Darius opened his eyes slowly, his mind coming to wakefulness. He looked around himself and slowly raised his body into a seating position.
He was initially surprised that his muscles hadn't atrophied, but then he remembered that he now had the body of a Dragon.
Such a thing shouldn't surprise him and he should have expected at least this much.
As such, Darius got up from the bed and noticed that he was naked. That alone didn't bother him, no it was the fact that his body gave off a slight stench due to lack of care, making him frown.
He clearly remembered specifically instructing the Guard Android to clean him every day.
Darius snorted derisively, then cast a Cleanse spell on himself and began looking for his clothes. He quickly found them placed nearby, clean and smelling fresh which was at least something good.
Dressed in his usual attire he stepped out of the cabin, wondering how much time had actually passed.
Since the Guard Android had neglected to clean him, Darius was convinced that he must have overshot the three months time limit he had given himself.
The question was by how much?
However long it was, it was worth it. At least he had made good use of the time and had digested all the new information. His entire outlook towards Faust had drastically changed.
Many of the things he had planned to set in motion would have to be adjusted, the sooner he started on that the better.
Outside the cabin, the Guard Android was nowhere to be found. Instead, Darius stumbled upon a squatting Gunner who was fascinated by the flora that had grown thanks to the mist of Lunar Dew spread around the glade.
He had a gentle smile on his face as he touched them, making Darius himself smile softly.
Gunner eventually rose to his feet and walked over to Darius, a glint of happiness and satisfaction in his eyes that Darius could not miss.
It was the same type of glint he had seen every morning in the mirror after he had married Deia.
"You're finally awake. It's been half a year since you went into seclusion. You can be at ease, nothing happened that we couldn't deal with." Gunner began after greeting Darius.
"Oh? Tell me all about it." Darius requested as the duo began leaving the Divine Glade.
"I spent the first few weeks courting Celia until she agreed to be my partner for life. Luckily, apart from being extremely compatible spiritually and mentally, we are also compatible physically. The problem I usually faced does not exist with her." Gunner reported with glee.
Darius patted Gunner's shoulder with a congratulatory smile. He was truly happy for the fellow, especially concerning the physical issue as he was in the same boat now.
"After our time together, she had to return to her empire, while I met up with Xela who, at the time, seemed a bit shaken. Apparently, that strange woman who dressed improperly had tried to make many sexual advances on her during their trip, but our Xela had managed to persevere." Gunner added with an awkward expression.
Darius could only laugh wryly. During the short time they had spent together, Darius had been able to figure out that Genie didn't want Xela solely for her healing, but also for her body.
He hadn't said anything, since he felt that it would be a good chance for Xela to experience the uniqueness of the world.
If Xela was into such things then congrats, she had discovered her true sexuality with a beautiful partner to boot. If not, she would learn to be guarded and careful about who she walked with.
"Since she was so distraught, I decided to come here and guard you while she would return to the territory and make sure everything is ready for your eventual return." Gunner concluded.
Darius nodded. His worries were abated with that. After all, the only reason he had set that three months timeframe was to prevent himself from being away from his territory for too long during its crucial budding phase.
Since he had learned that kingdoms needed Masters to have basic rights and protections, leaving his territory with not a single Master would have been too dangerous.
With Xela at the helm, he was comforted.
Darius and Gunner arrived at the forest surrounding the Divine Glade. After Gunner gave him his update, it was Darius' time to share key information he had learned with his Branded Servant.
He then smiled and sent them straight to their territory with his Long Warp Scroll. They appeared at the top floor of Darius' mage tower, descending slowly until they came to the lobby.
There, they found Xela reading a book, an expression of boredom and fatigue on her face. She raised her head slowly and saw that it was Darius and Gunner who approached her.
Then she jumped to her feet and rushed over, a look of grievance on her face. Darius and Gunner both hugged her and patted her back as she vented her emotions, the two fellows feeling bad for doing this to her.
"Don't worry, now that I am back, you can rest easy. Gunner and I will pick up the work." Darius reassured her slowly.
Hearing this, Xela's tears suddenly stopped as she displayed a bright smile. "You said it, not me."
Darius and Gunner were both floored, not having expected this in the least. The two shared a look and realized that their innocent Xela must have picked up some bad habits after staying with mercenaries for a long time.
Xela skipped away happily, off to do who knows what.
In the meantime, Darius headed to the meeting room of the mage tower and summoned Shanks, Jorge, and Foldo over.
The three came over quickly once Miranda informed them of Darius' return. He had to placate them endlessly for being away for so long.
After all, everything had been long since prepared, just waiting for him to cut the ribbon so operations would commence.
Although Darius had already prepared the resources and they could have acted autonomously, they hadn't dared to. Darius was amused by this and asked them for a full explanation of what had happened.
"Well, the construction was completed three months ago according to your plan and many of the amenities have been installed and prepared. Most of our people have been situated and many are clamoring to sign the Soul Paper agreement to become core members."
"Hm? How come?" Darius asked with a frown.
Foldo laughed awkwardly, gazing at Darius hopefully. "Well, there are rumors that after visiting the Queen of Andrato once, you've been able to easily turn her into a Master-stage expert."
