Later into the afternoon of that day, in the main tent, that was initially designed to accommodate Lilin as she was the commander of this battalion of Black Knights, the full group reunited for the first time.
Sol was surprised to see that the atmosphere, unlike the one in the morning, was far more light-hearted and easygoing than before. It seemed that, like how he was able to deal with some of the shadows and stains that had marred the relationship between him and Camelia, the mother-and-daughter pair had also been able to manage to begin the process of mending their broken and tattered relationship.
He realized that he had really taken the right choice in not intervening in this case. For all he liked to portray himself as strong and dependable, Sol knew that he was no sage nor a miracle worker who was able to instantly do anything he wished. He knew for a fact that he did not have the answers to all the questions that the others may have and he was even more certain that he did not have the best solution to mend some cases. Cases like the one that plagued Lilin and Lilith.
Rather than rashly butting in between them, it was better for him to watch from afar and make sure to take care of the broken pieces with all he could if things were to go south.
"Lilin, we didn't really have much time to speak til now. How is the subjugation process going?"
"Very well, I would say. I think after this, there will be no advent of any bandits or bandit groups in the immediate surroundings for a long time."
"That's perfect. With this done, one of our goals of bringing better security to the capital and the revitalization of the commerce industry will finally be accomplished. Things are bound to get extremely complicated during the war so it's better for us to take care of this problem right now."
"Yes. Though we were only able to manage in mending the areas around the capital and a few villages in the surroundings but nothing more than that. I am sure that the borders are infested with these hooligans and criminals."
He shrugged his shoulders in response to the last part of her statement, "The royal family doesn't have to take care of everything. Since those nobles have power over those zones, they will just have to clean those places up by themselves... Milia?"
"Yes, Your Highness?"
"Note this statement and prepare an edict. I want a few of your shadows to follow the messengers we will select. Camelia, ideally speaking, I also want to take a few of your nuns and paladins for this mission. They will have to move through all of Lustburg so it won't be an easy task and so I need dedicated personnel."
Thankfully, they had a few teleportation gate masters who were able to transport them to key locations but those people were always priority targets in times of war.
Sol did not wish to lose such rare talents so they had no choice but to slow down their activities during this period of time.
Thankfully, the war should not last too long but it was always better to be ready for any variables. Milia nodded silently to his words. The Crown's Shadow had grown quite a bit thanks to the influx of new recruits and better training resources that Sol had delegated to them.
Some of the new recruits were sadly still a bit too inexperienced so this was the perfect situation to train them and build up some crucial experience for themselves.
"Of course, you can deploy the paladins as much as you wish. I will give you full authority in that case and even order the White Knight to listen to you." Camelia spoke without hesitation at Sol's demand. She was all too eager to please him in as many ways as possible; especially so due to the friction that had been going on in their relationship in these times. Even though they had mended the holes in their relationship, she still wanted to do more for him so that he will be pleased with her.
She was always eager for his affection.
The White Knight was the most powerful knight inside the church and a crucial force of the Holy faction. He was a paladin who was very talented for a human and even had a rare ice elemental spirit as his contract. Though, it seemed like that spirit was quite a bit prickly and even had the form of a penguin for some odd reason.
Either way, having them under his command would still be incredible for his current plans. Despite all his power, Sol was still unable to cover the entirety of all the battlefronts at the same time. He wasn't able to move his most powerful pieces- the King rank beings and above either but that wasn't really much of a problem in this case.
"Setsuna... Lilin... Will the two of you follow me to the front?"
He looked at his two companions and after sharing a subtle conversation with each other through their eyes, both of them nodded their heads and readily agreed to follow him. However, there was still something that he needed to make clear to them and this was a good time as any.
"Setsuna, I wish for you and Lilin to take care of a battlefront each. However, I have to regretfully inform you that you both are still too weak for that task. With your current strengths, you won't be able to smoothly fulfill my wishes..."
Setsuna was a Storm Wolf and a very powerful fighter to boot. Even a human at the Duke level would have a very hard time dealing with her and would even get defeated by her if they were to be careless.
However, the problem here was that they were not really fighting humans here. They were now fighting against beasts, demihumans like her. If Setsuna went on and tried to control the battlefield with her current level of strength, then the only outcome that would be waiting for her was a surefire road to death. There was no other way around it as she was one of the prime targets in this war. She was the only wolf alive that had the right to fight against the king's legitimacy to the throne.
"We decided to have a fight in a few days, right? I will be completely honest with you here... If after this fight you are unable to become a Duke, I will directly sign the contract with you. The boost that you would receive from signing the contract with me should be enough to directly elevate you to the Duke level."
His voice was calm and serene, without a hint of fluctuation, as he relayed the reality of her current situation to the Storm Wolf. "The only reason I am stopping myself from signing the contract now is because I know it might break your pride if you reach the Duke level thanks to me."
All the women around him, from the weakest to the strongest, had a certain mixture of dependency on him when it came to their emotional well-being.
But when it came to their respective powers and might, they were extremely independent. They were all proud of the power they had and wished in no way for him to coddle them or protect them like damsels in distress or some sheltered princesses. This was another part about them that he found extremely charming.
From the Duke level to the higher levels, the mindset played a role far more important than even bloodlines and other broken supplements that each individual had with them.
Sol knew very well that if Setsuna became a Duke thanks to him when Lilin had managed to do so on her own, it would forever break the self-esteem of his beautiful wolf knight of his and she might be forever unable to advance further in her journey of power.
This ultimatum was, in the end, just a way to spur her on but from the fire in her eyes, he knew that he didn't need to worry much about her. She was already finding her own way to reaching her goals. All she needed was a small nudge in the right direction. Something that would help her in breaking the shackles tying her down and he knew exactly where he could find that nudge.
"I will summarize the current situation and new goals for us. Lilith, later, we will have a conversation about why kidnapping the Supreme daughter is not a good idea, but for now, I want you to take back control of the army for the last onslaught against the bandits. Milia, I want you to go back home with Camelia and prepare for the war. Also, visit Theresa and make sure those adventurers gave her the message. If they did, reward them appropriately. We might even hire that dwarf as a blacksmith if he has the talent for it."
He slowly tapped his finger on the table, "Medea and Persephone, please go talk to Ambrosia. Persephone has tested the ring already, and we have proven its authenticity. It's time for me to talk to that witch council of yours and forge a new relationship between Salem and Lustburg."
Persephone smiled. The verification had been a very enjoyable process for her. "Mother has been even more impatient than you. What do you think? You will be the first man to ever step inside Salem. How are you feeling about that?"
She chuckled, "Imagine an entire country full of only women who are extremely thankful to you for giving them the ability to be with the people they love. I wonder how they will reward you for that?"
If Sol's brain was a computer, it would have shown a short circuit and an Error.ex message right about now after hearing her words.
Just imagining an entire country full of very beautiful and very, very thirsty women jumping at him made him gulp. This might perhaps be the highest orgy ever recorded in the history of orgies.
'Begone evil thoughts.'
He shook his head and glared at the slyly smiling woman with clear irritation in his eyes.
"Stop teasing Sol. This might very well happen at this rate."
Medea had nothing against sharing him, but still, sharing her lover with the entirety of the witches was a little too much even for her.
She sighed and nodded her head, "We will prepare. Honestly, the council will be even more excited than you think they will."
"Wonderful." Once he was done giving them the instructions, Sol finally focused on Lilith and Setsuna.
"As for you two..."
He paused and gave them a smile, "Are you interested in treasure hunting?"
He didn't know what would happen, but something was telling him that at the end of this adventure, both Setsuna and Lilin will come out as completely different beings. It was a gut feeling.
He couldn't help but wait to see their transformations.
