"What a grand reception this is. Emperor, if I knew you were missing me so dearly, I would've brought gifts!"
"You! How dare you speak to His Majesty so crassly?!"
An immediate voice of protest rose from among the officials.
Damien sneered, ignoring the man and walking over to one of the two empty seats near the Emperor and taking his place.
Astoria followed after him and took a seat as well.
As they did so, the Emperor sent a glance at the previous official, warning him to not speak carelessly.
At the same time, a transmission entered Damien's ear.
"Brat, you should at least respect my status in front of a crowd like this. It will only make things more troublesome for both of us if you do not."
Damien shrugged. "I can call you 'His Majesty the Emperor' as much as you want me to, but if you want me to change my demeanor, it'll be much harder than that."
"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"
"An expert's pride, you know how it is."
"Tch!"
The Golden Dragon Emperor clicked his tongue without a response, because…
He actually did know how it was!
He was also someone with an extraneous amount of "expert's pride!"
'Khh…dammit, why does this brat have to make so much sense?!'
The Emperor sighed to himself before standing up and addressing the room.
"We Golden Dragons have faced an untold calamity caused by both the strength of our enemies and our own carelessness. While we somehow managed to succeed this time, we have learned our lesson. This banquet was held not for celebration, but to mark the moment when we Golden Dragons change our ways and become cunning enough to rule the universe!"
He raised his glass, his eyes sharpening and his aura flaring out domineeringly.
"To the future!"
""To the future!!""
The crowd enthusiastically followed his exclamation, and a feast began soon after.
Dish after exquisite dish was presented to the attendees, and a jovial atmosphere soon overcame the Golden Dragon Estate.
After a few hours of miscellaneous greetings and conversations, the Golden Dragon Emperor finally brought Damien and Astoria forward.
Originally, they were supposed to meet in a more private setting, but the situation didn't allow it.
This banquet was organized mainly to reassure the people that there would once again be peace on Beast Emperor Star, so it was imperative that it took place, but since both Damien and the Golden Dragons had too much work to do and not enough time, plans were merged.
When she arrived before the Emperor, Astoria immediately bowed with respect.
"Father." She said with emotion.
"Have you been well?" He asked lightly, putting up a barrier around the three of them, as well as some of their nearby family, including Elizabeth and Hedrick.
Astoria nodded slightly, straightening herself and looking her father in the eye.
'Oho?'
This action alone inwardly impressed the Emperor, who maintained an indifferent facade for the sake of face.
His daughter who had never had a serious moment in her life was suddenly looking at him with such firm eyes, how could he not be surprised?
"Sit," the Emperor motioned with a smile, "how have you spent the last few months?"
Astoria began recounting her experiences and travels with Damien that spanned almost 2 years, leaving out only the most secretive details involving Damien's strengths.
The story was fantastical from the start, and as it continued, more than Astoria's journey, Damien's power came to light.
The ability to control time so Astoria could train properly, the ability to teleport all across the universe to find the perfect environments, and strength that Hedrick and the Emperor had personally witnessed during the war; wasn't Damien a bit too monstrous?
Nevertheless, Astoria's achievements didn't go unnoticed.
Especially when Damien explained her maneuvering in the Fate Clouds, the small crowd around them was filled with gasps of astonishment.
Nobody doubted Astoria's claims. After all, with the Emperor present, how could they dare to lie? If such an event occurred, the Emperor would've personally witnessed it from his throne, therefore, he would've been furious at the slightest fallacy.
Astoria soon became a hot topic. She was crowded by her family and barraged with an assortment of questions that she did her best to answer, but she wasn't used to having so much positive attention on her at one time.
Damien smiled warmly as he watched her slowly get used to the atmosphere and adapt to it.
Astoria was originally a very joyous person, but the smile she carried now seemed to have more depth to it, giving her a more mature and put-together atmosphere than the little devil emperor she used to be.
Damien almost couldn't believe that Astoria used to have such a reputation.
'I guess her puberty phase finally ended. Her usual playfulness makes me forget, but she's truly grown into a strong woman.' He thought proudly.
'Speaking of women…'
Damien's thoughts suddenly shifted onto a different track as he turned to the Emperor, remembering a question he'd been wanting to ask.
"Ah, by the way, that girl in the cocoon, any idea who she is?" He asked through mental transmission.
When he returned to the Real Plane, he brought her out of the Sanctuary and handed her over to the Golden Dragons, but seeing how well she was treated by the palace staff, he got a little curious.
"She? She is a lone Valkyrie who aided us immensely in this conflict. If it wasn't for her, we might have collapsed from the very first attack." The Emperor responded.
"Hmm…" Damien muttered.
"Her goal is the Genesis Bead. The treasure is actually in her possession at the moment, so you will have to meet her before claiming your promised reward."
Damien's eyes narrowed. "You're not going back on your word, are you?"
"Haha, we are bound by Mana Oath, are we not? You will receive your promised rewards, do not worry."
Damien nodded. "Where is she now? Have you found out what's going on with her?"
"She is in a private room in the East Wing of the palace. Her strange state persists with cause unknown, but I will alert you when she awakens."
"No need. I'll go see her myself. I felt something about that barrier the last time I saw it. I want to check it out."
"Understood."
The Emperor acquiesced with a shrug. Soon after, Damien found an opportunity to excuse himself from the banquet.
It was Astoria's day today. The banquet was her stage to shine, and while he wanted to accompany her for it, he couldn't be there for every big moment of her life.
Therefore, it was better to leave this to her as an opportunity to adjust to this situation she'd likely encounter often in the future.
As he walked to the palace's East Wing, he fell into thought.
The Genesis Bead was important to his mission, but he wasn't worried about receiving it. Since such a thorough Mana Oath was in place, he was sure it'd come into his possession one way or another.
However, it was truly interesting.
'The Emperor wouldn't even let me see the Genesis Bead when I first arrived. Just what kind of identity does the person who can make him willingly hand it over for personal use have?'
He arrived in the East Wing and found the room in question, knocking lightly on the door before opening it.
The answer to his question was right before him, unconscious and behind a veil of black and white.
