I walked along the streets of the City of Athirus and whistled a little tune with my hands behind my head. I looked around and sensed someone following me. I ignored it and kept walking and whistled.
"You sure that's him..?" A person who was following me asked.
"Who the fuck else would it be? No one else in this world has such a nonchalant attitude. Not even post war Zain." The other person said.
"I guess? But come on. Let's just go up to him and ask!" The first person said.
"No. I need to know how he moves. If he really is Ryoma, I can ask him about the events in Arcania. This guy seems to hold a lot of weight around the world. He's known worldwide, even My Queen knows him." The second said.
"Fine..." The first sighed.
I continued my stroll then took a sharp right then disappeared into a pillar of light. The two noticed I had just vanished and looked around for me.
"Now what would two people in white robes be doing following me?" I asked as I was behind them.
One of the two screamed as they were scared as I appeared behind them. They turned around quickly and noticed people of the town were looking at the two.
I chuckled softly and walked off. "Follow me."
The two looked at each other then decided to follow me. I lead them into a tavern and I sat at a table then they hurried over to the table and sat down with me.
"Mind removing your hoods?" I asked.
The first person was a bit hesitant, but removed their hood. The person was revealed to be a woman with white hair, purplish blue eyes, and wore skull accessories in her hair. She looked to be in her early 20s. I couldn't lie, she was quite beautiful.
The second person took off their hood and revealed a woman with black hair and a few strands of her hair was red, her eyes were hazel, and she had a ribbon in her hair that kept her ponytail tied up. She was also extremely beautiful, but then again Arcania had some attractive women even the villagers and commoners were attractive.
"So. Who are you and why were you following me?" I asked.
"My name is Lady Victoria II. Hailing all the way from Arcania." Victoria answered.
The other woman was hesitant to answer me because she knew of my personality. "I'm Zofia."
"Alright, and what is your business with me?" I asked, looking at the both of them.
Victoria stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "Are you responsible for the Holy Order?!"
A few people in the tavern looked at our table.
"I am." I answered truthfully.
"You...You were the cause of the war! Because of you, I lost everything! You're so lucky you're so strong and attractive because I would very much like to shove my boots up your ass!" Victoria said and scowled at me.
"My my, I know Arcania is one of the most vulgar countries in Utalia, but I didn't expect it to be this bad." I teased.
"If you think I'm bad, Stella is way...WAY worse! I'm surprised she hasn't popped up here and killed you!" Victoria barked.
Zofia pulled Victoria back down and sighed. "Sorry for her outburst. She was recently revived and told everything. It's been nine years since that traumatic event."
"Where is Stella actually?" I asked.
"Dunno. We were searching for her, but honestly I gave up searching. Nine years of searching gets tiring." Zofia said.
"Nine years...That means that happened before I even came to Uthea. Look I didn't even know Zekiel or whatever his dumb name is was going to use the Holy Order to attack Lunia. I sent them there because of the lack of Order." I said.
"Oh yeah and your ORDER costed us an entire COUNTRY!" Victoria bellowed.
I looked at Victoria and smiled then leaned against the table and reached to her and caressed her cheek. "The good news is Arcania is being rebuilt...so you can stop ruining your beautiful face with your scowling."
Victoria blushed and smacked my hand away. "Don't try to woo me with your seduction! I'm pissed because when I look at Stella all I see...all I see is pain. I don't even know where Saya and Miyuna are. The Nightmare Assembly! All of them are gone! We worked so hard...it's like...we did all that work for nothing.."
I leaned back in my chair then crossed my arms. "I'm going to be brutally honest with you both."
Zofia and Victoria looked at me.
"She should've killed the Emperor of Arcania. The Emperor outsmarted her by not attacking. She let her guard down. She had enough power to take down the Supreme Ten alone, yet gave him the time of day. For what? So she can travel to Genten? Meet Aria? Go on a little vacation? She wasted her true potential to be Empress of Arcania and Empress of Death." I said.
"How dare you...HOW DARE-" Victoria started then looked at me and noticed I was dead serious.
"You two were some of the closest to Stella. All of those pointless lives taken by Unknown could've been avoided. He's still out there somewhere...Somewhere in the Human Realm. You two may not want to admit it, but think about it...Stella defeated Su Yi, Bushido, Zephyr, Zain, Gabriela, Adriesta, she's conquered the entirety of Arcania. All she had to do was use that vengeance to kill the Emperor..." I said then stood up.
"Ryoma. I understand you're an honest person, but there's a such thing as too much honesty." Zofia said.
"Yeah...and if you're never genuine with your feelings, your point will never get across. I understand what Stella has been through. She lost her biological family and most of her reincarnated family, but so have I. The difference between me and her...is that one of us fully completes the job and the other stopped halfway." I said then walked toward the door.
"I do acknowledge her as one of the strongest to ever live. She's a Goddess now from what I've heard...I just wish...she got it together." I said then left.
Victoria thought about my words then stood up and ran after me.
"W-Wait, Victoria!" Zofia said then got up and hurried after us.
Victoria caught up to me and grabbed my hand. I looked back at her and noticed her serious look. Zofia noticed as well and watched the two of us.
"Tell me...how much of Arcania's history do you know...and why didn't you help?" Victoria asked.
I looked at Victoria then sighed softly. "This isn't a conversation we can have in public. Let's talk somewhere private."
------
Azusa set down cups of tea for Victoria and Zofia. "It's nice to see you two in the flesh. Who knew you were also looking for my husband.."
"It's a pleasure to be a guest, Lady Azusa." Zofia said.
"Kotone, who are those two women..?" Mari whispered to Kotone as they eavesdropped on us.
"Zofia and Victoria. Two of the strongest in Old Arcania. They are legends.." Kotone whispered back.
"So about how much I know. I know the important bits. You know the three year war between Lunia and Uphelia, Stella's descent into madness, The Birth of the True Demon Queen, the final war...Everything up to the point where Arcania was destroyed." I said.
"Why didn't you help?" Zofia asked.
"That question let's me know, you two didn't know of Eyica until now. I was too busy handing my own business. At the time when Uphelia attacked Lunia, I was fixing Yesha." I said.
"So you couldn't help?" Victoria asked.
I shook my head and looked at my cup of tea. I stared at my own reflection. "If I could...I would've. Granted, Stella has some years on me y'know figuratively."
"What do you mean?" Victoria asked.
"I don't age normally. In reality I'm supposed to be Stella's age. 31, but because I am a perfect reincarnation...I am ageless. I can't age. Once I hit 24, I stopped aging, well I age much much slower now. That's besides the point, by the time the riot in Arcania happened, I was conquering Eyica and bringing peace." I answered.
"You did say you didn't know King Zephyr was going to use the Holy Order in such a way." Zofia said.
"What about Emperor Lazlord? What do you know about him?" Victoria asked.
"He's still alive." I said.
The entire room grew silent. The shock on Victoria's face spoke volumes. All of the work done in Arcania was for nothing because the one enemy they swore to take down was still alive.
"Unknown did kill him, but he reincarnated into a much bigger threat. After Reincarnating, his Crest of Death was left at Old Arcania. The reincarnation's whereabouts are unknown." I explained.
Victoria stood up and her Crest of Athena shined on her hand. "So you mean to tell me that MENACE is still alive somewhere?!"
"He's alive via Reincarnation. If anything, I believe that Reincarnation should hold some of his same abilities." I said.
"What abilities?" Zofia asked.
"You know things like skills dealing with Necromancy and Death. Lazlord was skilled at Dark Arts. In fact so skilled, I might know who he is." I said and crossed my arms.
"Who?!" Victoria asked.
I looked at Victoria then smiled. "His name is Isei, one of my children."
"What?" Zofia asked.
"Nah I'm just kidding. His name is Sephiran." I answered.
"Sephiran? Who's that?" Azusa asked.
I closed my eyes. "A dangerous foe. A foe I can't defeat on my own. I had a run in with him during my Reign in Eyica. He spared my life. I will never forget him."
"If you can't defeat him then neither of us can't." Zofia sighed.
"That's all I have. I have no intentions on finding him at all. I don't even have intentions on fighting him until I know I can win. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask someone else who knows about Sephiran.." I said then stood up.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have much exploring to do until the ceremony is ready." I said then walked off.
"His words are genuine. He's telling the truth." Zofia said and crossed her arms.
"Even so...if his reincarnation is still alive, our work isn't done. We have our own mission to complete. I need to grow stronger...so I can protect Stella like I've always done as her Advisor. And that starts with Ryoma!" Victoria said and got up and hurried after me.
"There she goes. I'll leave her to it. I'll help you clean, Lady Azusa." Zofia said then stood up.
Azusa smiled and stood up as well. "Thank you, Zofia."
-----
"How...does this guy...walk so FAST?!" Victoria asked and chased after me. "His stride is impeccable!"
I whistled and placed my hands in my pockets then sensed Victoria following me. I smiled and stopped walking then turned around. "Man, I know I have people obsessing over me, but you've got your information. You can stop waddling behind me."
"I-I am not obessed with you, and I am definitely NOT waddling!" Victoria said and stomped on the ground. "I have a request!"
"What is it?" I asked.
"Help me become stronger!" Victoria bowed.
I looked at Victoria and crossed my arms. "Well you see I am on hiatus from fighting unless I have to. If you want me to train you, it's gonna cost you."
"What do you want?" Victoria asked and looked at me.
I looked at her up and down then smirked.
Victoria noticed me checking her out and blushed madly. "Hell NO! That is off the table! I'm married...well used to be married. Kielazar found a new wife unfortunately..."
"Then what's the problem?" I asked.
"You- How dare you?! You are a vile man! Icky! Disgusting! Inappropriate man!" Victoria yelled and pointed at me.
I shrugged and smirked. "Your loss." I said then walked away, whistling.
Victoria growled then ran toward me and stopped in front of me. "Anything else but that! I'll pay you!"
"I already have all the money an Emperor needs." I said and walked around her.
She ran in front of me and stopped in front of me once again. "I'll...clean your boots!"
"I don't wear boots. I wear Geta and Zori." I said, walking around her again.
She looked at my shoes. "Those tacky things..?"
She grunted then ran in front of me once more. "Come on! What must I do for you to train me?!"
"Goddamn, your persistence is kinda annoying." I said then crossed my arms, stopping in front of Victoria.
"I won't stop until we agree on something we BOTH are happy with!" Victoria said.
"You sound just like Azusa when we were signing multiple contracts. Listen, I only teased you the first time. I'm not taking in students." I said.
Victoria puffed her cheeks and glared.
I sighed and scratched the back of my head. "You really want me to teach you. Alright listen, if you want me to teach you...which I highly doubt you need teaching, you went toe to toe with Unknown who is as powerful as Stella...but if you want me to teach you, I need something that will compensate for my time."
"And you think SEX will compensate for that?" Victoria asked.
I looked at her and rose an eyebrow. "You have a defect in your ear or something? I was only teasing about sex."
"Well I'm sorry, The Fool, I have a hard time deciphering if you're joking around or not because you are such a huge flirt! You tried flirting with me at the Tavern!" Victoria said.
"Yeah, and I believe you are quite beautiful. You should smile more." I said then pat her cheek and walked around her then she grabbed my hand. I sighed and looked at her.
"Fine! I'll have sex with you in return you teach me!" Victoria said with a blush.
"Listen...You're not going to defeat Sephiran. No one but his sister is his equal. Even if I did teach you, it means nothing. My time is still wasted." I said.
"Then I'll fucking marry you to compensate for it!" Victoria said and looked at me with a determined look.
I sighed softly and smiled at Victoria. "You're willing to go this far for me? Fine...I accept your proposal."
"Wait seriously?" Victoria asked.
"Yes. I will marry you if that means you'll stop pressing me. I'll teach you what I know but only after my break is over...and my break is going to be pretty long. I have six other kingdoms to get through." I said.
Victoria's eyes widened and she let go of my hand and celebrated. "Yes! Ryoma is going to teach me things!"
"We do not care! Stop yelling!" A woman said.
Victoria blushed and calmed down. She was now embarrassed. I chuckled and walked off.
"Walk with me. We're going to be waiting a while for the ceremony." I said.
"O-Okay!" Victoria nodded and hurried beside me.