After Ash, Gertrude, and Margaret were given titles. They picked up the squad from Penguin logistics and gave some souvenirs to Franka and Liskarm.
"Your highness, thank you very much for your grace." Franka kneeled down to him and his eyebrows twitched at that.
"You are welcome." He has a strained smile on his face and Liskarm almost wanted to smack her with her shield.
"Franka, you want to get us executed?" Liskarm chided her and Franka looked around. "It's fine, it's fine. There's no one observing us anyway~"
Ash then dragon clawed her on the face. "Is that so? Then how about I order it for you?" He smiled sweetly at her and Franka thrashed around.
"Sorry! Sorry! Ow! I'm not gonna do it again! Ahhh!" The fox cried out and everyone chuckled at her punishment.
"Hah, I'm going to have to stay here in Leithanien a bit longer..." Ash sighed and gave the supersoldier stim to Margaret.
"After our party, go to Kjerag Margaret. Texas and Exusiai will bring you there. Liz needs this so she would be able to function physically well." He gave orders to the blonde and she nodded.
"Leader! Where's the party!? No party no life remember!?" Exusiai was excited for a party and they went to a bar after saying their goodbyes to the Blacksteel operators.
"Fuck it, let's just drink for now and get wasted. If I even can get drunk." They group had their own room and started to drink.
"Wouldn't this be usable? Your rank as a Duke I mean? You're basically only under the empresses in terms of political power." Margaret thought of the pros.
"That's a problem in of itself. I'll be a part of the electoral college and they have a ton of work." He sighed, though he's gonna ignore it for sure. But that doesn't make the future less annoying, especially when they call for him to do his work or something.
"Congratulations leader! You're a Duke eh? Can you build a pastry store in your land and give me unlimited supply of apple pie?" Exusiai clinged to him while waving around a mug of beer.
"Don't bother him Exusiai." Texas sighed and took out some Pocky from her pocket.
Margaret chuckled, seeing him trying to pry off Exusiai from him.
"Ask Emperor for that Exusiai, I already give you guys a lot of money. He can surely make a pastry store." Ash pinched her cheeks.
"Sorry about her, Ash. She's a bit hyper energetic." Texas apologized and he shrugged. "Nothing wrong with that, besides. She's a Sankta, they're said to be laid back."
"How about we play a little game!?" Exusiai grinned and she had a bottle on her hand. Ash raised a brow. He never played it before, but he knew what that bottle is for when people are drinking.
"It's spin the bottle! One who gets picked by it has to pick if they want to say a truth or a dare." Exusiai wiggled her eyebrows.
Margaret didn't care, Texas too, and Ash just shrugged. He could reduce the friction or increase the bottle's kinetic energy so it can point at someone after all.
"Okay, here I go!" Exusiai spun the bottle and it pointed at Texas while Ash was the one doing the questioning.
"Truth or dare Texas?" Ash looked at her and she said truth. "Why do you always eat a Pocky?" He asked and Exusiai pouted. Because she knew the answer to it.
"I'm trying to quit smoking." Texas offered him one and he took one. "Good on you." He nodded at her.
"Boo, that's boring!" Exusiai spun it again and it pointed at Margaret. "Truth or dare Margaret?" Exusiai smiled at her.
"I do not care, pick for me." Margaret sipped on her cocktail, drinking responsibly. Unlike Exusiai who's chugging down her drinks.
"Ahhh! You said it... Then, I dare you to kiss leader!" Exusiai looked excited to see her squirm. But Margaret put down her drink.
"Hey... Are you really gonna do it?" Exusiai was surprised. Ash looked at the pegasus and they started kissing. The lewd kind too, shocking even Texas who was gaping at them.
"Next." Margaret spun the bottle and the PL operators were just shocked at what they witnessed.
"What? Never seen someone kiss another person before?" Ash had a smug look on his face and they coughed on their hand.
"Truth or dare, Exusiai." Margaret looked at her with her stoic expression and she started to get nervous.
"Ahhh, dare?" Exusiai wasn't sure and Margaret got a sadistic streak on her right now. Ash rubbing onto her a little bit.
"I see, then I want you to kiss Texas." Margaret ordered and Exusiai looked at the Lupo whose eyebrows were twitching.
"Texas~" Exusiai lunged at her and kissed her on the cheek, surprising Ash that she would let her do that.
"Acceptable, but boring." Margaret graded the action and Exusiai pouted. "Gunununu!" She was going to step it up a notch.
It landed on Ash again and Exusiai squinted her eyes. He said dare because he was no bitch and Exusiai pointed at Texas.
"I want you to play the Pocky game with her." Exusiai wiggled her eyebrows at Texas, but she was disappointed because the two of them didn't really have a reaction.
He raised his hand and Texas floated next to him. Ash then took a piece of Pocky from her and put it in his mouth.
Texas stared at him right in the eye and it looked like they were battling, instead of being embarrassed.
"Ohhh, you guys are no fun at all!" Exusiai wanted Texas or Ash to squirm in embarrassment.
The two nibbled at it steadily, but nobody seemed to give ground. And when they were just a few centimeters close, he put his hand on her jaw and ate the Pocky completely.
Exusiai squealed in delight and they separated after a chaste kiss. He spun the bottle again and it landed on Exusiai. "Give Texas a lapdance." Ash ordered.
Ash took out his phone and started recording it, grinning at the Sankta. "O-okay." Exusiai got a bit nervous and never expected she'd get to this point.
"It's just a dance Exusiai." Texas looked at her with her blank expression and the Sankta wanted to get a rise out of her.
"This is quite the sinister game isn't it?" Margaret chuckled, seeing Exusiai blush like a tomato while dancing on Texas' lap.
"It brings the worst in people, yeah. It's for degenerates." He shrugged, but they continued anyway.
Exusiai wanted revenge and it pointed at him again. "Strip, all of it~ kukuku." She thought he'd give up with that.
But he quickly took off his clothes and she choked on her drink. While Texas who is pretty stoic blushed and her eyes swam around.
"Okay, let's not get too frisky with this." Ash took the bottle away and put on his clothes again. "Y-you're right." Exusiai chugged down a pint.
They continued their party a bit and of course the first one to clock out was the Sankta who is not a responsible drinker at all.
"I'll set up a meeting with Gertrude for you to talk with the empresses Ash." Margaret separated from them.
Ash carried Exusiai on his back and Texas nodded at him in thanks. "Apple... Pie." The Sankta mumbled in her black out.
Texas chuckled and thought that she's such a dork. "How are you big sis Texas?" He smiled at her, teasing the Lupo.
"You look older than me now. Calling me that just feels wrong." Texas snorted.
"Anything of note in Lungmen?" Emperor always have some kind of trouble against the gangs and there's nothing wrong with knowing more about the climate there.
"Nothing much, the Lungmen guard department's special inspection unit chief Ch'en is doing a good job." Texas thought about it and that was about it.
"The police of Lungmen? Pretty boring then huh?" They chuckled and walked to their hotel with a pleasant silence.
"You didn't have to carry Exusiai for me." Texas sighed and he waved it off. "Eh, it's the thanks for your kiss earlier big sis Texas. Your lips are pretty soft you know? Bye~" He left and Texas rolled her eyes.
While she watched him go, Exusiai gagged and she was currently carrying him on her back. "Don't you dare Exusiai!" Texas ran like the wind to their room and almost had an accident.
__
The next morning, the empresses already expected him to talk to them and they spared some time for Ash's visit.
He walked into their chambers once again and he was obviously annoyed. "Is this fine for you, your majesties? You do know that I'm not going to do my work as a noble for Leithanien right?"
The two nodded. "We do not expect you to do so in the first place. Running your business must already be like being a monarch. It might even be harder than being one." Soleil shrugged.
"Then why try to chain me down in the first place? Besides, this will be an international incident you know? I'm engaged to the Silverash matriarch in Kjerag." He sighed heavily.
A union of a Duke in Leithanien and the matriarch of one of the three great clans in Kjerag will be a mess.
The conservatives of Kjerag will cry like a bitch and the twin empresses have to monitor Kjerag as a result of their marriage.
"That is a good point..." Luna thought about it and things will be difficult. "Then as a Duke, your new job is to establish relations with Kjerag." Soleil thought it would be two birds with one originite.
"Hah, be more like her highness Luna... She's thinking about this more seriously." He deadpanned at Soleil.
"He's right Soleil, this would be an international incident. Kjerag might not be on our radar because it's just a small country. But it is a country nonetheless." Luna chided her.
"Can't you like just give me some land or something? I definitely won't do my job as a Duke." He deadpanned at them and the empresses can't make a decision about it right now.
"Let's have a small break, we will make a decision about this later." Ash sighed at them and he left for now.
"Luna, I have an idea... Hear me out." Soleil squinted her eyes and Luna raised a brow.
"I have a bad feeling about your idea..." Luna was apprehensive, her guts was telling her it will be an insane decision.
"You know that we turned into Kaiserins twenty years ago right?" Soleil slowly explained it to her.
"Yes? So what of it?" Luna leaned into her. "And the Kurfürsten has been a pain on our behinds for that."
"For that? What do you mean by that?" Luna frowned and Soleil rolled her eyes because she was too slow. "You know, that? Think of a problem that they're giving us because we turned into the Kaiserins 20 years ago."
"Just tell me! Wait a minute... Ohhh, that..." Luna deadpanned at her and the white empress grinned. "You crazy bitch, I'm in."
The twin empresses almost always disagree in their decisions. But when they agree on something, it is a significant one that will make ripples all over Terra as one of the super powers.
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Ash called SilverAsh in Kjerag to inform her that he'll be a bit late due to technical difficulties.
"Honey, I'm gonna be late due to some problems in my business trip." He reasoned like a cheating husband.
"Is it about the empresses turning you into a Duke? That's going to be a massive problem alright. I do not know what the tri-clan council's reaction about that will be." SilverAsh sighed.
"Yeah, I have to fix this so I don't know when I'll get back to Kjerag. Margaret and PL is on the way to give Liz her treatment." Ash massaged his temples.
"Well, good luck to you. Glad I'm not in your position. If I were to be in a precarious situation like that. Even I don't know how to get out of it." She snorted and they ended the call.
"Hah, better go spend some time with Adele then." Ash went back home and the caprinae was already waiting for him.
"Hello, duke Asmodeus." Adele teased him and he groaned. "Not now Adele, you have no idea how much trouble that is politically." He sat on a couch.
"But being a Duke is a good thing, right?" Adele raised a brow and he nodded. "Yes, if I was a Leithanien nationalist."
Adele still didn't understand, but when she thought about it. That would be a big bother in the long run.
"How about we just go outside and have a little picnic?" Adele smiled at him.
"I guess. I'll go prepare some things to decompress." Ash went to the kitchen and prepared some curry buns, sandwiches, cookies, and barley tea.
Adele dressed in a sundress and he thought she was cute, he would have to fight off some bastards soon. Adele should date when she's 35.
"Come on, I've got the other necessities." Adele pulled on him and he followed with a wry smile.
They arrived at the Naumann couple's grave that was growing flowers now due to Adele's efforts.
"You grew flowers on their graves huh?" Ash patted her head and smiled.
"Un, they would appreciate it." Adele put a picnic cloth besides them. "Mom, dad, Ash is a Duke now. Crazy right?" She chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm super awesome, Hans, Emma." They started eating their snacks and put some on their graves.
The duo talked about what they've achieved for now and their aspirations. Enjoying the wind that blew as they watched the sky.
"He also has a girlfriend! Can you believe this guy? And she's awesome, a noble knight from Kazimierz. He's got a fiancee too who's a warlord." Adele recounted his life and he shrugged.
"The older ladies love me." Adele gave him the stink eye. "Yeah, because he's like an old man. Always scheming, like those evil villains in TV. Rubbing his hands and going kukuku."
"Well, you're not really wrong... But look at where that got me? I'm a Duke now, but it's not enough. World domination is where's it at!" He laughed and she chuckled.
"Thanks for listening mom, dad." Adele smiled at their graves and Ash was thankful that she's not grieving anymore.
"Hans, Emma, don't worry about the little goat. She's fine as long as she doesn't stray away from me." He smirked and they returned home.
After a few days, he still wasn't receiving news from the empresses and he was about to demand another audience when Emperor called him with the CEO of MountainDash.
"Eurill, Emperor. Why did you guys initiate a conference call?" They facetimed with him and the CEO of MountainDash is a bovine ancient that's blonde.
"You know, to congratulate you boy. I'm gonna say, you're quite enviable." Eurill laughed at him.
He was confused, so he let them continue for now. "Congrats man, you know what. We should celebrate here in Lungmen. You haven't met Eurill in person yet. And Wei Yenwu would probably come and celebrate too."
"The leader of Lungmen? Why though? I did become a Duke of Leithanien. But it won't really concern him?" Ash was annoyed that they still won't tell.
"Wait a minute, that's old news... Are you in the dark?" Emperor noticed something wrong.
"Oh... So that's what they have in store for you huh? Emperor, I'm out of here. You explain that mess to him." Eurill peaced out and Ash raised a brow.
"What? What's wrong Emperor?" He thought that maybe SilverAsh fought off a regiment of Ursus or something and won because of their turrets.
"Listen kid, you're in for a doozy. You're engaged." Emperor informed him. "Yeah, my marriage with Enciades is pretty close too."
"No you idiot!" Emperor sighed and Ash froze. "Tell me that you're joking right now Emperor you penguin fuck!" Ash yelled and the penguin just stared at him.
"Congrats man." Emperor peaced out. "No way..." Ash started to run towards the spire of the empresses.
While he was on the way, he received another text from Eurill and Emperor. Leithanien's empresses hired them to distribute the news everywhere that the twin empresses are engaged to Asmodeus Naumann.
"Fuck! What the hell is this!?" He ran to the spire as fast as he can.
__
He suddenly entered their room and the voice of the empresses, her royal guards. Shot their arts at him, showcasing their combat readiness.
Ash nullified all energy that came to him and he frowned at the empresses.
"Hello Asmodeus." The empresses greeted him and he gave them the stink eye. "Are you serious?"
He wanted an explanation and he sat down in front of them. "Insolent! Even if you're a Duke!" One of the guards cried out and he suddenly flew to the wall, embedded in it.
"Shut up, now talk. I'm really pissed off." He glared at the empresses. "Now, now, you wanna know why right?" Soleil had a smug look on her face.
"The Kurfürsten has been on our case to get an emperor consort for years now. And when you mentioned your engagement to the Silverash matriarch... She got this idea." Luna threw the white empress under the bus.
"Hey! We agreed upon it!" She yelled at her and he just stared at empty space for now. "So... You don't have any potential husbands. And you picked me?"
"Yes, you are competent, the masses love you, Leithanien is dependent on you, your arts is more than qualified, and you have the suitable rank." They explained and he groaned.
"Are you insane? Are you out of your mind?" He couldn't understand how they got to that conclusion. And they already spread it through Terra too.
"Not really, you're developing a city for infected right?" Luna smiled at him and he furrowed his brows.
"You requested to gather them, it's a pretty much done conclusion Asmodeus. If you're just a noble of Leithanien, then it will be your own land that will be like a grand duchy." Soleil started explaining.
"Then you will slowly drift away from the empire. As you've said, you won't do your work as a Duke. But if you're our husband, that will change. We will still do the work of Leithanien, but you won't pull out of the country." Luna expounded further.
"You have to understand in our perspective Asmodeus. You do not have anything in Leithanien to make you abandon it completely if it's for your benefit. Except your home and Adele Naumann." Soleil sighed.
"You bring prosperity to Leithanien yes, but for how much longer? What if someone offends you and you start to move your assets and titanic influence? The country suffers, as empresses. We cannot have that." They looked at him seriously.
He was speechless. "So you resorted to forced marriage while I'm still a citizen of Leithanien... Why do I have to deal with this again?" Ash sighed heavily.
"What do you mean?" The empresses were confused. "My marriage to Enciades Silverash is just like this. They want the benefits of Asmodeus enterprise and their politicians threw her at me."
"Well, in our case. You are very terrifying, if you become the emperor consort. Then Leithanien will be your land. If you abandon it, Terra will criticize you. It's the natural decision to make." They shrugged and he nodded.
"That's true... Doesn't make it anymore upsetting though. Let me call my lover first." The empresses flinched at that.
"Margaret, hello. Did the news arrive there at Kjerag yet?" He called her.
"No, what news?" Margaret replied and he sighed. "Tell SilverAsh this as well, the empresses trapped me in an engagement just like her."
Margaret went silent for a few seconds. "Is that so? Wait a minute." She put him on hold and Margaret called for SilverAsh.
After they discussed it. "Pick us up, we want to talk with the empresses." SilverAsh ordered and he sighed.
"My fiancee and lover wants to talk to you two." Ash looked at them with squinted eyes and they nodded.
"We owe them that much at least." They nodded and he immediately picked them up from Kjerag.
And while they were flying. SilverAsh smacked him on the back. "How did you get yourself in this kind of trouble? This is huge, Leithanien is a world superpower."
"I don't know! It's my own rotten luck or something." He groaned.
"This can't be prevented anyway, let's just talk to them for now." Margaret sighed and gave him the side eye.
"What? it's not my fault?" He huffed. "I told you that you'll have a lot of women beside you, but not this quickly." She pouted at him.
"It's a self fulfilling prophecy, you shouldn't have said it." Ash rolled his eyes.
"Hah, let's just... Talk with them." Margaret rolled her eyes and they arrived at the capital with his speed.
"Fetch Gertrude Strollo as well, this will be a scandal of the highest order if the people knew you're having an affair with her." Margaret ordered and he picked the Lupo in Vyseheim.
"He's got another one?" SilverAsh raised a brow and Margaret nodded. "He's very, I mean very aggressive lately. Gertrude Strollo is actually a big help because she can keep up well."
"At least he isn't bedding harlots left and right." SilverAsh sighed.
"We're here." Ash arrived with the Lupo and they nodded. "Wait, what? Why am I here at the capital with Margaret?"
Gertrude was confused. "Ash is going to be married to the empresses, we need to talk with them and fix the arrangement." Margaret sighed.
SilverAsh gave him the side eye. "Come on, let's go." Ash would enter the spire, but they stopped him.
"This is on us women, go relax in your home a bit." Margaret went up to him and kissed him. "We'll be fine, we're just going to have a conversation."
He trusted them, so he nodded and let the trio go to the spire. "I don't know what they'll talk about... But I guess it's going to be fine."
SilverAsh is there anyways, they won't get trapped by something if she's there.
The trio arrived and they kneeled. "Stand up, Ara... So count Strollo is also his?" Soleil had an amused smile on her face.
"Your majesties, this marriage will be inevitable. So what we'll do is talk about the man that will be a part of our lives." Margaret looked at them with analytical eyes.
She has to protect him from them if they were going to harm him. "That's going to be the topic of this meeting, now let us begin." SilverAsh looked at them seriously.
__
Ash was mass manufacturing some soldier serums in his lab because that's what you'd do if you have free time.
He yawned and just kept on repeating the mind numbing work. Bored out of his mind, waiting for them to finish talking.
"That's batch number 20." He put it in a special freezer that froze it for later use and would give it to loyal people that he'll be able to turn into his very own spec ops.
"If Ursus has demons up their buttholes. Kazdel has people like Shining. Then I should make them unbreakable, feared throughout Terra." Ash squinted his eyes.
He thought of planting a chip in them that would regulate emotions. Giving them absolute focus, improve their arts to their maximum potential, dedication and motivation to complete the mission.
"I'll have to work on that, make it like a switch so they could return to civilian lives without any problems. And a storage unit for their memories while on missions probably? So we could discard traumatic ones." Ash was thinking about it now.
The first mobile city was almost done. And they'll be roaming around Terra to get infected as their manpower.
Then they'll go to Kazimierz and take the swordspear of the Nearls for Margaret. Raise a ruckus maybe. Get as many infected knights as possible.
And let Margaret help her sister to be the knight primus of the Nearl house.
"What's taking them so long?" Ash finished creating some super soldier serums for now and went upstairs. Drinking some hot coco while looking at the window.
"Hot chocolate always calms you down. Even if you're going to turn into an imperial consort." He nodded sagely and sipped his chocolate.
"Wait, do we still have cookies?" He went to the kitchen and checked the cookie jar. "Nice, Adele hasn't eaten them yet."
He took it with him and there was a floating cookie jar beside him while he waited for the girls.
"Eh, they'll take care of it." He went to the couch and watched some TV, drinking some hot chocolate while eating some cookies.
After a few minutes, someone entered the house and the girls looked at him funny. "Are you serious right now?" SilverAsh deadpanned at him.
"What? Margaret told me to relax at my house for now." He gave them a side eye and continued to watch TV.
"I guess I did." Margaret sighed and smiled wryly. She then snuggled up to his side. "Want some hot chocolate to Margaret?"
She nodded and he raised his hand to the kitchen, and after a few minutes. A floating mug arrived in front of her.
"I want one too." Gertrude went to his other side and sighed, exhausted by talking to the empresses.
"Prepared one for all three of you already." He poured them in mugs and they floated to the living room.
"You're too relaxed." SilverAsh sighed at him and she lied down at Margaret's side. Her head on his lap.
"So... How did it went?" He was curious and they all nodded in satisfaction. "They're not malicious. They're actually really big fans of you."
SilverAsh remembered them showing their merch of him to them. "Ahhh, with my music?"
"Yeah, they have all your music. They're your number one fan. Their words, not mine." Gertrude shrugged.
"I think we'll get along with them." Margaret smiled. "Okay, cool... So what do we do now?" He played with their ears and relaxed.
"I don't know, maybe stay like this for a bit longer." Gertrude knew he'll return to Kjerag. "I guess we can do that."
He just accepted his fate and thought that this won't happen again, right? It's too absurd for it to happen again.
__
Back at Kjerag, Ash was checking out the condition of Liz and she of course looked like a brand new woman now.
Her wasted muscles were now full. She didn't look like a coma patient that woke up after a few years.
"You feeling okay Liz?" Ash smiled at her and the expressionless woman nodded. "Yes, I feel good." She flexed her muscles a bit.
"Thank you very much for that medicine you have her. It was like a miraculous drug." Shining bowed at him and he waved it off.
"It's what was promised, so? What can I expect of you Shining?" He looked at her and she went into deep thought.
"I'm a medic, so is Liz. Her arts can give people arts resistance in a given area. While my arts can heal wounds and ward off physical attacks with a barrier." Shining explained their abilities.
'So she doesn't want to fight with her sword...' Ash was curious about it, but it's obviously a touchy subject if she doesn't want to talk about it.
"You know Shining, when I checked on Liz. I noticed something." He looked at her with a meaningful stare.
Shining tensed up. "Don't worry, it's not important to me anyways. But it is for you and her right? Her memories are shattered and her brain is fried." Ash checked her neural network and it was wack.
"H-how did you know?" Shining went wide eyed and he shrugged. "I know a lot of things, but I don't know things about you. Knowledge is power you know?" He shrugged.
"Can you do something about it? Just like how you healed her wasted body?" Shining furrowed her brows and he sat down, clasping his hands.
"Well, that depends. You know, I'm a businessman Shining. Even if my merchandise is cheap, my labor isn't. And this will be really difficult yeah?" He squinted his eyes and entered negotiations with her.
"I see... You already did more than just heal her oripathy and suppress it for now. What do you want?" Shining wanted to help her friend at all costs.
"Everything... But I'm a man of my word, I'll collect my payment after I do something about it." He gave her his hand and she shook it.
"You have yourself a deal. I look forward to you doing so in the future." Shining had hope that he would be able to do something about the horrors that Liz experienced.
And he was so mysterious, pulling all of his knowledge from out of nowhere. She just felt that she could trust him.
"This contract is sealed, Shining. Nice doing business with you." He smiled. Kazdel is mysterious, he won a lot from his deal with Shining.
"Ash, there's this Colombian organization that contacted us called Maylander." SilverAsh informed him.
"Thanks for your time Shining, I'll do what I can." He smiled at her and she reciprocated.
After he left and went with the leopard, he thought what now?
"They're an NGO that promotes children's rights. But you and I both know that's most likely bullshit." SilverAsh noticed something suspicious about them.
They were apparently supporting the lab where the Loken Watertank Incident happened. Loken Williams were doing inhumane experiments on a feline girl to make her an uninfected caster.
Ash read the report and they didn't really say much, but the girl had terrible powers. "So they're throwing her away because she can explode at any time." He frowned.
"Send a chopper there at once, retrieve this girl Narcissa. I'm the perfect company for her." He checked her powers and it's immeasurable psychokinetic arts.
He could train her in it and let her control it. Who's better for it than another user of telekinesis.
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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.