Whether on Earth or in my kingdom, I've grown accustomed to mornings having this sense of tranquility and peace. Everything's quiet and calm, and there's nothing to hurt you. I used to take this time to take deep breaths, look through the windows, and take in the world at large, it was very soothing.
Now that I kind of live inside the kingdom, there's always this sense of mystery and wonder, I quite like the change to be honest, but I'm starting to miss Earth.
Even more so when my little safe haven is invaded by a hostile force. One that, even though I knew was coming, had no way to defend myself against.
Even though she brings me breakfast, her death stare denounces her true intentions.
Licia: "So, about yesterday, what happened?"
The enemy is quite observant and lays down its trap, upon which I fall blissfully. The moment we all start eating, on which our guards are the lowest, she chooses to attack.
Miwen: "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
Licia: "Let me refresh your memory then... yesterday instead of talking to Claire like I told you to, you ended up giving her a day off, do you remember now?"
Yeah, that's game over I guess. Well, it doesn't really matter too much anyway, and it's actually good that she brought this up.
Miwen: "Do you want one too?"
Licia: "That's not-"
Miwen: "But you'll have to do something for me."
This way I can solve both problems at once without actually having to put in any effort.
Licia: "So Claire gets one even though she did something bad while I need to work for mine? It doesn't seem fair. "
I should add that during this entire confrontation, Claire has just been eating like it's none of her business. But I feel like a little payback, so I'll throw her into the fire too.
Miwen: "Quite, but Claire had a good argument that ended up convincing me yesterday, isn't that right?"
Claire looks at me with surprise. Of course, she doesn't have any good argument for it since I was the one who brought up the idea, but I really want to see what she can do when put on the spot.
Miwen: "The fate of your day off rests on this battle, so do your best."
Claire "Huh!?"
I whisper some words of encouragement into her ears, after all, she's probably gonna need it.
Licia: "So, what did you say to him?"
Claire "Uhh... I told him that... you know? That we were worried! Since we aren't really capable of helping too much. And that... I ended up losing track of time because I finally managed to calm myself while watching the movies so... he ended up being understanding of it and gave me a day off to cool myself."
Ohh quite a good one. It's even more effective against Licia who's always worrying about my safety.
Licia: "I didn't know you were that worried... But I can understand how you feel. Well, I guess everyone deserves to rest sometimes, but you should still reflect on what consequences your actions may have, this time it was something minor, but I won't forgive you slip like that when we really need you."
Claire "S-sure."
She still managed to keep on that even after that? If Claire hit me up with that I'd give her the entire week off.
Licia: "So, what do I need to do to get mine as well?"
Miwen: "You're to take the newly created position of Head of Scolding, thank you very much."
Licia: "...why?"
Miwen: "You're better than me at it."
Especially when it comes to Claire, the girl is quite good at avoiding trouble. When it comes to minor things, it's not something I wanna do, and since Licia has a good head on her shoulders, I'll leave it to her.
Licia: "Alright, but does that mean I can reprimand any citizen?"
Miwen: "Yeah, I guess..."
Licia: "Even you?"
Miwen: "... The king is exempt from scolding."
Licia: "You can be such a child, you know that? But alright, I'll take your offer."
I'm glad it all worked out in the end. When I'm back on Earth I'll have my own day off since it's been quite sometime between the dungeon raids and the event.
Now that all matters regarding this issue were dealt with, it was time for me to once again join Melissa.
To my surprise, the one who appeared in front of me this time was actually Mia, who seemed relieved upon seeing me.
Mia: "...! You're back! I'm gonna call Mom, stay there."
I find her attitude a bit odd, but if there's a problem I'd be happy to lend a hand to them.
Mia left in a hurry before I could even say something in return, so whatever is happening, must be rather pressing.
It's not like I had anywhere else to go either, so I wait for Melissa's arrival in the prison cell.
Melissa: "Boy, it's good to have you back."
Miwen: "It does look like it huh?"
Even now, the two of them look like they've been running around all day long. It does pique my interest, and I end up asking about it.
Miwen: "So, why do you two seem like you're in a hurry? Is something the matter?"
Melissa: "I'm afraid so. Yesterday at night, the enemy managed to disembark. Five ships in total and-"
Miwen: "Wait. What? How?"
Everything was alright before I left, and from what I've gathered there should be no way for them to do something on this scale, so what exactly is happening right now?
Melissa: "It's not exactly clear to us either, but I'll tell you what I understand from the situation. You remember Prince Gerbil, right?"
Miwen: "The third prince of Hamperlon right? You mentioned him to me before."
Melissa: "Yes... It seems like due to a perceived failure, his older brother, Prince Normyu joined the fight."
Miwen: "That's a name I haven't heard before."
Melissa: "He wasn't a factor until now. Both the first and second princes should've been severely hurt from the last war, but it seems like Normyu is now healed."
After we managed to take one head down, another one shows up, huh? This suddenly became a work worthy of an epic.
Miwen: "Prince Gerbil is astute, while the Seven Rainbow Miracles is a problem due to her defensive ability. So, what does this guy bring to the table?"
Melissa: "To put it bluntly, power and resourcefulness."
Miwen: "In which way exactly?"
Melissa: "You know how you can expect someone to have one, or at most, two Gifts right?"
Miwen: "Yeah?"
From long ago, there was a Divine Event where the reward was a second Gift, bestowed by the Gods themselves. No one from Earth managed to get that, but it was speculated that it would either replace your current Gift, or you would simply have both.
Even on Earth, some people claim to have multiple Gifts, but it's hard to determine the validity of such claims since sometimes a Gift can be so complex that it manifests in a lot of different effects.
What makes the idea quite reasonable is the fact that in dungeons there have been confirmed cases of monsters on difficult enough floors with more than one Gift themselves. And so, if monsters sometimes have multiple Gifts, why would humans be any different?
Melissa: "Well, Prince Normyu is said to have at least ten of them."
Miwen: "Hah!"
As if by reflex, I couldn't help but laugh at what she just said. I mean, it's obviously a joke, right?
Melissa: "Well, he might actually have a bit less, but his maximum potential right now should amount to ten."
She's not joking. Damn, I wish she was joking.
I'm beyond words, really. If this is true, the guy is a complete monster.
Melissa: "It's also not quite right to say that he has ten Gifts, since he only has one. The problem is that it's known throughout the land that he has the strongest Gift of the continent, being able to copy other Gifts. What limits the number of Gifts he can hold is his level, so right now, it should be about ten given that he's level one hundred."
Miwen: "That's his limitation? Really?"
And here I thought my Gift was overpowered. What happens if he copies mine as well? This guy doesn't even feel like a final boss, it's more like he is a cheat character you're not meant to fight at all.
Melissa: "Whatever Gift he copies can never be as powerful as the original. Its strength depends on the original Gifts complexity, power, and how much he uses it."
Well, at least there's that I guess. But still, something is bothering me about this.
Miwen: "You seem to know an awful lot about him."
Melissa: "I fought against him ten years ago. His biggest weakness might be how much he likes to blabber about himself."
Ten years ago... It was when the war started then...
Miwen: "Did you win?"
Melissa: "I... can't say I did. My husband died but we managed to give him life-threatening injuries, he ended up being unable to fight for a number of years. Due to that, another kingdom, seeing an opportunity to rid themselves of the second prince and take land from Hamperlon also declared war."
So instead of focusing on the island, they decided to commit their forces to protect their borders. The guy must also be somewhat scared of Melissa and the Snow White Wolves since he decided to fight in the other war before coming here.
It's also worth noting that Mia in the back seems to get quite agitated upon hearing this story, it must have been hard for her.
Miwen: "Just so we are clear, does the crown prince of Hamperlon also have an absurd power that I should know of?"
Melissa: "He's quite average from what I know. He also mostly takes care of internal affairs and strengthens his alliances with the nobles. It seems that due to the excellence of his brothers, he does his best to solidify his position whenever possible."
Having a guy like this Normyu as your younger brother, your position as the crown prince would never be truly safe. And if you can't fight him with strength, at least you can try with numbers and connections. It's a solid plan given his circumstances, but sadly it's not something I can hope to replicate.
Melissa: "The fourth prince however is another-"
Please no.
Melissa: "I'm kidding ok? You don't need to be so scared."
I guess it showed on my face, but I really don't wanna hear about another prince right now.
Miwen: "You shouldn't joke about that, I was about to leave you to your fate."
it's a bit saddening since we had just started making progress, but I think we can deal with it somehow if there are no surprises left...
Miwen: "So, for them to have managed to land 5 ships, I'm guessing this guy has a copy of the Seven Rainbow Miracles ?"
Melissa: "Yes. They managed to protect quite a number of ships and disembark, even though the Seven Rainbow Miracles barrier was more spread, there were two layers thanks to that idiot, so even though we broke through the first, the second one was too much. The only good thing about it all is that we managed to confirm that the two princes along with the Seven Rainbow Miracles girl are now present on this island."
Hm? The girl is on this island?
That is truly good, I spent a lot of time thinking, but I couldn't come up with a way to deal with her.
Reflecting on the current state, even though our situation clearly worsened, it might be our best chance to deal with the problems and send them home once and for all.
And I might be cooking a good trap for them...