It had already been four days since Valeria fell asleep, and although I was no longer on Earth and the existence of magic had become something normal to me, I still felt uneasy.
A soulless hunter, a bloody murderer, and a devourer of everything that moves and cannot defend itself — that's the kind of résumé I would have given myself not long ago. The only thing that had changed was that I had crossed off allies and the inhabitants of the kingdom we had created with the vampiress. Of course, the innocent and loyal ones! Pf!
The Kingdom of Valar! How proudly it sounds. Someone from Earth would think I had been reading LOTR, while those in this world would surely assume that the young vampire girl has ambitions to match her ancestor — Valar the Conqueror! Probably only she and I knew that, in a moment of stupidity, I simply took the first parts of our names…
Well. The word was spoken. The world heard it. Rumors and legends about the battle at the statue of the Sword God and his manifestation in the form of an awakened, sealed aura in the monument, after which he drove away the horned dragoness and vanished, leaving only ruins where the statue stood and thousands of felled trees along with the hills to the east.
"Doirak. No… That's not it. Hm. The Queen will not be pleased with our progress. We were supposed to prepare a coat of arms and a flag. Establish order…"
Argos growled, saddened, once again throwing onto the floor the dozens of drawings we had scattered around. Goblins skilled in painting stood nearby, stressed by the presence of the powerful warg.
"What do you think? Maybe we should accept the proposal of the Great Devourer after all? Though the great monster tribes won't be entirely pleased…"
Jo said to Argos, scratching his chin with a claw. His gaze turned to me, and I just wanted to go eat!!! What is wrong with them!? How long can you sit and talk about such nonsense!? As if it even mattered!?
A few scraps of meat, some herbs, and a visit to a latrine pit straight out of the Stone Age era! That's how I spent the last four days. I sat on the most important seat like some kind of tsar, nodded, and gave occasional comments, while each successive goblin chieftain added something or steered the discussion elsewhere.
Give me masons. What about supply deliveries. Will I get hunters? Why should I send 12 baskets of berries when 5 years ago it was 11… Damn it! I'm going insane! Not even during school practicals in accounting class did I hear such nonsense!
"Listen to me, those who desire the return of Zod! Our only chance to survive the coming of wild dungeons and attacks of those who seek our destruction is… is to entrust ourselves to the God of Darkness and the God of the Sword! If it weren't for the revelation of the Sword Legend, there would be no such conversation… If he had scorned the daughter of the people of the God of Darkness — the vampire and our queen — he would not have saved us from danger! The dragoness would have killed us!"
I decided that enough was enough. I would impose my will on this band, and if anyone started spouting nonsense again, then… then… I would call them traitors and order them punished! Ah, the good old technique from Soviet-style politics! Pf! Enough!
"The flag is the face of our Empire! It gives strength and hope to its inhabitants, and fills enemies with fear and doubt!" I cleared my throat, somewhat nervous under all those gazes. Don't embarrass yourself now… "At the top, black — like the dark night over the Misty Isles, a Nocturne full of darkness, gradually consuming everything… In the middle, red — the bloody mist for which the queen's lineage is known… It helped defeat Hakku! Remember!? Remember!?" I shouted, and the cheers suggested I was doing fairly well so far. One symbol remained. Two is probably too few, right?
"Truly, this is a worthy flag for the Empire. Should we see it, Great Devourer Artax?" Dogk of the White Squirrel clan from the east — an old but agile hobgoblin — stepped forward and, with a single motion of his hand, summoned the painters.
Meanwhile, I raised all three heads, steam pouring from my mouth, and growled fiercely.
"No, we will add the bottom color. The golden eye of the queen Valeria and the legacy of the great conqueror who built the power of the Misty Isles… Let gold adorn Valar!"
And so it happened. Chaos erupted. Everyone talked to each other, each sharing more or less positive opinions. The important thing was that Doirak, Mago, Argos, and Jo'Xa'Jaru did not complain. I knew I could rely on them.
Finally, the crowd before me — surrounding the painters furiously attacking parchment with brushes — began to part in great excitement. It was probably the first time they were creating something other than a tribal coat of arms or a map to a neighboring village…
WHAT THE HELL!? It turned out like the German flag! That's not what I meant. Damn it. Black, red, gold. What the hell did I just do? How, as a Pole, am I building my kingdom under the banner of our eternal enemy? My poor ancestors would be rolling in their graves! What have I done! Stupid me!
"Yes, good. You have talent, dear painters. Truly, it is a flag worthy of the Kingdom of Valar! Truly!" I shouted, and then let out a short sigh.
"Agreed! Who is in favor? Who is against?"
Doirak asked, and the unanimity was overwhelming. Under what must have been a final burst of brain activity, I shouted:
"May the Moon heralding the night and the Sword of Nocturne with its famous blade of orange sunset be the signature of our queen. May she, chosen by ancient ancestors and warriors of the Silver Behemoth, be inscribed upon it… forever! For one hundred thousand years!!!"
"One hundred thousand years!"
"One million years!"
"Until the end of the world!"
Shouts and cheers erupted, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Phew… At least it will look somewhat different. In the end, when I looked at it all, the tricolor flag with a white circular moon and an orange blade with a black hilt on its surface — it was impressive. Not unpleasant at all, just… good. Too good! One might say I was some kind of artist, one could say.
One could also say that practically the entire flag was dedicated to those bloodsucking vampires and the God of Darkness. If he is even half as powerful as that monster who drove away the beast with a few words, then maybe it's good to have him as an ally…
Meanwhile, the thought that by omitting references to the God of the Sword I might be getting us into deep trouble made me think.
"Let the coat of arms of our Kingdom unite the God of the Sword and the God of Darkness. Let the world know that with them on our side, nothing can threaten us!"
I addressed everyone, and they nodded. The greens remembering what had happened on the battlefield shrank back and lost their enthusiasm at the mention of that name. It was like fighting a classmate — slightly stronger — and suddenly the strongest person in the world shows up and beats up the second kid! That kind of power imbalance leaves a mark on everyone's memory, damn it!
"May the blades of the Sword God guard the night. When darkness covers our forest, the God of Darkness will help us. By day, when the queen weakens and so do we, the Sword God will give us strength to crush our enemies. Human tricks will not scare us!"
Then I personally directed the work. It lasted two days, and in the end we arrived at something sensible. Too bad goblin artistry did not exceed the abilities of more talented fourth-grade primary school kids! If they had any real skill, I would have added a cheerful wolf or some behemoth in the background. The only thing those fools could manage was a silver-white moon, like on a flag, and in front of it two crossed swords with red blades and hilts. The dark night surrounded everything, and the only thing saving it was that I made them draw some kind of outline along the blades to imitate the aura of the Sword God, whose power I still felt in my bones days later…
"It is done. Everything is ready, sigh… Break. Jo… San… Save me please…" I whispered to my companions, and Argos the eavesdropper just shook his head.
I managed to escape that damned place. They set up tents, summoned everyone who had at least a dozen greens at their command, and announced a grand ceremony, as if a pope had been chosen! For now, one dragoness has driven us off — who knows what else this damned world has in store for us.
I prefer not to think about it…
Meanwhile, while I was hunting by the river with the lizardmen for fish, something strange happened in the distance. I felt a surge of something insanely powerful, something incredibly fast and terrifying. Death was coming! It had arrived…
"Greetings, friends! Have I found my sister?" pale skin, white shoulder-length hair, and fangs…
An aura like Valeria's, chain armor, and a youthful, charming face with a deceitful smile… Level 136… 136!!!
I thought I was done for. Sapphire eyes pierced through me, and his lips curved slightly downward.
"Huh? I think I came to the right place. My little sister is here, isn't she? Or not? This isn't the capital of the Southern Goblin Alliance? Huh? Oh… Did I mess up again?"
Is this some kind of psychopath? Why is he so calm? Is he joking? Even I could feel his killing intent. It radiated from him like an aura so strong, so dense, that even Daralis might have trouble with him! And that sword at his side. I felt it had its own aura.
"Who are you? Identify yourself!"
Jo'Xa'Jaru said, but did not raise his hands when a small dagger stopped maybe a centimeter from his throat. I nearly fainted. The burst of aura and black mist from which he appeared — and teleported in a split second — was suffocating.
"Oh my, how impolite. Good manners say you should introduce yourself first before asking someone else's name, right? Hm?"
"Yes… yes… you speak well… My name is Jo, of the Xa clan, son of Jaru! I am a warrior and was a thousand-man commander in the Flying Company…"
The sapphire eyes brightened. A wide smile returned to the pale face.
"I'm a fan of the Flying Company! They're my favourite mercenaries! I once sparred with the White Bird's right hand, but I got beaten so badly my backside hurt for a month! Haha! To think you served under such a legend! Ha!"
What the hell, how old was he!? What is going on!? One second he wanted to kill him, and now what? He's going to ask for an autograph!?
"Maybe you'd like to try fighting me! I haven't fought in a while! Maybe… two days!"
I only felt that even Jo'Xa'Jaru was sinking into the ground under that pressure, and I wanted to run too — but when I looked toward the bushes, I saw her. Valeria stood there with a serious expression, wearing a crown, holding the new flag painted on a piece of cloth as a banner.
Their gazes met. I saw them standing on the grass, each looking at the other with calm and unwavering composure. Jo'Xa'Jaru stepped back a few paces, and the lizardmen followed his example.
Then everything happened so fast — they approached each other with energetic steps until the ground trembled, closer and closer, until…!
"Brother! My dear brother! It's been so long!!! I thought you were dead! It's been about 20 years since I last saw you!" she cried, sobbing — Valeria!
The banner stuck into the ground fluttered above them. The moon of the vampires, hmm…