I am updating posting schedule to Tuesday/Saturday.
Happy Trails and Happy Reading!
*
While we made our way to the elevator platform that would eventually take us out of the very bottom of the inactive Infernal Palace, Emperor Eugent didn't remain idle. Instead, with him being right next to me, I saw him look at me, before asking me another question.
"Today was definitely a lot to process. A good rest will do us all well.", Emperor Eugent said to me. "You did say you will be under the care of the Vanders, right, Prince Naoto?"
"Yeah. That's the plan for now.", I responded, nodding my head. "I want to hone my swordsmanship training before we move forward with our plan, Your Imperial Majesty. My foundations are continuously growing as of late, I do not want to stop halfway through. I feel even more confident to tackle the Vermillion Trials in these upcoming days. It may be months out, but I need every bit of preparation I can get my hands on."
Hearing that, Giliath revealed a rare smile.
"Keep a firm grasp of that confidence, Your Royal Highness.", Giliath said, arriving beside Emperor Eugent and I, only to join in the conversation. "I will agree with His Imperial Majesty that today has been most eventful. The next century is at hand. I am sure Her Imperial Highness must be quite tired now too."
"Yes...", Princess Alfin uttered, and did a big arm stretch. "I am feeling quite sleepy now. But I think I have just a sliver of energy left to show you where you will be staying at, Naoto~"
Princess Alfin giggled after she said that. As much as I wanted to smack my head against that comment, I sighed.
"Just don't make it awkward, alright, Alfin? It's not like I'll be sleeping in your room or anything. I need to establish a clear boundary here.", I responded.
"Oh we'll see about that, hehe.", Princess Alfin giggled.
"And you're letting Alfin just go along with this?", I asked Emperor Eugent.
"What's the harm?", Emperor Eugent shot back. "It is quite clear Alfin is attached to you. I say that, but I do suppose you prove a point.", Emperor Eugent continued, only to look at Alfin. "Don't play around with this, alright, Alfin? Prince Naoto can use one of the rooms next to yours. That way, he'll still be close by."
"Oh, I suppose that is alright, Papa.", Princess Alfin responded with a hint of dejection in her eyes. She really was going to do that?
I'll keep that to myself. Princess Alfin may have joked about this earlier in the day, but there's an order for everything. Besides, our marriage is still years off. It would be awkward for me to suddenly use her room like that. That's a line I'm not willing to cross right now.
Thud!
As I thought that, we heard the elevator begin to move on its own.
"It will still be thirty minutes until we make it back into Valflame Palace. Until then, you are free to relax to your heart's content.", Claire said after guiding us here. Quite a long way for an ancient-looking elevator, huh?
Like I said, I don't know when the Infernal Castle will rise again. It could be in a couple months in February, or it could go all the way until next year, up until April. I have until May of S1201 before Kloe and I begin our studies at Jenis Royal Academy. The Infernal Palace is nothing like the Old Schoolhouse where Valimar presently resides.
How it went in the games is that Testa-Rossa was forcibly awoken with the collaborative efforts of the Ashen Knight and the Azure Knight. They nestled Testa-Rossa free from the corruption of the Dark Dragon. It still spawned in the Vermillion Apocalypse. Despite that, Rean's Class VII pushed through and saved Prince Cedric in the process. In response to that, Prince Cedric eventually became Testa-Rossa's pilot.
This time around, I will not have Rean or Class VII. Instead, I will have my colleagues and friends. And the Gamer System! With that, I know I won't be alone to tackle the Vermillion Trials. I wasn't wrong to say I was feeling much more confident now. I may have to be ready to fight the Vermillion Apocalypse too.
It will be much harder, knowing that we won't have any Divine Knights on our side. Instead, I'll have the Gralsritter, a pair of martial artists, and a magic swordsman and a magic caster. What can go wrong?
Even with that, I couldn't help but smile. Anticipation filled my eyes. Princess Alfin was quick to catch onto the change of my demeanor.
"Putting our sleeping arrangements aside, you seem to be in a good mood, Naoto. Did everything go as you expected?", Princess Alfin asked.
"You could say that. I am looking forward to what is to come. Seeing you during this stay is also included.", I said, and smiled. Reaching my hand out, Princess Alfin let me pat her on the head.
"Oh you.", Princess Alfin said, and smiled back at me. "You know, I don't allow just anyone to pat my head like this."
"What an honor.", I said, and grinned.
"See what I mean?", Emperor Eugent said, and also revealed a rare smile. "Still, I hope the news that will sprout up from this engagement won't buzz around for too long. As for those plans you have mentioned Prince Naoto, I will begin working with His Excellency to address them. I'm sure you know, it will not happen immediately. On the outside, I will likely draft it as a military drill so no one will be threatened by it."
Seeing the topic change to Heimdallr's evacuation, even Princess Alfin's eyes turned serious. She was there behind the closed doors, so she knows what is going to happen.
"That is likely for the best, Your Imperial Majesty. After the holiday passes, I will work with you to draft those plans. It shouldn't require much effort to run it by the Imperial Army. We can even include a few of the Armored Divisions to make it more official.", Giliath said, wondering what to do regarding this.
"Haha. Regardless it will keep me busy too.", Claire laughed, then sighed. That was for sure. Where Father goes, the RMP is likely to follow. Especially if it involves something like a military parade where he flaunts the Imperial Army to rile up the people. He's quite good at doing that.
"Do we really need to do this?", Princess Alfin asked with a hint of worry. "I won't lie, what I saw down there was gigantic. It would cover quite a lot of space if this place really is meant to rise up from its position..."
"I'm afraid so, Alfin. That is why we are taking the necessary steps so no harm is done.", I answered with a nod of my head.
"Is that so...", Princess Alfin uttered. And yet, I saw a glint of light appear in her eyes. "Then, to repay us for having to go to such lengths, will you stay over just for tonight, Naoto? And not just anywhere. You know what I am referring to. We can figure out your room situation tomorrow. Well, today, considering it is past midnight, heehee.", Princess Alfin continued. You're really going back there again!?
"I suppose a single night won't hurt. I'll have Priscilla work with the head maid to arrange one of the guest rooms next to Alfin's room for you to stay there starting tomorrow. Will that work, Prince Naoto?", Emperor Eugent asked me.
"Haha...", I responded, doing a dry laugh. "It's not like I can turn down a request from Your Imperial Majesty now, can I? Fine, I'll bite."
I did have to wonder where exactly I will be staying now that I'm in Heimdallr. I didn't have to think hard about it, knowing my ties with the Imperial Family. They invited me to live in Valflame Palace for the next three months. I figured it would be in a guest room near Princess Alfin's boom, but she is quite persistent to let me stay in her own room, so I bit the bullet, and went along with it. It's only for one night anyway. It was a matter I didn't need to think hard about.
As for Legram, I stayed inside Lord Arseid's house. So in a way, it is similar to that. I had gotten acquainted with Laura Arseid during my stay there, and while I may already know Princess Alfin here, we'll be spending more time together. Seeing Emperor Eugent agree, Princess Alfin's eyes sparkled in joy.
"Thank you, Papa!", Princess Alfin happily said, and decided to cling onto my arm. Seeing the two of us do this, Emma coughed, and spoke out.
"If I may add, Your Imperial Majesty, after tonight, please don't tell them about this side of me, alright? Fie might know, but the rest don't. To them, I am just Emma.", Emma requested.
"Haha, it doesn't matter who you are, Miss Witch. But if that is your wish, then we will forget about your identity after tonight. Instead, please continue looking after His Royal Highness, alright? I will leave his safety to you.", Giliath stepped in, and asked. Hearing that, Emma nodded her head.
"Thank you, Your Excellency. That is all I ask for.", Emma responded, and smiled.
Still, Emma sure has come a long way, hasn't she? I remember her being such a meek girl back during my stay in Eryn Village. Now, not only can she successfully cast incantations, she can even hold a sword to herself, and is proficient in using orbal weapons. In particular, an orbal rifle. I am quite pleased with how much Emma has trained, all so she can remain at my side. No doubt will Emma enter the harem later on, once a few more years pass. Otherwise, why would she go to such lengths?
Knowing that, the platform we were still standing on steadily rose upward. We could no longer see the inactive Infernal Palace, or Testa-Rossa. And yet, before the gaps closed completely, I felt a little disturbance in the air. I may not have Vermillion Eyes on right now, it was enough for me to feel it. My eyes shifted toward a particular area where the presence arrived. It acted as if they wanted me to locate them.
Princess Alfin also parted ways from that hug, and looked at me with worry in her eyes.
"Is everything alright, Naoto?", Princess Alfin asked, not sure why I became so serious all of a sudden.
"It is likely my imagination. Nothing to worry about.", I said, and smiled to ease Princess Alfin's worry. "Instead, I'll leave it to you to guide me tonight, alright?"
"Alright!", Princess Alfin happily responded with a nod of her head.
With a happy princess beside me and an aloof father next to us, he didn't press the matter as to what just happened, nor did Emma. I saw a glint of light streak across her glasses, but it was just that. We all began to idle chatter with one another while the platform continued onward and upward.
It was a very similar distance to the shaft Colonel Richard digs up to reach the Sealed Area back inside Grancel Castle during Trails in the Sky. Ouroboros's Gospel Plan should flourish in the coming year or two, as that is when Sky takes place. Before long, Colonel Richard will propose the creation of Grancel's Intelligence Division, a counterpart to Father's Intelligence Division. They would operate in the same capacity as they would, collecting information about our potential enemies, and potential threats to Liberl Kingdom.
The overall intent behind Colonel Richard's proposal to form this was pure, only to be led astray by The Faceless. This will likely happen still, but now there's me added into the mix. I don't want to stand by watching a good man like him get forced into a role he is not suited for, only to regret it afterward. Sure, Colonel Richard does get his own redemption after that, if I have something to say about it, I might do so.
At the same time, it is a pivotal piece to let Trails in the Sky take place. I want Estelle and Joshua to grow from that just like what happens in the games, so in the end, I may not do anything regarding this matter.
Instead, I thought about one of the recent Functions added by the Gamer System. The newest one was the Quartz Reforge function, allowing me to create any Quartz I want to. I may even Reforge my custom Quartz. I like such freedom. But this time, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the Subordinate Function. I plan to dive into this more once tonight is over.
If the Subordinate Function reaches to all who work under me, then its net might be quite extensive, considering as Crown Prince, I have partial control of the Royal Army. Grandmother holds the majority of that though. Either way, it includes someone like Colonel Richard. He may not be on the Subordinate list now, but in due time, he might. We'll see.
By now, the platform was well within the long shaft now. We continued our way into Valflame Palace. Even more anticipation filled my eyes knowing what is to come next. Only seventeen months or so remain until Sky will start. How cool is that?
And yet, around the same time my thoughts swirled around, the feeling from earlier lingered. The platform was so high up now that I no longer felt it, so I could only guess as to what it was. The feeling lingered at the bottom of the sealed grounds of the Infernal Castle.
Sure enough, once we were out of sight, space began to distort around the ground. It was quite small, but it was enough to be seen. The distortion was similar to that of Roselia's teleportation. It soon showed a rather high-tech sphere, clad in an unknown black material, appearing metallic in nature. It even floated on its own! It appeared very similar to that of an eye.
This eye-like device appeared out of nowhere, and began to look around where we once stood. From there, an obscured voice spoke out, coming directly from the device.
"It would seem over here is still going according to plan. It was a good idea to get in touch with the Master after all.", The obscured voice said. "He might be preoccupied right now, but it isn't easy trying to rule one of the largest countries on the continent from the shadows. I couldn't care less about that. As long as the Master's work doesn't hinder the Black Workshop, we will continue our cooperation as intended. Still..."
After the obscured voice said that, it paused. The sphere looked at the dormant Testa-Rossa for a moment, before it changed its gaze, and looked back at the shaft that no longer had the platform.
"That Liberl's Crown Prince...", The obscured voice uttered. "He is as frightening as the rumors say. Those Observatory Skills are quite hard to come by. The Master did say to be careful whenever his presence is around. I did not expect it to be to this extent. Perhaps I should divert some time to look into that particular lineage..."
The floating sphere quickly shook around, denying this suggestion.
"That would be equivalent to walking into a double-bladed death trap. The Master has things handled above ground here in Erebonia. I should not waste time on useless matters.", The obscured voice said. Then, the sphere turned around, looking in another direction, paying no attention where it presently was. It seemed to have spoken out to someone who wasn't here right now. "Georg! Has there been any progress on the latest Oz models?"
It was then the sphere had a second voice speak out from it.
"Yes, Master. The blueprints have had their finishing touches put on, and are ready to begin casting. All we need to do now is procure the materials.", The second voice said, not obscured at all. And yet, this second voice held little to no zero emotion to its tone.
"Excellent. The Master is currently occupied with Erebonia's present state of affairs. We will continue the plan he proposed to us. Start the casting for Oz73 and Oz74's frames immediately. If they are but a single detail off from their blueprints, I will have your head."
"I understand, Master.", The second voice answered, acknowledging the obscured voice's command. Even though it had a threat, the second voice acted like he was already used to it.
After that the metallic sphere had one look at the Vermillion Knight, Testa-Rossa, before it vanished from the sealed room. Unexpectedly, Testa-Rossa's eye sockets dimly lit up one last time for a brief second to record what just happened, before entering a dormant state once more.
Now, Testa-Rossa will wait for the day the Vermillion Awakener to claim him, and become the pilot of the Vermillion Knight!