The double doors opened with a heavy thud, the sound rolling across the meeting hall like a wave. And inside the wide chamber, dozens of people turned at once.
The people were new faces to Arthur, ranging from city lords in formal robes, administrators, captains of the city guard in their polished armor. senior advisors, high-rank mages. Most were middle aged and some were older, some were in Avalon for nearly three decades handling its growth and defense.
But the moment Arthur and Selene stepped inside, the entire room went silent.
For most of them, this was their first time seeing the mysterious Lord of Avalon, the man whose name had been heard by them but was more of a myth. To them, Arthur had been just a title, the founder of Avalon who supposedly built their nation and then vanished.
And now he was just… standing there in front of them.
There were also two people who Arthur recognised, it was butler Hudson who stood frozen after seeing Arthur and his master Kai.
Hudson was the first to move. The old butler had been standing near the opposite seat to the head seat with a set of reports in hand. Upon seeing Arthur, the papers slipped from his fingers and scattered across the polished floor.
His jaw dropped so wide he could've swallowed a whole chicken.
"…L-Lord Arthur."
He looked a bit older than before, with a little more wrinkles around the eyes, and a little more white in his head, but he still carried that perfect butler posture. And with all the resources of Avalon at his disposal, even his aging had slowed thanks to his new mage foundation.
Hudson snapped out of his shock a second later, hurried forward, and bowed deeply, almost tripping over his own robes.
"Welcome back, Lord Arthur!"
Arthur smiled back seeing him acting the same, like he had just come home from a weekend trip instead of thirty missing years.
"It's good to see you again, Hudson."
Before Hudson could say more, a booming laugh echoed through the hall.
"Hah! Look who decided to come back before my back finally gave out!"
The voice unmistakably belonged to Kai. He marched across the room, grinning widely. His hair had streaks of gray but the man still carried himself like a grandmaster who could punch a mountain in half.
He didn't bother with greetings or formalities, he just walked up and pulled Arthur into a rough hug, smacking his shoulder hard enough to make the nearby administrators wince due to the wind generated.
"You're finally back, boy!"
Arthur winced theatrically. "Master… you're crushing my spine."
"Oh please," Kai snorted, cuffing him on the back, "If you really broke that easily I'd be embarrassed to even call you my disciple. And it's my hand that is hurting, just how strong did you become?"
Then Kai continued in an exaggerated complaining tone, "Do you know how much I had to work these old bones to keep this place standing? Now that you're here, I can finally retire!"
Arthur deadpaned. "Really, master? Because it appears to me you can still work just fine for another few hundred years."
Kai froze, he had a dumbfounded expression on his face and exclaimed. "You brat, do you intend to work me until death?!"
Arthur shrugged… and then both of them burst out laughing.
The room which was previously quiet and tense, loosened noticeably.
But the rest of the council still stared at Arthur, unsure, baffled, some still slightly skeptical of his ability. For nearly three decades, Selene, Kai and Hudson had been the only authority figures they knew. Most of them had only seen portraits or heard rumors about Avalon's founder.
Was this young man really the one behind everything, would he treat them fairly or would he be a brutal lord who exploited his power?
Arthur noticed their looks, some were hopeful, and some appeared cautious. So, he straightened up, gave a calm nod, and said in a steady, and genuine voice.
"Everyone… I'm sorry I was gone for so long."
It was a simple sentence, but it made the tension amongst the people drop. People exhaled, as their shoulders loosened.
They were happy their new lord didn't demand respect from them, or act superior. And just like that, Avalon's founder finally returned.
Arthur moved toward the head seat, the one that had stayed empty for nearly thirty years, and Selene naturally sat to his right while Hudson placed himself at his left.
Kai grabbed a seat nearby them, grumbling under his breath, "If this meeting takes more than two hours, don't come complaining to me if I fall asleep."
Arthur snorted as he took his seat. The rest of the council settled in as well, filling the large circular table, and the meeting officially began.
…
They then started to discuss in detail what happened during his absence, even though Arthur already knew the overall situation from Selene, and could have just downloaded everything from the Guardian's clone through technopathy in about 0.2 seconds, he didn't do that. Instead, he listened to them patiently. He owed them that much.
Butler Hudson stood up from his seat.
After they left for the ancient realm the management of the city was handed over butler Hudson and Arthur had also left a clone of the guardian to look after its security and development.
"My lord, after you departed for the Ancient Realm, we have been continuing our trade with Navarre, exchanging what we required most at that time, that is food, clothing and money in exchange for the cargo ships built by the guardian."
"And as the months passed, the synthezoids were bringing in more people from all around Arkanis to become citizens of Avalon, and helping them settle in the newly built city at that time."
"At the end of six months, our population was already around twenty thousand. And after six months when it was time for you to return, Miss Selene informed us that… that you would not be returning for some time and took over Avalon's management."
He glanced at Selene gratefully. Arthur noticed it, and Selene gave Hudson a small nod of appreciation, telling him he did well.
One administrator stood up and bowed. "My lord, the technology you left us allowed Avalon to grow at a pace unheard of in Thyrandel."
Another mage added quickly, "People flocked here from all over Thyrandel. Humans, elves, dwarves, demi-humans, all wanting to become Avalon's citizens."
A city lord chimed in. "And within two years, our population surpassed two hundred thousand."
After just two years the once small city had enlarged to a massive one filled with artisans, blacksmiths both human and dwarven and people of many other professions. Making this place extremely attractive to traders and tourists due to its good scenery and modern city which was unique in this world.
Hudson nodded. "And Lady Selene, Master Kai, and the Guardian handled most of the expansion."
Arthur glanced at Selene, but she didn't meet his eyes, pretending to focus on a map projection on the table.
But her cheeks had the faintest shade of pink. Kai, of course, noticed and coughed loudly into his fist to hide his smirk.
Hudson then gestured toward a floating silver drone near the side of the room.
"At the same time the Guardian managed industrial growth, infrastructure, security and distribution systems. And in the twentieth year, as we were expanding our number of cities, we discovered the adamantine mine in the depths of Avalon."
That caused the room to shift uncomfortably. The discovery had attracted the greedy gazes of multiple kingdoms, which Selene spoke up. "That discovery attracted… troubles."
That was an understatement. A thin looking advisor stood up, bowing towards Arthur. "My lord, many kingdoms sent spies, some even forming covert groups within our cities. A few even attempted night raids on the island…"
Kai snorted. "Amateurs."
Hudson cleared his throat. "But all such attempts were stopped by Lady Selene, Master Kai, your friends, and the defense bots controlled by the Guardian. Your companion the Crystal Knight also played a vital role in driving out the invaders."
Arthur raised a brow and asked, "Crystal Knight?"
It was Selene who replied, "The people of Avalon gave the name to your golem due to its unique appearance and power." Hearing that Arthur nodded and continued hearing the details.
A city guard captain spoke next. "After several thousand casualties on their side… they all stopped trying." That was not the only reason, they stopped as they came to know there was a terrifying dragoness whose strength was comparable to a Transcended-rank mage.
Arthur nodded slowly.
But what the council members and even Hudson and Kai didn't know was the island was almost attacked nearly thirty years ago by one of the three dragon kingdoms, after hearing their prince was killed by some human and finding out this island belonged to him.
But the attack was stopped by Selene's grandfather, by coming to an agreement with them, he had informed them that Arthur too had died while fighting Roderic. And now Avalon belonged to him, so they withdrew their forces begrudgingly as Steve was a Demigod rank mage, and they didn't want to turn someone so strong into an enemy.
The council continued updating him.
There were five cities built on the island and the city they were currently in was just getting its construction finished, each city was able to hold a population of approximately 250 thousands.
There were also multiple industrial sectors on the island which were controlled by the guardian producing vehicles, communication devices, drones, purification systems, and dozens of other magitech-based products that revolutionized trade. These technological marvels were exported to allied kingdoms, bringing in staggering wealth which helped in developing Avalon's economy.
Avalon's total population had also passed one million after nearly thirty years of growth, with a mix of races ranging from humans, demi-humans, dwarves and even some elves.
When they finally finished, he leaned back in his chair.
"…You all did incredibly well."
Hudson bowed. "We simply fulfilled our responsibilities. Most of the credit goes to Lady Selene, Mister Kai and the Guardian." Arthur smiled seeing Hudson being so humble.
Selene cast him a sideways look, a proud smile tugging at her lips. "Avalon stayed safe because we all worked together."
Kai raised a hand. "And because I worked twice as hard my old bones could bear."
Arthur smirked. "Yes, master, you did great."
Kai sat back with a triumphant grin.
…
Three hours later, everyone finally began filing out of the room.
Arthur stretched his arms, shoulders relaxing. "That was… a lot."
Selene approached him, crossed her arms and added, "By the way… I already informed your friends of your return."
Arthur blinked. "They're here?"
Selene nodded. "They arrived a few minutes ago, and are waiting in the central courtyard."
Arthur felt a weight lift from his chest. "…Let's go."
Selene stepped ahead, guiding him toward the exit.
And as Arthur followed, the feeling sank in fully for the first time, Avalon was in capable hands.
He just hoped everything would be the same in his original universe.
***
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