After staying in the border town for another day to allow Naoko Kisaragi to finalize her business contracts, Regulus and his party set off once again.
However, they did not have Naoko accompany them on this leg of the journey. Regardless of her desire to return to Japan, she had been living in this world for five long years. In that time, she had built up a highly successful logistics business and made a few close female friends whom she considered family. She needed proper time to handle her personal affairs, settle her accounts, and bid them a proper farewell.
If Regulus and the others had not returned by the time she settled everything, she planned to join a high-end merchant guild traveling in the same direction and head straight to the Royal Capital ahead of them. Along the way, she also specifically wanted to see the towering, ancient tree planted by the Great Sage Flugel.
Regulus had absolutely no objections to this arrangement. If she wanted to sightsee, she was more than welcome to do so.
But then again, his own curiosity was slightly piqued by that massive ancient tree.
'If the Great Sage Flugel was indeed my past self,' Regulus mused internally, 'then logically speaking, there should have been absolutely no need to plant that ridiculous tree in the first place. Slaying the White Whale wouldn't have required any physical assistance from a wooden landmark at all.'
If he had planted it anyway, despite it being entirely redundant to his power, then could it have some deeper, hidden meaning? Or perhaps, was there some rare, high-value treasure buried beneath its roots?
It was definitely worth investigating. However, even if he were to make the trip, he would have to wait until this diplomatic escort was fully completed and he had held proper, glorious weddings for all of his lovely Wives first. Only then would he have the leisure to go treasure hunting.
Traveling at a brisk, uninterrupted pace, it didn't take long before the royal carriage successfully crossed the border and reached the sovereign territory of the Demi-Human alliance.
But!
The very moment he officially entered demi-human lands, despite the overwhelmingly enthusiastic welcome from the local residents, Regulus simply couldn't bring himself to be happy.
The reason was actually very simple.
Firstly, the frontier region they had entered was primarily inhabited by the Pig Demi-humans. Facing these pig-like humanoids—even if they were physically quite human-like, with only their noses and ears retaining their porcine traits—the aesthetic was highly challenging. That massive, wet pig snout was the absolute dealbreaker, wasn't it?
"Facing such passionately welcoming girls, didn't you feel even a single spark of appreciation, Lord Regulus?" Shion teased from across the carriage, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "You should know, those pig-girls from earlier are considered the absolute pinnacle of beauty in the Pig-man tribe. They belong to their most elite bloodlines. As long as you had merely nodded your head, those lovely maidens would have happily—"
"Alright, alright, stop bothering me with your horrific aesthetic theories," Regulus grumbled, waving his hand in annoyance.
"Pfft... Hehe~"
Shion couldn't help but burst into a melodic, ringing laugh. The sheer comedy of the scene earlier was just too much to handle. Regulus, who loved to shamelessly flirt with her and had just confidently pinned down Naoko yesterday, had actually been visibly terrified and repulsed by a welcoming committee of robust, squealing pig-girls.
"To be fair, they don't actually look ugly from a biological standpoint, and their figures are quite voluptuous," Shion noted, wiping a tear of mirth from her eye. "But from a standard human aesthetic perspective, I suppose they are indeed a bit too avant-garde."
"Is that so?" Regulus sniffed, crossing his arms. "In my opinion, it's just a matter of different cultural appreciation. Perhaps if you lived among them, you would eventually find them quite charming."
"You say that so casually," Shion countered, raising an eyebrow.
"If you were forced to choose, would you honestly select a bride from the Pig-man tribe?"
"This..."
Shion's expression instantly became incredibly awkward as the question bounced back to her. There was really nothing she could do about it. The Elven race was naturally, biologically predisposed to cherish beauty and elegance. If she were forced to choose a life partner, even if there were absolutely no other options left in the world, she would never, ever choose a pig-man.
"I knew it. You can only talk big when it doesn't affect you," Regulus shook his head, feeling quite dejected by her lack of appreciation for his suffering.
Lately, Shion's courage had been growing rapidly. She was completely shedding her initial maidenly shyness around him. But looking at this sudden psychological transformation, Regulus truly couldn't fully comprehend it. Why did she revert so quickly to her usual, composed self? This calm, collected reaction almost made him suspect if the submission mark on her stomach hadn't worked at all.
But the physical evidence was undeniable. In the two days since the pink crest had been inscribed, her sudden emotional vulnerability and submissive compliance during their private moments confirmed that she had indeed been deeply affected by the brand.
"Ahem~ well, let's not discuss porcine aesthetics anymore," Shion coughed, her cheeks turning slightly pink as she quickly changed the subject. "Actually, I want to temporarily leave the caravan for a short while. I want to locate an old friend of mine and recruit her to assist me with the upcoming trade routes."
"An old friend?" Regulus's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is this friend a man or a woman?"
"Of course she's a girl!" Shion huffed, rolling her eyes.
"Very well. In that case, I fully approve of your departure," Regulus declared shamelessly.
Regulus didn't mind Shion's mild displeasure at his blatant double standards. Since he had already internally decided to claim this beautiful Elf Maiden as his own sooner or later, there was absolutely no need to hide his intense possessiveness.
"Honestly... if I had said it was a man, you would have flatly refused, wouldn't you?" Shion complained, though a small, secret flutter warmed her chest.
"Of course I would. Isn't that just common sense?" Regulus replied righteously. "Although I certainly do not lack self-confidence in my own charms, having other young men hovering around the girl I've set my sights on is always going to be incredibly annoying."
"Unbelievable... you say such embarrassing things so casually," Shion muttered, turning her face away to hide her blushing cheeks.
It wasn't that she had any genuine objections to his claim; she was simply feeling a bit unaccustomed to Regulus's overwhelming, high-speed assertiveness. It was simply far too fast! In elven culture, developing a romantic relationship to this stage took decades—human lifespans simply couldn't compare to the centuries an elf lived. But even if they adjusted for his short human lifespan, a courtship of at least a few months should still be necessary, right?
They had literally known each other for days, yet he was already treating her like his personal property. If her elven friends ever found out, they would definitely accuse her of being far too uninhibited and loose.
Seeing Regulus's hand casually reaching out to grasp her wrist again, Shion panicked.
"I'm off!" she squeaked. "If all goes well, I should arrive at the main stronghold before your caravan does!"
With that hasty declaration, the Elf Maiden practically bolted out of the moving carriage, disappearing into the forest canopy like a gust of wind.
Finding himself suddenly left alone in the lavish cabin, Regulus turned his head to look for comfort from Sphinx, who was sitting silently on his other side.
"Good luck," Sphinx said, blinking her large, dark eyes as she delivered the incredibly concise and clear encouragement.
For the quiet, literal-minded Sphinx, this was already her absolute maximum output of emotional support. Asking her to formulate a more elaborate, comforting speech would simply be putting the poor clone in a highly difficult position.
"Sure enough, my Sphinx is the absolute best," Regulus smiled warmly, pulling the incredibly obedient and sensible girl tightly into his embrace.
For the remaining leg of the journey, the caravan encountered several other demi-human tribes. Some were physically quite decent and humanoid, but others possessed features that were truly, biologically unacceptable to human aesthetic standards.
It wasn't until they finally reached the central Demi-Human stronghold that Regulus let out a long sigh of relief.
At the same time, as the carriage pulled to a halt, he spotted Shion waiting to greet him by the gates. Standing right beside her was the 'old friend' she had mentioned.
She was also an Elf.
It was a gorgeous Elf Maiden with long, flowing purple hair and piercing purple eyes. She was dressed in a striking, sleeveless black dress that perfectly accentuated her exceptionally voluptuous figure. However, judging by her sharp posture and the cool, aloof expression on her face, she did not look like an easy girl to get along with.
As Regulus approached, Shion and the purple-haired elf did not step forward to greet him first. Instead, the formal welcoming committee was led by a group of young, high-ranking demi-humans whose appearances were completely indistinguishable from normal humans.
"Lord Regulus, it is an honor to meet you," a handsome young man stepped forward, bowing respectfully. "I am Setanta, the leader of the Oni Clan, temporarily appointed by Lady Sphinx to command the garrison stationed here."
After delivering his smooth self-introduction, the Oni warrior turned to the pink-haired girl standing beside Regulus, his posture turning deeply reverent.
"Lady Sphinx, welcome back to the stronghold."
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Give me powerstones.
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