Chapter 26: Clouds
Due to the events in the bathtub, Minato's adventure began a few days later.
Minato trod slowly on the road, and his family supported him.
It looked similar to the beginning of their adventure to this mountain. Still, things had considerably changed after that short trip for all family members.
Minato's view on the world changed.
Bei often peeked at him and Yuna at the same time.
With her raw strength, Yuna swore to overcome the overlord's enemies' restrictions. She often practiced it while Bei took care of Minato.
Aya was scared of the future...
Why would Minato's spirit be scared of the future?
That was because of the enemies hidden within Minato's world.
Those enemies were related to the former overlords, and they might be their family members.
Their appearance in Minato's world mattered more rather than their origins during their life.
Aya had learned in the gate that every new Overlord would face the past. That past was both in his world and outside.
The outside was the snake concubine, for example.
As for the enemies within his world, Minato didn't sense anyone. It could be due to his world's size or maybe his opponents' slumber.
Those would become another experience for Minato.
Aya had confirmed that those people wouldn't be able to leave Minato's world at their wish, so it wasn't as bad as it looked.
"How is your mana training going, Minmin?" Yuna asked.
Minato smiled, "My world increases the mana within treasures you put, so I am growing into a monster. No problems so far."
"Great," Yuna nodded with a bright smile.
Her husband also showed her what he had been focusing on.
It was the combination between [Kill] and [Transfer].
Those two magic circles couldn't overlap yet, and Minato failed each time he tried to do it. However, his tries looked much better than before, so sisters laughed and cheered him.
Other than that, Minato and Yuna had been bullying Bei with their role-play.
A princess maid's torment continued because of them, and Bei was on the verge of confessing to Minato from frustration.
They were so close, yet nothing official seemed to be done.
Bei often held her thoughts back, but she cursed more often, and it revealed as much as her moon eyes.
Minato also told Yuna about it, and she told him to wait for Bei's confession.
It was Bei who separated herself from having a lot of new experiences and time with Minato.
"There's someone ahead. They've marked us, but no one shows any ill-intent," Yuna suddenly called out.
Her words made Minato wary.
Bei prepared a few magic bombs in less than a second, and those circled on her palm in the form of mini circles.
Yuna shouted, "You can show yourselves."
Two people came out from the shadows.
One of them was a man with stern eyes and a stern face. He wore long and thick robes with fur warming his neck... He was standing straight and carried himself with a cold aura.
Much different from him, a lady with a broad smile and warm eyes appeared before Minato's family.
She was the lady behind the desk, and Minato recognized her on the spot.
"There are no ugly people but poor," Minato chuckled.
Other than her usual smile, Julia wore clothes befitting her status.
She was here as the princess from the Majestic Ice Kingdom.
The clothes made her overall appearance look much different.
Alas, it seemed like Minato appreciated her since she was one of those who didn't look at him as holder of two beauties.
"You look much wiser, Mr. Minato," Julia half-jested, then immediately revealed her purpose of coming here, "Would you like to take over Baron Rudy's noble title and his territories?"
Both Yuna and Bei inwardly sneered at the ice princess.
Minato looked up to the sky and sighed, "I must visit my shop soon... I hope that guy is doing well..."
He couldn't show up with his white hair and wrinkled skin, could he?
Julia didn't react to Minato's words but waited for his answer.
"I am not interested. Sorry, but I will be lord of a much bigger land in the future. I would rather adventure around," he smiled faintly.
Those who knew, mainly the three ladies in his family, could read between his words.
Overlord's World would be Minato's land to govern, and he also couldn't be in one place as it would draw all enemies to one state.
One of his enemies had already dropped not too far away from his city, and that was just the beginning! Perhaps, other people had already begun some moves to prepare against the clash with the future overlord.
Minato also liked his merchant idea, "I want to see more of this world, and even more."
"That's a noble ambition, Mr. Minato," Julia smiled at him, not showing any signs of dissatisfaction.
Her friend was much different as he scoffed at Minato's dream and plans.
Julia took out a small scroll, "Do you know about Clouds? It's a group of people acknowledged by either kingdom or empire. We have three spots for Clouds, and two have been taken already. I am giving you the last one."
"Princess!" A man from behind shouted.
Julia flicked her fingers, and an ice magic circle shattered itself around her fingers.
Those were hidden from Minato's eyes, but Yuna and Bei saw them from the beginning. Those magic circles drew a long ice trail on the man's lips and gagged him.
He couldn't utter a word and breathed heavily with his nose.
Julia continued, "Clouds can go around the world freely. No stronghold should stop you unless they give you a solid reason. I believe that this title will come in handy for you if you really want to adventure throughout the world."
The Ice Majestic Kingdom's Clouds were simply called Ice Clouds.
The ice princess explained more about her world and how strict a few borders were! It heavily stopped dungeon raiders, and it was even worse for merchants and all jobs that required traveling.
Clouds could freely enter the dungeons as well.
Of course, people would keep a close eye on them, and they would make sure that Clouds adhered to their dungeon's rules.
Minato widened his eyes a little, "And you give this title to me?"
"You can't doubt woman's intuition, Mr. Minato. Although it would be a lie if I said that I didn't think seriously about it beforehand, this decision is mostly based on my intuition precisely. Perhaps, Mr. Minato has a charm that pushes me toward this decision?" Julia leaned forward a little and winked at Minato.
She did it so often for him during her work that it came out casually.
Yuna smiled.
Bei arched her head back, "I have bigger tits, goddamnit fuck. Stop staring for so long, twat." She then peeked at Yuna and found nothing transpiring on her face.
Bei sighed with relief.
Minato parted his lips, "Such a title would be a blessing for my family. Clouds have so many privileges, so what about their duties?"
"Clouds have been formed after one of the dungeons broke out. The monsters flooded neighboring cities, killing many innocent lives. Should an outbreak happen, Clouds must appear as fast as possible and help us deal with it.
You also swear to ally yourself with our kingdom for so many privileges. Of course, unless it's a war between the kingdoms, we won't call you. You can leave our internal problems to us," Julia said straight face.
"That's fair," Minato agreed.
Julia requested him to drop blood onto her scroll, then he became one of the Ice Clouds. That allowed him many new options, and many people would soon learn about his existence.
Julia invited Minato for a small ride, "Let's get to know each other better. I also would like to become friends with two beauties."
"Well, you heard her?" Minato turned to Yuna, then Bei.
Yuna nodded, "Making new friends is part of an adventure. Nice to meet you. I am Yuna."
"Bei," A vulgar princess used her lofty aura and introduced herself shortly while ambiguously revealing her higher world's princess status.
Regardless of her, Julia greeted them with a firm handshake and welcomed them to her carriage.
"Nice to meet you all," she smiled like a casual lady without any background!
And that was what made her closer to everyone!
Minato had two princesses already, and that was enough!
[Author's note: 2 days left for WPC Contest! Thank you all for your support! Let's keep top 1!]