Piece 28 (part 1)

When you have no school for two weeks, what would you do?

Obviously… a very long and enjoyable vacation. Right?

Well, I didn't exactly experience that. At least, not entirely.

The first few days of the trip was indeed like a vacation. We went to a city by the ocean, and we enjoyed a nice sunbath on the waters while talking about Mom's past.

But after we left Felton, it felt more like a business trip than a vacation. Mom and Dad are both in the midst of trying to revive the once great nation called Veldonia, and they are doing everything in their abilities to do so, including visiting their ex-vassals that are scattered all over the Veldonian and Ardjestyn territory.

We visited many towns and villages and met many people. There were far too many for me to truly remember, and I'm sure that all of them play an important role in bringing the empire back from the dead. But, I just can't seem to figure out exactly how all of the gears will work, so it's just all Mom and Dad doing things.

At the start of the second week of the trip, we arrived at a very big town called Porcelain. The name came exactly from the decoration ceramics that always existed in noble households, but that wasn't exactly the biggest feature of the town.

It is a countdom, or was once a countdom, but it was annexed by another country that is neighboring Veldonia. Now, it's a town belonging to a duke from Naverne, the kingdom southeast of the Veldonia territory, quite the opposite direction from Cytus and Ardjestyn. Naverne has annexed many towns and villages after the fall of Veldonia, and Porcelain is one of them.

Mom and Dad did tell me that this will be our last stop on the trip. It is the furthest we've gotten to from Cytus that is located on the southwest of the Veldonia territory. Knowing this, I realized that I will have to make use of this final chance for a very fun vacation.

But… it doesn't seem like it's going that way.

"Greetings, Your Majesties. And the princess! You're a lot older than the last time I saw you!" A warm welcome was heard as we entered the Porcelain city hall, and a single person seemed to be waiting for us at the lobby.

It's a tall woman with a very nice official dress for government officials, and I can tell that this lady works at this city hall. Her long black hair is tied on the back, and she had small sharp glasses. 

I noticed that her attitude is akin to Miss Fiona, for whatever reason. The words she said to me implies that she has seen me before, but I don't recall her ever being familiar. Then again, she's probably talking about when I was still one or two years old.

Upon entering, the three of us noticed that the lobby looks extravagant, befitting of such a big and rich town like Porcelain. But, it is also very empty, as if anyone who once worked here were all chased away.

"It's very empty. Did you do this on purpose, Celine?" Dad asked while looking around, and the lady in front of us nodded firmly while allowing us to enter.

"Well, I figured you two won't want anyone to see your faces. What we're doing is also incredibly important, so secrecy is a must. So, yes, I cleared out any eyes aside from my own."

"Fantastic. But, you are placing targets on yourself by doing such an ominous thing. You do realize people will get suspicious, right?" Dad said while turning around, towards the field outside of the city hall.

The city hall is surrounded by many tall buildings. The big field outside is big enough for us to be able to see all the tall buildings that were surrounding it, and Dad's eyes are locked towards the rooftops of the building across the city hall.

He… must've noticed something. Are there people on top of those rooftops?

"Targets, huh? Well, let them. My contract to work with them ran out five years ago. I'm free to walk away at any given moment." The well-dressed lady said so carefreely as she turned around, and the three of us began to follow her.

"And besides, it's not like they owned this town." The lady said while walking towards a staircase that is at the end of the lobby, and Dad chuckled hearing that snarky comment.

"That doesn't mean those people can't kill you before you walk away. I'll be placing shadow knights on your tail if you don't mind." Dad suggested as we walked up the stairs, and the lady laughed loudly.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Melvin. I'll take any extra hands I can get."

"D-Don't ask them to do chores for you…"

"Hmm? Why not? Then, what else are they going to be useful for? Protecting me?" The lady asked with such confidence to Dad, and it's my first time Dad looked so defeated by a woman aside from Mom.

Speaking of Mom… she seemed a lot more silent than before.

"Have you been making any advanced tech lately?" Dad asked as we arrived on the second floor of the building, and the well-dressed lady shook her head.

"I've purposely kept all of my research hidden. I don't want Naverne to be overworking me to death by forcing me to make cutting-edge technologies. So, I've just been making nonsensical mechanical tools~."

"Something tells me you've been having a lot of fun lazing around."

"You had no idea. I'm so bored I wanna kill someone. Either way, we're here." The lady arrived at a big door that was on the second floor of the building, and she stopped right before we entered.

"Everyone is inside?" Mom finally opened her mouth, and the lady in front of us shook her head.

"Not everyone, but it's good enough for us to continue." The lady replied, and Dad took the first steps forward to open the door.

As Dad opened the door in front of us, I realized that this room is where Mom and Dad wanted to be at the most. It is a big meeting room with so many people inside, and I can't say for certain that I recognized all of the people.

They are all grown adults with the age most definitely above the thirties. Everyone here was staring at us as we opened the door, and I recognized that they all had their own presences that are unique to themselves.

Mom and Dad have told me a little bit about the reason why we are at Porcelain's city hall, and that is to have our very first council meeting alongside everyone who is a part of the Veldonia Revival Club.

And that means… everyone.

Inside the room are twenty three people. I recognized some of them to be Mom and Dad's friends that were present back in Cytus, like Uncle Althorn, Miss Fiona, and Miss Noire. There are also others who we've met during our trip the past week, though I don't exactly remember their names because we met them so briefly.

Aside from them, most of the people here are all ones I don't recognize. I realized that they all must've been here for a reason. And since both Uncle Althorn and Miss Fiona are sitting amongst them, then that must mean that these people are related with the Veldonian government.

The first to enter the room was Dad, and he went in quite confidently. Mom stayed right next to me and held my shoulder as we entered, and I turned to her while realizing she is supporting me so I don't feel awkward.

"Nice to see you all! Sorry for running late. Would you believe me if there's traffic outside?" Dad shouted into the room, but some laughter came from the crowd of people sitting at the big table.

"As if! The three of you are just slow. We've all been waiting since morning!" From the very back part of the table, Uncle Althorn shouted with a joking tone, and Dad chuckled hearing that.

"Oh, please. You've all been waiting for ten years. What's a few more hours gotta do?"

"Don't make such jokes, Your Majesty." Right next to Dad, the well-dressed lady who guided us here commented a little annoyed, and Dad laughed a lot.

"Well, sorry to keep you waiting. Should we begin straight away?" Dad asks as he approaches the table, and everyone else is also starting to sit down on this long table. 

There are twenty six seats available, but I noticed there's twenty seven of us in the room including me and Mom. Dad is seated on the chair that is at the edge of the long table, the seat of the host, so he will be the center of attention for this meeting. Meanwhile, Mom pulled me to where the guide lady pointed us, the seat on the right side of Dad.

I sat right next to Dad, while Mom sat between me and one of the attendees that I am not familiar with. Sitting across from me and Mom is Miss Fiona and Miss Noire, and I realized Uncle Althorn is sitting at the complete opposite side of Dad, at the other end of this long table.

Finally, the guide lady is not going to be seated. She will instead stand right next to Dad as if she's his assistant. From then on, I realized her role in this meeting might've been the most important.