Kefira stood there, panting, as she tried to compose herself. The aura that had come over her wasn't one that she was completely unfamiliar with. She had obliquely experienced such a thing from her parents when having to resort to certain methods in the past, but she had never been the object of the aura. Not only that, but her parents weren't Combat Classers. The lady in front of her was obviously a powerful Combat Class, and she could feel powerful Affinities mixed into the aura. She didn't recognize it, but the flavor was somewhat familiar. It gave her the sense that the woman was in complete command and control of everything around her. Kefira's heart beat furiously in her chest long after the aura was retracted. Before the woman could have a conversation with her daughters, Kefira decided to simply lay out her plan and get out of there. "Please don't be upset with your daughters," Kefira said, gulping. "I convinced them to bring me here." The woman turned her attention back to Kefira, but she didn't release her domineering aura this time. Kefira heaved a silent sigh in relief. "I encountered your daughters in a flower boutique, and they showed me their talents in crafting these flower crowns," Kefira pulled out the purple flower crown that one of the girls had made for her, and Serilla pulled one out from behind as well. Serilla was a beat behind Kefira, having a bit of a harder time composing herself. "These are wonderful creations, but there are some obvious flaws. They were trying out a new technique, and I told them I would be interested in purchasing anything they make in the future when they've refined their abilities. "They told me, rightly, that they needed their parent's permission, and so here we are." Kefira stepped forward and placed a card on the table next to the tea set. "Here's a way you can get in contact with me at the Magic Academy," she said. "I bid you good day." Kefira grabbed Serilla's hand, and the two of them quickly escaped from the suffocating room. She briefly heard someone calling for her to wait, but she wasn't in the mood to do so. The two didn't stop moving until they had exited the inn entirely and turned the corner of the square where it was located. Kefira put her back to the wall of a building and placed her hand over her beating heart. She took several deep breaths. "My goodness," she finally said. She glanced at her friend. "Have you ever experienced such crushing pressure before?" "No," Serilla shook her head. "Even my grandfather has never put forth anything like that. At least not when I've been around. It was strange, though. It wasn't threatening, per se, but it was like I had no defense against it." "Yeah, it gave me the feeling that that woman had complete control over my life and well-being while I was in her presence," Kefira agreed. "I didn't get the feeling that the lady was hostile which is why I was able to summon my courage and continue my plan of cooperation. I don't know what would have happened if she had thought we were after her girls." "I don't know, and I don't want to find out." "Agreed. Let's head back to the palace. I'm sure Reivyn is done with his meeting with Uncle by now, and I need a pick-me-up after that." Kefira grabbed Serilla's hand. Her hand was cold and clammy after, and she could feel the other girl's still elevated heartbeat. She didn't let go, though. They both felt a bit of comfort from each other's presence. "Did you get a good look at their father?" Kefira asked after a moment. "I only caught a glimpse of him before their auras overwhelmed us," Serilla said, shaking her head. "He gave me a bit of a familiar feeling, though I can't quite put my finger on why." "Hmm, considering he wasn't really paying attention to us, and we could feel his power, I'm guessing he's probably even stronger than the mother," Kefira said. "I got the impression that their mother is high Tier 4. I'll bet their father is at least low Tier 5. I wonder where they came from and what they're doing in Willowan?" Kefira didn't expect Serilla to have an answer for her musings. She was surprised that such young girls were able to create the flower crowns out of the mana-rich flowers the way they had, but she still hadn't expected their parents to be so strong. The girls were obviously going to pursue a Lifestyle Class path in their lives, and she had expected her parents to be the same. It was just another shock to find that her parents were Combat Classers. It wasn't an absolute rule, but typically children followed in the same vein as their parents. Combat Classers raised Combat Classers and vice versa. Maybe they had other siblings that were more inclined to fighting. If they hadn't ruined their first impression by retreating as quickly as possible, they might find out one day. Kefira wasn't going to let her momentary weakness scare her away from her purpose in nurturing future talents that easily. --- "Mother!" Kailey exclaimed "Why did you do that?" Riley questioned. "Do what?" Ameliyn asked back. She was genuinely confused. She had no idea why those two girls had taken off running the way they had. She had tried to call out to them to wait, but they had either not heard her or they had deliberately just not listened. Either way, they had quickly disappeared. "What do you mean 'what?'" Kailey asked, raising her eyebrows. "You were releasing your Domain on those nice girls," Riley pointed out. "Oh. Was I?" Ameliyn tilted her head. "I hadn't realized. It must have been habit. I seem to do it when I meet pretty young girls without thinking about it." "Why would you do that? Reivyn's not even here," Kailey said. "We wanted to be friends with them, and now they'll never want to come back." "If they're so weak-willed as to be scared off by a little bit of pressure, then you don't need friends like that," Ameliyn snorted. "That's not exactly fair," Refix said, walking up and taking a seat next to his wife. "I mean, it is you we're talking about here." "Hey! I'm only High Tier 4," Ameliyn defended herself. "I'm not exactly a 'powerhouse' in a Tier 4 Region." "Yeah, but you have to look at the quality of your Tier 4," Refix argued. "Your Tier 4 isn't exactly the same as a commoner's. Not only that, but your Domain fundamentally encapsulates your Sovereign Affinity. I'm sure they felt like you had complete control over their lives which is why they wanted to get out of here so quickly. Not many people can react appropriately under that sort of pressure." "I guess," Ameliyn said. Her two daughters just stared back at her with unhappy expressions. "Fine! I'll apologize to them the next time we meet." Kailey and Riley's gloomy expressions evaporated to be replaced with bright smiles. "Thanks, mom," Kailey said. "You're the best," Riley declared. "You were just complaining that I scared off potential friends, and now you're trying to butter me up by saying I'm the best?" Ameliyn quirked an eyebrow at them. "At least they'll know that our mom is strong," Kailey said, shrugging. "Better for them to know we're fierce than to think we're weak," Riley agreed. Ameliyn glanced at her husband, who was trying to keep a grin off his face. "Look at the things you're teaching our daughters," Ameliyn said. "What? I didn't hear anything wrong with what they said," Refix replied, unfazed. "You want their friends to be intimidated by their mother?" "I don't want their friends to think they can be taken advantage of without consequences," Refix said with seriousness. "I've seen perfectly fine friendships go down the drain when the balance of power was skewed too much. Even if the parties involved don't want it to happen, being too weak can invite contempt. "Our girls are still only Tier 1, almost Tier 2, and we're in an unfamiliar land. I doubt those two girls they brought would intend to use them in such a way, but if there was a situation where Kailey and Riley felt like they couldn't say no, they might end up in a bad relationship, anyway." "I know what you mean," Ameliyn replied. "Anyway, what was with those two girls you brought? Tell me about it." "It was like Fira said," Kailey answered. "Fira was the one who spoke?" Ameliyn questioned. "Yup, and Sera was the blonde girl," Riley explained. "We were shopping for materials to craft items," Kailey said. "We figured that if we want to reach Tier 2 as quickly as possible, we needed to focus on gaining Experience. Even if we're not able to handle the materials as well as we would be able to with higher Skills in the future, just working with them will give us more Crafting Experience." "Making things like flower crowns don't require as much technical proficiency to accomplish. It's not the same thing as a Blacksmith forging something out of Dark Iron or Cobalt. The only tricky thing is the mana pathways for the materials found in the higher-end boutiques." "And what was this new technique that Fira mentioned?" Ameliyn asked. "We Observed how the people in the boutique used the Affinities inherent in the flowers to meld together in how they arranged the flowers," Kailey said. "We tried to do the same thing when we took the flowers out to make our own crowns," Riley added. "We weren't quite able to handle the Affinities perfectly at first, though, so there were some flaws in the beginning." "We should have practiced on something else first, but they had asked us to make them the flower crowns on the spot, so we got a little ahead of ourselves." "See?" Refix asked. "That's not exactly the kind of situation I was talking about, but it's similar enough. If they had known about your power, I'm sure Kailey and Riley would have been more comfortable telling them to wait a couple of days to find them to pick them up after they had gotten some practice." "I'm sure it had nothing to do with the twins wanting to show off," Ameliyn said, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, continue." "Fira noticed the flaws right away, but she was still interested in paying for the flower crowns," Kailey said. "She told us she would like to enter into a longer-term relationship, but we knew we weren't in a position to make that decision," Riley said. "So we brought them here to ask you guys." "Well, I'm not against the idea," Ameliyn said. "But?" Kailey questioned. "But we need to see what's the deal with your brother first," their mother replied. "If he's a student here and wants to stay, then we can work something out. I didn't sense any malice in either of those girls, and they gave me the impression that they were most likely part of the nobility. I don't know what rank they are, but that doesn't really matter. "Having some form of cooperation with them would give us more reason to relocate here, too. It's not like we have to pack up and leave as soon as we meet with Reivyn again, and that girl said we could meet her through the Magic Academy. She might even know Reivyn, though probably not. There are thousands of students there, after all." "If she doesn't know him, she might know someone who does," Refix pointed out. "If we meet a dead end at the admin office later, we could ask her about it." "That's a good idea," Ameliyn agreed. "We'll have to find out if they have any other motives for forming a relationship with a couple of young Tier 1 girls, though. Nothing ever comes for free, especially with nobles. A favor for a favor is how they operate, and giving you the opportunity to sell your flower crowns to them is definitely a favor in their books. How else would you be able to enter the eyes of the little noble girls? You would end up spending all your money on expensive materials only to sell them for a loss to the commoners who don't have as much money to throw around." "We hadn't considered that," Kailey said with a thoughtful expression. "If we can make a profit off of trying to reach Tier 2 faster, then we'd be able to buy even more crafting materials," Riley said. "Yes, that's generally how it works," Ameliyn said with a smile. "Maybe Fira can get you a deal on taxes, too." "Taxes?!" Kailey exclaimed. "We have to pay taxes?!" Riley shouted. "Of course," Ameliyn said with a laugh. "Welcome to the real world." --- "I know that you'll be busy over the next couple of months finalizing the training schedule for the military units we're going to send out as mercenaries and won't be able to meet with me regularly," Bellefrent said. "What I can do for you is to make sure certain officers get assigned for the next training sessions, and they can meet up with you after the training sessions to help you with what I've laid out for you." "That's generous of you," Reivyn replied. "I don't always have to be returning favors, you know. And in this particular instance, it's more about the long-term benefits of the family than it is about doing you, specifically, a favor. In the future, if you do something similar, you don't have to tell whoever you're doing a favor for about your goals like I am. That way you can gain a future benefit and immediate remuneration in the form of a favor owed. "In our case, we can be considered to be on the same side. You don't have to conspire for maximum benefits every time, especially with your true friends and allies, but it's never inappropriate to do so for 'just acquaintances.'" "I'll keep that in mind," Reivyn said, nodding his head. Bellefrent observed the young man seated across from him. He had shown up with only a couple of Social Skills, and he only knew a little bit of etiquette. Bellefrent wasn't sure how many Skills he had unlocked under his morning tutelage, but he could tell that even if he didn't unlock any of them, he was absorbing the lessons quickly enough that it wouldn't be long. The young man had spirit. He could see why his niece was so taken with him. "I know you're anxious to get out of here and go to Kefira, so we'll end it here for today," Bellefrent said. Reivyn tried not to look excited at the announcement, but he still wasn't able to hide his emotions from the older man. Bellefrent had been in the political ring for decades. He was confident that there weren't any members of the younger generation that could hide anything from him. Reivyn stood up from his seat and gave a slight bow. "Thank you," he said. "I'll be sure to make some time to meet up with you again next month." "I look forward to it," Bellefrent said. "I can give you more insight into the different factions in the imperial court and their goals. All you need to know for now is that my family and I are firm supporters of the imperial family, and we have been for generations." Bellefrent stood up from his seat as Reivyn straightened up, and he shook the young man's hand. He walked him to the door of his outer chambers, and then he was gone. He's young, smart, and driven, and best of all, he's not ambitious for personal political power, Bellefrent judged. If we can get his edges smoothed out, he'll be a great help to not just Kefira and her siblings, but to the empire as a whole. We haven't discussed any future plans, but with Kefira by his side, there's a spot for Wispan in them. Bellefrent nodded his head as he sat back down. He still had some time before he needed to return to his duties. He spent most of his time meeting with other nobles in the foyer of the palace, just outside of the petition hall. He had been working for years to curb the selfish interests of the other nobles, and he was finally able to see some hope in retiring. If it was possible, he would like to move on to the next stage of his life around the same time as his younger sister. He hadn't been sure if it would be possible until recently, though. It wasn't that there weren't any talented individuals in the younger generation, but he hadn't seen anyone stand out nearly as much as Reivyn. He wasn't planning to groom Reivyn for his role, but he would be much more secure if Reivyn could assist those that took up his mantle. The various factions of the nobles and the monarchy had always played a game of tug-of-war for interests, and if it wasn't carefully handled, one side would grow too powerful to the detriment of the regular populace of the empire. He served the Wispan Empire first and foremost, and the imperial family was a close second. That meant that he had to sometimes curb the interests of his and the imperial family's interests. Learning what issues to compromise on and how much to compromise on was just as important as being able to survive and thrive in the field of politics. It was always good to recruit some fresh blood without too much of a bias to their side, and Reivyn fit that bill. Politics was a complicated subject, and it wasn't always ideal for getting everything that one wanted. Sometimes that lesson was forgotten after years of balance and prosperity, but Bellefrent was confident they wouldn't have to go through a period of civil strife between the different factions for quite some time. While empires invading each other was, until recently, unheard of, infighting wasn't. They didn't do it with armies, though. They did it through cloak and dagger. Every empire ran the risk of political reshuffling, and Wispan was no different. In fact, based on the reports I've read about the invading armies, I have my suspicions that that's the end result of one faction gaining too much power, he thought. It fits the bill. Bellefrent stretched out his muscles as he once more gained his feet. He didn't rest too long after he met with Reivyn, and it was time for him to get back to work. "No rest for the weary," he lamented.