Hidden Concerns

“How many soldiers?” Richard asked, his aura flaring with bloodlust. The three angels serving at the core of the Sacred Tree Empire were en route to a point from which they could attack Azan very easily, which meant they had to be accompanied by an army.

“150,000 from the Church, 350,000 from the nobility, cavalry hasn’t joined up yet,” Martin replied straightforwardly.

“And the purpose?” Richard smiled coldly.

“Hehe, of course they’re preparing for Blackrose. They haven’t been ordered to fight just yet, but they will wait and observe.”

“500,000 is a lot, but feel free to try me.”

Martin laughed, “Now obviously isn’t the best time, but that might change very soon.”

“Are you... forcing me to abandon Faelor?”

Martin smiled, “No, I only feel like an opportunity to eliminate you is at hand.”

......

As Martin’s face vanished from the communication circle, Richard frowned to himself. He understood that this wasn’t an empty threat— even Martin couldn’t mobilise 500,000 soldiers for a joke. If he didn’t handle things in Faelor properly, allowing himself to be dragged into a quagmire, the Sacred Tree Empire’s troops would flood into Azan.

While the Archerons had formally returned to the Sacred Alliance, they had trampled every other family in the course of doing so. Everyone who could possibly help was still reeling with embarrassment, and he was quite certain that not one of them would help if an entire empire attacked. The Anan Family might, but they were too weak to hold off this opponent for more than a day or two at best.

Richard felt like this was a warning from Martin, that the divine child could understand his indecision. Every family that tried to fight the reapers had paid a heavy price with no benefit, making giving up the only sensible choice. He had to agree himself, but it still felt... wrong.

Brushing his worries away, he teleported over to the royal palace to see Apeiron. The place had been almost completely rebuilt at this point, with the Empress’s residence looking back to normal, but there were still signs of construction if one looked. Brought straight to the main hall of her chambers, he picked up on these signs while he waited for her to come out.

Apeiron didn’t take long, heading out in only a few minutes. Just having finished her bath, she was still in the process of drying herself and walked over with only a towel covering her. She sat down with a smirk, “Is this about the reapers?”

“Yes, my own power is a little strained,” Richard nodded.

She raised an eyebrow, crossing her legs such that he got the briefest glimpse. A smile rose upon her face as she noticed him flush ever so slightly, but she allowed him to compose himself and continue, “I hope for you to use the name of the Sacred Alliance to suppress the Sacred Tree Empire. I’ve just spoken with Martin, and I know that they have gathered 500,000 soldiers and are advancing towards my territory. If my casualties against the reapers are too great, they will declare war immediately.”

“You went to Martin just before this?”

Apeiron’s smile grew rather cryptic, but Richard still nodded in response, “Yes.”

“So you looked for him and then got threatened.”

Richard frowned, but he nodded once more.

“Heh. Then let me tell you my decision; I’m not helping.”

This answer left Richard a little shocked, his brow creasing in confusion. While their relationship had been chaotic, he had come to believe that the two of them were quite close now. Why, then, was she unwilling to help when the Archerons were in danger? It wasn’t even like she needed to do anything, a simple show of her face and the Sacred Tree would back off.

Was she doing the same thing as Martin?

“The Blood Path of the Archerons was very grand,” she interrupted his thoughts, “But that gives you a lot of enemies. I’m quite certain most of the families below us would gladly watch as you got swept out of Faust. If I have the chance, I wouldn’t mind personally sending your entire family back to the abyss. Of course, if you’re willing to compromise...”

She raised a leg and put it on his thigh, wiggling her toes in indication. She wasn’t wearing boots this time, or any clothes even, but Richard couldn’t bring himself to kiss that soft foot. Apeiron was someone who generally remained true to her word, but he had promised to himself that he would never endure such humiliation again.

His thoughts as gloomy as the clouds over Floe Bay, Richard shifted the leg aside and bid farewell. Allowing Julian to escort him to the portal, he returned to his own island.

......

Julian quickly returned to Apeiron’s side, “Your Majesty, why not lend him a hand? It wouldn’t even need a formal announcement... You’ve finally found someone likeable after all these years... I believe it might be a good idea to treat him a little better.”

“Grr... I wanted to help him too, but... Sigh, he left me in a bad mood,” Apeiron growled.

“Huh? Why?”

"Because he went to look for someone else first!”

Julian didn’t know how to assess this reason. It was rather absurd, but in some ways it seemed valid as well.

......

A heavy-hearted Richard returned to his island, unable to understand how a request for help turned into two different threats of obliteration. The only thing he had gained from all this was some knowledge of the dangers that he could face.

As he returned to his office, an attendant passed a letter from the Millennial Empire that contained seals implying both importance and secrecy, alongside the crest of Prince Tumen. Richard immediately knew that this had to do with the alter world, and despite the threat of the reapers he ripped open the letter immediately.

The letter turned out to be from Macy, and the contents were quite simple. They had checked and found some clues related to the alter world and a potential passage towards it, but this information would only be passed to him if he took responsibility for his previous deeds. The closing line of the letter was thus, “So, Your Grace, how is your mood now?”

Having read the letter, Richard didn’t know how to respond. It seemed like he truly had gone overboard the night he made Macy the rune, leaving her with a grudge that she now chose to exploit. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the time to entertain her right now. Sending a quick reply that his mood would better significantly if he had the information, he heavily implied that nothing would be off the table after his war with the reapers was done. Until then, she could only find him in Faelor.

Sealing the letter and having a servant send it off, he then informed Alice that the Sacred Tree Empire was gathering at Earl Barton’s territory. She was to pull back her army and focus on defence, fighting back at the slightest sign of aggression. He contacted Blackgold as well, telling the grey dwarf to be careful about the Deepblue and focus on production of the thunder cannons.

With everything arranged, he set off for Faelor immediately. However, he had barely left his study before a mage ran over with Macy’s response, a letter whose contents were simply a “Wait for me!” He was stumped by the speed of the reply, but without the time to wait he instructed the mage to look over the goods that were to be sent to Faelor. Gathering a squad of rune knights and teleporting to Blackrose Castle, he froze at the sight of a girl in golden armour waiting with a heavy sword on her back.