After half an hour, Melody showed up wearing something resembling dress armor. Crafted from the finest materials and imbued with magic enchantments, the armor was a masterwork of craftsmanship and arcane power. It consisted of a form-fitting bodice crafted from supple black leather and adorned with intricate patterns of silver filigree that gleamed in the moonlight.
At the waist, a wide belt of polished silver cinched the bodice in place. Its buckle was fashioned in the shape of a snarling dragon with ruby eyes that seemed to smolder with inner fire. A series of delicate chains hung from the belt, each adorned with a shimmering amulet.
The skirt of the dress armor cascaded in layers of flowing black silk, its hem trimmed with intricate lace. The fabric swirled and billowed like smoke with each step, lending an air of ethereal beauty to the vampire queen's movements.
Upon her shoulders, the vampire queen wore a pair of sleek pauldrons fashioned from overlapping plates of blackened steel. She was etched with arcane runes that pulsed with power. A series of crimson silk ribbons hung from the pauldrons, each adorned with silver charms.
Completing the ensemble was a pair of knee-high boots crafted from polished black leather and adorned with silver buckles and studs. With each step, the vampire queen's boots rang out like the tolling of a bell, their echoes reverberating through the chamber with an air of ominous authority.
"What do you think of my new battle armor?"
"Elegant as usual, Your Majesty... hey, you. Say something."
"Eh… it is all right."
Although I wanted to say that she is dressed like she belongs to the whole community, I decided to avoid that. What she wears or doesn't wear has nothing to do with me, and I even get tired of picking fights now and then. Besides, while she had a troublesome personality, it was good for the eyes to see such lustrous legs and tempting cleavage.
"How are we heading to the destination?"
"It is pretty far away, so we will stop at two teleportation circles, and then I will teleport us to the location."
"It seems that you are getting rusty with your magic."
"I would be able to if I were to go alone,"
"Nice excuse. Anyway, I will have to talk with the orcs already, huh? How long will it take them to reach the frontlines?"
"They can use the magic circles too, but they can't come all at once, and they have low magic too, so it will take a full day for that tribe to be ready."
That wasn't so bad. I was thinking that I would have to wait for a week or something before we could do anything, and that would be boring… that showed that even I could use the teleportation circles. Still, since I was constantly being monitored, that would be difficult. I could try to use them to escape that hellhole. Still, without canceling the binding spell, that would be useless.. knowing Melody, she will probably have orgasms, giving the order for me to kill myself, even if she can't see it. She is all sorts of bad news… I could imagine her doing that just for fun once I get a spear or a lance.
"Are you planning to keep taking the enemies' weapons and use them?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"This is very inefficient when it comes to mastering such weapons,"
"Who cares about efficiency? As long as it is fun, I don't mind changing weapons."
We left the castle, and I wondered what had happened with the royal guards… I didn't see them that day, and that was weird. Considering that Melody decided to fight, they would usually go with her since the enemies would use that chance to kill her.
As I thought abut that, I couldn't help but wonder about the process by which the ruler of the monsters was decided. The castle's vampiric aesthetic showed a connection to the vampire queen, leading me to think that she may have inherited the throne through lineage or some similar means.
However, I recognized that mere lineage might not be sufficient to maintain control over the diverse and potentially troublesome factions within the monster realm. While the vampire queen undoubtedly wielded considerable influence and authority, it seemed unlikely that her rule alone, by being inherited, could keep countless monsters in check.
Perhaps other factors were at play, such as alliances forged through marriage or conquest or the accumulation of power and influence through centuries of rule. At the same time, there may be councils or governing bodies comprised of representatives from various monster factions tasked with making decisions and maintaining order within the realm.
In any case, before long, we reached the first magic circle and then teleported to the orcs dungeon. Without wasting time, we went down to talk with the guys there and saw that things were pretty much as usual. A lot of noise and fights for no reason. Still, the word about the vampire queen soon made them go silent instantly… I was supposed to be their ruler, but they completely ignored me.
At the same time, I could see the orcs' lustful gazes on the vampire queen. She seemed completely unbothered by that. Even the female orcs seemed to look lustful…
"She must have grown in a weird environment to no feel bothered by this… monsters truly have no morals. Wait… now that I think about it… was she born a vampire?"