After getting home, Vivian immediately put her plans to work.
Vivian sat inside the Study room as she organized the documents on her table.
Due to the fact that she grew up inside the Imperial Palace, although Vivian was often ignored by the people there, Vivian on the other hand watched them closely.
She observed and learned from them. From the obnoxious gossip of the palace maids to the important secret meetings Vivian often accidentally eavesdropped in, she listened she learned.
Because of this, Vivian knew precisely how the Nobles and the Royalty of Brune operate.
Vivian began to write different letters to Wheat and Grain suppliers inside the Empire.
Lucky for her, most of these Grain suppliers resided in the Southern Part of the Empire as it had the best climate for growing food. Hence producing most of the Empire's food.
Vivian smiled with great anticipation and excitement as she saw a great future ahead for both her and Duke.
[No longer can the world ignore me. I will have my revenge for all that humiliation] Vivian reminded her self of her goal.
And how was she, the co-ruler of a small and almost forgotten town and a couple of small villages supposed to do this?
Well... Vivian planned to monopolize all of Brune's food trade.
*Huf Huf Huf* Duke gasped for air as he stopped to rest on a large stone next to the dirt road they were traveling on.
"Oh come on now. As a young lad, you should be faster than us!" Benjamin complained when Duke suddenly became tired.
"Yeah... I specifically planned this trip to lessen fatigue and maximize speed, your know! We should've reached Maine by now, but it's already the 5th day. We're two days late you know..." Galleo too complained as he also rested next to a tree.
[Y-Yeah... It would be useful during army marches...] Duke remembered the time he and the Knights marched towards Kath. Duke thought his army's march could be sped up with Galleo's travel plan.
"I-It wasn't my fault a freakin' Giant Tundra Bear attacked us!" *Huf Huf* Duke rationalized as he caught his breath.
"Indeed... It was pretty weird to see one of those monsters outside their natural habitat... When I was an adventurer, situations like that normally meant something big was happening. Probably some turbulence up north..." Benjamin shrugged.
"But you what's more surprising?" Benjamin suddenly asked Duke.
"What?" Duke answered.
"You, my boy. I can't believe you can release Aura at your age..." Benjamin sighed as he remembered the events that conspired a day ago.
"Fa la ninna, fa la Nanna ♪
Nella braccia della mamma ♫
Fa la ninna bel bambin ♪
Fa la nanna bambin bel ♫
Fa la ninna, fa la Nanna ♪
Nella braccia della mamma ♫"
*Clap Clap Clap* Around a small campfire in the middle of a nocturnal forest, Duke and Benjamin happily clapped when Galleo finished singing his song.
"Thank you, thank you" Galleo bowed.
"Although it feels somehow embarrassing for being praised for a simple lullaby, Hohoho" Galleo chuckled.
"That was a lullaby? But it sounded so beautifully and emotionally sung!" Benjamin praised.
"Oh, I guess you could say I have a history with the song, haha... The song was called "La Fa Ninna"... I used to sing it to my daughter when she was young..." Galleo solemnly sighed as he remembered the past.
"Haa, you were quite the lucky man... To experience having children... Can't deny I'm a tad bit jealous hahaha" Benjamin sighed as he joked of his past.
"Yes... I suppose you're right. I was indeed very lucky to have had her" Galleo smiled at Benjamin, his once garbage-chicken archnemesis, but now he felt a vague sense of camaraderie with the fellow old fool in front of him.
"What language was it sung in?" Duke curiously asked.
"Oh it was Casprician (Italian), you might not know, but before you were born, Milan, Venicia, and Florentine were Ilican free cities. Oh, the explanation is quite long, but a simple answer is we called ourselves Caspricians, while others called us Ilicans. So, over time the name for our people became Ilican, but we still called our language Casprician, hahaha funny isn't it? How names and words change over time. Oh sorry, I'm boring you with my useless trivia, aren't I?" Galleo chuckled as he demonstrated knowledge in history and geography.
(Casprician is a fictional ethnicity I made based on the Italians...)
"Hmm, that's quite the interesting tidbit, to be honest" Benjamin nodded.
"Eh?! So you're not humans???" Duke shooketh in surprise.
"Of course we're humans! It's just different groups of people have different are called by different names" Galleo explained.
"O-Oh, I thought you were like Orcs or Goblins. Why would Humans name themselves differently though? Isn't that labeling just stupid?" Duke questioned.
"Eh, well it does have its uses, but I guess you're right. Tribalism causes more trouble than it's worth... You know, I once had a really thick accent when I was young. But after Brune conquered Venicia I had to hide it! Hahaha, I used to speak like this: Do you want Pasgehtti?!" Galleo copied the actions of a stereotypical Italian here on Earth.
But as Duke and Benjamin were laughing at Galleo's Casprician impression a loud roar suddenly came from behind them.
*ROARRR!!!*
"Look out!" Benjamin took Duke's arm as he pulled him out of the Bear's claws way.
*Crack*
The rock Duke sat on cracked as the monster bear's steel-like claws swung down.
*RAARGHH!* The bear shouted as he extended his neck to bite Duke.
[T-Too late!] "Erdas Kurthing-" Benjamin and Galleo thought as Galleo couldn't complete his spell in time, while Benjamin's sword was too slow to reach the bear in time.
*Kikikikik*
But to their surprise, Duke wasn't shredded to bits as they thought. Instead, Duke emitted a feeble and invisible yet slightly golden Aura that permeated through. It was Battle Aura that was slightly less pronounced than what Darius showed during the party. But considering Duke's inexperience and lack of special training in Auras, it was quite the miraculous feat.
Duke's eyes temporarily changed to their primal golden form with black slits in between that resembled a wild beast, or more specifically... a Dragon.
The change was so quick that Galleo and Benjamin didn't even see it. But it was enough to scare the bear.
"Erdas Kurthing Murdra Er! Let the earth swallow everything whole!" Galleo finished his spell invoking 5 medium-sized pillars of Earth to rise up and trap the bear like a cage.
"STRIKE IT NOW!" Benjamin shouted a short battle cry as he and Duke began beating up the Giant Tundra Bear, suffice to say the Bear did not survive this unlucky encounter...
That night the trio enjoyed Bear stew for dinner.