This is about Picnics

21 July 422

Nothing much happened in the following ten days.

Sure, it was clear that Sphinx's conditions were improving on a steady pace thanks to the presence of various doctors keeping track over her conditions, but she was still far from attaining a degree of mental and physical stability that could match up with a proper human being.

With her mental regression to a state where her mind was forced to rediscover everything around herself, this time without the input of her creator, the girl had been hesitant to accept sudden changes in her newest predicament.

She had given some trust to the mages assigned to take care of her while I was absent, and she looked fairly happy with the books I would bring to her.

Considering from who her mind was shaped from, I wasn't shocked with the voracity she would display towards newer content to read and be entertained with.

Knowledge was amusement, and amusement turned into a sweet painkiller over the unpleasant circumstances she was going through right now.

Still, I was pleased with the fact that Sphinx had somehow grown more accustomed to her new room. While there were some subtle hints of nervousness over the noises around the building, the girl had seemingly taken well the fact that now she was being helped back to a healthier shape.

But while the books helped in dwindling her hunger for entertainment, I ended up also refining the bond that we had. It was quite simple, but incredibly curious in its development as the pseudo-Witch decided to take some hazardous steps while I spoke to her.

Pushing herself to bring more words out, she seemed to care very little over the strains it took over her mind to expand any conversations with lengthier sentences.

An effort that I praised quietly, but restrained from actually interesting her to pursue so earnestly because of her mental blocks.

Warnings that were mostly ignored everytime, yet I could see that the girl had put some moderation to any action that could hinder further her recovery.

A pleasant conversationalist, Sphinx seemed to be fairly adept in understanding concepts and ideas from the brief explanations I would offer over new words for her or even topics that she had forgotten about.

A curious way to entertain part of my day, yet I soon found out that the burden of my work was increasing to a degree that I was starting to grow weary about.

The policies adopted to avoid any saturation on the Building Sector seemed to be making some positive success already. At least, that was what was reported on the paper.

The introduction of new sectors within the primitive version of what I could define 'Medieval Industry' was a slow-paced development that was meant to have quite the impactful effect within society as a whole.

With the creation of new jobs, of new 'reasons' for commoners to be interested in the situations within the city, I was slowly nurturing the necessity of preparing reforms within the politics and the social system in Erindor.

It was a mere plan as of now considering how mindfully slow the circumstances were being dragged, but I with how unexpectfully some changes were happening, even earlier than my early estimations, I knew that some failsafe to avoid any sudden revolts within the region.

Patience was a virtue, but also a terrible trap-door to hell itself if not handled correctly.

In the middle of paperwork and visiting Sphinx at the hospital, I also decided that it was about time to resume the homeschooling with the twins.

Both boys were eager to spend even more time with me, but their moods were dampened a little by the fact that it wouldn't be to play around.

They were bored in some instances, but I was capable of keeping their interest up while helping them around with the homework I would leave them to do.

I had seen how smart these two were, and I really wanted to see them become people that would make greater steps than me.

Some would call it paternal instincts driving me to have both my surrogate children on the right path of success with their lives, and I would actually agree to that.

I could still remember when Dad had so suddenly commented how quickly I had grown up, as in his eyes I had gone from ten to twenty years old in a mere blink.

It was a confusing notion, yet now that I was the father dealing with the responsibilities of the role, I could see the bittersweet necessity as something to be wary about.

Not because I was worried about losing them so soon, but rather that I didn't want to see them going for their own ways without being prepared enough for such a journey.

They were cute, they were small and very attached to me- but would this persist by the time they reach their teenage years? Maybe, maybe not.

Orestes was glad to bring more and more news over the growth of the current garrison, and how the manpower serving the army had reached a record number after more than a month had gone by in my tenure.

Young men had gone up to the barracks to get recruited, their enthusiasm highlighting an element that was good right now but could prove to be detrimental if left unchecked for too long.

When people flocked at the recruitment booths, it meant that there was a degree of interest to see some military-based action happening very soon.

The population wanted to see the administration flex some of the armed might to confirm the stability within the novel government.

Which meant that I had to find a motivation to send the small army within Erindor around to make some propaganda and... that wasn't an easy task to accomplish considering the circumstances and the border the city shared closely with Gusteko.

I wasn't going to poke at the largest wasp nest by making any border conflict, despite the fact it wouldn't be completely odd for the two nations to do so. I really didn't want to face that insane bastard of a prince any time soon. Actually, never sounded like the best choice regarding the opportunity of encountering him once more.

Thus I was left with the limited solution of allowing the preparations of assaults all over the region against any confirmed bandits' bases.

There were a few of those well-spread over the land, and the criminals were actively damaging the trade routes in the area.

By sending out some armed parties to track down and destroy these small, unorganized groups, the economic growth in the region would return to a somewhat stabler pace compared to the current one.

Orestes was allowed to take command over the major plans and the creation of an officer corps specialized over this specific task. In layman terms, I was giving him the chance of making a group of capable men that knew how to lead soldiers in battle without making any dreadful mistakes in their deployment.

The nobles wouldn't be minding this little unseen slight, especially with how 'disgusting' the task itself was, and I was thus making some more steps in modernizing the army.

Now that there was a standing one instead of one born from levies, with proper wages and rights, it was now the matter of time for the creation of what I hoped to be the Lugnican New Model Army.

And with most of the activities in Erindor properly left in the hands of trustworthy individuals and with the entirety of the paperwork for today already done completed, I prepared myself to make my words true over a promise I had made just a month ago.

After receiving the invitation from Preacher Caralde for the monthly visit to the sealing grounds just two days ago, I had prepared myself to make a little surprise to Satella.

Preparing an extra bag to bring to the tainted territory, I decided to bring some food and books as a gift for the lonely girl.

A picnic would be a pleasant thing to experience once in a while in that eternal tea party she had with only herself.

The pleasant recreation of a heavenly garden just offered endless possibilities in how to spend time there, and it was just a matter of the things available to keep things interesting for the two of us.

After leaving control of the city once more to Orestes, I proceeded to make my way to the convoy of mages that was concluding the final preparations before going through the gates and right to their important destination.

The stroll was as long as I remember it being and the tasks required by the mages over the necessity of verifying the integrity of the seal were the same as the first time around.

I was more patient over the sluggish procedure compared than the previous occasion, but my attention was raptly directed at the barrier that divided me from reaching where the lonely half-Elf was.

There was a plan that I had concocted for this little event, and I had to wait for every subordinate to Caralde to leave the premises of the seals, to be back to the little camp that had been set up for the remainder of the day needed to be spent there.

With everyone being alerted that I didn't want to be disturbed up until it was about dinnertime, I proceeded to sneak out from my tent and right up to the closest piece of land to the barrier.

Staring carefully at it from a safe distance, I started to ponder how exactly was I supposed to enter inside the barrier and reach the hole without getting captured by the lurking Witch of Envy.

While I had no reason to question my current speed, I was also concerned that my natural speed could hardly make a difference against a being capable of making the world quiver with her destructive spells.

Stuck in this very circumstance, I was about to reconsider bolting through the seals and hoping for some lucky and uneventful run when I noticed that something in my bag was... glowing brightly.

As I picked it up from where I had left it, the mirror seemed to have gained a silver-like shine that coated its entirety.

It looked quite divine, but also not in the process of contacting Satella through the barrier. No, it seemed that this phenomenon was connected to my relative closeness to the barrier.

Taking a couple of tentative steps closer to the spherical containment spell, I stopped just a moment to further study the eerie glow coming from the mirror and... I took a step inside the barrier.

Just as I did so, the glow spread to the point were I saw a bubble-like form starting to grow around me, stabilizing after I started to walk once more deep within the contaminated lands.

The miasma was filtered by the unknown spell, and I decided to pick up my pace as I remembered that while I wasn't being influenced by it, the Witch of Envy was going to know exactly where I was within her domains.

My legs burned a little at the sudden increase of speed, but I steeled my mind on the sole objective of reaching the only refuge available from the dangerous and deranged dark-side.

MINE!

I barely noticed the hand-like tendrils rushing at the barrier, just as I was about to jump through the hole and...

The Unseen Hands failed to pierce through the defensive barrier, actually bouncing away from it.

Deciding to not linger around to study more the sturdiness of the projection of the mirror, I subsequently jumped down the hole.

The fall wasn't as immense as I had thought it being after so long, and, in fact, I ended up reaching the ground without crippling my legs in the process thanks to some flowers having been carefully placed to make for a good landing zone.

Sighing in relief for the successful arrival, I carefully stood up from my crouched position to start and look around for Satella.

My search was quite short as I spotted the distracted young woman sitting near to the lone small table in the garden, tinkering with... her own mirror?

I quietly made my way towards her, and I could already hear some curious muttering coming from her.

"C'mon, why isn't this working?" She hummed with irritation. "The spell seems alright, same for the mirror's integrity- so why it's not-"

"Is everything alright?" I inquired quietly, an amused smile playing on my lips as, just like I had expected, my sudden intermission caused quite the loud reaction out of the Half-Elf.

A 'eep' left her lips at the immediate question, her eyes widening in utter shock as she turned to look at me, her body tensing up at this sudden predicament.

She blinked. "You- But- Wait, you're here and-"

"Do you remember that I promised you that I would've visited?" I interrupted with a curious look.

Another blink, then her posture lessened to confusion. "But weren't you meant to visit on a monthly basis? I mean, surely you shouldn't be coming so soon."

"It's been a month already," I pointed out with a frown. "Actually a month and a day. I had to make sure that things were alright back home before coming here and-"

"B-But maybe you shouldn't be risking yourself for this- I understand you care but-"

"Nope," I rebuked quietly. "I promised you that we would spend time together at least one time every month, and here I am... with stuff."

I brought up the bag containing books and food, each separated from one another, before actually taking out one of the tomes I had selected as a gift to the girl.

Her violet stare was quick to move at the book, then she frowned in realization of what I was holding up for her to see.

"Why?"

I blinked at the unexpected query. "What?"

"Why did you bring me... books?"

"Well, since you don't have much to do here to pass time... I thought it would've been nice to give you something to enjoy your stay here," I explained with a careful tone. "Plus, I've got some interesting stories here that you might actually like."

The young woman looked genuinely interested at the gift, yet there was a layer of nervousness that prevented her to fully express her curiosity.

"B-But- It's not something you needed to do. I'm fine with staying there and-"

"Satella."

Flinching at my neutral interjection, the Witch froze up in her humble protest while I quietly moved closer to the table to settle down the bag.

"When I said that I consider you a friend, I was meaning it," I muttered with a sad smile. "And if I see you sad, lonely, or even bored, I feel the need to make sure that those issues are solved."

Her lips twitched, her nervous lips trying to hold back some protests as she perhaps wanted to hear those words.

"I thought that it would be nice to give you something to enjoy staying there. Something that isn't exactly a permanent solution to boredom... but it offers you the means to actually find some happiness in these circumstances."

She huffed. "I understand but- I don't think I deserve this kindness. I'm-"

"A silly girl that is trying to forget our first talk together," I interrupted with a snort, her cheeks flaring red at the embarrassing call out. "You're my friend, Satella, and I'm not backing away from this stance."

...

The girl gave a slow nod. "I... I see. And... Thank you."

I blinked, my smile widening at the little defeat. "You're welcome," I stated happily, before actually starting to shake the bag a little more. "And books aren't the only things I've brought here."

Her curiosity flared unfiltered as I brought out a little blanket.

"What are your thoughts about... a picnic?"

Differently from the earlier surprise, her eyes widened in positive eagerness at this comment and... let's just say that the visit finally took a better twist compared to the previous interaction.

But while Satella and I started to settle down the food and the tea over the large blanket, Erindor was being currently visited by someone important.

Someone that I really hadn't thought about coming so suddenly in the city, especially while I was away from there.

~Change of POV~

The carriage with a small group of curious guards was silently going through the busy streets of Erindor while the occupant was quietly looking through the small windows on the sides.

Bright blue eyes were staring at the limited vision offered over the road, and her interest over the curious destination seemed to swell even further at the presence of so many people wandering around in a somewhat ordered pace.

The scene hinted to productivity on a fairly unusual scale, which was enough to intensify the young woman's fascination over the individual responsible for this sudden change of course within the economic and social development of the 'border' city.

Truly a marvelous sight to be bestowed with so early in the morning.

She hummed quietly, her mind shifting back to when she had noticed in one of the more recent reports from her merchants in the city that something had indeed changed since the last time she had studied the case over the expenses in the region.

The sharp increase of the tariffs for merchants from beyond Lugnica had felt like a cold slap across her face, something that had been so sudden that she had almost faltered for a moment at hearing this news.

It wasn't a terrible ordeal, or at least one that gravely damaged her company, yet the unforeseen development had still harmed the interests of her trading operations in the area.

Quite a pity for sure, but one that Anastasia Hoshin wanted to fix as quickly as possible.

It was a must for her to seek some alteration to the past deals, to see the introduction of convenient settlements that would favor her merchants to continue to linger within Erindor.

The move had been quite annoying from her part, yet she could easily see what had driven such a dramatic twist from the past flow.

The city had become in a larger and more active hub for many workers, a place that was steadily improving its presence over the region by merely favoring the intensification of jobs for the locals thanks to some curious policies.

She had the opportunity to read some official papers that had been published on the very day that those plans had been enacted, and the young woman from Kararagi couldn't help but be endeared by this revolutionary take on economy.

Not many had been so bold to accept new theories over the understanding of economics, with many sticking to some rules that were just... silly. And easy to manipulate to her own advantage.

But this mayor, this John Bukharin, had turned out to be a unique expert on the subject. A rookie that had stood up from anonymity and had managed to rise up to a respectful role within Lugnican politics by playing his role properly and without risking too much of his own reputation and life.

The very nature of the case drove close to Anastasia's core, especially since the parallels between them were... way too many to counts.

From their origins, to their social statuses (past and current), and finally their common point of bringing out the true potential out of mismanaged activities.

Erindor was strong before he had come around, but when he started to put rules and laws the entire game board had flipped to a confusing but endlessly amusing circumstance.

Not only this unexpected situation had forced her to come to confront directly the young man, but she had to also keep quiet over the matter with how obsessed Prince Ivan was about him.

The madness of the current ruler of Gusteko had been well-known to her since it was normalcy for the rest of the Gustekian people, but the recent fixation that the strange individual had developed out from a 'diplomatic issue' that had happened quite recently in Lugnican territory had sounded as interesting as worrying.

It was no secret that there had been some magical contract that prohibited the monarch of the Cold Kingdom from pursuing any direct or indirect confrontations with the young mayor, forcing the ruler to seek out the guidance of many experienced law-makers and legislators.

The resulting circumstances weren't particularly known, yet there have been a slight increase of deaths among people working in this specific sector.

Still, her worries about being noticed by the dangerous prince were well unneeded with the fact that she was now within Erindor, away from being noticed by anyone working for Ivan.

Her plan to resume some of the power her Company had over this region was particularly simple considering the possible clash of minds that might ensue during these simple talks.

While Anastasia had no intention of pressing too much aggressively over the matter, she had plenty of leverage to make use about thanks to the debts accumulated by some of the local merchants in the past with her own organization.

By merely mentioning this little issue, she had a foothold to advance a degree of 'goodwill' all for the sake of gaining some concessions in exchange of concessions from her own side.

But while this was the spearhead of her little probing, the following step was to ensue a healthy amount of 'friendliness' with the mayor.

Not just to avoid any backstabbing, but to prevent any souring between the Hoshin Trade Company and the rest of the sections in Lugnica.

While she hadn't expanded too much into the Dragon Kingdom, the few settlements she had managed to have some trading agreements with had undoubtably increased her wealth to smile-inducing numbers.

It was also supposed to be a quick visit, nothing too informal as to not delay her return back to the main headquarters considering how complicated things have been quite recently with Volacchia and Gusteko itself.

Yet, much to her partial disappointment, this very hope turned out to be a pipe dream as the carriage came to an unexpected halt.

It was Ricardo that came to knock at the small door of the carriage, the Demi-human peeking a little and showing a slightly uneasy look as he requested her to leave the vehicle.

Surprise increasing at his words, the young woman complied out of curiosity as to why they had been stopped.

Just as she descended out of the carriage, her eyes offered a full assessment of the situation materializing in front of herself.

Numerous guards, about sixty from a first estimation, were now standing behind an experienced and cautious-looking knight.

The man looked tense, but carrying himself with a resolute and calm manner as he took a couple of steps forward. "Madam Hoshin, we weren't expecting you to arrive so suddenly."

A frown adorned her pretty face. "Truly? I thought that I had offered the proper dates as for today in my message."

"Your letter stated that you would arrived on the 22th. Today is the 21th," The old knight replied politely, and despite her interest to rebuke such a claim, cold realization reached her mind.

There had been a mistake... from her part. Not a massive one, but rather one dictated by some forgetfulness regarding the date system used in Kararagi compared to the one used in Lugnica.

It was a day off, and that error had left her in quite the pickle.

"I'm... I'm surprised to discover this issue. I had written the letter with some mistaken remembrance over the date system," She admitted with a hint of sheepish embarrassment. "I understand that our presence might've been felt like an imposition, a very... prepared one to that."

Her last comment was correlated to the particularly 'threatening' nature of her guards, all of them being part of the Fang of Iron mercenary group.

"I suppose you're referring to the difference between Kararagi and Lugnica," The elder mentioned with a hum. "It's an unpleasant circumstance, but one that from my understanding isn't perpetrated willingly or for malicious intentions."

She nodded at the last bit, drawing an eased sigh from the knight as his posture relaxed at this confirmation.

"Then I suppose you could be allowed to stay in the city for the time being... at least until the mayor is back from some important business," The veteran militaryman mentioned, gaining a surprised look from Anastasia.

The Mayor was currently away from the city? But why?

Instead of pressing for some answers right now, the young woman opted to keep quiet and accept the dispositions brought out by the leader of the local guards and the temporary administrator for the city up until the proper chief of the city was back from wherever he had gone to.

She was allowed the information that the young man would've been back by tomorrow's early morning and that he had no important appointments that would obstruct any meeting between the two.

It was a pleasant accommodation, but one that was also sweetened by the living quarters that she was allowed to take a stay within for the rest of the day.

The large building where her entourage had been escorted into looked to be a grand palace that had been built quite recently, or at least after she had first visited this settlement.

This place was meant to usually house diplomats passing by this region, but it was also meant to be used by important figures deciding to visit the city.

The rooms that were offered were some of the largest and best-serviced compared to other establishments that were used for the same purpose.

Despite her growing endearment over the pleasant situation that the mistake had allowed her to experience, a minor issue had been the disposition of her guards.

Not everyone could've been fitted in the hotel, at least not without creating problems to the rest of the staff and occupants.

A small squad was allowed to house a room beside hers, while the rest was allowed to stay rent-free by the local barracks.

She was forced to have only the Pearlbaton triplets to keep a closer watch over her and... she was glad that the trio accepted the important role so eagerly.

Mimi especially as she was told that there were Hamburgers being served for lunch as part of the standard service.

Yet, despite the soft pillows, the comfy mattress, the pleasant-to-the-touch sheets and the lack of any major stress-inducing issues in the room that was hers for the whole day, Anastasia couldn't help but feel like accepting so many gifts so suddenly just felt... wrong. As if she was making a mistake of being so eased by the numerous good discoveries she was making.

...

Or maybe she was still miffed at the fact that she didn't have any mean to sneaking out that place with the pillows.

Those were incredibly soft... and she couldn't have them. The injustice!

-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-

Afterthoughts: Yes, Anastasia is here and... she is incredibly adorable. But also an experienced economist and a greedy girl with a good, but greedy heart. It's surprisingly odd how little spotlight she was allowed in the series in the first couple of arcs after the introduction to the Royal Election. Gah! I wanna hug her and share philosophical talks with her!

And yes, I did add a Cover Image to the story in FFN. The Artist is みゅー ( Myu_Myu_Moon) on Twitter and boy, I love that art!

Lastly, let's go for the third part and penultimate part of this Omake EX!

Omake EX 1: Visitors from Beyond the Sea (3/4)

After what could easily be considered one of the oddest, but perhaps most expected first contacts I could've imagine out from meeting with such a unique cast of characters, I soon found myself dealing with the serious bits of this little parenthesis.

With Eric leading the mixed group inside the ship and right to the large meeting room within the place, we were quick to occupy some chairs on each sides of the table.

There was some order as to not create issues among the two parties, and while the idea was seen as genuinely good for many, I was quick to notice that someone had either not gotten the memo or had outright ignored it with the place she had taken.

Madelyn Adelaide, better known as 'Maddie' by the rest of the occupants of the ship, had preferred to take a seat right beside me, quietly waiting for any discussions to truly start.

I wasn't the only one taking notice of this discrepancy and I saw Keith staring sternly at the girl as if trying to get her to budge out of that seat while the rest of the assemble came to a conclusion.

Yet the young Basitin didn't seem to even ponder over this instance, deciding to stay on that chair much to my growing curiosity and surprise.

Maddie was the daughter of the current King of the Eastern Basitin Tribe, Jade Adelaide, and while simple appearance would make her appear as young as a thirteen years old, she was actually a very unruly young adult that had just sneaked inside the ship to see more of the world.

But while I was well aware of her childish nature in some situations, I could think of nothing that could actually motivate this little unexpected decision.

"Why?" I inquired softly, drawing her yellow eyes at me.

"Because I want to sit there?"

I blinked at that reply, studying her posture as she easily held back any suspicious undertones with that rebuttal.

In the end, I shrugged at this confusing matter as I felt that there wasn't a genuinely serious argument behind this circumstance, turning my attention back at the other side of the table.

With a heavy sigh, Keith seemed to regain some seriousness over the situation, trying his best to not poke once more at the 'princess'.

"Before we ask this session, I wish to ask for confirmation over the fact that we will soon be reached by Prince... Fourier? The current Crown Prince?" The ambassador inquired with some uncertainty, to which I replied with a solid nod.

"Would it be possible to also ask about why your King couldn't take part to this important situations? Perhaps a more pressing concern or-"

"King Randohal has been ill for months now," I mentioned with a tight tone, interrupting Lynn's half-inquiry. "The Royal Family has been decimated in the last few years by a mysterious sickness. And the King and the prince are the only known members still alive."

"That's some tragic news," Trace commented with a sad expression.

"I hope the prince is well and healthy, then," Keith conceded with a slow nod. "But still, I feel the need to ask about another concern that has yet to be brought up about what happened earlier when the ship had just docked."

I frowned. "And the concern is?"

"When we first arrived, some guards seemed to tense up at the main role of this ship, saying that slavery in general wasn't condoned," The Basitin continued with a tense tone. "I would've like to ask you if that was truly the case. Has slavery been abolished?"

I gave a quick nod to that question, drawing some surprised looks from many and a confused expression from the owner of the ship.

"Why?"

It wasn't the blond that inquired, but rather the girl sitting beside me.

I looked at Maddie with a curious look, surprised by her participation in this very topic.

"Well, right now we're talking to each other on an equal basis, right?" I asked back, making the Basitin frown and nod at my query. "And let me ask you this. If without a reason I decided that you are no longer my equal because you... have yellow eyes, what would you reply to me."

She frowned at my example. "I would be angry and say that it is unfair."

I nodded. "Slavery is based on the presumption that equality among individuals, which is enabled by the fact that we can have a proper conversation without much issues, is forfeited on the basis that a difference between you and I can be considered an undeniable example of inferiority or superiority."

"And that's stupid," Maddie summarized with those words.

I cracked a smile at that and nodded again.

Before I had the chance of continuing to press on this argument once more, I saw Eric tense up over the subject and intervene.

"Mayor Bukharin, you surely understand that the system is like this- I'm not the one that promotes it," The blond tried to explain. "I'm not hurting anyone by-"

"Perpetrating an erroneous practice even right now," I finished for him, sighing at his uneasy look. "Mr. Vaughan, I can try and understand that you're not a bad person on a normal basis, but slavery is inherently bad."

"I-It's not that bad."

We all glanced to the other end of the table, where Kat had taken a seat and was seemingly interested with this topic.

"Eric has allowed me to express my own opinions on various occasions," She continued with some determination, yet her supportive words were actually damaging the little defense that was left on the Pro-Slavery side.

Instead of pressing over the matter, I decided to turn my attention to Flora, the Tiger Keidran regarding me with a curious look.

"Flora, what is your opinion about apples?"

The girl's eyes widened at the comment, a small smile spreading on her lips. "Well, I like them."

I nodded. "Good. Now... did you need to ask me for permission to express this comment?"

...

"No?" She replied with some confusion, to which I nodded again.

"Yep. I didn't ask. I didn't need to," I expressed with a sigh. "You don't need to have the permission of anyone to give your own personal opinion over a topic. It's one of your rights and freedoms to be able to do that."

I turned to Eric, he wasn't trying to even look at me at this and... I noticed Kat looking fairly nervous at that failed effort to help the blond.

But before I had the opportunity to try and press the argument back to the main priority regarding diplomacy, the conversation was interrupted when someone started to knock at the sole door of the room.

A brown-furred head peeked inside. Evals, I muttered inwardly as I recognized the Dog Keidran.

"Master Eric, the royal entourage has arrived and-"

Before he had time to finish, my ears caught on some footsteps approaching and I saw the guy make way as the group started to enter the room.

Orestes and I stood up from our chairs at the sight of Fourier, while the rest of the room merely stared at the development with a mix of curiosity and surprise.

"Prince Fourier," I greeted properly.

"Lord Bukharin," The younger blond replied happily as he took a few steps towards me.

The red-eyed prince approached me with a dazzling smile, quickly offering me a quick hug before I was allowed to move to greet the smiling woman behind him.

"Lady Karsten," I greeted again, bowing my head to the young woman.

"Lord Bukharin," She returned with a quick bow of her head, accepting a brief handshake too.

Before I had the time to properly turn to greet the last member of the visible group, I found myself almost tackled down by a powerful pounce, a giggling brunet eagerly giving me a tight hug without any moderation to his eagerness.

I sighed. "Ferris, you should be a little more careful. I almost tripped."

"Sorry, Johnyah," The cat-eared boy apologized quickly, sounding less apologetic and more mirthful in the process.

And while the rest of the Re:zero group settled by the remaining chairs on our side of the table, the other group couldn't help but bestow us a newer degree of curiosity and fascination.

But Maddie merely smiled eagerly as she prepared to assist to quite the interesting meeting considering the odd bunch of people on both parts, curious to see how things will turn into from this shaky beginning.