I awoke one day with both Isabella and Cassandra sleeping on my chest. This was usually how they slept.
The other two, Stella and Masina, sometimes slept in our bed as well. They had their own rooms, after all.
Today, however, they were both already awake. They were up and ready to dress me.
"Good morning, Master. Did you sleep well?" Stella asked.
"Ah, good morning, my wonderful big brother! I hope you got plenty of rest! My my...you're looking wonderful today!" Masina said happily.
"I slept fine. I'm assuming that you two will be my escorts for now?" I said.
They both nodded.
I pulled myself out of bed away from the twins and they awoke in the process.
"Good morning, darling!" Cassandra said.
"Good morning, Mizik!" Isabella said.
"To you both as well," I said.
They got up as I allowed Stella and Masina to dress me.
They had become something like retainers to me in the many years I had known them.
Although the other female soldiers would occasionally perform this role for me in their place.
My normal attire had also changed in recent years.
Instead of wearing just the combat suit from Elysium, I had begun to wear something else.
I wore black pants with combat boots. A lightly armored breastplate that connected to the heart device on my chest, and an enchanted overcoat. Most of what I wore was black and with emerald green lines decorating it.
I was viewed as a sovereign.
A King without a true country.
Rather, my country was the Cursebreaker. Its crew could be considered my subjects.
Next, I watched as the twins got ready as well. Not out of perversion, but because I always made sure their gear was put on correctly.
Isabella and Cassandra had unique outfits of their own.
They were similar to mine except for the lines on them being of their respective eye color.
They were also much more lightly armored then I was. Considering that Isabella needed room to manifest her Aegis Armor and Cassandra didn't need to carry the extra weight.
Isabella had a coat that she didn't usually wear unless we wanted to hide our identities. That was rare for her, considering her usual methods of battle. In those situations, she would usually stand back and let Cassandra and I handle it.
All of our coats had hoods and the three of us had masks to cover our faces.
They were simple plain masks to hide our identities. All of them had the same colored lines on them.
Their gear was a lot more feminine than mine and all of the metal used was created by Leiso.
After all, they both loved fashion, so it was important to them to look good. They stressed that a good outer appearance could reflect on their inner well-being.
They felt better when they looked nice.
Because of that, they always made sure that I looked my best as well.
I wouldn't deny that it did feel nice when I looked good, but I wasn't vain about my appearance. Besides, I was a sovereign. And a sovereign needed to look good for his people.
The metal used in the armor was an incredibly dense and very light alloy similar to the heart devices. Leiso had constructed the most ideal metal that could be created using her Aspect. It wasn't found naturally in any world we had ever been to.
Usually, these kinds of metals were very brittle, but not this one.
She called it Leisium. It was excellent at absorbing impacts, never rusted or corroded, was very light, and harder than anything I had ever seen. She even had the entire ship's exterior redone in the same type. Same as our heart devices and normal weapons. Leisium was the perfect metal as far as I knew.
And speaking of heart devices, we had occasionally been performing maintenance on them. Just routine cleanings and the like.
Surprisingly, the parts didn't need to be replaced. They were built to last.
We only needed to make sure they were clean. If we didn't clean them out, magical residue similar to crystalline dust would build up in the main unit. Eventually, it would begin to form actual crystals. It was annoying, but we had made tools for such a thing.
I even had magic to get rid of it as well if I ever found myself alone.
After getting ready, we made our way out to the lift bay.
We were preparing for a wedding later today between Johann and Iris. After that, we had been instructed to make our way to Tanavol.
Aldaril hadn't been told yet.
I imagined that he would be very unhappy with the news...and Aldaril being unhappy meant that Nasuria would be as well.
Nasuria had completely merged with her childlike self. She no longer called Aldaril her master and they treated each other as Equals.
Although...she was incompatible with the Eye of Order. And had a very strong fondness for Aldaril.
She was in love with him, but he said he would only return her affections when he was ready...
The entire ship was invited to the wedding. We were guests of honor and security. The event also served to introduce the new Oracle to the people.
We made our way to the temple where it would be held.
* * *
We sat in the VIP area as the crowds of people gathered to watch.
And as we waited...
"Masina...? MASINA!!!" A woman's voice shouted.
Masina looked over at the source of the voice and three girls approached.
"Huh? Oh, hello there! Do I know you?" Masina said.
I was starting to panic.
Not out of fear, but because I wasn't prepared for this. The three girls in question were former friends of Masina. Three goddesses that lived on Excelsis and occasionally got together to bully Iris.
By comparison to Masina, they all seemed rather plain and weak. Especially since years of travel with our group had increased her power exponentially.
"What's that supposed to mean!? We haven't seen you in twenty years and you act like you don't even know us!?" One of them said.
"Uh..."
"Hey...why are your eyes green? Weren't they blue before or something!?" Another girl said.
"Listen...I truly have no idea who you three are. I am Masina, goddess of moons and patron goddess of the Iratus clan from Avernia. I am a proud member of the Cursebreaker and a mistress to his Majesty, King Mizik Iratus, the Destroyer of worlds."
They all looked at me.
"Wait...the Destroyer...? That guy...? Since when!? What are you talking about!? And why are you acting so weird!?" One of them said.
Before Masina could respond, Isabella spoke up.
"You three are disturbing us. If you could kindly leave, we would be most grateful. Masina is a member of the Cursebreaker's crew. If you wish to continue harassing us, do so at your own risk," she said.
"Aww, the pinky is trying to threaten us. Listen lady, we don't care about any of that stupid crap. So why don't you put a sock in it and stop meddling in our business? Masina is our friend. Not yours."
I stood up at that point.
"You dare insult my first wife?" I said calmly.
My voice hid a tremendous amount of rage.
"Huuuuh? She's your wife? Ha! She's super ugly! Why would you marry a-"
Before she could continue...
Before I could even move...
Masina manifested her Divine Arms staff and slammed the end of it into the girl's chest. Knocking the wind out of her and sending her back into a crowd of people.
"Listen...I don't know who you people are, but if you insult Lady Isabella again, I'll be forced to end you. Get out of here and never return!" Masina hissed.
The girl got up as the others turned and ran. She did as well.
"Haah...I'm so tired of people pretending they know me..." Masina said.
They weren't pretending...but that hardly matters.
I decided not to worry about it and sat down.
"Mizik, you don't think I'm ugly, do you...?" Isabella said suddenly.
What a bizarre question... You? Ugly? Absolutely not.
"Not at all, Isabella. You're still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen across creation. Those girls are just-"
"Awww! Thank you so much, my love!" Isabella said happily as she hugged me and sat back down. She continued to affectionately rub her face on my shoulder for a while.
"His Majesty is so kind and loving! I love you, darling!" Cassandra said as she did the same.
"Yeah...you too..." I said.
As they continued, Masina sat back down, seeming content. And finally, the event began.
The area we were in was outdoors. There were many beautiful decorations all around and the Artificer stood at the recently-constructed altar awaiting Johann.
A few moments passed and Johann appeared. He shook hands with the Artificer and smiled.
The Artificer wasn't happy that Johann decided to break protocol with getting married to Iris, but was determined to use it as a means of introducing the new Oracle to Exclesis.
So far, it had worked. Iris' identify remained a secret, however. But people were already beginning to accept him on the grounds that the Oracle choosing to marry one of the people of Excelsis already made him more kindhearted than the previous one.
At the same time, many girls mumbled to themselves about the new Oracle being 'a total hottie'.
I paid it no mind and watched as Iris finally appeared, being escorted by her three Enforcers and Rune.
All of them were dressed very well.
Jallah and Carlos wore suits, while Leiso and Rune wore slim dresses with their hair up.
Iris wore a gorgeous white dress with her hair up. She looked nervous underneath the veil over her face.
I looked over and saw that Johann had already removed his veil. He was blushing and also seemed very nervous.
Iris approached the altar and stopped as her Enforcers stood at attention.
"Ahem...let's get this over with, shall we? We are gathered here today to witness the joining of two wonderful individuals. The new Oracle of Excelsis, Johann Crizellia Roux, formerly the Phoenix dragon god...and Iris, goddess of balance formerly of the world of Ignitus. I would prefer to introduce Johann another way, but...here we are..." The Artificer said.
"Don't ruin this for me, please..." Johann said.
"Of course... Now then, Johann Crizellia Roux, do you take Iris to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"Absolutely, but aren't you supposed to add something else...?" Johann said.
"I don't know. I've never done this before. Now then, Iris, do you take Johann to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The Artificer said.
"I do!" She said proudly.
"Then you two are married...er...I now pronounce you husband and wife."
"Johann, you may kiss the bride...?" Johann said.
"Ah, yes. Do that."
Johann rolled his eyes and lifted the veil over Iris' face. He smiled, then leaned in and kissed her.
After he pulled away, Iris tossed her bouquet of flowers to Leiso and tore the veil of of her head and threw it at the ground.
She stepped forward with a great smile.
"Here it comes..." I said.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, LISTEN UP!!! I AM IRIS, GODDESS OF BALANCE! AND NOW, I'M THE QUEEN OF EXCELSIS!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!! TO EVERYONE THAT BULLIED ME, HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW!?!? TAKE THAT, YOU BASTARDS!!!"
Everyone was stunned silent.
I started clapping slowly and Johann remained as he was. With the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face.
"Eh...right. Well, perhaps we should get moving? I have other things I need to do today," the Artificer said.
"You're no fun..." Johann said.
Iris was overjoyed, regardless. She was still jumping up and down and cheering that she managed to marry someone like Johann...and that she wasn't single anymore.
* * *
The rest of the day was spent celebrating and when night fell, Johann and Iris retreated to Johann's new personal chambers.
Our day ended in a similar fashion and when we next awoke, we went to the temple of the Oracle to speak with Johann.
This time...I took Aldaril with us.
Johann was to brief us on what we were after in Tanavol. I also wanted to say goodbye before we left.
Eventually, we reached the temple and found a very content Johann sitting on his throne.
When he saw us, he waved with a great smile on his face.
Even if he had the veil on, I could still see the massive grin.
"Good morning, Johann. How'd you sleep?" I asked.
"Like a rock! After...ah well...a gentleman never kisses and tells, of course!" He said.
"You just did. But...hey, speaking of Iris, where is she?" I asked.
"She's uh...resting..." He said.
At that moment, Iris appeared in her usual attire. She looked absolutely drained.
"Oh hey, Iris! I didn't expect you to be up so quickly," Johann said.
She just looked at him.
"I'm lucky to be alive right now after the night I had..."
"But I was being so gentle! You look beautiful today, my wonderful wife!" Johann said as he got up and approached her.
She hugged him and relaxed.
"I don't believe you...but thank you, Johann. You're looking wonderful as well!" Iris said.
She seemed to perk up quite a bit at his words.
"Ahem...can we get on with things...?" I asked.
"Oh, let me enjoy being married! Come on, man..." Johann said.
"There's plenty of time for that later. Congratulations, by the way you two," I said.
"Right, well, you're going to Tanavol. So-"
Aldaril coughed as soon as he heard the words.
"EXCUSE ME!?!?" He said.
"Huh...? Hey Mizik, did you tell him?" Johann said.
"No. I have no idea why we're even going, so I wanted to wait before giving him a heart attack. I also planned to have him as part of the advance team this time because of it."
"Like hell! I'm not going back to Tanavol! Never again!" Aldaril said angrily.
"Do this for the good of all of creation, and I will fulfill any one request you have of me within reason," I said.
"Ugh...fine! Whatever..." Aldaril said.
"Moving on...why are we going to Tanavol?" I asked.
"This had better not be a waste of his Majesty's time..." Cassandra said angrily.
"Easy now, Cassandra. I'm sure they have a perfectly good reason for this..." Isabella said with a smile.
"The purpose of it is simple. You'll be recruiting the Avatar of Creation and acquiring an Elder Core to increase his power. With this...you should finally be able to kill Valtheim," Johann said.