201 Melinda
Rento was not that far from the capital of Embercoast, where the royal family lived.
Arthur was not scared to share his true identity, but he still wore a hooded-cloak to not attract that much attention.
The students and devotees were with him, as well as Sully, who turned small to fit in a pocket. It had been a while since he did that.
“Shall we part ways?” Wisa said.
“What’s your plan?”
“Well, Jane and Eleonora are the ones that can help you with your innocence, so I thought that I, Myria, and Harmony can lead everyone else to Frostpeak.”
“All right, we can do that. Sully, go with Wisa.”
If Arthur went inside Embercoast with that many people, then he would surely attract attention. Also, what could they do to help, anyway? It was more likely that they would be in danger.
They parted ways after deciding that. Wisa knew a different way to reach Frostpeak, so that they would not pass close to the capital.
As for Arthur, Jane, Eleonora and Myria, well, they had to go on the normal path, walking toward Embercoast. The day was sunny, but the people did not seem happy, and their facial expressions looked as if something was bothering them.
Arthur went to one of these people, a farmer who was taking care of its crops just outside Rento. He kept his hood low, making sure the man would not recognize him.
“Hello, brother. I was away in plenty of mercenaries missions, and yet now that I return home, it seems people are concerned with something. What happened?”
The farmer stopped what he was doing and looked at Arthur with a surprised face. “you’ve been away so long? Well, let me tell you. Do you know the Shukar Empire? The one that is close to us.”
“I do, yes.”
“Well, a strange horde of beasts came from there, and they seemed endless. Phuvia is now at war against these beasts, so if you want some more missions, I am sure they will have some that pay well.”
“As for us here in Rento, we are concerned, but not that much. We are blessed to live just near the sea, and if something happens, then we can all hop on ships and leave.”
“I see, many thanks.”
Arthur returned to his group, who was just waiting in the road, and explained it to them.
“What? We need to get the word to Wisa,” Jane said.
“Wait here.”
They had just parted, and with Arthur’s teleport, he quickly arrived in front of Wisa, explaining it to her before leaving again.
He was not that concerned as Frostpeak, just like Rento, were on the edge of the kingdom, and both had sea close to them as an escape route.
Still, it did not mean Wisa couldn’t get attacked before arriving there, so Arthur felt it was wiser to let her know beforehand.
“Let’s continue forward. With this crazy war going on, maybe they forgot about you?”
“I don’t think so. I am the person who killed the ‘king’.”
“What are you afraid of? There is no one in this place near you level of power. Let’s just talk with my family. I am sure they understand now that father was not father anymore.” Jane said.
There was no way the royal family wouldn’t search for more informations after what they saw with the king. The only reason for them to be looking for Arthur was to give a culprit to everyone put the blame on.
What about now? If they truly continued in the dark without looking for more information about what had happened to the king, then Arthur could not blame them for their foolishnesses.
Embercoast, the capital, wasn’t that far from Rento, and with a matter of hours, Arthur reached it.
He did not use the normal entrance, as the guards would surely recall who he was, and that would lead to problems right at the entrance. So, Arthur turned invisible and fly above the city.
Jane, Eleonora and Myria entered the normal way, and perhaps the guard was a new one, as it did not recognize the two princesses.
They went inside without problems, thus meeting with Arthur right after that, going straight towards the palace.
“This place looks dark,” Arthur said as he looked around Embercoast.
The place still looked vivid with people trading stuff at the streets, but it was not like before where they had smiling faces and the goodies were of all kinds.
Now, most of the things were weapons, potions, books with spells, and everything related to combat. The war against these creatures made them shift their gaze to that, and lots of people walked around the streets wearing armor and with weapons behind their back.
Turn into a mercenary was a profit way of living now, but also dangerous. Lots of people joined the adventurer’s guild to earn big with the war, taking on dangerous quests with bountiful rewards.
“You can tell by the atmosphere that these are war times,” Arthur thought.
While he was walking towards the palace, Arthur tried to guess what were those beasts that were attacking the kingdom. If he was not mistaken, these surely came from a dungeon, but why now?
Also, if they were already in Phuvia, does it mean that the Shukar Empire had fallen? Their situation was not good before the beast invasion, so Arthur would not be surprised if they truly had perished.
“It feels like a long time since I have been here,” Jane said, looking at the building in front of her; it was the palace.
Eleonora was also been away from home for quite some time, but Jane was way longer. Mixed feelings grew inside both of them.
“We will be all right. Let’s go!”
There were lots of guards in front of the palace, and they immediately looked at Arthur and the others that were arriving at the palace.
“Who are you? And what businesses do you have here?”
Jane and Eleonora took the lead.
“I am Jane, the princess, and this is Eleonora, the other princess. Move out of the way.”
The guards were stunned for a moment. Two princess who had those names had vanished some time ago, and with the beast invasion, the royal family was concerned that something might have happened to them.
Now, though, they had returned to the royal palace.
“Go on, my lady.”
Everyone moved out of the way, so Arthur and Myria followed closely behind. Jane and Eleonora’s arrival created an uproar inside the palace, and within minutes all of them knew they had returned.
~~~~
Inside the throne room stood the queen, and one youth that Arthur did not know yet.
The queen was Jane’s mother, Melinda. As for the king, it seemed they did not have anyone to take the position, and the prince was too young to take the responsibility.
It was not uncommon in that world for the queen to rule alone, especially if one had the strength to do so. Melinda was not an ordinary woman but a sixth circle mage.
“Why didn’t she help capture me? With her strength, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Jane, Eleonora, I can’t believe you are here!”
She got up from her throne and hugged both of them. After that, she looked at Arthur and said, “you are Arthur, right? The one that killed the demon who looked like my husband.”
“That is correct. It seems you did the research.”
“Of course. Your wanted poster disappeared a few months ago. Also, thank you for protection my daughters. It means a lot to me.”
Melinda went and hugged Arthur as well. She had a perfect body, and the two soft peaks rubbing against his chest made his breath irregular.
“You all probably know about the beast invasion, right?” Melinda said and then turned his gaze to Arthur once again.
“Arthur, I know you are strong, stronger than anyone on this continent. I can grant you the power to command our army against the beasts, as a general, and after this war is over, I can promise you the position of king, if you wish.”
“King? Wouldn’t that mean…”
“Yes, I’ll be your wife, just like my daughter is.”
“Mom!” Jane’s cheeks flushed.
“You can’t hide things from your mother. Also, don’t worry, it will only be by name until the prince is old enough to take the seat.”
It was the only move Melinda could think of. The Prince, Jeremias, was too young to take the throne, so she wanted Arthur to act as a provisory king until he was old enough.
“I can help with the invasion, but soon we will leave this continent, so I can’t act as a king anymore,” Arthur said.
“All right, let’s end this invasion first, and if peaceful times are here, then Jeremias will take the throne, and with me here teaching him how to rule, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Arthur liked that idea. It better suited his plans, but he also wanted to have some fun with the queen. Was he on the wrong side? Would his wives think bad of him?