The Dragon King stared at the Founder and Sovereign of the Divine Army, who were now standing in front of him.
His two guests stared back at him, not saying anything.
From the moment they arrived up to now, all of them were in this state. No talk, no anything. Simply staring.
This went on for nearly ten minutes, and it was only cut off when someone lightly cleared her throat.
"Can you guys get this over with?" Hereswith asked impatiently. "We still have places to go."
The three Supremes looked at her for a few seconds before facing each other.
"So, what do you want?" the Dragon King asked.
"Help us bring the boy to the negotiation table and stop his madness," the Founder replied crisply.
The Dragon King briefly glanced at Hereswith, wanting to know her opinion about the matter.
The beautiful elf nodded her head, making her opinion known.
"Fine," the Dragon King stated. "You can settle your negotiations here in my territory since it is Neutral Ground."
"Good." The Sovereign of the Divine Army nodded. "Thank you for your help."
"Mmm." The Dragon King waved his hand as if what he did wasn't a big deal.
The Founder then glanced at Hereswith and asked a question.
"Shall we go now to the Crystal Palace?" the Founder asked.
He knew that the Dragon King only agreed because of Hereswith's presence. Now that they had gotten his agreement, there was only one last place to visit before they called it a day.
"The two of you head to the Crystal Palace first," Hereswith replied. "I'll follow you shortly. I need to have a private talk with the Dragon King."
The Sovereign and the Founder nodded before leaving the throne room.
The Dragon King raised his hand, signaling his Royal Guards to also leave.
When only Hereswith and the Dragon King remained, the beautiful Elf smiled and asked the Dragon King for a favor.
"My Grand Disciple is not in the right state of mind right now, and even I will have a hard time convincing him to stop his rampage," Hereswith said. "What he needs right now are his close friends who would be able to sway his decision. With that said, can I take Valerie, Ali, and Ari with me to see him for a while? I promise that I'll protect them and bring them back here safely."
The Dragon King frowned after hearing Hereswith's words.
He was aware that his daughter and the Half-Elf had become friends, which was the same reason why he let his daughter come along and see Gaap's execution.
The Dragon King wanted his daughter to know that being with Lux was a bad idea because he was a magnet for trouble and that she should look for better friends in the future.
"I can agree to sending Ali and Ari, but does Valerie need to go as well?" the Dragon King asked.
"Of course," Hereswith replied without batting an eye. "My Disciple is an emotional person. The reason why he is acting this way is because those Divine Toads involved his friends in their conflict. Since that is the case, only his friends will be able to sway his heart."
"Can't you do that? You are his Grandmaster after all."
"I can't. Truth be told, I want to join him in his rampage. You know me and my vulgar mouth. If I was there, I'd probably start a litany of curses as soon as I arrive. Instead of helping, I might make things worse instead."
The Dragon King reluctantly nodded his head because he could see Hereswith's point.
Even so, he was still on the fence about sending his beloved daughter to meet with the Half-Elf, who was currently not in his right state of mind.
"Please?" Hereswith asked. "If you agree to this, I will owe you a favor."
"You'll go this far for your Grand Disciple?" the Dragon King asked.
"Of course, I will," Hereswith replied. "After all, he is the only Disciple I have that remains."
The Dragon King sighed after hearing Hereswith's words.
"Very well, I will send Faustina to escort her as well," the Dragon King stated.
However, Hereswith shook her head.
"There's no need for Lady Faustina to escort Valerie and her two handmaidens," Hereswith commented. "Or are you saying that a Demigod like me is not enough to ensure your daughter's safety? I'd like to see who has the guts to try to harm her under my watch. If they think that my Grand Disciple is already hard to deal with, they ain't seen nothing yet."
The Dragon King pondered before nodding his head in agreement.
"Very well, you may take my daughter and her handmaidens with you," the Dragon King replied. "However, you must return them here as soon as possible."
"Of course." Hereswith smiled. "You can count on me."
The Dragon King looked at the beautiful Elf who had a very sweet smile on her face. For some reason, her smile made him feel uncomfortable as if she was planning something that he wasn't aware of.
After getting his approval, Hereswith didn't waste any more time and looked for Valerie, Ali, and Ari.
After telling the three girls about the situation, they readily agreed to come with her to see Lux.
The news of Lux's rampage had been kept under wraps by her Father, so they weren't aware of what was happening outside the Dragon Kingdom.
So when they were told about the context of the situation, they readily agreed to go with Hereswith. They were truly worried about the Half-Elf, who had made them all his lovers.
Hereswith brought the three ladies to Lux's Guild Headquarters, which was located in the Crystal Palace.
To their surprise, Iris, Cai, and a Dwarf with doll-like beauty were also there, waiting for Hereswith's arrival.
Valerie, Ali, and Ari were already familiar with Iris and Cai. Actually, they felt slightly intimidated by Lux's two fiances because they had recognized them as ladies above their Rank.
Simply put, Iris was going to be Lux's first wife, while Cai would become his second wife.
Valerie would become his Third Wife.
As for Ali and Ari, the two didn't want to fight for the position to be one of Lux's wives.
Both of them were content to become Lux's concubines, as long as he loved them just as much as he did his other lovers.
Aina was perhaps the only one who wasn't intimidated by Iris and Cai.
Her expressionless face also made it hard for the others to know what she was thinking.
"I will leave you girls for a while," Hereswith said. "I will pick up Aur in the Crystal Palace. After that, we will leave together to find Lux. Use this opportunity to get to know each other better."
Without another word, Hereswith disappeared, leaving the girls behind.
"Hello," Valerie took the initiative to talk to Aina because she looked harmless in her eyes. "My name is Valerie. These are my two handmaidens, Ali, and Ari. May I know your name?"
The Dwarf looked at her before nodding her head.
"My name is Aina Goldenslayer," Aina replied. "Just call me Aina."
Valerie smiled before sitting beside the Dwarf, who still had an expressionless look on her face.
"Are you perhaps Lux's friend?" Valerie asked in an innocent tone.
"I am more than his friend," Aina replied in the same expressionless tone that she always used when she talked. "I am his fiance, and the reason why he is suffering right now."
Although her expression remained the same, a tinge of sadness appeared in Aina's eyes, which was something that the ladies didn't miss.
However, when they heard that she was the reason why Lux was waging war against the Divine Army in the Center of the Continent, all the ladies in the room looked at her with solemn expressions on their faces.
"Can you please tell us what happened?" Iris asked. "Lux was with me and Cai in Solais before he disappeared without a word. We didn't know where he went or what he planned on doing. We only came to learn about what had happened when his Grandmaster contacted Cai and told us that we should come to Elysium because Lux needed our support."
Aina stared at Lux's first fiance for a few seconds before nodding her head.
"I will tell you everything," Aina replied.
She then started her tale when several Saints had confronted her parents within their Kingdom with the intention of forcefully taking her and her little sister away as hostages.
Aurora, who was also inside the room, joined the conversation and temporarily took over the storytelling, sharing how Lux asked for her help in order to release the Calamity-Ranked Monsters inside the Inner Sanctum of the Pantheon of Exile.
The lady who bore the title of Misfortune's Beloved told them how Lux painstakingly subjugated hundreds of Calamity-Ranked Monsters before he went to the Beast Empire in order to save Aina.
After Aurora finished sharing her part, Aina told everyone what had transpired in the Beast Empire before Lux set off on a journey to subjugate the Kingdoms that were along the borders of the Xeno Kingdom.
She told them how Lux forced these Kingdoms to become their Vassals, effectively changing the Xeno Kingdom into the Xeno Empire.
The more Lux's lovers heard Aina's tale, the more they realized how serious the situation was.
Because of this, they started to become impatient as they waited for Hereswith to take them to Lux, who was currently on his way to another Kingdom that was once under the protection of the Divine Army of Light.
