Chapter 3

  The leaders returned to their territories the day after the meeting at the coliseum. For the first time, they were not just pyers leading guilds, but actual rulers... although there was no instruction manual for that.

  Most were barely finishing settling in when the problems started.

  Archduchy of the North – Ruled by Mii

  —“NOOOOOOOO!!! GET OUT OF MY HOT SPRINGS, YOU FILTHY LIZARD CREATURES!!!”

  Mii’s furious voice echoed through the snowy mountains.

  A group of wild fire monsters, with shapes somewhere between samanders and walking furnaces, were happily rolling around in the hot springs of the area.

  —“Oh, our Fire Queen manifests in all her glory,” —one of them said, melted in devotion, floating like a steaming fn in one of the pools.

  Mii gritted her teeth.

  —“I’m not your queen! You don’t even clean your feet before getting in! And you leave ashes in the snacks!”

  Misery, sitting nearby, tried to calm her down by offering tea.

  —“Maybe they’re just confused... they’re wild. But... perhaps we can redirect them somewhere else, Mii.”

  The cup she held started glowing with a soft white light.

  —“…Eh… Why does my tea taste like holy water?”

  —“Ah! I purified it by mistake again!” —Misery said, looking at the cup like it was a bomb.

  —“AGH! And you purified my va cake!” —shouted Mii, her hair igniting slightly. Literally.

  A fallen painting, a carbonized rug, and the room filled with smoke.

  Both sighed.

  —“Magic here is so different,” —muttered Misery.

  —“I know,” —grumbled Mii—. “Before I just said 'Fire Lance,' and that was it. Now, if I get angry, the magic activates by itself. This is worse than living with matchsticks with legs!”

  Archduchy of the Southwest – Dragon Garden

  Haruka walked through a forest of ancient trees. Beside her, a light green dragon purred like a cat, happy with her company.

  She tried to pick up a crystal twig but broke it in half with just a touch.

  —“Oh... not again,” —she said softly.

  Her body reinforcement magic was constantly active, and she couldn’t deactivate it fully. Lifting delicate objects or petting her dragons required absurd concentration.

  —“You need to learn to control your mana flow, Haruka,” —her lieutenant Colin said while writing in a notebook—. “Or we’ll end up spending a fortune on broken porcein.”

  —“I’m trying,” —Haruka replied calmly—. “But... it’s like breathing. I don’t notice when I’m doing it.”

  In the distance, the crash of a falling tree signaled that Alberto was training again. Probably breaking everything.

  Colin sighed.

  —“And then you say the problem is you...”

  Royal Domain – Capital of the Kingdom / Royal Castle

  Meanwhile, Maple received letters every day. Requests. Doubts. Compints.

  And they all said the same thing:

  “Maple, can you help us with this...?”

  Sitting on the throne with her face in her hands, Maple murmured:

  —“So this is how the King felt at Event 7...?”

  Kasumi, beside her, responded without looking:

  —“No. He had assistants who knew what they were doing.”

  Then the door opened.

  —“Maple!” —Sally entered quickly, map in hand—. “Mii needs you! Her 'fire followers' are invading the guild kitchen!”

  —“AGAIN?!” —Maple jumped out of her seat.

  —“And Haruka just accidentally broke a table Iz sent as a gift.”

  —“AGAIN?!” —Maple repeated, her eyes wide.

  Sally smiled sweetly.

  —“Let’s go. We’re the rulers now. It’s our job.”

  Maple sighed... but stood up with renewed energy.

  —“Then let’s go help them!”

  Meanwhile, in the Archduchies...

  Wilbert discovered that his arrows were flying too far and accidentally knocked down a watchtower in Payne’s territory.

  Estede tried to organize aid brigades, but people didn’t know how to use magic for basic tasks. Some accidentally healed soup, others exploded ice cubes while trying to make juice.

  And Aria, on her border, began building magical watchtowers. Though she hadn’t said it aloud yet, she felt that something was lurking on the other side.

  Beside her, her subordinate Snow stood silently, watching the border like a loyal dog, waiting for the order to act.

  Short Epilogue

  The Kingdom had just begun to breathe. The world was new, the rules were different, and even the simplest things could explode into fmes or glow with magic.

  But there was one constant across all the archduchies:

  When something went out of control... everyone knew who to write to.

  And Maple, the Shield Queen, nervously smiled as she saw another five letters arrive that very day.

  —“…Maybe I do need assistants like the King from Event 7…”