'All the Mana Cores Gerard has made are all White. He'll need to fill them up eventually. Then, it won't be as fast as his current pace...'
"That's good." I smiled at the excited Beast King who was happy about the prospect of growing even stronger.
Deep within him, though, I could sense another feeling welling up within. It was an emotion I was counting on to appear.
"Let us return to your people. Since I beat you in combat, I have the right to make an absolute command. You'll be Allied with the Eastern Kingdom in the looming war."
"Eastern Empire? War? What's that?"
"E-eh...?"
Just how much did Gerard know—no, the right question was how much didn't he know.
************************
I filled the ignorant Beast King on the details regarding the current state of the world as all three of us returned to the Beastfolk Kingdom.
"W-wow... I had no idea."
Apparently, the letter for an Alliance sent from the Royal Palace never even reached the King. No one cared for formalities without a show of power.
"Well, now you do."
I was in direct control of Gerard, so the Eastern Kingdom couldn't usurp my authority. It was actually the contrary.
'Both sides will be needing me now.'
"Per our agreement, I won't affect your dealings with the people, and I don't intend on making you control them for me. But, your loss in the earlier fight is a different matter entirely. You'll have to obey the order for an Alliance."
"I understand." Gerard nodded as he bowed.
Serah was silent throughout the conversation, so I decided to adopt her decorum until we reached the Beast King's Palace.
As promised, his Palace and everything about it had been restored.
The other members of our team of Delegates were waiting for us to arrive—though they were being carefully watched by the Therianthropes around.
"Welcome back." Maria and Freya were the first to speak.
Their warm expressions soothed my heart, though I felt a little guilty considering what I had to resort to not too long ago.
'They're so innocent...'
"Stand down, everyone," Gerard spoke to the surrounding Therianthropes.
Hearing the absolute orders of their King, everyone settled.
"I will be having a public announcement by dawn tomorrow. Until then, every denizen should return to their homes to prepare."
The Beast King's voice was enough to echo throughout the massive city.
Since those with Mana could enhance their vision and voices, even though it was a massive piece of land, Gerard's voice reached everyone.
The surrounding guards were also excused, so everyone parted ways.
"Please, can I invite you to dine with me?" Gerard offered.
It had been a while since I tasted their local cuisine, and I was plenty famished after that fight.
"Sure. Will your family be joining us?"
"N-no. How can I be so rude as to impose on you like that."
"I don't mind, really." I smiled with a friendly face.
"A-alright them. First, I know you must desire to freshen up. Please, I'll personally take you to the spring where you can enjoy yourself with the nice water that flows there."
Gerard was trying his hardest to please me. It would be rude of me not to take him up on his offer.
"Alright. Lead the way."
Fabian and Damien had stupendously shocked expressions on their faces—most likely wondering how I was able to speak to such a powerful entity so freely.
I intentionally made sure none of them could observe my fight with Gerard—even erasing any form of Observation Magic in the vicinity.
To the best of their knowledge, they could only suspect that Serah was the one who engaged in the fight.
"T-then... let's go!"
**************************
The soothing water from the Hot Springs was enough to ease my stressed body.
Not only was it completely comfortable to bathe in, but it also had a similar concentration of Mana as the Oasis did back at Ainzlark.
"Haa... I now understand why Ciara was taking a bath in such a place..."
The feeling of having energy creep around one's body while being washed of exhaustion was simply the best.
'I could get used to this...'
I had a separate bath, and the others were grouped into groups of males and females.
Since I was all by myself, the atmosphere was very comfortable.
"Hey!" A sharp voice rang through my ears.
'What the...?!'
Popping out of the water was a Therianthrope. I never expected to see another person here. Most of all, the person was a—
"I surprised you, didn't I? Haha!"
—A young kid!
He had blue hair and the same color of eyes. The upper part of his body resembled a human's—though his ears were web-like. The lower part was that of a glistening blue fish.
'He's a Merfolk?' I observed the boy.
Was I too focused on enjoying the bath that I failed to notice him?
"I've been training on how to become one with the elements. My limit is only thirty minutes, though. Haha!"
'Where did this weird kid come from?'
"You're one of my father's guests, right? I think you're the first he's ever treated this way."
'Hold up. He's Gerard's kid?
"This is his personal bath, so I usually just practice here and wait to scare him out of nowhere. Imagine my surprise seeing you here."
The cute kid looked nothing like his father, so I had to guess that he got most of his qualities from his mother.
'Sigh, my peace and quiet is gone...' I prepared to get out of the Hot Springs
"Hey, wait! Don't go!" I ignored the boy's pleas.
"Meanie!"
He was at most ten years old, yet his Mana Core was already at the Golden Stage. That was abnormal—even for Beastfolk.
'Did Gerard intentionally let me see his kid like this? What does he think I'll do?'
My cure wasn't free, neither was it cheap. He should have realized that by now.
"Tell your father that I said he knows what to do." I returned my gaze to the innocent boy who was already climbing out of the pool.
Once he left the puddle, blue-colored legs appeared. His feet were webbed as well.
"Hmph!" With that emphatic scoff, he ran off.
'Gerard works faster than expected. If it's like this, then the family dinner should be quite an entertaining sight.'
