After the war, Kazimierz's capital.
Some time had already passed since the end of the fighting. Because the Ursus army groups had not engaged in arson, slaughter, or looting, the streets of Kazimierz's cities were gradually recovering their former bustle.
The smoke of war along the borders had yet to fully dissipate, but the cities themselves seemed little different from how they were before the conflict. The only real changes were the occasional Ursus soldiers patrolling the streets—and the disappearance of the Commercial Union, which had once stood alongside pegasi and knights as one of the other major pillars of this land of coins and chivalry.
After all, anyone with half a brain knew what kind of creatures merchants who dared to meddle in politics were like—let alone something as blatant a tumor as the Commercial Union, which openly controlled the nation's economic lifelines.
The knights of the Kazimierz Adeptus Sprawiedliwość had never been able to deal with these merchants. But the Ursus army that had conquered Kazimierz wasn't inclined to show such restraint.
A bunch of capitalists who only knew how to play dirty, underhanded tricks and didn't even belong on the stage dared to monopolize a nation's economy? What, had they eaten too many red beans and started longing for trouble?
And so, the merchants of the Commercial Union met with utter misfortune.
Those who obediently handed over all their wealth and expressed willingness to submit to arrangements were at least spared their lives—Ursus would toss them into prison for "reform through labor." As for those who not only refused to cooperate but even dared to resist, their entire families were sent straight to the gallows.
All assets left behind by the Commercial Union merchants were confiscated and absorbed into the state treasury. Thanks to this, Ursus's coffers had grown notably fuller in recent times.
And under such circumstances, inside a quiet, out-of-the-way restaurant—
An Xora sat inside a private room he had reserved in advance, while Jibril hovered silently behind him.
To demonstrate the importance Ursus placed on Kazimierz, and to calm the anxiety of the people of this newly conquered nation as quickly as possible, Talulah had recently decided to personally visit Kazimierz to inspect matters of livelihood, labor, and society.
However, traveling from Ursus's capital, Chernobog, to Kazimierz's capital would normally take a considerable amount of time. After all, Talulah was now an empress. Going out to inspect civilian affairs—especially in a country that had just been occupied by Ursus—naturally required a grand entourage.
All of that further increased the time cost. Fortunately, under such circumstances, An Xora suddenly proposed using the Shadow Troops' Shadow Kingdom to directly send Talulah here in one step. As for the rest—the troops, attendants, ceremonial guards—they could proceed along the main road at a slower pace, creating the illusion that Talulah was still en route.
The time gained in between was treated as a vacation An Xora granted Talulah—a chance for the white-haired dragon girl to temporarily step away from governmental affairs, to rest for a while instead of being cooped up in the palace day and night like an overworked beast of burden.
"Judging by the time, Talulah's side should be just about ready to set off, right?"
An Xora mused.
"Then I should probably get ready to order the food."
Feeling that the timing was about right, An Xora called over a server to begin ordering dishes.
A white-haired Kuranta girl dressed in staff attire pushed open the private room's door and walked in.
"Hello, I'm the restaurant server, Hintraya. How may I be of service?"
Looking at the white-haired Kuranta girl before him, An Xora blinked.
If he wasn't mistaken, this server should be Platinum—Hintraya by name. The features all matched.
It was just that she wasn't wearing her outfit from the original story, nor was she carrying a bow or any weapons. Instead, she wore nothing more than a restaurant server's uniform.
But wasn't Platinum supposed to be an assassin from the Armorless Union? How had she ended up working as a restaurant server? Had Kazimierz's assassin organizations really fallen to such a state?
"Miss Hintraya, is it…?"
An Xora pondered for a moment before speaking.
"May I ask what kind of work you do?"
Hearing this, Platinum froze for a moment. She glanced at her work uniform, then back at An Xora.
No—hadn't she just made it pretty clear when she walked in?
Despite complaining inwardly, Platinum still answered honestly.
"As you can see, sir, I'm a server."
"Ordinary servers don't have skills like yours. You didn't do this kind of work before, did you?"
In an instant, Platinum's heart skipped a beat.
Because Kazimierz had lost the war to Ursus, during this critical period when the country was gradually being taken over, all members of the Armorless Union had become exceptionally well-behaved.
Whether it was the Blacksteel Seat or the Platinum Seat, regardless of whether they had missions on hand before, everything had been halted. Everyone lay low obediently within the city.
Not to mention that the Armorless Union's biggest patron—the Commercial Union—had already been wiped out by the Ursus army. Even if they didn't lie low, the Armorless Union wouldn't be getting any jobs anytime soon.
The Blacksteel Seat and the other top members were still fine. With their past savings, a temporary lack of income wouldn't be a serious problem.
But that wasn't the case for Miss Platinum.
Frequently squeezed dry by her superiors and never having much savings to begin with, once her income source was cut off, Platinum faced a grim prospect. To avoid becoming the first assassin to starve to death at home due to lack of money, she could only grit her teeth and come out to find work.
The good news: finding a job went smoothly. Even if it was just a server's job, at least she wouldn't have to worry about meals.
The bad news: on her very first day, a customer saw right through her. If her identity as an assassin were exposed in public, her working life would probably end before it had even properly begun.
Fortunately, An Xora didn't seem inclined to make things difficult for her. After mentioning it once, he lowered his head and began looking through the menu.
Seeing this, Platinum let out a sigh of relief. In the current sensitive situation, she truly didn't want any trouble.
Moreover, looking at An Xora, Platinum felt that this man seemed strangely familiar—as if she had seen him somewhere before.
Before she could think more deeply about it, a patch of shadow suddenly unfolded within the room.
Talulah, dressed in casual clothes; FrostNova; the Doctor in her ever-present hooded outfit; and Kal'tsit wearing a maid uniform all stepped out from the shadows.
"So it really is possible to get from Ursus to Kazimierz in an instant. An Xora, your abilities are truly incredible,"
Talulah remarked, looking around at the private room whose décor was clearly different from Ursus's style.
"It just feels like my body's a bit uncomfortable,"
the Doctor added from the side.
Unlike Talulah—whose current strength was comparable to that of top-tier beings like the Royal Court Lords—or FrostNova, who was on par with two Imperial Guards, the Doctor's physical condition wasn't exceptional. Even though she was no longer as frail as when she had just emerged from the sarcophagus, taking a trip through the Shadow Kingdom was still not a pleasant experience.
FrostNova and Kal'tsit remained silent.
FrostNova simply had nothing in particular to say. As for Kal'tsit, she was thinking about the Shadow Kingdom she had briefly entered under the guidance of the Shadow Troops.
She felt that the thing bore some resemblance to demons—but at the same time, it was distinctly different.
"Alright, since everyone's here, let's get ready to serve the food."
After ticking off the dishes he wanted, An Xora handed the menu to Platinum, whose expression had shifted from shock, to numbness, then from numbness to terror—until her entire body began trembling.
"What are you standing there for? Go call for the food already."
"Y-Yes!!!"
With just that one sentence, Miss Platinum nearly snapped to attention on the spot.
W-Why is the Ursus Empress Talulah here?!
Mechanically taking the menu, Platinum was already drenched in sweat, her mind on the verge of going blank.
…
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 70 chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/BlackDevil808