, trolls, ogres, and others. They stated that they don't believe those races are as evil as the government says and open arms should be given to these other races.

When asked about the goblin’s rapist traits as their only means to reproduce, a member simply replied "It was just a cultural misunderstanding and that Americans should learn culture tolerances. That we should show love, not war, then these differences should be understood and they would learn the errors of their ways.

We'll keep you informed for further updates.” - Timcast

***

--- Rondel ---

Date: June 12th, 2026

The convoy had stopped in front of a marvelous structure. Looking up, Sharpe saw two tall and beautiful statues of a man and a woman, handing hands and pointing to the large metal gate. "Not bad."

"Not bad?" Lelei said, annoyed. "The man to the left is Elange, God of Knowledge, Retaining, and Understanding. The woman is La or Ra, the Goddess of Learning, Memory, and Absorption."

"I know I know!" Sharpe replied. "Three thousand years ago, both gods blessed this city. Besides having a Temple like Hardy, Emroy, and Idos, they choose to have a city for knowledge and learning. The only two gods to ever exempt themselves from a major temple to live in and to work together."

Lelei blinked. "How did you know that?"

Rory laughed. "Because you mentioned this like thirty times over the past year Lelei. You are like a walking computer. I would have been shocked he didn't know that."

Hearing one of his Rangers mentioned the enemy defense outside the city gate, he checked them out. Two rapid-fire Ballista with a mixed platoon of Imperial soldiers and Rondel Knights. He wondered how many weapon batteries scattered across the city's tall wall. "This place looks well defended. I would have been scared if it wasn't for the fact that we have jets, bombs, drones, missiles, rockets, Oreos, Chuck Norris, and the little miss airhead beside me."

"Hey!" Rory yelled.

"It is weird not getting fired at," Pina said. "But it does not look like they are preparing for a fight. They are watching us but not forming up." She looked at Sharpe and smiled. "This reminds me of Italica."

"Completely," Sharpe replied, noticing the similarities. "Driving up to a city for peaceful contact. The fate of the universe and such. Few differences, though. Like no burning buildings, no people screaming for their lives, no horde army banging at the gates and no arrogant Princess that thought she knew everything."

"Don't worry, Colonel, I won't tell anyone that you whimpered before the battle," Pina jokingly replied.

With a chuckle, Sharpe looked over to his left, seeing Ambassador Henson. "Looks like you're finally going to be useful, Ambassador."

"Until you shoot someone, Lieutenant Colonel," Henson said. "I read your record, and based on what I saw this week, I expect a ninety-five percent chance you will end up shooting someone in there."

"Wow, that low?" Sharpe replied, chuckling. "I am getting rusty then." Then, looking at the gate as it opened, he wondered what was inside. "But it looks like you are up."

A man riding on what looked to be a large Emu bird with its thick hands partly under its blue-white feather wings. "I am Knight Reldom Masulk, Head of Protection. I will be your escort to the Directorate Palace. Do you have the Seal that was sent to you, Miss Lelei La Lalena?"

Lelei bows. "I did get that Seal, Sir Knight. I gave it to Ambassador Henson for safekeeping."

"I got it right here," Henson said, pulling out the Seal from his briefcase. He then handed it to Reldom.

Taking a careful look at the Seal, Reldom nodded. "Good. I am glad you still have this Seal. Otherwise, your legal protection would have been conceded. As long as you have this Seal and do not cause trouble, the Rondel Knights are honor-bound to protect you, even against the Imperial Army. I will be in charge of your protection and tour of the city."

"Thank you, Knight," Lelei said."

Once the Seal was returned, the group got back into their vehicles and followed the Knight through the city gate. Sharpe can see the rare excitement in Lelei's eyes as they pass through, getting ready to become the unit tour guide. "Calm down, Lelei, you can show us around. Assuming there is no ambush on the other side."

Not wanting Lelei to drive, Sharpe got into the driver's seat. While they are guests, he does not trust these people yet. Besides, he knows Lelei will lecture every detail of the city as they drive to their destination.

"They would not do that," Lelei reassured. "If they broke the Seal, then Rondel's reputation would be scarred for life. Plus, it would spark a civil war here."

"Still, that does not mean I am going to blindly lower my guard around them," Sharpe replied. "All you need is one Knight who is still loyal to the Empire to cause problems. World Wars have started from less."

As the unit moved through the outer city gate. Thousands of white stone and marble buildings with red roofs, as far as the eyes can see, littered the scenery. The streets are full of people, all in different types of clothing. To Sharpe's surprise, much of the clothing people are wearing is traditional, akin to the Classical Renaissance, while others are in armor, fresh from battle.

"Lelei, in Sadera and Italica people usually wore robes, cheap clothing or tunics. Why is the clothing so vastly different here?" Sharpe asked.

"Rondel does not have many poor people compared to other cities," Lelei explained. "Some clothing is designed to have magical abilities to them; other people like having specialized clothing to stand out. Magic is very individual, unlike a soldier. You don't need everyone to have the same equipment or dress wear. This allows Rondel to manufacture many different types of clothing. However, that doesn't mean it is cheap."

"I have never seen so many mages in one place," Alicia said. "I had no idea there were so many. Look! Those two are fighting!"

"Yes," Lelei said. "This is the largest center of magical training, education, and research on Falmart." She stared out the window as if looking for something, scanning the different alleyways.

Noticing this Sharpe asks, “what’s wrong?”

“There are fewer people."

"What do you mean?" Tuka asked. "This place looks packed to me."

Lelei looked back at the other Girls. "That is because this is the public marketplace. As one of the largest economies in the region, this market should be packed for this time of year."

Sharpe noted that fact. After a year, even Lelei can see a decrease in population. It showed how bad the War is going for the common people, wondering if Falmart will go through a massive depopulation crisis like Europe did after World War I or what happened with Paraguay in the Paraguayan War.

As the unit followed the Knight, Sharpe listened as Lelei gave a detailed lecture of everything they passed. He noticed small colorful explosions by some demonstration experiments. A Pooka selling these amulets. And the most important fact, so many mages carrying a staff and other magical equipment. He is used to only seeing one or two at a time on the battlefield, not hundreds. Finally, a bright light past a building is seen, Lelei explaining that there is a magic duel happening. Another mage doing some test or entertainment magic in front of a crowd.

“What a marvelous City Lelei!" Soredin jolted with excitement like a child who just went to an amusement park. "This is the first time in my entire life that I have seen so many mages in one place. We have never been able to gather like this. This is just like stepping into a fantasy world like those found in many works of fiction! Thank you so much, Lelei, for letting me come along. Thank you!” From the excitement she couldn’t help but hug Lelei tightly.

“Whoa, teacher, I never thought you could be this excited," Lelei replied, shocked by Soredin jolt of energy.

"I am sorry, Lelei," Soredin said, letting go. "Never in my lifetime have I ever thought I would see a city full of mages. It is like a dream come true. If only Camelot could ever come true!"

"What is Camelot?" Selina asked.

"Camelot was a castle belonging to King Arthur long ago,” Soredin explained. “You see, Merlin wanted to create a city of mages like Rondel and choose the castle of Camelot to be the foundation of the city. However, the dark witch, Morgana Le Fay, killed Merlin when her band of witches wreaked havoc on Camelot, and the early British kingdom, so his dream never came true. This event helped spark the centuries-long Witch Hunt going back to the second century BC with the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty.”

"King Arthur tried to carry on Merlin's dream but failed as he fought his treacherous knight, Modred; both of them fell in the ensuing battle. This was the final nail in the coffin for any chance for magic to become normalized again in the world. This also prevented us from having our version of Rondel on Earth. The only piece left of it was the sacred sword, Excalibur.”

As Lelei listened, the story made her wonder if events happened differently, Earth would have had their own Rondel. It showed how vastly different both worlds are. In regards to most topics on Falmart, Earth knowledge is superior except on this issue. She found it fascinating with all of Earth's wonders, magic is more accepted here.

"Can we go look around?" Selina asked, poking through the gap between the two-front seat.

"Later," Sharpe said. "Let us get settled and meet our contacts first."

--- Villa, Directorate Palace, Rondel ---

After a thirty-minute drive through the city, everyone reached the palace villa. The assigned rooms that everyone was going to be living in are compared to the Presidential hotel rooms.

“Edras was never this fancy,” Selina said.

A purple-haired humanoid Medusae maid, Etia, greeted them upon their arrival. She welcomed them as she bowed. She showed everyone the place, a bathing area, the bedrooms, and living quarters around the large fireplace for warmth. The last major area is the balcony with a view of most of the city.

Etia approached. “I am sorry Miss Lalena for speaking out of term, but I don’t understand what Sir Sharpe is doing.”

Already knowing what Sharpe was doing, Lelei rolled her eyes. He is looking around the palace guest room for listening devices or any other concerns he has. “He is just looking for bugs. Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, I am surprised a soldier with his reputation is afraid of bugs,” Etia replied as she watched Sharpe. “I promise to double my work to keep bugs out of these chambers.”

At first, Lelei was confused by what the maid said until she realized that she was using military terminology. Bug being a nickname for surveillance devices.

“As far as I can tell this place is clean,” Sharpe said.

“Thank you,” the maid responded. “If you need anything please call me or any other maid.” She bowed and left.

As the maid left, Pina walked into the room. “I have almost forgotten what the Royal treatment was like. I missed this.”

“I finally agree with the Royal pain in the ass,” Rory said. “Being pampered is the best.”

Sharpe folded his arms. “Pina, you are supposed to be a representation of your revolution.”

“I know, but that does not mean I have to give up on some parts of my lifestyle,” Pina replied. “Living in a clean home, not wearing dirty clothing all the time, and so on. Besides, this is my world, Jackson. That is why I am here because I know how and when to speak to these people. I know how to speak politics.”

“She is right, Jackson,” Lelei said. “Hopefully, you will not need to use your firearms on this mission.” Seeing Sharpe's depressed reaction from realizing he will have to amuse her, knowing he hates formal dinners and meetings.

Selina grabbed Lelei's dress. “Let’s go to the balcony. I want to see everything.”

Being dragged by Selina, the group headed to the balcony. Lelei leaned on the decorated stone railing.

“That large dome building with the three keeps, that is the Academy,” Lelei said. “You can see both gods’ statues on each side of the entrance.”

“Over there, that is the dueling arena. While dueling is allowed on the streets, tournaments and more official duals are hosted there. Over there is the entertainment district where you can see the theater, what you call the red-light district, public bathing, and magic tricks like Golan.”

Tuka laughed. “Hey Jackson, maybe you should check out the brothels.”

“And do what?” Rory interrupted. “All he would do is start a fight there.”

Lelei blinked, not understanding the joke. “Anyway, over there is the main market. Only mages, sages, nobility, and other important classes are allowed there. What you saw before was the public market.”

Pointing to the river. “That is the harbor. It leads to the Row River, going all the way North to the Crystal Sea. That is about it.”

Hearing other excited voices, Lelei looked to the other balconies and saw some of the other Rangers and Rose Knights checking out the view. Each group in its guest quarters.

“Enjoying the view?” Lelei asked.

Andrew looked over. “Totally. It is like living in an open-world game, but it’s real.”

“Or you could say this is more like going back in time,” Alicia said.

“No, no,” Andrew replied. “Time travel is evil and ruins everything, so no.”

Hearing her name from behind, Lelei turned around. What she saw was her master Mage Grandmaster Cato El Altestan, her once caretaker Mage Grandmaster Mimoza La Mer but most importantly, her older sister Arpeggio.

Lelei darted across the room with such speed and tackled Arpeggio to the ground out of pure reaction. "I missed you so much, sister! You have no idea how much! I really thought I was never going to see you again!"

"You're… killing me!" Arpeggio struggled to speak.

Ignoring her older sister's plea, Lelei continued to squeeze Arpeggio as she cried with joy. After a moment, she felt someone grab the back of her dress and lift her off. Looking back, she noticed Rory.

"Alright, sister, don't squeeze her to death."

"Sorry, I got emotional."

Arpeggio got up, looking confused. "Lelei, why is Rory calling you sister?"

After fixing her dress, Lelei looked at Arpeggio. "Oh yeah. Arpeggio, as you already know, this is Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emroy. This little one is Princess Selina Sharpe of Edras, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Jackson Sharpe. This is Tuka Luna Marceau, daughter of High Chieftain Hodor Marceau of the Koan Woodline State. And this is Yao Haa Dushi of the Roldom State. We consider each other sisters.."

"It is an Earth thing," Selina commented. "Girls who are close friends call each other sisters on Earth. You can join the group if you want."

“They call it sismance for short,” Lelei said. “It is a girl thing on Earth. Because were act like sisters that makes Jackson the father of the group, the father you and I never had."

"None of that makes sense," Arpeggio replied with a blank stare. "I know your letters said their world was different, but this is confusing."

"I must include myself," Mimoza said in a warm tone. "I do have to say, Lily, you have grown up."

“Lely?” Selina asked. “I never heard that before.”

“It is what Mimoza call Lelei,” Arpeggio answered, embarrassing Lelei.

Hearing that Mimoza said baffled Lelei. The first thing she thought about was that her body has changed. She thought maybe Mimoza was referencing that she has gotten taller, or her body thickness has gotten bigger from the daily American goods she eats now, or how physically fit her body is because of exercising to keep up with the soldiers. "I don't know what you mean by that. I think I still look the same. Maybe a scar here and there but-." As she spoke, she noticed people chuckling about something.

"Lelei," Sharpe said. "She is talking about your character, you as a young woman."

"That is correct," Mimoza said. "When I first met you, you were one of the most reserved students I have ever met. But now look at you, you cried, tackled your sister, and you spoke with so much life in your voice. I am so happy to see this. It is like a dream come true."

"I am glad the girl I left in the Koan Forest is gone," Cato said. "Based on your letters, I have learned new spells and ideas that will change everything. I am glad to take you away from Rondel's work."

"Even though you didn't do anything," Mimoza commented.

Cato laughed and looked around. "I do say Lelei, these are the 'sisters' that you have talked about. I am surprised how pretty they are." He then appeared next to Tuka, holding up a part of her hair and holding her hand. "Why, hello there, my sweet. Lelei has said much about you, but I would love a chance for you to get to know about me."

Tuka blushed, giggled, and then looked away. "Oh my, you were correct, Lelei. He is a creep."

"Only for you," Cato replied as he kissed Tuka's hand.

Frowning, Lelei rolled her eyes as she expected this. She has heard all the stories about his youth and how he was a ladies' man, as the Americans would say. She had even witnessed this before as he flirted with other female students and mages. "Master Cato might want to value self-control." Pointing to Sharpe as he stood there, playing with his knife. Cato laughed and stepped away.

Selina walked up to Lelei and pulled her dress. "Are you going to bring me up?"

Lelei blinked and then remembered. "Oh yeah, I am sorry. Unfortunately, master Mimoza, I did not have time to write this in a letter, but we discovered that Selina is a healer mage."

"Really?" Mimoza said, shocked. She walked over and lowered to Selina’s level. "Being a healer mage is a rare thing. Only a strong following of Mirrita are capable of this type of magic, which Lily said you are. Can you show me?"

Selina shook her head. "I cannot. I have struggled to use my magic."

"What do you mean?" Mimoza asked, confused.

"Selina has only been able to conduct her magic twice," Lelei explained. "Both times were under stress while someone was dying. The first time was her pet griffin, and the second time was me after being bitten by a far more powerful version of the zombie curse."

This time Arpeggio tackled Lelei, holding her tightly. "You were bitten by one of them and are still alive? By the gods, I cannot believe this? You almost died!"

"What happened?" Cato asked, no longer being goofy.

Taking a deep stressful breath, Lelei told the story of their adventure while coming to Ronel. Starting from the assassination attempt at Valtris to running into those infected by Crety. How she experienced feeling the curse spread through her body and how Selina and Jerry's efforts slowed down the infection. Sharpe, Rory, and Soredin left Crety with a group to find the Rokude Pear – also explaining that all the pears were destroyed so that they had to go to the Arrun Ruins to find one.

As Lelei started to explain how strange and scary these new infections acted, she saw their horrific reaction. Even Rory still shook her head from the memory of their encounter. But she ended the story on a positive note, stating NATO is protecting Crety and trying to contain the curse.

Mimoza sat on a chair as she processed everything. "How quickly the world has changed. I cannot believe your party went through so much just to get here."

"This new infection," Cato mumbled as he rubbed his gray beard. "I will have to bring this up in tomorrow's debate. Normally we would have swept the nearby forests to prevent this from happening. Arrun has always been cursed, but this is insane. This war has drained so many of our people we no longer have enough Adventurers and mages to do this anymore."

"So much death for no reason," Mimoza added. "But I cannot believe that Oprichnina attacked you at Valtris. I knew the Empire would try and stop you people from coming, but an assassination attempt, by a Dar no less. That must be desperate." She then looked at Selina. "It is not that surprising that at your age, you are struggling to unlock your magic, but it can be done with some work. We can go to the academy and begin some training so you can access it at will."

As Cato talked with Sharpe and Rory while Mimoza explained magic to Selina and Yao, Lelei looked at her older sister. She could not help herself but took another huge hit. "I missed you so much, Arpeggio. For a while, I thought I would never see you again."

"Neither did I, Lelei," Arpeggio replied. "Now, you have a lot of explaining to do. It was reckless to get into this war. You could have gotten hurt; actually, you did get hurt. What if you turned into one of those abominations?"

“It is ok, sister,” Lelei said. “I am ok. No one forced me to join them, I chose on my own, and I would not trade it for anything.”

Arpeggio looked at the group. “I still don’t trust them, especially the big man. I remember how much of a brute father he was. I remember your early letters about how he reminded you about your father. I don’t understand why you wanted to stay with a brute.”

Lelei understood how Arpeggio was feeling. Their father is an Alpha Male, a strong warrior, strong, controlling like a tyrant. They knew he hated them as having only daughters prevented him from becoming tribal ruler, so he took it out on them. Sarah described it as masculinity, the worst part of a male.

At first, Lelei was somewhat scared of Sharpe; she saw him risk his life against the Flame Dragon, save the refugees, and Rory trusted him for some reason. To her shock, she found many of the same traits her father had, strong, a warrior, controlling, an Alpha. However, it was different as none of it was pushing down or oppressive. As Rory said, the key difference is that her father wanted to dominate while Sharpe acted out of love. Like Apollo or positive masculinity, as Sarah would describe it.

“I know they seem similar, but they are not,” Lelei tried to explain. “Father was a brute who only cared about himself. Sometimes Jackson could be strong, but he acts like that because he is trying to keep me and the others safe and protected. It is out of love, something our father never understood. If you give him a chance, you will see he is a big softy underneath.”

“Interesting but I don’t know. People like him always end up being abusive, unless he is trying to get up your dress for a one night lay. If he had you, you would have written to me about it so you're still a virgin.” Arpeggio said, still skeptical, not caring that her sister turned bright red. She then pointed behind Lelei. “But does he always act like a fool?”

Turning around, Lelei saw Sharpe brag about his magical abilities. Cato and Mimoza are confused, demanding proof while Rory facepalms. Of course, Selina is cheering Sharpe’s shenanigans on.

Sharpe closed his eyes, took out his combat knife, and blindly tossed it against a pillar, dead center. “See, magical.”

“Wow,” Mimoza said. “You hit that pillar perfectly.”

Sharpe opened his eyes and looked at his target. “Oops, I meant to hit that vase over there.”

Hearing that, Lelei looked back at his sister. “Yeah… fool is the nice way of saying it. But he is our fool – give him a chance please, I know he can be a bit scary at first but once you get past that he will die for you.” Letting the thought settle, she sat down. “Now, tell me what you've been up to.”

Lelei understood why Arpeggio is so skeptical - the shadow of their father still lingered within her. Sarah once told her that every daughter just wants their father's love and approval and that is why she and Selina cling to Jackson so much. Arpeggio on the other hand never had someone to cling to and being six years older she had to endure their father's wrath into her young adult years. She does not know how to put into words experiences like when Sharpe taught her how to drive and practice new spells or bath time with the Girls or Christmas or cooking with Sarah.

“When factions started to form and your letters were shown to the nobles Mimoza took me back in,” Arpeggio said. “She felt that because I am your older sister, I might be targeted by the Pro-Empire faction. Because you sided with the Other Worlders I lost most of my scribe business customers.”

“I am so sorry; I did not think my actions were hurting you,” Lelei replied. While Lelei went into advanced magic, Arpeggio went into alchemy, minerals, and materials. Because her field of study is very expensive, she had to learn advanced writing so she could do enchantments and record spells to sell. It is a labor, costly, and time-intensive profession, so losing half of her clients would force her sister into poverty.

Taking a long breath, Arpeggio smiled. “It is ok. I didn’t want to tell you to scare you. I know how your brain works. Besides, please tell me what Earth is like? What kind of goods do they have? Your letters always brag about the wonders, but you never go into details.”

“Oh yeah, that is because I did not want to ruin my friend's trust in me,” Lelei replied. “I honestly couldn’t explain everything. There is so much to say it would be better to show you. I wouldn’t believe most of it if I didn’t see for myself.” She recalled the wonders that she enjoyed the most, which was the access to unlimited information. She thought about bringing up the Internet but struggled to find a way to explain invisible knowledge through the cloud. So, she decided to talk about books. Now she understood why Sharpe was hesitant to share their knowledge, some of it is too complex to bring up.

“They have so many books where you could gather information,” Lelei explained. “I brought some to show you. All you have to do is write once and they can make an unlimited number of books and they are cheap compared to scribe work.”

“What?” Arpeggio yelled. “If I knew this, I would have joined the Empire side. I thought they were lying when they said the Other Worlders were coming to take our work away, but it is true!”

Having seen Imperial propaganda, twisting NATO intentions of abolishing slavery as robbing property, or introducing technology as stealing jobs, she should have expected her sister would not fully understand the difference. “That is not true. It is not like that, Arpeggio.”

“Hold on Lelei, let me explain,” Soredin said as she entered the room. “Changes are coming, Arpeggio but not in the manner you are thinking about. You must change your mindset and look for the opportunities that change offers. For example, with your scribe work. Every day you write the same enchantment or spell for you to make money, correct?”

“That is correct,” Arpeggio said, confused. “Is that how they do it on Earth?”

“No,” Soredin said. “On Earth, we have a technology called the printing press, that is what Lelei is referring to. All you have to do is write one of your scribes once and then you can print it as many times as you want. Each time someone buys a book you still get paid for it. Think about it, you are getting paid for your work after only doing it once. This means you can create other spells and enchantments to sell, and then again without having to repeat yourself.”

“That… is impossible,” Arpeggio said, struggling to comprehend what Soredin just said.

“Who are you, fine lady?" Cato asked as he eyed Soredin’s figure. "I can sense a mana presence in you but I have never seen you before. you don't seem from around here either"

“Everyone, I would like to proudly introduce to you all, my new arcane mentor from Earth, Grand High Witch Verona Soredin, head of the North American Coven Council and descendant of the legendary Earth mage, Merlin. She is currently training me in the art of Earth magic, which in her case, Wiccan magic," Lelei then introduced Soredin.

“Earth has mages?" Arpeggio, Cato and Mimoza collectively said in a shocked tone.

---

"You are telling me Earth had mages all this time?" Cato shockingly asked. "Why has no one mentioned it?"

"We always thought Earth had no magic. Throughout the entire war, the League army never said anything about encountering mages originating from the NATO side?" Mimoza confusingly states

This topic appeared faster than Sharpe expected. He was wondering how it was going to be brought up. It looked like Lelei and Soredin decided to bring it up now, which might be best as if there is going to be a problem, best to deal with it directly.

"The truth is the existence of Earth mages have just been recently discovered by us, so that is why this is quite a shock for all of you," Sharpe answered. "This is the first deployment of a mage by our side as we figure things out."

"Master Soredin? What does he mean that you and all other mages on Earth are recently discovered?" Arpeggio asked.

“That topic is quite sensitive," Soredin explained. "We can talk about it another day but now we must focus on the important event at hand."

"Agreed," Hanson said. "Thank you for telling us how vulnerable the situation here is. I knew it would be a hard sell, but I had no idea the pro-Empire side was this powerful. I was sure the number of casualties and seeing Lelei would change their minds, but I now think we might need more."

"I have a good idea what is going on in the Pro-Empire camp," Cato said. "I've been having debates with them for months now, and most are not fanatical supporters of the Empire as you may think. The issue is that they don't trust NATO or your country. Some of it sounds too good to be true, and the other reason is that they are afraid of opposing the Empire."

"When the Oprichnina attacked the Pro-Peace faction in Sadera, it sent a message that dissent was no longer an option within the Empire," Cato added. "Many are not convinced that you can protect them. We just have to prove that we can. This should bring about a third to our side if successful."

"Don't forget about the establishment, Cato," Mimoza said. "Many of the elite do not want to change to what Lelei represents. That is the struggle we have right now, Lily represents a new path Rondel could take and her knowledge will mean traditional powers might lose out to an outside, younger group, one that they cannot control. You Americans must understand many of these institutions are older than your country. They will not be dissolved without a fight."

"We understand that pretty well," Sharpe replied, remembering some headache missions. During his two tours in Afghanistan when he was a Green Beret, one issue was dealing with tribal leaders. While NATO wanted to bring in freedom, liberty, women's rights, plumbing, electricity, schools, and all the other good stuff the west had, the tribal leaders cared more about their way of life and status. That proved to be a major flaw in NATO Afghan strategy that many of these tribes were older than most nations, so they did not want to give up what they knew, especially when they had to give up tribal power to an alien culture.

Hanson placed his hand on his chin. "We better do this slowly until we get a better feel of the situation. The last thing we want to do is push them into a corner or come at them with guns blazing. That will only push them farther away."

"Speaking of the Oprichnina, I am surprised they have not attempted to assassinate you three," Sharpe said. "If the Oprichnina were willing to murder Krysist and his Army along with the Pro-Peace faction to maintain their power, killing you would have been their priority."

Cato laughed and then spoked, "They tried. One night I was having a lovely dinner with Mimoza, and the Oprichnina broke in. The next thing that happened was these American warriors suddenly appeared and killed them in the blink of an eye. Since then, your government has been providing secret protection and funding to the pro-annexation faction. I believe you know these warriors, Lieutenant Colonel Sharpe."

"Wait, what?"

The front door opened again, and three soldiers walked through. All three are in a cloak with military gear underneath. The shorter one in the middle took his VISOR and held his arms out. "Hey, Boss Baby!"

"Who are they?" Rory asked, confused.

"Wait, they look like the guys in his picture," Tuka said.

"I knew you kept a picture of me, Boss," the shorter soldier said as they all approached. "Where are you keeping it, back pocket?"

Another soldier placed his hand on the shorter soldier's shoulder. "Knock it off." He then looked at Sharpe. "Nice to see you again, sir."

"Nice to see you three as well; this is a surprise," Sharpe said. "Girls-."

Lelei walked up. "You are First Sergeant Nicholas Hart, you are First Sergeant Cortez Gálvez, and you are Sergeant First Class Jessy Dodson."

"Hey guys," Jessy said as he elbowed the other two. "We're famous."

"Shut up, Jessy," Sharpe ordered.

"Nice to meet all of you," Nicholas said. "Just to let you all know that you are famous in the SOCOM community. We have all been jealous of your work."

"Nice to meet you all too," Rory said. "We heard a lot about you all. It is nice to finally meet some of Jackson's old teammates. I just wonder if you can keep up."

Jessy looked around. "Strange, people are usually asking me to slow down."

"Alright," Sharpe said. "Since you, three have been acting as security. Anything we should know about?"

"Can we trust the Knights here?" Rory asked. "Because all they have to do is switch sides and kill you all in your sleep."

many of its members have sided with the Royalists as they are upset about being drafted."

"The truth is, sir, this city is ready to explode," Nicholas cleared up. "The fuse has been lit, but it is not there yet."

"Alright, we have work to do," Sharpe said. "Where do we start?"

"They are legit," Cortez answered. "We thought the same way before, but their leader seems legit. They have been secretly giving us Oprichnina safehouses and tips of assassination attempts. We took care of them without anyone noticing. We use the Knights as a front so we can remain a secret."

"From what we understand, they have given up on assassination attempts," Nicholas added. "They started focusing on influencing people to join the Pro-Empire side or attacking the Royalist faction. The real question is the Guilds."

"What do you mean?" Sharpe asked.

"Just like in the academy, the Guild was split," Cato said. "Normally, the Guild and the Rondel Academic Council work closely together, but many of the leadership are splitting apart. They have oddly been silent on the matter. The Adventurer Guild has sided with the Empire but yawned, getting everyone's attention. "We have five days until Lelei has her main presentation, so we have time. I was hoping for more time, but five days is good. What we need to do is build trust with the people and make allies within the nobility. We need to show everyone you are not the evil barbarians from the Gate."

"Tomorrow is another meeting," Mimoza said. "I recommend you come to the academy tomorrow, meet some of our allies and see the debate for yourself. This gives you a chance to see the academy and learn more about Rondel, allow the students and teachers to see you, to show you are just as human as they are."

"And we can figure out my magic," Selina added.

"Of course," Mimoza said. "At some point, Lily will have to show the people some of the new spells. Many believe she is lying, that this 'science magic' is a fraud. We need to show that we are the honest ones and the faction who opposes Lelei and what she represents are the crazy ones."

"That is where Pina and Soredin come in," Sharpe said. "She knows how to talk with these people. Having the Princess of the Empire should add much credibility to our case. Soredin will hopefully be able to convince them that mages have a place in our society."

As the current plan is laid out, Sharpe watched everyone mingling with each other, two people meeting for the first time, learning about each other. Watching Rory talk with Jessy with their outgoing personality. Nicholas talking with Lelei and Arpeggio. Cortez talking with the Elves.

Deep down inside, he is glad to have some of his old Delta team here. It feels like the band is back together, with his Ranger team, the Girls, Rose Knights, and now Delta, the team is whole. While the task is an uphill battle and so many curve balls have already been tossed at them, he is more convinced than ever that events will go their way.