The Papaldia Empire, the Senate Hall, evening

Silvano enters the hall, and two Zealots that serve under her unit come as her escort. Taking her seat, she starts to look at no other than Emperor Ludius.

“You’ve asked me to come. Have you decided to surrender?”

“Yes… We decide to surrender.”

“Good, then we will get to the negotiation table.”

Silvano starts to list out the demands for accepting the unconditional surrender.

“First, as Remille stated before, there are some that we refuse to negotiate. The part that we refuse to negotiate is to admit the independence of the Seventy-Six nations of your former colony as an independent country, transferring the Superpower's authority to the Celestina Empire, and auditing the law for a better future such as abolishing the extraterritoriality and the slaves.

I will list those who will participate in the visit to the Celestina Empire for the next Council Meeting, which happens in January next year. I won’t change this since this decision is based on our evaluation and their values over the zealot’s days at the Papaldia Empire. I’m not going to take any objection here since this is the Main Council’s decision.”

The following participants are:

Emperor Ludius Imperial Family Member Remille First Foreign Affairs Head Elto Deputy Head Hans Imperial Capital Defense base survivor Lotte Senate member Brutti Senate member Pontifex Advisor Lupasa Former Navy Officer Irruka Third Foreign Affairs Head and Chief of Negotiations for the Papaldia Empire, Kyeos 35 other people

They look at the list, and it seems they are curious why Celestina picks these people. Normally, only officials are allowed to visit the Celestina Empire. Brutti raises his hand, asking about it.

“There are some people who are not on the high rank, such as Lotte and former Naval Officer Irruka. Why did you pick them?”

“We don’t want to pick just based on the official’s point of view, that’s why we choose an ordinary people as well. They might have a different view of approach than you do. Furthermore, they also need to be eased of their trauma.”

“A trauma?”

“When we notice that you dismiss them as they are suffering some mental illness, it is something that you should verify the report first rather than just believing that it was nonsense. Your punitive attack at the Kingdom of Selarong, the Rodenius War, we knew all of it.”

“What?!”

That information was supposed to be top-secret, yet the Celestina Empire managed to obtain the information about it. Ludius’ back and forehead start to sweaty, afraid of Celestina’s Intelligence Network that can surpass them. How can they make such a huge mistake in that aspect? Does it really necessary to gather information from the sources directly?

“If you had sent a diplomat to the Celestina Empire, things wouldn’t be like this, and the Senates will be bickering against each other of who wants to visit Celestina. You demand things from us? That will not happen. Change your way of thinking if you want to live for another day. A Superpower means you will bear a great responsibility for it.

The Celestina Empire is a Superpower that influences three Systems on the Galaxy. We never did demand something that could humiliate other nations when opening a diplomatic relationship with us. Should you open a diplomatic relationship with Celestina, you will receive an industrial revolution right away, but we will be most likely demand the Kingdom of Verlaine.”

“Why you want the Kingdom of Verlaine?”

“It’s because my Commander in Chief is now a Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Verlaine.”

“!”

They went silent when Silvano stated that her Commander in Chief was the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Verlaine. Even if they did establish a diplomatic relationship, Celestina would surely demand it. The Kingdom of Verlaine houses Silitsa Magic Gem Mine, and the Papaldia Empire wants to exploit it to their heart's content. And now, all of their work has come to naught due to the Celestina Empire’s interference. They already have the merchant fleet ready to transport the magic gem to the Duro, but the Celestina Empire moves faster than they can expect.

“We can just simply crush you with just Company-sized personnel, but we choose not to since we want to know how far pride takes you until you realize that you should send a diplomat to the Celestina Empire.”

Silvano’s words yet are making the entire Papaldia Empire Senates and Officials tremble before her. To think that they play right into the Celestina Empire's hand from the start, they are regretting everything they have right now.

“Anything else to discuss?”

Ludius raises his hand.

“From these notes, I heard there are around three hundred participants. Is it true that you did not put our doctrine into use?”

When Ludius finishes asking his question, he can feel a dagger grazing his cheek and lands on the platform. Silvano stares at him with anger once she throws her dagger at him, much to Ludius’s fear that Silvano won’t bother to kill him.

“Rule by fear? It’s just a child’s play or barbarian’s play. We help them advance; in exchange, they are willing to send their citizens to study and buy our kinds of stuff. Your rule by fear is easy to break when you start to lose your military might more than what you can think.”

She pulls her dagger using her magic, sheathing it back to her scabbard.

“My job is done here. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need further information.”

Silvano and her Zealot guard leave the Senate Hall, and the meeting ends.

After the meeting, only silence awaits them. The Celestina Empire humiliates them to this extent just to make sure the Papaldia Empire sends a diplomat to the Celestina Empire. Every one of them, including Emperor Ludius and Remille, regrets their actions. They should never view any country outside the Civilization country as a barbarian country, let alone try to coerce them in the first place.

“I think it’s clear why we’ve lost…”

“I agree…”

Without anything to speak, the Papaldia Empire ends their meeting.

The Kingdom of Selarong, The Palace

“In short, they are unable to threaten us again in the long-term.”

The report from Captain Kumsius makes Dimas smile in joy.

“I’m grateful that we’re allies with the Celestina Empire.”

“Yeah. They also help us rebuild the town of Sulbar, and our people can return to their home safely.”

“I’ve heard that you plan to register yourself as an adventurer before heading to the Celestina Empire. Is it true?”

“Yes. I want to get the license since it gives us a lot of privileges when I’m at the Celestina Empire. I heard we can update each of our skills based on how we did it every six months, and that can serve as a good evaluation for our Kingdom as well.”

“Hoo… Looks interesting. I do hope I can get one soon.”

“The guild is always open 24/7, but the bar is closed at night.”

“I see… That looks interesting… Still, we’re grateful that we owe Celestina debt again. We can’t thank them enough.”

“Agreed.”

The Kingdom of Selarong is grateful that they are allies with the Celestina Empire.

The Holy Milishial Empire, Port Town Cartalpas, A Certain Bar

The drunks were chatting again, as usual.

“Hey, hey, did you hear? The Papaldia Empire, in the Third Civilization, both Navy and Ground Forces has been wrecked by the Celestina Empire!” a drunk yelled with amazement.

“Ahh, I did. Man, I couldn’t believe it when I first heard. A country outside the civilized areas has never beaten a superpower before, let alone completely crushing one of their strongest forces. And talking about the empire’s navy, they were the most powerful fleet in the Third Civilization.”

“But hey, I hear Celestina was making aircraft too. You think Mu is pulling their strings or something?”

“Nah, I think the aircraft Celestina had been way more effective than Mu’s. Papaldia was also investing in some method to improve their wyvern lords, but even they couldn’t scratch these flying machines, I hear.”

The bar began to get noisy.

“So what the hell is with this Imperial Country of Celestina, anyway? They keep doing all these impossible things one after another…… For that matter, I wonder what’s gonna happen to the empire.”

“The empire’s the one who called for genocide, but now they’re the ones who are gonna be wiped out. I bet most of their people are gonna get enslaved… something like that.”

“But now, Celestina is definitely going to become one of the five big superpowers, and whatever they do is gonna change the world. I gotta figure out how to cash in on that.”

The drunks kept on chatting.

The Holy Milishial Empire, Information Bureau

Information Director Arneus fell deep into thought after receiving a report from one of his subordinates. Even though the star of the Third Civilization, the Papaldia Empire, sent out the entirety of its main navy, a small piece of Celestina’s naval power completely crushed them and didn’t even get a bloody nose. It was undeniable that Celestina had at least enough national power to be counted as a superpower. The fact that superpower countries suddenly came out of nowhere, not only from the west but also from the east, made his head throb in pain.

The Celestina Empire was able to evacuate all Mu citizens at the Papaldia Empire, something that only a Superpower can do. At the recent Eleventh Leadership Country Conferences, Mu did not want to meddle with Celestina. The Kingdom of Eimor also agreed with this since they have one person they fear at the Celestina Empire, expecting more top officials to be more powerful than they thought.

“Rydorka, what is your assessment of Celestina?” Arneus asked the information officer who had observed the battle in the Topa Kingdom between the remnants of the ancient sorcerous empire and Celestina.

“The one thing I can say for sure is that their military technology is unparalleled. As the report released the other day said, their firepower is extremely high, let alone I have witnessed the leader of the Celestina Empire’s power itself. In addition, their magic tanks, the weapon they used to defeat the demon lord, are a worrisome threat.

When the Papaldian ground army fought with Celestina in the Kingdom of Selarong, the empire’s magic cannons scored many direct hits on these tanks but destroyed none, and they couldn’t put a scratch on them. On the other hand, the tanks had extremely powerful and accurate magic cannons of their own; they easily eliminated all of the empire’s land dragons and had an ungodly reloading speed. Another thing to note is they can easily lay traps and have plenty of huge aircraft to transport their land dragons.

There are still far too many unknowns concerning that country; in order to avoid being caught unaware like in the two losses the Papaldia Empire took, I believe we must be meticulous in our foreign relations.”

“……You’re right, of course. The scale of the country of Celestina is still unknown, but if we only consider their extreme level of technology, then, even more than the Gra Valkas Empire, we do not want to antagonize them. With regards to the Third Civilization, in all likelihood, the Papaldia Empire will fall from being a superpower, and the Celestina Empire will become the new stewards of the Third Civilization.”

He sighed.

“What a headache. Trying to persuade those prideful diplomats and politicians is a discouraging thought, but we need to avoid provoking Celestina if there’s no need to, so we need to report this information up. At the same time, we should suggest sending an exploratory delegation before beginning diplomatic talks. We’ll have you join that delegation, Rydorka.”

“Yes, sir!”

The information office continued to analyze information about Celestina.

The Celestina Empire, Ragnarok Palace, 14th August 1524 / 225

The Ragnarok Palace was constructed at the request of both Armada and Tiamat, the Primordials. Their presence was already a headache for both Main Councils and the Main Advisors. Only Sacchito, Shina, and Sofya were allowed to gain free access from all the Main Councils and Main Advisors, while others could enter only by appointment, except for Feena that will perform routine maintenance for the portal to the training field every month, and the Rabbit Twins and Valkyrie Twins, due to their certain behavior every morning. This is because Shina was once facing one of the Etanaru Generals, which resulted in her power being stolen, and she needs more information about the Etanaru Empire. Later, she regains her power back thanks to Sacchito’s father, Reynes Lexington, who manages to slay it. Another is Sofya, and there was a room made for her, so she can visit the palace and pamper Armada and Tiamat for the night when they wanted Sofya to spoil them for a night.

If both Primordials are sleeping here, Feena already creates a gate that can transfer them into another world where they can train without hesitation, and the same gate was also installed at the Nomad Palace. That’s because Sacchito’s Valkyrie wives, Luciana and Aegina, and the Twin Rabbits, Lily and Lyla, often taunts Tiamat in a teasing way, using a board to call her “old hag,” which is enough to start the session in the morning. They will visit her section once both twins notice that Tiamat was sleeping at the Ragnarok Palace.

Today, the one who visits the Ragnarok Palace are Shina, Sofya, and Shikami. Since Alicia was busy examining the Wyvern Overlords and the recently captured Wyvern Lords, she sent Shikami to take her place. Shikami is still wearing her scientist suit since she will go back to the lab once she has done her job.

“Sofya, what do you think of this palace?”

“Nothing much other than this is was their residence. Only a very few people can give access here, anyway.”

“I’m jealous to have them allow to set your room here…”

Sofya giggles as she pet Shikami’s head.

“Oh, don’t be like that. Besides, it’s already a common secret for the Main Councils and the Adjutants about me with them, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but…”

“Don’t worry; I will pamper you when you need it, Shikami.”

“Thanks…”

It’s a good thing that they have a bunch of empty lands here, so they can accommodate it for Armada and Tiamat. At first, the townsfolk are protesting against it, but once they realize that they are Primordials, added with the statements from every adventurer that aims to enter S League, the townsfolk stop protesting. The criteria to enter S League or adventurers with the rank of at least S rank, practically those on the field such as Tank, Fighter, Assassin, and such, will be trained by Armada and Tiamat.

The criteria of promotion into an S Rank were challenging, including those at the Battle Group Rookie that aimed to enter the War Maidens Squadron. Not only do they have to pass Armada and Tiamat’s test, but they also need to pass a battlefield test where they will be deployed with a lack of support to the front line. Since the S Rank allows the Adventurers to enter War Maidens Squadron Army and with a slightly more difficult than the military personnel, the Battle Group Rookie become infamous for being a “Battle Group Cadet.”

One Division, 1st Shock Trooper Division, is the most active unit, followed by 7th Shock Trooper Division and 172nd Combat Division. Those three Divisions are assigned to Battle Group Rookie.

In the beginning, Armada’s palace is only the size of the German parliament building, the Reichstag. Now, it’s the size of the Moscow Kremlin. It also comes with its own swimming pool, landing pad, theatre, and other luxury expected from the man named Armada. Armada’s main residence, The Ragnarok, as he named it situated at the center of the complex.

“Well, his sister’s is not so bad either, I say.”

Shina and Sofya just nodded at Shikami's word. There is Tiamat’s palace complex named The Red Zone right in front of Armada's palace complex. While her brother models his complex after the Russian Kremlin, she models her palace after the American White House. Although instead of a White House, it was called the Red House now. Since she painted the color of the house entirely red, she made some deviations from the original White House. In front of the original White House, there is a fountain. But in Tiamat’s case, she replaces it with a statue of 7 headed dragons in the center of the fountain. She was basically featuring herself.

“Quite a show-off…”

Shina only sighs, hearing Shikami’s comment. They walk as if it was nothing, but it seems the dimensional disruption is more complex than they can expect.

“Alicia will surely love to study this…”

“No doubt about it…”

They went to the right side, which led to Armada’s complex. Once they arrive at the front door, Sofya knocks on the gate.

“Lord Armada! We’re here to discuss the Etanaru Empire!”

“I’ve been waiting for you three. Come to where I am. I already gave you my location.”

The gate opens, and the trio went inside. They walk as the corridor itself is very long, quite a drag for those who hate a long walk. After walking for about 10 minutes, they reach a large hallway inside Ragnarok palace. The hallway is leading them to a large double door right in front of them. Hanging at the side of the hallway were numerous pictures depicting battles and scenery. Description could be read under every hanging frame.

The three of them are surprised that the entire palace was very clean despite Armada leaving alone. However, that’s what they thought. Armada looked at the city's view at his palace through his window office inside his bedroom and workroom while waiting for them to knock on the door.

Then, he hears the knock. He gets up to open the door. Outside the door, the three of them are waiting for Armada to open the door. Fifteen seconds after the knock, the door open.

“Took you a while to arrive where I am. I expect it would be quick.”

“At least don’t let Alicia visit here, anyway. She will be staying longer due to learning about your dimensional disruption.”

“I see. Anyway, come in. Do you want some tea?”

“I would love to.”

As the three are taking the seat, Armada is away to make some tea. The room was spacious, but Sofya was only frowning because he places his office and his bedroom in one place. It will be bad for his health, even he was a Primordial.

“It’s not convenient if someday he may get sick because of this…”

“What do you mean?”

“Room environment. You know that every one of us has a bedroom next to the office room, right?”

“Yeah. Not to mention we can access both rooms if we want it to through a hallway.”

“He can be a workaholic here. That will be people’s first impression of him.”

“I see…”

Shikami’s ears flick around, thinking about it. Now that Sofya mentions it, none of the Main Council wants to have a room that serves as an office and a bedroom together.

“I heard the twins often visit Lady Tiamat’s place.”

“You know they always ended up half-dead when they do that, right?”

“Teasing them?”

“Yes.”

Shina sighs, hearing that it seems no wonder that the Primordials are enjoying their stay. They have time to train all of the adventurers that were about to enter the S League, not to mention if they want to rank up, they need to make sure both Armada and Tiamat gave them a passing score. The military was different since only units inside the Battle Group Rookie are eligible to step up into the next league, and there are a lot of applicants every time the Battle Group opens the recruitment. The assessment was made for individuals, and those who pass the test, except for those who reach the War Maidens Squadron Army, can request to remain inside the Battle Group Rookie to reach the higher level.

“I’m just grateful that Lady Tiamat isn’t here right now…”

“I think that’s the reason why Alicia wants you to keep your suit on since she might need you back on the lab after completing this.”

“Uhm… Madam Shina, I don’t want to mess with her again… She’s scary…”

“Well… you’re a scientist while also a guard for the lab, right?”

“Yes…”

Shikami’s ears went down as she remembers when Tiamat doubles the pressure of the training for her during her workout. She can survive for fifteen minutes, but Tiamat doubles the training until thirty minutes. Her bones are almost broken as Shikami almost choked out due to her lung barely getting some fresh air from full Nelson by Tiamat.

“I just want to go back to the lab again and continue the research… I really hate her so much.”

“Hate who?”

“Eeeek!!”

When Armada returns to his room with a tray of tea, Shikami, in reflex, summons a spear and throws it at him, and Armada catches it with his teeth.

“Calm down, Shikami.”

Shikami is only hissing, with her tail blooms like someone that was scared because of a trauma. The spear's tip was cracked, but that doesn’t matter since her spear was augmented with a Sage Ore that allows her spear to regenerate naturally.

Sofya takes the tea tray, and she put it on the table while Armada takes the spear and gives it back to Shikami. Once the tea was served for all of them, they can start their conversation.

“Where can we start?”

Shina starts to speak.

“At first, we need an essential intelligence first. How many deities they manage to enslave, and how much military strength they have. If we know it, we will move to the leaders and generals that we need to be wary of. I know that one of their highest generals was slain by Reynes Lexington in Mt. Mjolnir more than eight hundred years ago. But, there could be more officials and generals that we have to beat to make sure that we cripple their battle strength for good.”

“Hmm… Intriguing. What’s the reason?”

“We will fight them, probably in around ten to thirty years. Of course, this means I have to tell other countries that reside on another planet, galaxy, and systems to prepare for this inevitable war.”

“Well… The Etanaruan do once try to enslave me, and they did fail to do so.”

“Eh?”

Shina only blinks absent-mindedly. Does he once visit the Etanaru Empire?

“I’ve once punished the Emperor by ripping a pair of his wings. Does he think he can control me? Bah! He’s wrong! Even he can enslave so many deities; he can’t even enslave me! I took a pair of his wings as a lesson and devastated the capital, but I bet they are pissed off right now.”

“D-do you still have the wings?”

“Oh. I still have one, and I already gave one to my friend as a birthday present.”

Armada takes the wings out from the item box, and he hands it over to Shikami.

“I will have Alicia analyze it immediately. But, look at this wing…”

“It’s a pristine one, yet, it’s well-preserved. As expected of the Primordials.”

Sofya examines the wing, and Shikami stores it inside the laboratory magic bag.

“Alicia will be love to examine this. I will be happy to assist her as well.”

“How much did you destroy it?”

“Around seventy-five percent of it? The Emperor also has a nightmare because I did it in front of his people and… If I remember… I also crush the majority of their spaceships and warships.”

“Uh…”

Shina was left speechless when Armada said that. That damage was enough to make the Etanaru Empire surrenders, but it seems it makes them want to hunt him more. With his statement, Shina may expect that the new Emperor has been installed to replace the Emperor that Armada mentions. Sofya was just listening while she sips her tea as she didn’t want to interfere with their talks. All that matters for her are to keep Armada and Tiamat’s behavior controlled.

“Did they learn your identity?” Shina asks him again.

“No. They already make an attempt to put a leash on me from the start. Why would I bother to give them my name, anyway?”

“When did you visit this Empire?”

“After finishing the errands with the Etanaru Empire.”

“You didn’t tell me about it.”

“That’s because you didn’t ask where did my sister and I go for inspection before.”

“You got the point…”

When Armada and Tiamat arrive at the Celestina Empire, the Main Councils go into an uproar for Celestina. They want to know why Armada and Tiamat visit the Celestina Empire, and their answer somehow makes them headaches further. Accommodating a vacation is not a simple task, not to mention it was the Primordials. They use this motive to inspect Celestina while the Main Council manages to prevent the unrest at the entire land once both of them declare that they won’t do anything to them. Around twenty years ago, ten years after the Sixth Interstellar War, their purpose of visiting was due to the order from their creator before returning back to inspect during Celestina-Papaldian War. Armada’s statement makes the Main Council curious why the Celestina Empire gains attention from the gods' highest authority.

“That’s much as I know about it. If you want, you can ask my sister. She’s here.”

The door opens and there, standing 2.4 meters tall and mighty, is a beautiful woman who can only be described as seductive. Her hair color is similar to that of rainbow color, and it’s gleaming. Her asset is quite huge too. This beautiful woman is wearing a crimson gown coming here. Shikami quickly takes cover to Sofya, as she understands what Shikami fear of, petting her head.

“There, there…”

Of course, no one would blame her for that. The other two are not that surprised. The person that just the room is none other than Tiamat. Armada’s younger sister.

“I thought you were going to open that for me. Is this payback for before?” Her tone is somewhat annoying.

“I don’t know what you are talking about. Perhaps you got some of your memory mixed up somewhere.”

“Tch! Of course, it got to do with that.”

“Anyway, sister, sit down. They have a question for you.”

“Fine. Anyway, before you all asking, the job that I was supposed to do done early than expected.”

Tiamat strode forward with great confidence. Her high heel makes a clanking metal sound as she takes each step. Her high heel is made of high-class metal. She takes her seat right next to Armada and right in front of Shikami.

When Tiamat saw Shikami, she has a somewhat predatory smile on her face that send shivers down Shikami’s spine. Shikami quickly moves to behind Sofya, with her tails bloom and looking at her with fear.

“It’s been a while, little wolf. Ever since I sent you that invitation, perhaps next time, let’s play a different game?”

“Mommy…”

“There, there…”

Tiamat can’t say another word when Sofya is pampering Shikami. Ugh, it’s good to be weak, having themselves pampered by those who treat them like kids. Shikami doesn’t want to receive a surprise attack from Tiamat since her primary occupation was a scientist. She got decent combat skills, but her main purpose is to study and run some experiments. Shikami’s scientist rate is around SS rank, while her combat rank is around A rank on average. Shikami was already in S League due to her scientific capabilities, practically examining demi-human people like her and one of the best biological adventurers when exploring the biological aspect of the dungeon's environment.

Shina coughs a bit to remind them so they can back into the topic.

“Ahem! So, what about their military power? Do they have biological assets like dragons?”

“They got a lot of it. If I recall it correctly, some dragons can be stronger and bigger than Kagefumi Entranger, Shiela’s personal dragon. They have a dragon, possibly classified as Ancient Great Dragon. The size can be a mountain, and they got a vast land at the east of the Etanaru Empire.”

“Like Shiela’s territory, but the land is bigger than we can expect? That’s fine. I got a report that you took one of it when Shiela overheard your conversation during Operation: Terror Snatcher.”

“Yeah, she was ashamed that I use it as a toy, and then it dies. If it was probably like… around half centuries earlier, I might hand it over to her. I don’t have the corpses anymore.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I was wondering if we can take the samples to study it.”

Just as when the conversation is about to end, they heard a scratch on the door. Judging by the scratches, it must be a huge cat.

“Oh, looks like Odin is here. I’ll open the door.”

“Here, I wonder why you name it as a Norse god.” Sofya frowns a bit, much to Tiamat’s amusement. The councils knew from the scratch behavior that it was a cat, but they didn’t expect what will come next.

Armada flicks his finger, and the door opens automatically. What enters is not just the ordinary cat, but it was the liger. It is one of many of Armada’s big cat pets.

A liger is basically a hybrid between a lion and a tiger. Odin is very huge. With a weight of about 450 kilograms and a length of 3.9 meters, it can tower even Armada when standing. Now Odin is approaching Armada, and Armada stands to greet him.

“Come here, boy! Hahaha! That’s tickle, Odin. Who’s your daddy, huh? Who’s your daddy, huh? I do, of course. I do. Hahaha!”

The Liger is currently standing in front of Armada with both of its massive paws on Armada’s shoulder. Odin was already towering the already tall Armada. The liger is currently licking him gently.

“Alright, that’s enough now you. I have to do something first. How about you sit behind me, will you?” Odin just obeys Armada’s command and sit behind him like a sphinx.

“Since when you have him, Lord Armada?” Ask Sofya.

“Quite a while, Sofya. He’s not the only one. I have a lot of other big cats and other types of cats roaming around the compound.”

“But we don’t see any of them when coming here.” Ask Shina.

“Ah. At that time, they were at the cat mansion beside the palace. Now it’s time for them to roam.”

“I see.” Respond Shina.

Armada loves cats. No matter the type. Big cats or small cats. On the other side, Tiamat loves dogs. She has almost all types of dogs. But she much prefers big dog breeds like Great Dane, Newfoundland, English Mastiff, Bankhar, and other big dogs. Additionally, she even has the five three-headed Cerberus guarding her front gate.

“Looks like we got what we need here for. Shikami, did you record all of it?”

“Yes, Madam Shina. I already record all of it.”

“Excellent, and thank you, Lord Armada and Lady Tiamat, for your cooperation.”

“No big deal. Oh, before you go, take this. It contains a copy of my memories of my encounter with the Etanaru Empire.” Armada handed over the blue crystal ball to Shina.

“Ah! Thank you, lord Armada. We really appreciate it.” Shina thanks Armada as she held the crystal ball.

“No problem at all.”

Just as they were about to leave, they noticed a picture of a woman with red color hair along with Armada in it. The frame is placed on top of Armada’s work table. Armada and Tiamat noticed where three of them were looking.

“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” Ask Armada at three of them.

“Yes. She is. Who is she?” Ask Sofya.

“She was the love of my life. My pride and joy to be precise. She’s long gone now. If not for her effort, I would still become a feral beast hell-bent on total destruction.”

“My condolences, then. What’s her name?” Ask Sofya.

Armada didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he has this smile on his face that the three of them were first time seeing it. This smile can only be described as lovely. Then Armada answer.

“Her name is Ariana Darstellar.”

As they stood up and leaves, Sofya walks to him and pat his shoulder.

“You have a good wife that takes care of you. Be grateful that even if you are a monster, there will always be someone that wants to look after you.”

“Thank you, Sofya. I expect nothing less from the Mother of the Celestina Empire. My wife probably can learn a lot from you.”

“Fu fu fu… Oh, and Lady Tiamat, are those twins still bothering you?”

Tiamat gave a thumbs up to Sofya.

“I put them half-dead every time they do that every morning.”

“Don’t go too far, okay? We will take our leave, then.”

Bowing, Sofya joins Shikami and Shina, leaving his room and, later, his palace. Once they leave, Armada and Tiamat are talking to each other.

“The look of them when seeing Ariana just now, indicating they were curious about her.”

“Of course they curious about her. Only a matter of time until I decide to tell them who she actually is. By the way, why did Shikami is a little bit afraid of you just now? What did you do to her?”

“You want to know, brother? I’ll tell you.”

Armada simply responds with, “Tell me more.”

With that, Tiamat told Armada what she did to Shikami months before. Armada just smiles hearing that.

The Celestina Empire, Byade Territory, Prison Town Hopri

Dragon Knight Mizer and the others are losing their will to fight once again. The Celestina Empire crushes most of the entire Papaldia Empire’s Army, saved from the Northern front. The live feed during the invasion of the Papaldia Empire shatters their will. Celestina treats the invasion of the capital as it was just a mere toy. During the naval battle, they are frozen solid, watching the battle as Ishiene and the mermaids make a broadcast to the entire Celestina Empire and have the people choose which ship to sunk first.

Now all hope is lost as all of them are awaiting execution, or so as they thought.

The Papaldia Empire, a week ago, surrenders to the Celestina Empire. The surrender was broadcasted wide through the Emperor in person, and the colonies regain their independence.

“General Dolbo. They surrender to the Celestina Empire.”

“My word… That’s good news for us. I’ve heard information from the warden that the Main Council is giving us a second chance. We must not waste this chance to reform ourselves.”

“Agreed.”

Around fifteen thousand Papaldia Empire Soldiers who had been imprisoned in Celestina since the conflict start months ago cheers once the Warden announces that they will be returning in five months. They were all told about the rights they had as prisoners of war. However, it sounded so unbelievable that many soldiers were still constantly on edge, wondering when they would be executed, so this news allowed all of them to finally relax.

When Celestina captured him after the Liberation of Sulbar, the defeated General Dolbo was prepared to be tortured and killed, but, in the end, he was just a prisoner. Thinking back, he thought they were just some barbarians from the east. No… it wasn’t just him. Everyone in the empire thought the same. They figured it would be an easy conquest, like a shark gulping up a minnow.

However, Celestina wasn’t some little minnow—they were a leviathan. One of the world’s most advanced countries, one of the five superpowers, and the strongest country in the Third Civilization, the Papaldia Empire, couldn’t even put up a semblance of a fight. General Dolbo resolved to learn everything he could from Celestina for the sake of the empire’s future.

They receive nice food, lodgings, and even recreation they needed for. Some of the soldiers, including Dolbo and Mizer, start to learn about the Celestina Empire further.

“The departure of all the prisoners of war will be scheduled around January, four days before Emperor Ludius’s delegation team leaves Celestina. On top of that, we have select around two hundred participants as a representative to meet with the Emperor and delegation team. General Dolbo, Dragon Knight Mizer, you are a few of those who are selected. The chosen person will stay and leave together with the Emperor.”

“That’s good to hear, but… His Grace is coming!?”

“Yes, as the Celestina Empire demanded. They want him and the officials to attend the Council Meeting.”

“I see…”

The Celestina Empire, 18th August 1524 / 225, the Nomad Palace, The Main Council Meeting Room

“Looks like everything went well,” Freya comments as she sips a hot chocolate.

“Yes. I didn’t expect the former colonies manages to establish the government so quickly. But that means we need to send some of the adventurers as security forces. Have you put it on the request board?” Feena looks at Alicia.

“Already did. I limit it to twenty parties or a hundred people for each former colony now. At least a C+ rank can participate in it. But, we also need to hire some of the assistance for the coast guard.”

“The diplomatic relationship?” Maya asks Alicia. “Can’t we just send a Zealots to keep an eye on them?”

“No need for it, Maya. Not right now. Each of their countries has just started to rebuild from what was left on their assets, anyway. We can’t interfere with it unless some of them turn their allegiance to another. Let’s keep an eye for at least a year or a disturbing report before we can send the Zealots.”

“Okay.”

“How’s the report from the Pandemonium front?” Sacchito asks about Rokari’s progress.

“They will make their move soon. The Kingdom of Bastogne has just linked their roads into the Kingdom of Topa. Both sides have joined forces to handle the demonic matter and maintain the perimeter.” Eleonora looks at the report from the Pandemonium continent.

“But, I heard that Frozen Bracelet is damaged, isn’t it? Bring it back to Zaid so I can take a look at it.” Feena looks at the damage report at the Frozen Bracelet.

“I think Rokari will bring it back since the conflict is about to end, anyway.” Sachi only sighs a bit, and later, he heard a knock.

“Yes?”

“I bring messages from the Holy Milishial Empire!”

“Come in!”

Lily and Lyla open the door, letting the messengers in.

“What’s the report?”

“The Holy Milishial Empire has requested approval to send a delegation here before starting diplomatic negotiations.”

“That’s interesting. I thought we must go to the Holy Milishial Empire for that, but I guess it’s not necessary, then.”

“I think our feats of defeating the Papaldia Empire brought their attention, Sachi.” Sofya only giggles.

“We will approve it. Check the timeline as well.”

“Yes, sir!”

The Celestina Empire approved the request to receive the Holy Milishial Empire’s delegation.