It had been three days since Varian and the girls appeared in this foreign land.
Thanks to space powers, they toured through the ruins of the abyssal civilization. Learning that fairies were the neighboring province, they also visited their star system.
Fairies were fine compared to abyssals, but they were badly beaten. The strongest man of their race—fairy emperor had only reached mid rank 2 recently and that was the best they got.
When he saw that man and his race from afar, Varian felt a sense of incongruity.
'Wait, are you telling me that this man had pushed Abyssals and Abyssal Emperor to that state? So…weak!'
No, Fairy Emperor had always been like that. It's him. He had grown too strong. Too fast.
To the point where even the enemies who looked unsurmountable just a few months ago were just a slap away from death.
Compared to these two provinces, the Zions were a duchy. With proper disguise, Varian and the girls toured through the cities.
It was their first date in a foreign land and if not for the urgent work breathing down on their necks, they'd have loved to stay for a while longer.
On a very wide, ten-lane street with large footpaths on either side, Varian walked in leisurely steps.
The Zions looked like humans, except for much sharper features, purple skin and a feet short.
Of course, there were sub-divisions within them. Some had star-like dot patterns on their faces, some had soft glowing skin while others had a darker complexion of purple.
Even though Zions did appear very similar, there were definitely divisions within them.
What struck Varian the most when walking through the tier-1 cities of Zion Duchy was the commoners of the powerhouses.
Turn around a street corner and walk into a plaza?
You encounter a bunch of rank 3s!
Go watch a show that'd suck your consciousness into a land of its own for a full dive experience?
There were at least three rank 5s in the same theater!
Have a romantic dinner at an upscale restaurant with funds obtained by questionable means?
There was a rank 6! Even though it's only a low rank 6, it's a fucking rank 6!
If any of these guys were in Centaurus, they could either be kings or kingmakers. But here, they were just one of those guys in the street.
Of course, they commanded more respect than the average person. But since there were so many of them, they didn't really feel rare.
Perhaps this was a tier-1 planet city, very close to the capital and very important. But even then, there were still too many powerhouses here.
"That man in crimson armor over there, he works for the Naraka faction." Isadora, in her own disguise, walked beside Varian and spoke in humanity's lingua franca.
Varian raised a brow.
He just asked her out of courtesy but it seemed like Isadora did feel locked up for the past 500 years. So, she accepted the invitation and jumped out.
For the first few hours, she didn't utter a word and kept following them with a cold face.
But as he and Sia kept asking others about this and that, she got annoyed and explained it herself.
Even though she had never been to this duchy, she knew a lot of things about the empire.
"The Jai empire operates on three wings: Conqueror Faction, Naraka Faction, and Warring Faction," Isadora explained as they snacked some sweet goodies that oddly resembled sheep.
"The 2nd Prince, 4th Prince, and 7th Princess lead these factions."
"Hasn't it been 500 years? How do you still know if I—?"
"I do!" Isadora stopped in front of him and looked him in the eyes with a serious gaze. "They're…dangerous monsters."
"To hear that from you is a great compliment." Varian sighed.
"That's why, don't mess with them. It leads to too much trouble." Isadora tried to smile while giving off that advice but her lips wouldn't just curl up.
"Don't force yourself."
"Hmph!" Isadora returned to her cold expression and glared at him. "How long are you going to keep my powers sealed?"
"Guess?" Varian snickered with a smug smile and sauntered with his arm around Sarah's shoulder.
Isadora stomped her foot and took a few deep breaths before following him.
— — — —
The journey of finding Hazel was…complicated, to put it mildly.
They sneaked into Zion duchy, and managed to learn about the 'Pimp' Emperor who sold off his wife and the subsequent ascension of the Zion race.
When he was mocking the Zion emperor in his native tongue, one of the rare security guards in Soul Path grasped the meaning thanks to his powers.
All hell broke loose.
Varian and the girls were chased by the planet guards.
Three rank 6s.
A dozen rank 5s.
More than a hundred rank 4s.
These bastards chased them through dozens of star systems before giving up. If not for Isadora appearing in the middle and stopping him from killing, there would have been a blood bath.
But Isadora was right.
The pursuit completely stopped the next day.
…Apparently, it was common to curse at the emperor in the duchy.
So they ended up touring the fairy province. Its development was slightly ahead of Earth in terms of military weapons, but its living standards were significantly behind.
But the biggest gain in touring the duchy was learning about the return of Princess Hazel and her canceled engagement with the only son of the Holy Matriarch.
"Lass, your wish will be granted."
Looking at the young woman with ash-colored hair and green eyes, Varian said with a confident expression.
"Y-You! Who are you? How did you just…appear behind me?" Hazel backed away, a sword materializing in her hand, pointing right at him.
"A gentleman with a kind heart," Varian raised his arms and smiled. "I can't bear to see a maiden heartbroken. So, here I am. I will save you from the clutches of that man lusting after you."
"D-Do you think I'm a 6-year-old?" Hazel mustered up the strength to speak despite realizing she was no match for him.
He exuded no aura but her instincts were already asking her to surrender. To submit. To worship.
Even the chief instructor in her academy didn't give off such a dangerous feeling. But this man…
"You're smart enough to make the correct choice." Varian placed his hands behind his back and looked at her with a bright smile.
"You don't know me, whether I am speaking the truth or my motives for helping you. You're right in not trusting me.
But you also know that I'm the only choice you have. What else would you do? What else could you do?
When the time comes, whether you like it or not, you have to throw yourself at the feet of that man.
How would he, the son of Holy Matriarch, treat you, the daughter of a lowly lord whose race is on the verge of extinction?
Let's say your race does go extinct. Then…you'll be used as a rare species, rallied around like a museum pie—!"
"Enough!" Hazel screamed.
Glaring at him with teary eyes, she said through gritted teeth. "W-What should I do?"
"Book a private meeting with your fiancee." Varian grinned.
"W-What are you trying to do? If you dare to kidnap him for extortion, they'll chop you into pieces. Some idiots already tried that and turned into natural manure."
"I promise you, I'm trying to persuade him. There's no way I'll kidnap him."
Hazel gave him a long look before nodding.
'No one is crazy enough to harm Zion prince, the son of holy matriarch in the capital city in the most upscale restaurant anyway.'
She nodded in confidence.
'No one.'
