"That is a pretty handy Title you have," Nyx commented as the entire group was riding a pack of wolves, who were happily carrying them to the closest town after Rakna had ordered them to do so since they knew the area.
He had only needed to flare his Aura for the split of a second for them to bow down to him. The authority of Wolf King had done its magic and they all had submitted to his command.
Rakna grunted in affirmation and sniffed the air once. "We arrived it seems," he suddenly said and the wolves stopped running. The Alpha of the pack, the largest one who was leading the march turned around with an almost wagging tail and pointed forward with his paw.
"Does that mean it's close?" Flavia tilted her head as she elegantly jumped down from one of the wolves' backs. The Alpha barked once with a nod at her question.
"He probably doesn't want to get closer. Any kind of settlement would be wary of a pack of wolves approaching, if not directly hostile," Rakna said as the group disembarked. He whistled once and the wolves howled in response before scattering inside the forest.
"Damn, if we ever get to a Plateau full of wolves, you'd be invincible there," Allan commented and they all started walking in the direction pointed by the Alpha.
Higure chuckled. "{He's not wrong. You're a King, after all.}"
'About that,' Rakna replied mentally. 'I even heard Tairen say it. Does having this Title implies more than what it appears?'
"{Ah, yes. I can see why you would be confused. The Kings are actually an organization. Before you misunderstand, it's not something like Guilds or Parties. It is purely an agreement between people just like the Church and the Basilica. Essentially, the Kings are all holders of the same type of Title as you do. They generally do not act together unless they reach a consensus. They are very feared for their capacity to create armies in the blink of an eye. Their combined might, along with their affiliated factions or subordinates make them a top force in the entire System.}"
"{For instance, to my knowledge, amongst their ranks, they have the Avian King, the Fox King, the Goblin King, the Dragon King, the Phoenix King, and the Cat King. These were the most famous back then. Last I was alive, the Kings only counted 18 members and none of them was a Wolf King. Who knows, you might get invited into their ranks one day.}"
Rakna raised an eyebrow. 'Can there only be one of each? Am I the only Wolf King?'
"{Hm, yes and no. To be exact, there can only be one True Wolf King. And for now, you still are too weak to be considered one. You're only a Fledgling King. But you have the chance to 'evolve' into a True King. But it's not an easy thing to do or else there would be hundreds of Kings roaming around. I, myself, was a potential one but never managed to become a true one.}"
'Interesting. Alexa, do you know if there is a True Wolf King currently?'
[There is not. Since Higure Mios' death, the Kings got new four members while two of them died. This brings their count to 20. The new members were the Shark King, the Elephant King, the Tiger King, and the Griffon King.]
'So, on all accounts, I should be able to become one then,' Rakna said thoughtfully.
"{Oh? Has it become one of your objectives now?}" The lioness asked.
'Rather, joining the ranks of the Kings would give me an even better footing in the System. As Gray said, my situation paints a target on my back. If I were to reveal myself as a Nine-Tailed Werewolf, I'd prefer to have the backing of more than just the Throne of Glory.'
"{Hm, understandable.}"
Rakna ended the conversation there as his party finally reached their destination after getting past the last foliage and trees that separated them from the town. Said town was predictably very in tune with the environment.
First of all, it was surrounded by a decently big wooden fortification with watchtowers that went up past the forest's 'roof' of leaves. The housings from what he could make out were mostly built inside the trees' trunks and were connected with numerous hanging bridges.
But what caught his attention the most was the habitants. All of them had a varying shade of green as their hair and eye color. Their skin was similarly greenish but its paleness varied and would occasionally be such that the color couldn't be discerned. Some of them had some kind of woven wood that they wore as clothes and flowers in between the strands of their hair. Their ears were also very long; even longer than what Rakna had seen with the dark elves.
[Nymphs,] Alexa spoke up. [This is a village of Nymphs. They are beings tied to these woods. From my database, the people from your planet would often describe Dryads in this way,] she said as Higure transmitted her words to the rest of the group. The lioness had taken the role of medium with her telepathy whenever she saw fit to do so.
The others were a bit surprised to hear the AI so suddenly but quickly began to listen. "Hm, there are many types of Nymphs," Nyx remarked. "Dryads are, in fact, just one of them. Races of Nymphs depend on what they are tied to. For Dryads, it is Oaks, and they are generally the most powerful and long-lived. However, these should be… Ilice Nymphs."
Before anyone commented on her words, a voice came from the top of the wall of the village, "Hey, down there! Who are you?"
They looked at the source to find a male Ilice overlooking them carefully.
"Hosts," Rakna replied curtly and loud enough for him to hear. "We'd like to get to a Pavilion. Do you have any in your village?"
"Ah, you guys just arrived in the Dark Woods then," the man nodded understandingly. It seemed that it wasn't the first time this happened. "We'll power down the anti-aerial array and then you'll be able to fly in. Behave yourself while in here or else we'll have a problem," he said sternly as he waved behind at what was most likely his fellow guards. "And yes, we have a Pavilion branch here. You can stay as long as you want."
Shortly after he said that, Rakna noticed something flickering in the air before disappearing. 'That was probably the so-called anti-aerial array… I see. It makes sense since most people seem capable of flight. That wall wouldn't do much if there wasn't that sort of barrier,' he thought and beckoned his group to follow as he used Flash Step to calmly reach the top of the wall.
When everyone was inside the village, the Nymph walked up to them. "My name's Fniera'vi. I'm in charge of the security here," he said and pointed somewhere inside the village. There were a lot fewer trees than outside but there still some that obstructed the view.
"To get to our Pavilion, all you need is go straight in that direction and you'll eventually get to a lake. From there, turn to your right and you should be able to find it."
Rakna nodded. "Thanks."
"No problem. As long as you don't make trouble, we'll happily welcome you. Last warning; do not damage any trees in the village and stay out of the air, we'll reactivate the anti-air barrier soon."
"Got it. Let's go," the therian waved at his group and casually jumped off the wall. He blurred out of sight whilst still in midair and reappeared on the ground where a few Nymphs glanced at him before returning to their routine. When everyone else joined him, he was already strolling through the village with his hands in his pockets.
"It's peaceful here," Flavia said as she greeted a woman passing by.
"I agree," Marie said. "It's so… different. I never even thought I'd be able to see this kind of scenery until a day ago," she added with a soft sigh.
"Well, there is plenty more to see," Allan said with a smile. "You definitely won't get bored if it."
"{Haha, that is for sure!}" Fray suddenly joined in through telepathy. "{I am sure you would love it on the 245th Plateau. It is called the Cascading Ocean of Jormun. It is the home of countless reptile races, Lamias included.}"
"Why 'Cascading'?" Evelyn asked curiously.
The storyteller chuckled. "{Why now. I should not spoil the surprise. You will see it in due time.}"
Rakna snorted at that as they circled one of the large trees in the village. They quickly arrived near the lake mentioned by Fniera and he activated his Cross Sight to look to his right where he spotted the massive conundrum of dimensions that the Pavilion was.
When they got there, they noted it was significantly less crowded than what they were used to see; evidently because of the smaller population of the village. When they entered, they saw that the receptionist was also a Nymph.
"Uh, so I guess the Pavilion hires people locally too?" Allan uttered.
"So it would seem," Rakna responded. "I will be going upstairs for a moment. What about you?"
"If you don't mind, I'll go back to Black Steel with Marie," the blond said.
"Sure. What about you, girls?" The therian turned toward the rest. "I was planning on going with Flavia to the 13th but it's not like I will be able to help her since there is a secret that she needs to find solo. At least, that's what was I told."
Flavia mused. "It's all right… I can go there alone. So, if I understand correctly, there is something in that Dungeon suited for my Path, right?"
Rakna nodded. "My shopkeep told me so. She also told me there will be magic-resistant enemies there so be careful."
"All right. I'll go there and search for it. If I ask around, I should be able to find someone who knows where it is."
"Um, if it's not too much trouble, I would also like to go somewhere," Evelyn said and when Rakna tilted his head at her, she meekly scratched her cheek. "I saw something that could help me earlier when we walked in this village, I would like to go check it out."
Rakna considered it for a moment before tossing Sonata to her. "Go. Take it."
She caught it with a wry smile. "I'm sorry; that you always need to give it to me."
"It's nothing," he shrugged. "To be honest, I think I have an idea how to get around that problem."
"Really?"
"Yes. But I would have to talk it out a bit more with Higure and my blacksmithing teacher," Rakna explained without elaborating and looked at Nyx. "And you?"
The former goddess shrugged. "I don't have anything to do so I'll stick around. Are you going to the Shop by any chance?" She asked and he nodded. "Then, I'll follow you."
"Okay," Rakna nodded and glanced at his pets. "Hm, Tyran, go with Flavia. Try to see if you can get inside the Dungeon with her even without being her pet. If we're lucky, you might count as a sort of helper in the Dungeon. If not, wait for her outside. In either case, protect her well."
The little Asura bobbed his head and jumped in Flavia's arms who smiled gratefully at her former student, feeling moved by his care.
"Now then, let's meet up this afternoon or in the evening. Have fun." At those words, the party separated into three groups and went to leave for their respective destinations.