Time: One day ago
Location: Castle of the Dwarven King
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On a mighty throne, sat King Gazel Dwargo, third in his line from the original. A great hero, one whose might and presence made the elder dwarves recall his grandfather in his younger years, but also an intelligent one who ruled his realm with a steady, even hand.
A living hero, in a way.
It had been a thousand years since Guran Dwargo, the first Heroic King of the dwarves, established this kingdom. Since then, his descendants have carried on his will, preserving and developing his people's history, culture, and technical skills.
Before him, sat his council.
But he knew them better as his closest friends.
Vaughn, Supreme Commander of Dwargon's Armed Forces.
Dolph, Captain of the Pegasus Knights, the strongest Military Unit and King Gazel's personal guard.
Jaine, Advisor to the King and the Royal Archwizard.
"So, what did you call us here for Gazel-chan?"
"Jaine-dono!! Please don't address Gazel-sama so casually during meetings!!"
"You're too stiff Dolph. I've known and taken care of Gazel since he was a baby in his diapers..."
"Don't bring up the embarrassing past Jaine... Anyways, I have called this meeting to discuss an important topic. This is something Henrietta has found from her scouting and investigations. So it's better to let her explain."
As the Dwarf King uttered those words, an elf-like woman appeared behind him, in a bowing position.
"I shall explain, Gazel-sama. About 2 weeks ago, a previously unregistered group of 15 demi-humans entered Dwargon. Having no reason to suspect anything, no further investigation was done about their identity." Henrietta started.
"However, we soon started observing weird behavior and some inconsistencies. All of 15 individuals applied for jobs as apprentice blacksmiths, possibly for the purpose of getting our citizen identity faster. " She continued.
"In just a day or two, they seemed to have mastered the art of basic blacksmithing. Upon talking to some of the blacksmiths, the group had no prior experience. To top it off, for the next week and more, the group produced tools and weapons at a record pace, never seen before."
"Finally, a few days ago, their daily pattern suddenly changed. That day, an unidentified man, accompanied by the Champion 'Shizue Izawa' entered Dwargon. Judging by the group's reaction, they seem to be the subordinates of that man. What's really surprising is that the man seems to be on a equal or even higher standing to the Champion."
"This is indeed concerning information. We have to judge the man and assess the threat he may be to Dwargon" Dolph commented.
"True, he may not seem like an immediate threat, but with powerful subordinates and contacts like the Champion, he is certainly someone to be wary off."
"You haven't heard anything yet. Henrietta, continue." Gazel intervened.
"Yes, my King. For the next few days, the man has been going in and out of Dwargon. We haven't been able to investigate more about him since the first time we tried it, the agent's cover was blown. The man possesses extremely powerful sensory capabilites. Additionally, we have seen him using some type of Teleportation technique, one with seemingly no prior preperation."
"Ohh that's interesting!! A teleportation technique that doesn't require preparation?? That just made his threat level automatically on the Calamity Level." Jaine assessed.
"You're right. Someone who can pull off something like that has to have immense magical power and control. But Henrietta, what is his status right now??"
"He has left Dwargon, but his subordinates are still here. On King Gazel's orders, I personally followed him when he left the borders, keeping my distance so as to not be detected. He went into the Great Jura Forest, appearing to be perfectly aware of his surroundings."
"WAIT!! Could he be somehow related to the Storm Dragon Veldora's weird behavior??" Dolph exclaimed.
"That's absurd!! But....it certainly is a possibility." Vaughn replied.
"Those were precisely my thoughts. We haven't been able to confirm the Storm Dragon's status yet, but it is certain that the Catastrophe hasn't died or disappeared as the Western Nations seem to think." Gazel stated.
"It is a possibility that this new enigma is somehow connected to the Storm Dragon, but there is not enough evidence to conclude anything." Jaine said.
"Is there anything else you can tell us, Henrietta?" Vaughn inquired.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't follow the man further deep into Jura without alerting the forest's guardians, the Dryads, which I wanted to avoid. I was also restricted in my actions due to the Storm Dragon's uncertain situation. However, I did sense the presence of many more entities, with similar signatures as the man's subordinates in Dwargon. So it would be wise to assume that he has a larger force under him, with their apparent base of operations being inside the Jura Forest."
"This man keeps becoming more and more dangerous the more is revealed about him." Vaughn said as he sighed.
"What are your orders, my King?" Dolph asked, looking toward Gazel.
"I've already decided that it's not yet the right time to take action. There are too many unknowns as of now, mainly Veldora's status, the dryads' status and the overall power of this man and his subordinates."
"I agree with your decision, Gazel. Even though I would like to meet this man myself and judge his abilities, the situation does not favor it." Jaine remarked.
"Well, I don't really care... You decide Gazel, since I can't form an opinion about this man until I personally meet him.' Vaughn added.
"Vaughn-dono!! Please keep the casual talk to the minimum. But, I do agree. I and the Pegasus Knights will follow your orders to our deaths, Gazel-sama." Dolph said.
"Very well, this concludes the main topic of this meeting! Now the, moving on to, we have to discuss the reforms and budget redistribution regarding the National Armory."
"AHH! I'm gone from here, you youngun's can discuss that boring shit all you want." Jaine said, as she quickly left the meeting hall.
"Haaaaa...."
"Just leave her, we'll continue by ourselves. Summon the Ministers."
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'Now that I've successfully added the 3 brothers to my Legion, all that's left is Kaijin, arguably the most important.'
But my job is mostly done, since the rest will be done by the brothers themselves.
"!!!"
Suddenly, I got a mental message from my Clone that I left back in the Soul Realm. The clone's only purpose was to look after Shinsha while she rested.
And apparently it's job was done, since Shinsha was showing signs of waking up.
"[Soul Shift]"
I shifted to my place back in the Soul Realm, and then dispelled the clone.
"Welcome back, Lord Ashborne"
It was one of the Ogres that I had assigned to serve Shinsha, 'Goera' if I'm not wrong.
"I've been by the Princess' side the whole time my Lord!!" Ranga proclaimed from beside Shinsha's bed, where he was laying.
"Good boy!!" I said as I pet him on the head.
I then walked toward the sleeping Shinsha.
Her eyes were still shut, but she was showing some minor movement.
That's good.
Suddenly, she started stirring, slowly moving her body....
*YAAAWWN*
"H-Huhh?? Wha-what is this place??" she spoke in a soft voice.
"You're finally up Shinsha?"
She turned to me while rubbing her eyes.
"You're my Dad!!"
"That's right.... I'm your dad Shinsha.."
"You're the one who gave me my name!! That weird voice told me!!"
"Yup, and before that, how're you feeling? Anything weird?"
"Nope!! I'm all good now!!"
"That's amazing!!" I exclaimed.
'[Great Sage], run an analysis to make sure everything's right.'
"Woaa! I just felt something..."
!!!
Her sensory skills are off the charts.
"No need to worry Shinsha-chan, I was just making sure that you were alright."
'A Unique Skill?! That's impressive...'
I'll learn the details of the skill later...
"You've already gotten a skill?"
"Hehee, aren't I amazing!!?"
I can see a lot of similarities between her and Shizue, even apart from the appearance.
"Yes you are indeed very amazing..."
What to do now?
She doesn't even need food or anything like that....
Hmmm..
Oh wait, I should do that first.
"Hey Shinsha, don't be alarmed, but I want you to meet someone..... Magna"
*WHOOSH*
Magna appeared beside me in a fiery burst, and immediately knelt down.
"This is Magna, and he's....kinda sealed inside your physical corpus."
"Ohh! So this is the warmth I felt in my tummy, it's you!!" Shinsha yelled pointing toward Magna.
"Wait-- You've already sensed his presence?"
This girls keeps surprising me.. I have to change my perspective of her.
She isn't a regular child. She's born from Shizue's soul, so she's probably influenced in some way already. Additionally, she has skills, which already would make someone very different mentally.
"I am pleased to see that you're well, Princess," Magna said.
"Yeah!! I'm all well now!!"
"That's spectacular! I'm glad. The Lord was extremely worried for your health."
I don't know how to describe this, but she started SHINING.
I love her so much.
"Don't embarrass me Magna... but yeah he's right. I'm really glad that you're okay now Shinsha.."
"Hehee!! It's just like Mom said, you really love me Dad!! And I love you too!!"
"Mom?? You talked to Shizue?"
What is going on??
"When I came to consciousness, I heard Mom's voice talking to me and comforting me. But the.... she had to go..."
"Come here.." I said, as I caught her in a tight hug.
*SNIFF*
Children's emotions are really volatile huh?
But it's good that Shinsha got to talk to her mother at least once. No child should have to grow up without their parents.
Every child deserves parents after all.
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A/N: Sorry for the late update guys, I have some exams going on right now. Updates will be a bit slow for a few days, but as soon as my exams finish, I'll be right back on schedule.
Thank you for continuing to read this story.
Don't forget to drop some POWER STONES and review the story guys, it's good motivation.