The group discussed who would be joining Melora on her trip, and they all agreed Valerie should be the one. She was competent enough to give advice concerning strategy, strong enough to be her bodyguard, and could also be her personal attendant. There was a caveat: she had to wear a maid outfit and act as one. Arthur and Of were given temporary permissions so they could act in an official capacity. Melora took her sword and handed it to Valerie; Adeline, on the other hand, completely gave up on recovering her sword. Once Valerie sorted out their possessions, they boarded the rge bird and soon set off as the soldiers chanted.

  “Nos fortes sumus.”

  “Nos fortes sumus.”

  “Nos fortes sumus.”

  The huge bird quickly gained altitude as it roared, announcing its presence. It pierced the clouds as they could finally look up to the beautiful blue skies; it was truly a sight to behold. More rge birds appeared as they flew in formation.

  “This is truly beautiful,” Melora spoke as she tried to stand and look around.

  “It is like a different world up here,” Adeline added as she joined her. The rge birds started to roar once more as the speed slightly increased. While they were busy admiring, something started to move under the feathers, which caught Valerie’s eyes. She gently tapped the couple then pointed.

  Adeline was the most curious as she kneeled and started to move closer. A bird head then popped up and stared at Adeline. It started to chirp as it slowly rose, revealing its featherless body. It was slightly rger than the average man as it started to approach Adeline while chirping.

  “IT IS SOO CUTEEEE!” Adeline hugged the rge chick as it continued to chirp.

  “Adeline, I don’t think that is cute,” Melora spoke as she pointed at the featherless bird, which looked like it belonged in a horror movie. Valerie shared the same sentiment as she stared at the bird, but Adeline still hugged it affectionately.

  “You just don’t see the vision; it’s super cute,” Adeline praised the bird as she started to pet it. The bird started to rub against Adeline as it finally opened its mouth, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth and a tongue lined with spikes.

  “Look at its sharp teeth, so cute,” Adeline added as she started to scratch the bird. Alfred and Scales, who were sound asleep near the end of the bird, woke up and slithered towards Adeline.

  “What is this?” Alfred slowly raised his body as he inspected the bird. Its eyes sharply turned towards him as it made its way over. It slowly opened its mouth, then pounced on Alfred as he swiftly dodged.

  “He’s not food, are you hungry?” Adeline reached for their belongings as she took out a deer leg, which was smoked. The small bird turned to Adeline as it tried to eat the leg.

  “First, promise me you won’t hurt my friends; they are not food.” The bird chirped as Adeline finally fed it. The bird chomped the entire leg in one bite as Adeline continued to pet it and adore it.

  “Your Majesty, it seems your partner has a very different understanding of beauty,” Valerie spoke as she stared at Melora, who was embarrassed by Adeline’s antics.

  “At least it isn’t a baby Balowick,” Melora answered as she shook her head.

  Adeline brought the baby bird to the group as she introduced it to her. She tried to force Melora to pet it; she reluctantly started to pet the bird. It let out chirping noises as it started to cuddle up to Melora.

  “See, it’s actually cute,” Adeline smiled as she joined. The bird pushed them down as it id across them like a bnket. They started to ugh as the two held hands while the chick chirped on top of them. Adeline gnced at Melora as she also turned with a bright smile; no words needed to be exchanged. They felt each other’s strong emotions; it was intoxicating. They moved closer to each other as they tried to kiss, but they were thwarted as the chick pced its massive head between them.

  “Looks like someone is jealous,” Melora spoke as the bird started to chirp once more. Some few hours passed as they finally started to descend. Adeline rushed to the other side as the familiar wall and buildings could be seen.

  “We have arrived!” Adeline announced as the rge bird nded. The group made their way down as the rge bird roared, followed by the chirps, then flew away.

  They were greeted by an entourage of Tymon, Bihse, and Stefan. Stefan froze in pce as he stared at Valerie, who was wearing a maid outfit while holding a suitcase.

  “Are you not going to greet her Highness, or continue to stare at me?” Valerie spoke as he returned to his senses.

  “Yes, I am sorry. I greet you, your Highness. I am gd you are of sound health.”

  “I am gd you are doing well yourself,” Melora answered as they were escorted inside the castle. Bihse eyed Adeline, who was uncharacteristically smiling; she was always next to Melora wherever they went. Tymon and Bihse shared a gaze, then turned to Adeline.

  “Are those two lovers?” Tymon asked as he shared the same thoughts.

  “Seems like it,” Bihse answered as an evil grin appeared.

  “I don’t think it would be wise to provoke her,” Tymon dismissed Bihse’s thought.

  “Okay…” Bihse conceded as they finally reached the throne room. They all entered and took their seats except for Adeline, who picked up one of the chairs and pced it next to the throne. Melora let out a sigh as she joined her on the throne; the people attending did not seem to mind as they were all familiar with Adeline.

  Azazel and Arel joined them shortly after, a wide smile painted her face as they took their seat. Melora held the neckce, then decided to remove it. Her horns, fangs, and ears returned as her skin turned paler. Those who were not aware, including Stefan, had a shocked look on their faces, but she did not pay mind. She got up from her seat and walked towards Arel, handing her the neckce. The two shared a brief smile as she returned to the throne. Azazel raised his hand and received approval from Adeline.

  “It seems you two have already bonded, but it doesn’t seem complete.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Your souls are merged as expected, but not at a deeper level, and it seems it has affected your core. I quite can’t tell what is happening here. Did you by chance share more than genital fluids?” Azazel was instantly hit by Arel at the back of his head. Adeline and Melora’s faces turned bright red as they turned away.

  “Ignore my foolish husband,” Arel dismissed as she hit him one more time. Luckily, a shaman entered with a crystal ball and turned it on. The familiar face of Gena, who as usual was smiling, appeared.

  “Now that everyone is here, I would like to introduce you to Melora Stormville, the Queen of Credoa and the most beautiful woman in the world!” Adeline introduced Melora enthusiastically as Melora’s face fshed red.

  “Queen Adeline is too fttering, but I am happy to meet you all. I hope we will build a strong and sting alliance,” Melora spoke gracefully. Bihse stared at Adeline with a huge smile. Adeline felt her gaze and turned towards her. She quickly grabbed Tymon’s hand. Adeline, not wanting to lose, grabbed Melora’s hand as Melora stared at her confused, then turned to Bihse and Tymon. Tymon let out a small sigh as he indulged his lover. Melora quickly understood what was happening.

  “I would like to talk about the undead situation,” Azazel brought back their attention as the two halted their game.

  “Melora, can you expin further what that was?”

  “They are called necromancers. They do some dark magic things and resurrect the dead. The big blobs are chimeras; they were probably powered by the magic crystals. The ones we faced were pretty low level,” Adeline expined as the room became serious.

  “How does a high-level necromancer look like?”

  “You would probably need multiple empires and kingdoms to come together just to fight them; that’s what I read, though. So far, people have been pathetically weak compared to my expectations.”

  “Are you talking about your experience in… you know… the pce?” Melora spoke while nudging Adeline, hoping she would understand her question.

  “It is alright; no need to be descriptive. To answer your question, your world is more simir to a fantasy novel. In those books, people can destroy entire nations with spells, and dragons casually y waste to kingdoms. It is a world where power has no limits, but it seems in this one there are several limits, or people haven’t realized them,” Adeline expined in great detail as the group listened. Valerie raised her hand.

  “Your Highness, in these novels, were there any specific themes or storylines?”

  “Yes, demons and the monsters against the humans. It mainly revolved around the hero and his party and the demon king who is always vanquished.”

  “Is it safe to assume then that a hero should appear soon to vanquish you?”

  “I hope so. If I kill the hero, then the humans will just fall over themselves. No matter how strong a demon or human is, adequate preparation is what wins your battles. Also, most of the time, the demons were very stupid,” Adeline spoke with great confidence.

  “Your Highness, would it be possible if you shared the information about this world to help with preparations?” Stefan spoke in a low voice, but his eyes hungered for new knowledge.

  “I will be honest with you; you are better off asking Azazel for that. I never quite got to reading those novels, so my knowledge is superficial at most,” Adeline answered as Stefan stared over to Azazel.

  “Since Bihse can’t really be understood by everyone, I will ask a question on her stead. She is wondering if there might be others like you in this world,” Tymon spoke as Bihse nodded.

  “There is a possibility that others may exist, though I am yet to meet them,” Adeline answered as she shrugged.

  “What will you do if you meet them?” Gena asked. Adeline fell into deep thought. Melora held her hand. The two shared a gaze as her mind became clear.

  “My previous life has ended; what matters to me now is the present. If they act against us, I will cut their heads off,” Adeline answered as she clenched Melora’s hand. Gena watched her conviction with a rge smile; the dream of peace and freedom was no longer distant. It was then Constantine crashed into the room carrying multiple maps.