"Mono/Dialogue"

  'Inner thoughts'

  Narration

  [Message/communication apparatus]

  Date: Late May 646 AU

  Location: The Forgotten Ocean, West Regalian Control Zone

  POV: Narina Fol Suzol

  ‘I have no power but to bow to the whims of fate, what a fickle mistress it was. A few days ago we were deemed as undesirable, fit only for extermination, and yet…’ My finger brushed through the book in my hand, its vibrant color and soft texture made me wary that the woman who brought us into this magnificent vessel had loaned me a priceless commodity. Books, as I had known firsthand, were structured and copied painstakingly; as I had experienced such a torment.

  However…

  ‘I had never seen something this… perfect.’ Each of these foreign letters is compact, uniform, and arranged without visible signs of mistake such as spilled ink. I had managed to perform rudimentary communication with our savior. She guided me through how to pronounce each letter and common words, such as what, why, how, and so on.

  At a bare minimum, I know her name is Enna Dona.

  Unfortunately, she was summoned by her superior, and no doubt, our situation became peculiar. Frankly, I found her quite charming if a bit puzzling. She doesn’t exhibit any commanding presence that could be traced to that nobility, yet her discipline and manner show that she is an educated person.

  ‘Suppose we have a debt too hard to ignore at the moment, although that is a problem for the future…’ Moving my fingers through the book’s content, I could not understand what it meant at first. Until I read, compare, and use words I do know as a reference, how the words are arranged, and crity dawned soon after.

  This is a lexicon, a lifeline, and a priceless chance to a glimpse into what sort of world we will witness. Naturally, many terms are incomprehensible to me. Their meanings shall require deep contemption and time. Still… What had the gods given us here? The course of this journey, ever since our departure from home, was too… perfect… for mere coincidences.

  “You seem to be having fun, Narina.” Prince Zorphal's smiles and bemused tone yanked me off from my schorly pursuit. How embarrassing, I had forgotten all about his presence. It does bring out nostalgic times when my teacher 100 years ago berated me for staying up te in the library.

  “Forgive me, Your Highness… I was… this book is… outrageously phenomenal and reflects a work of the finest arts! I would be truly honored to meet its creator or even a curator of this fine book! The quality is simply sublime…” I almost go into another long tirade of why this book would just eliminate any other by its simplicity, care, and robust catalog. I will most likely faint after knowing the book’s exorbitant cost, as it should be, thus I must treat it with care…

  ‘That brings to attention… is this a state property, Miss Dona’s private belonging or someone else’s? No matter the answer, it gave me a glimpse into a gargantuan world full of wealth and knowledge. Those old texts are quite the prophetic advice… No wonder Ionie was an avid reader surpassing me… what a shame.’ I buried that thought deep, that fondness must never be uttered.

  “If we could even muster a mere fraction of understanding from these people’s knowledge, imagine what sorts of advancement can occur? Fate is always a conniving fox when we least expect it, hopefully for the better this time around.”

  “Aye, your enthusiasm is palpable.” He leaned back on the bed, this room had been allotted for our stay during the voyage back to our benefactor’s territory.

  I was shocked seeing how despite its pin design, the quality dwarfed even my old office’s bedroom. The bedding is soft, luminescence requires no substitute, and serenely stable heating is out of this world; not to mention how the walls were constructed of metallic substance that I doubt to be common steel.

  “Indeed, but it was no mere pursuit of mine, this is a necessary step forward. The sooner we solve through the intangible nguage barrier, the better our chances are to expin this burgeoning circumstance.”

  My eyes darted toward our restless Knightess, her nerves were on high alert. Lady Luanaya had her swords taken from her, but she could keep her armor and everything else. I understand her apprehension, but she needs to understand that the walls could have ears and eyes.

  His Highness’s gaze intersects with mine, and he nodded with understanding when I flicked my vision at the tense Knightess.

  “Mhm… Lua, would you please stop being tense? We are guests here, and these people had done us no wrong. Your vigince is a conscious effort I appud, but excessively showing it is a discourtesy.” She shook from the Prince’s words and then forced a sigh to be exhaled by her lips.

  “Forgive me, Your Highness… I couldn’t help but wonder, what is this ridiculous vessel supposed to be. We walked through the deck no different than on dry nd. So much so that I dare wager this vessel has enough might to inflict horrendous casualties upon the Halciadonian Navy with ease… There has to be a reason why it only has one cannon.” Prince Zorphal raised his brow with interest.

  “Can you expin it to me? I’m more versed with bureaucracy and trade ledgers.”

  “Although I have limited expertise on naval warfare and its logic, I’ll try my best.” She exhaled and sat on her chair close to the door.

  “Chiefly, this vessel is made of steel. We know how steel rusts but more importantly problems regarding its maintenance. I do not envy the person responsible for keeping this vessel well-maintained.” She id her metallic gauntlets on the table.

  “Picture this for example. This gauntlet looks robust from the outside, but if I flipped it…” She shows that the underside is not at all armored.

  “This is the weaker underside. There are reasons why it was made this way, first would be cost, second is flexibility, third is because comfort is still necessary to hold a bde, and fourth as a sign of prestige or value of the one possessing it.”

  “It is a rather poor analogy, but I understand your angle. This ship gave an impression of luxury, but its unusual design nguage is baffling for a military vessel. It should have a weaker point but all I see is something our weapon shall struggle to penetrate… still, I must raise a compint on the analogy.” I was puzzled briefly, not by the general idea of what she meant to convey, but more about the why.

  “Again, I was not versed in naval matters, so can you bme me?”

  “Noted, continue with it, Lua.” Prince Zorphal intervened. I noticed how his eyes are not as clouded by doubt, perhaps he is taking his mind off from the primary problem.

  “As far as I know, this ship only has a single rge cannon with not even half a dozen increasingly smaller ones. I found it strange if someone can afford to build ships made of metal… why was it not being made more armed? Well, the answer is simple.” She shows gaps on her gauntlet, some even spacious enough to hide a needle dagger.

  “I had hidden a weapon before, so I believe this warship excels in the same pattern. It was made of steel to dissuade any fools from trying to commence boarding, but if they are being foolhardy… the bdes come out.” Crity dawned on me, this ship was not what it looked like. It has to be.

  Even if only that single cannon pyed a part in the defense, the ship’s speed cannot be matched. Only the flying corps is capable of pursuing, but I reckon whoever made this magnificent vessel was no less enthused to provide potential pursuers a horrid and nasty surprise.

  “Does that mean those unusual boxes were utilized to hide its arsenal?”

  “Correct. This ship appears somewhat harmless to the untrained eyes, but it is not so. These people are dangerous; disguising a deadly poisonous bde by way of making it ornate so fools shall scramble to cim with dulled reasoning is a wicked scheme.” Hmm… there is beauty in simplicity, and such a high-performance vessel is doubtful to function solely as a scenery backdrop.

  “Indeed, we cut through the ocean akin to a graceful dancer gliding upon pristine marble. There was no shaking, no discomfort, and we were promptly treated with respect despite the nguage’s difficulties. Quite the novelty when I accidentally stumbled upon the soldiers' and sailors' shared cabins where men and women mingled openly. Bewildering…”

  The norm back in our homend, even for those more martially inclined, was to separate the sexes to prevent fraternization. This fact either meant the sailors were not opposed to retionships or because their discipline being unparalleled allowed this brazen breach of ethics. I do realize that to thrive in this dangerous sea, propriety was the lower priority when survival was concerned.

  Soon we heard a telltale knocking sound, our steadfast Knightess was quick on her feet and opened it slowly. Lady Luanaya stepped away from the door to show our guest, Miss Dona, entering with a tray of food, and it smelled delicious compared to what we were consuming during the voyage. Their hospitality was more than we ever hoped for.

  The girl turned towards the Prince and showed a respectful bow. Naturally, he was left thinking awkwardly about how to reciprocate. Fortunately, he elected to nod, and that was sufficient. Our Knightess watched from the sideline, her hands rested on her rest position above where her bde was supposed to be. Our guest doesn’t seem to mind her vigince all that much.

  “Apology, dinner, yours.” She made an effort to learn our nguage studiously. Her pronunciation was crude, but it is understandable. Needless to say, her earnest desire was touching and I do need to repay her appropriately.

  “Thank you, Miss Dona.” She was visibly surprised when I spoke her mother tongue, heavily accented and less refined as well. The young girl ughed without covering her mouth. Her openness, gracious nature, and generosity while assuring made our resident Knightess squirm most puzzlingly.

  “Language, yours, good.”

  “Book, friend, helpful.”

  “Then, me, have… um… words.”

  “Words?”

  “Yes, yesterday, friend, mine… see… people.”

  “People?”

  “Umm… that.” She pointed at Luanaya’s royal insignia and our coat of arms. This information was greatly shocking, Luanaya stepped forth and gripped Dona’s shoulders tight.

  “When?! Where!? How?! Answer me!”

  “C-Calm, calm!”

  “Lady Luanaya, restrain yourself and cease! You’re inflicting her with unnecessary discomfort!”

  “S-Sorry… T-That was unbecoming of me…” She dipped her head and bowed, while Dona smiled sheepishly.

  “Worry, no, calm, yes. Good?” Luanaya stepped back to her position. Her breach of decorum aside, she is xer than now. Appears the probable safety of our brethren had given her a modicum of ease. I urge Dona to continue.

  “Continue, friend, me?”

  “Few erm… time, um… back, west, south.” Then her expression changed into trepidation.

  “Friends, me, see … not… same *point at the insignia again*, too.” Our faces paled immediately, it could be the Halciadonian army is hot on their tails. Prince Zorphal immediately bowed his head.

  “Y-Your Highness!?”

  “M-My Prince?!”

  “Please, I beg you, Miss Dona, save them. I cared not what happened to me, but please save them! They are not just my friends, they are my people, loyal to a fault. They deserve better than to be ensved by that heathen Emperor! Please, I beg you!” Dona’s face was nothing less than unadulterated confusion and traces of fright, and she was right to be when a Knightess invaded her personal space and a Prince bowed his head. Yet I could discern how her comprehension of contextual meaning is truly remarkable.

  “C-calm! They, safe, safe, calm!”

  “Truly?!”

  “Ah, um… uh… Y-yes! Yes, calm, safe!” With her assurance, we once more heaved a breath of relief. To cease the tension, it would do well for me to thank her superior on our behalf.

  “Thank you.”

  “Yes, me, to-” Miss Dona answered with the wrong word and she bit her tongue; a quick reflex. I decide not to mention it to spare her the unnecessary memory.

  “Me, leave? Me, work.” Noticing the atmosphere and our food left unattended, she sheepishly asked for permission to leave.

  “Yes, thank you.” Luanaya promptly opened the door with a knightly salute. Her face is still red with embarrassment and the Prince’s fared no better.

  ‘It fell on me to discipline them… Your Majesties, please grant your servant an ample strength…’

  “Erm… Good, me, leave.” A part of me wanted to ask her to stay a bit longer, then again the potential of us learning more is abysmal at best. Without accounting for what could be considered a social faux-pass in her culture, I do not wish to provoke these people the same way no one would be as foolish as to tread a dragon’s tail.

  We have nothing to offer them… except for the obvious. Miss Dona bid her farewell and my sister-in-arms and fate sighed. The Young Prince himself could be seen scratching the back of his head. Once our guest left the premises, I could feel this emotionally strung pair look down in shame.

  “Goodness me, couldn’t the both of you be more courteous? What would have happened if your outburst had been considered a social and cultural slight? The news was joyous, but that was no excuse.” Naturally, I need to admonish them in my position of Royal Tutor and Advisor. The Prince hangs his head low and so does Lady Luanaya, they are positively remorseful.

  If my fears of Lady Dona being someone of significant birth were true, I would have no choice but to try and bargain something for her forgiveness. Thankfully, she shows no such desire to evoke her family or standings and she has been nothing less but a truly helpful friend and guide during this voyage.

  “I mean…”

  “Um…”

  “I’m afraid that was not a conditioned reflex of yours, I implore Your Highness not to be excessively emotional. Then you, as His Highness’ closest confidant, should control yourself better. It would reflect on him poorly otherwise.”

  “Yes… Yes… I shall reflect on it, Nari. That was discourteous of me. It was pure luck that Miss Dona wasn’t offended by my conduct.”

  “Me too… and I am sorry but… I couldn’t stay calm hearing about the fate of our comrades… About Dear Father’s… Pardon my indiscretion and outburst.”

  “… Very well” I hope they reflected duly on that misconduct of theirs… Well, what’s done is done. Thus I only nodded at them. The Prince soon speaks his piece, his voice has noticeably regained more of his youthful vigor.

  “I suppose we could only count on them, wouldn’t it be so? There is no reason to avert our eyes from all the truth id on us, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Verily. Tangible differences between our cultures could be also observed. I surmised that while hierarchy existed, it was x and flexible compared to ours. All these contraptions are made by the finest smiths, alchemists, and… I could not find the proper word to expin their magnificence.”

  “Well, their culinary could do some help… It is tasty but um… bnd…” She and her curtness, that was rude… if not true. Our dinner is delicious but quite pin in presentation, and I do wonder whether their way of life reflected upon their dishes. Intriguing…

  “It is what it is, Lua, and as you cimed before, you weren’t part of the navy. The fact that they still have fresh vegetables is no less outstanding.”

  Date: Early June 646 AU

  POV: Luanaya Vi Roselle

  I was expecting our journey would be a few days more on the sea. We took a detour periodically since the vessel we boarded was on duty; a welcome experience to be amongst sailors with such impeccable manners. It was a jarring novelty, sea dogs aren’t the most impressionable people according to a friend of mine who regaled how awful sea travel was. Fortunately, no such unpleasantness occurred, only an ever-growing list of amazement.

  “By the gods…” Wonderment bleed and awe spilled out of my lips merely by witnessing our destination. A port city of grey and steel. Large buildings and magnificently designed or appropriated structures that bear simirities stretch along the pier. I watched as soldiers and civilians mingled around with one or two… fishing boats. I suppose so, judging by the netting,

  Large vessels dwarfing even the mightiest of Halciadonian Empire’s Galleon are stationed facing towards the sea; easing deployment during emergencies, encampment encompassed with walls and barricades, and hives of activities where I think thousands of soldiers are stationed.

  We docked on one of its many piers made of uniform pavement, and there are more port constructs made of metal than otherwise. Even the torsion crane to haul rge iron boxes shared nature closer to a siege engine, and these people used them without visible problems. The Prince beside me was dazed by this surreal reality. We are truly in an incomprehensible world…

  “Come, my leader is expecting you.” Albeit stilted with a heavy accent, we can understand her better. Miss Dona, our guide, flipped through a dictionary the Baroness had made. That’s one the factors of why Dona’s intercontinental nguage had vastly improved in just 6 days.

  “Very well, thank you for your guidance, Miss Dona.” Conversely, our Court Mage had been giddily fiddling with the Regalian common dictionary and its… uh… fountain ink pen…? Metal quill or what was it called again? Mehk uh… arachnid pen… uh… anyway. She was marveling at its simplicity and ease of use. What would I give to have such a thing… hah… signing off reports and documents would have been more bearable otherwise…

  “Much thank you as well, Prince Zorphal.” A part of me envied the Baroness’s proficiency in speaking so well. Miss Dona’s amazement and delight at how quickly Lady Narina learned was nothing short of sublime. Perhaps it is selfish of me, but I’m gd that there is something from our side that intrigues the other.

  Speaking about our Fleshmancer, her arcane prowess speeds up the process of creation and learning at the cost of severe fatigue. I was worried that it would make us more vulnerable, but she insisted that there was not a sliver of chance to overpower these people even if her flesh constructs were brought along, not to mention that it was on a different ship trailing ours.

  Once we could converse adequately, I asked her if she was perhaps in the upper social css. Picture my baffling amazement when she confessed that her father and mother are both commoners; an ordinary couple of a farmer and a shopkeeper or at least that’s what I think.

  The Baroness then pressed are they wealthy? She said no, her family lived in a more rural but not quite remote vilge. Her query continues about whether Miss Dona’s parents have a particur interest in her career. No such thing, other than an ambivalent or implicit expectation to do well. More and more questions turn into puzzle pieces I start dreading to see the full picture of.

  “I would be less than enthused of visiting a foreign country on this side of the world, their implied national power is nothing less than staggering if it's true… but maybe, just this once, it would be worthwhile to gaze unto such an enigma.”

  That was what Lady Narina shared with me yesterday, and I agree. Regalia is very much a mystifying yer of the unknown but also an equally enticing enigma. One could only wonder what sort of hardships they endured to have grown so mighty… or what horror they inflicted to reign at the top.

  ‘No, I should not be overtly negative to our savior… They had yet to show any untoward intentions so far.’

  Our arrival turns more than a few heads in our direction. I do not understand their nguage, but most seem to not mind our presence judging by their expression…

  ‘Most of them anyway.’ This specific crowd gazed at us with a sharp edge, hostility, and distrust stabbing into us. A few of them noticed my observation and clicked their tongue before disappearing to heaven knows where. Truthfully, I cannot bme them. We might be no different than troublesome beggars in their eyes.

  I should have forced myself to learn their nguage during my spare time, it would have been very useful at this exact moment. To the side I watched as another ramp was lowered to allow the sailors and soldiers to disembark safely, their relief to be home made me miss my own.

  “This is but a tip of the Regalian’s might…” Our Court Mage wonders aloud. Her eyes shine with childish curiosity that I never thought possible before. Our combined stares made her cough politely, her cheeks noticeably a redder flush, however.

  “Shall we?” Our guide urged us forth and Prince Zorphal questioned her about many things. What was it like in Regalia, how could they penetrate the notorious sea free of monsters so easily? Who is the king? How do they handle this many construction efforts? So on and so forth.

  We thought that a carriage would be the means of transportation along with a wagon or two. My assumption was not a mistake, but the carriage waiting for us looked like a wagon but had nothing visibly pulling it forth. There are 5 of them, with one being much rger than the other.

  ‘These are our escorts? Also, what are those staff? Arquebus but so small…? Huh…’ The foremost and backmost carriages have a soldier sticking out in the middle. Their hands are grasping some sort of pulley or handle that is attached to a rge steel staff. Then my eyes spotted what looked to be acorns chained onto them. I never saw acorns glinting in steel and pointedly so very sharp looking… do they work the same way a crossbow bolt does?

  ‘Perhaps those are the increasingly ubiquitous swivel culverins? However, the cannonball will be too small to cause significant damage to fortifications, so why? Hmm… to be used against soldiers?’ These Regalian never failed to fascinate and frighten me with their incoherent and alien ideas…

  At this point Prince Zorphal had grown too weary of asking, he accepted what Regalian showed to be the norm. Settling inside this metal carriage, I found that same soft and comfortable feeling when we sat on its chairs.

  I could see the coachmen and another passenger, both presumably soldiers, who wore those flimsy-looking, leathery, brigandine those sailors often wore. The difference is this one consists of… how should I word it politely… richly colored soil decoration or perhaps painting? The sailors’ brigandine was bright colored by comparison.

  On the road, we could see through these pristine gss windows on the carriage. Larger carriages with earth-working tools attached had been digging rapidly. They appear to be building walls made of earth.

  “Miss Dona.”

  “Yes?”

  “What are they doing?” That being said, it is quite hard to converse fluently in just 6 days. She diligently flipped through her dictionary while answering.

  “My friends… are… making- no… constructing… camps and… defenses… new settlements for people.”

  “Such a rapid and coordinated construction. They are not in a hurry but the speed of when to move on to the next phase could be discerned. What’s more? It appears that none are too fatigued, which often causes troubles when emergencies occur.”

  “Indeed my Prince, imagine what we could have done with such an expertise? Let alone construction of border forts or posts, I daresay the canal project you merely dreamt in your sleep to finally be a possibility.”

  “Canals? Are you… err… a…. *an unintelligible word*… interested… architect?”

  “Haha, no, I’m not such a person. But I do confess that the art of construction and earthworking is a udable endeavor. Kingdoms usurped, and Empires fell, but their legacy shall stand vigil for eternity and forever more. I dare wager that none is more exalted and respected than a building that shall stand the test of its time and more. I duly respected these renowned figures of old.”

  Dona visibly struggled by way of her flipping through her dictionary to understand what the Prince had said. She appears to give up halfway through but in a bid to not be rude, she keeps trying. The Baroness smiled and decided to lend her an insight.

  “His Highness is interested in architecture because he respected them.”

  “Oh! Er… Thank you!” I turned my gaze outside once more while the three conversed, this was truly different. Pntations and farms could be seen stretching with a peculiar technique. For one, I do not recognize the crops they pnted and I had never seen any of our farmnd employ pnting on differing elevations.

  ‘Where are the oxen or horses? Or do they have some mystical beasts’ blessing and esoteric magic doing their work for them? No… maybe they use something like these carriages? An interesting conjecture …’ It would be a beneficial prospect of investigation. Soon I inspects those soldiers and their equipment.

  They are wearing standardized clothing but no armor and not even a shield. Makes me wonder if their war doctrine does not incorporate such heavy war gear.

  I also noticed the ck of, again, horses around, but that’s a given if they have whatever this carriage is supposed to be. I wager that a hundred of these steel carriages charging as one would broke through pike lines easily like crushing ants underfoot. I dread the cost of its creation, but it is better than sending men to their deaths when better tactical alternatives are avaible.

  ‘It is not outside the realm of possibility. The old Tarantian Freehold incorporates skirmishers, light cavalries, and chariots in a complete opposite of our kingdom’s war strategies, st I heard they have this… moving camps?’

  Tarantian Free Hold is as its name implies, it is a peasant republic located in the Southern part of the continent. Renowned for its fierce independence and for being a capable mercenary state. They mainly trade peacefully, but their method of waging war has been… headache-inducing.

  ‘Avoiding pitched battles, subterfuge, privateering, harassing supply lines, and conducting border raids to exhaust their foes. Last I heard they were the st free city-states to weather Halciadon’s expansion… I could only pray they do not suffer the same way we did.’

  There have been many attempts to subjugate this freehold, but all of that stopped once Arganea guaranteed their existence in pce of tribute and manpower. Of course… that treaty is null. I swear to heaven that I will have her head…

  I suddenly spotted objects of interest that made my eyes wide. Foreign metallic wagons or perhaps that ludicrous idea of nd warships are prowling in the distance. More shockingly, they are armed with a small cannon but a cannon nonetheless… By the Aligned Heavens… where are we?

  Besides soldiers, I also spot what appears to be civilians. It is just that their clothing is vibrant, I even saw someone wearing purple! Their whole garment dyed in such an exquisite color made me agape. Prince Zorphal noticed my undylike expression, he turned exactly to where I was staring and he too looked shocked.

  “Pardon me, Miss Dona, may I ask a question?”

  “Yes?”

  “Are those purple-colored clothing?” Dona turned her face to where he was pointing and she tilted her head in confusion.

  “Was purple… um… sacred?” T-that’s way off the mark!

  “N-no, not sacred… expensive.”

  “Oh, I see. No, it is not… expensive… dyes are cheap… including purple… and gold.”

  “P-Purple and g-gold color are cheap!?” Dona nodded and started flipping her handmade dictionary to tell all the coloring that Regalian had. Ranging from the most unremarkable grey or brown to the most lustrous shades of red, purple, and even emerald green.

  ‘How wealthy is this Kingdom?! Can we even interest them with anything!? Our negotiation prospects grew dimmer by the minute! S-Should I seduce people of power after all!? Bst it, there is no choice!?’ I would have tried to contest that cim, if not for the fact that these people are the same ones who thrived on the sea where previously no one deemed it possible to navigate, let alone conquer.

  “Your Kingdom of Regalia must have been very rich. I couldn’t help but envy that fact.” Hmm? Did I just see her brows twitching? Odd…

  “Yes, my country is rich.” Did we make some kind of mistake? I wanted to crify but I would rather not poke where I’m unsure. Our journey finally came to an end when we saw a… Castle? Warehouse? I could not tell, the rectangur and cubic appearance looks very… bnd. I took it as a castle due to defensive positions like towers and the like being present, but its appearance put a big question mark on it…

  “Is it a castle?”

  “No, not castle. Primary… uh… *more unintelligible words*… guild hall?” She keeps repeating that same word… was that an apology, an excmation for confusion, or… an expletive? I do not know…

  “Guild Hall?”

  “Were you referring to office?”

  “Liruhai?” She flips through each page quickly. Her fingers traced each alphabet accurately before she found the meaning and the Baroness provided more expnation.

  “A room for specialized personnel, such as bureaucrats.”

  “Oh yes, Office. Sorry, I still struggle.” So she cimed and yet her nguage comprehension rivaled that of the Royal Knights Brigade. Just how prosperous are they to have a commoner so well-educated? His Majesty Zermal Xel Arganea the III had been toiling tirelessly for education reforms and yet those were dismal at best.

  “Fret not my dear. With the way you are, you shan’t need to wait for long to have a seat in our Magicademy.” If the former finest mage of our kingdom said so, that should be true.

  “Does this mean that we shall meet your Lord or Lady?”

  “Hmm, my *Regalian Word?* is not present, at the moment.” What is a Grant Ow-stark? Narina doesn’t appear to have a problem pronouncing it correctly, but I struggled to do the same badly.

  “So who is the one ruling over this nd?”

  “Um… Senator? Guild Master? Commander? Lord?” She is having a hard time choosing her words. Or perhaps she couldn’t find its equivalent.

  “Then shall we meet your… uhhh… Office… Master? Um… Master of the Land?” I tried to chime in, it would reflect badly if I prolonged my rigid cautiousness… Then I remembered that I was not even acquainted with the Regalian hierarchical structure.

  It appears she gave up, and said something in her mother tongue. I found her nguage's distinct ck of drawl or rhyme still very jarring, but it feels… natural? I’m still confounded by such a nguage that I parroted her speech reflexively.

  “Must have been a powerful figure to be both an Ow-stark and this… ugh… Shiv Axe-cue-tip Oh-fisher?”… Not my best effort and that seems to strike the other two as amusing while His Highness only stared in confusion.

  ‘Bst it all, I really shouldn’t have tried to converse with her.’ Baroness Narina giggled along with our Regalian friend, I could feel how quickly my cheeks were turning red. Dona doesn’t seem to mind it too much however and ushered us inside.

  “Hopefully it goes well… Father, I hope you’re safe…” My face turned to the Southwest briefly, I dearly missed him.

  POV: Narrator

  While the group paid their respect to the de facto Commanding Officer of Regalia Western Control Zone, the spy pne that had been tailing the wyverns and promptly recorded their st known position had restarted their deeper reconnaissance.

  The newly built oil rigs around Nova Leuvelica allowed Regalia to branch out their conduct, without it they would probably be regressing slowly without a concrete idea to clear all those hazardous materials. It would certainly take much longer to rebuild the country at such a moment, prompting them to take a much more… forceful method.

  Research of this world was focused on an airbase in Nova Eureka provides them with better control of airspace and more breathing room. Their satellites are too few to conduct 24/7 reconnaissance everywhere, thus old spy pnes must make do to help maintain the outer parameter. Demobilization prioritized those who had served for years and thus shortage of personnel must be satisfied with what they have on hand. Namely reservists or recruits.

  They have yet to find a name for this continent they’re heading to, thus WRCZ’s servicemen dubbed it, unofficially, Prima Continent. From what the satellite could see, there are 5 or so continents in this part of the world. Much fewer than Orneas, but that would save them from the headache of unching too many satellites.

  Never again they enter the age of hundred satellites…

  Flying as high as 12.000m (about 39.000ft) allows the spy pne to remain unseen, and the cover of clouds and occasional rains guarantees stealthy invisibility from the naked eye. This time they sent a different aircraft that is much rger to allow the utilization of advanced electronics. Drones were sent earlier but were quite limited in functions, UFSNE was stingier in that regard.

  They had flown for as far as 1000km (About 620 miles) to the west. Finally, the pne came across a port city visited st time by its smaller counterpart, but unlike what it looked like days ago, it is now burning and in ruin. One thing that catches their eyes would be rge cages filled with humanoids that range from normal humans to the more fantastical ones. Armingly, none of them are free of bruises and wounds.

  “Savages, all of them. Man, I hate how RAIO could only field unarmed pnes… Tsk… We should have learned from UFSNE and used drones with guided bombs.”

  One of the intelligence crews said while recording people being run down by cavalry. Some of the wyverns are pying in the sky and pying catch with the victim’s body, and some are crushed by the beast’s deadly grip. He also watches as a parent being forced to watch their family be beaten to death or used as a pything.

  “I know right? There have been talks by the higher-ups to repurpose those tiny drones to carry ordnances and make them smaller. Sounds sci-fi eh? Heard that our Grand Autarch had rambled about it…” Instead of answering his colleague’s joke, the man continued his rant.

  “If Regalia were any closer, and even with diminished capabilities, we would have carpet bomb these animals with impunity. Hell, I dare wager that Her Grace would allow firebombing as an appetizer and then sprinkle in the chemical to see how they would like that. Savages like them deserve to suffer before dying, no question.”

  “Now, now, now, hold your horses dude… and ain’t chemicals banned?”

  “Oh? So NIIO is still around to py the good guys? That’s it?”

  “Fair, fair… but we couldn’t just carpet bomb everything at first gnce, that without mentioning our bombers being out due to maintenance. It does sound interesting if those greater nations of this world will catch wind of it.”

  [Both of you quiet down, and continue with the monitoring. How to deal with them is neither our problem nor our jurisdiction.] The pilot could hear their bickering through the comms.

  He is favorable to the idea of showing force, but to indiscriminately use banned weapons willy-nilly wouldn’t sit right with him. If it’s not about the people, then think about the nd that could be re-appropriated for ter.

  [Ten-four.]

  [Roger…]

  Then another camera recorded the pandemonium below. Some tried to resist, but only ended with crossbow bolts and arrows riddling their body or hacked to pieces with weapons. The operators also spotted what appeared to be a group armed with arquebuses shooting in ranks. A few civilians could escape from the settlement, but they were soon hunted down by more of these uniformed bandits.

  At this point, none acknowledged those scums below as soldiers, their insignias and fg mean jack squat. The aforementioned duo would still report it as is but were confident that their superior would soon join their line of thinking. The commander starts redirecting the camera to a point of interest, namely the burning mills and vilges at bearing 165.

  The camera moved to that exact vector and watch as more war crimes such as rape, looting, and general violence against presumable civilians are being perpetrated. The pilots could only watch it all happening from their highest altitude with naked certainty. They had witnessed atrocities, but there was never an instance where it was done in the open like this.

  That event, or incident, notwithstanding.

  They continue to collect points of reference and ndmarks. Soldiers with different symbols, insignias, and fgs are making it hard for them to find anything that resembles their guest back in Nova Eureka, they are looking for a fg with a golden dragon on white and red shield… and found one. It was dumped on the many corpses by the sideline, civilians and soldiers were being buried in one ugly mass grave before it was lit on fire by mages and torches.

  Their recon and data collection sted for a few more moments before they returned to their base. While their superior had shown them this exact picture through internal briefing, it only hit the hardest when they witnessed it firsthand. Information such as this would keep being sent through their intelligence bureau, promising a radical shift in policy when contacting potentially hostile entities.

  New World with a backward ethic, that’s what Regalian soldiers and expeditionary staffs collectively viewed from information that was disseminated for their ranks. There are still those who wish for a more peaceful approach, but no one would deny that carelessly making contact would put them in harm’s way. Their obtuse view of a situation is one of the reasons why Regalian wasn’t the guardian of SIEZ for nothing…

  [END OF CHAPTER]

  Author’s Note:

  Yo there, this is me, myself, and I, the author who… idk…

  Our guest finally arrived in the Old-New World! Yeah, I called it that to screw with people. Then what’s this? Not entirely warm welcome? Huh… guess being besieged from all sides, except the South, for a decade caused quite a bit of a mentality shift…

  The escorts are made up of 4 MIT-15 and 1 VIP SUV enrged and modified for escort use.

  Lastly, Dona’s rank is equivalent to a Technical Sergeant. She is a reservist who served as a prison camp guard and she has the misfortune of having her demobilization paper halted until further notice. Regur soldiers are prioritized because they bled the most at the front line.

  Updateeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-------- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

  Ciao