(MC POV)
"Please take a seat, Master!" Queen Guiying gestured to the chair.
"Isn't the Queen supposed to sit first?" I asked, a little cautious.
"Master~~ Please… At least when there's no outsiders?"
I looked pointedly at Alpha who was setting up the table with pastries and tea while Gamma stood behind her with a serious expression on her face.
Queen Guiying giggled, "They're our… My people. I trust them with my life."
Since she put it that way…
"Very well then," I shrugged, taking a seat at the head of the table.
The Queen sat down gingerly on the seat opposite mine, letting Alpha pour out the tea for her.
She looked at me expectantly and it took me a while to realise what she wanted.
I took one of the pastries and bit into it before taking a sip of the tea, Queen Guiying following my example a second later.
"Alright then, so what's the thing you wanted to talk about?"
She smiled at me, "Hmmm~ Can't it just be your cute disciple missing her favourite Master and wants to see him?"
I raised an eyebrow at her before reaching forward to give her a few headpats, the little Queen purring when I did so. She made a disappointed face when I finally stopped.
Queen Guiying sighed, "There are a few things actually. I heard that Phoenix Sect is no more and now exists as a branch Sect of Heaven Sect?"
I nodded, "That is correct."
"I see… Were there any other Sects who had came to Master for such a purpose?"
"No, it was only Phoenix Sect. Is something the matter?"
She shook her head, "Not in particular. I believe Master is already aware of the purging that I am doing?"
"I have heard of it, yes."
"I take no pleasure in doing so, but it was necessary. If the filth were allowed to fester, this country will continue to be an inconvenience."
"Inconvenience?"
"Oh, an inconvenience to rule, of course."
"Uh-huh… So what about it?"
Queen Guiying took a sip of her tea, "The noble Houses are easier to get rid of but Sects are another matter you see…"
I held up my hand, "If you are planning to ask me to be your enforcer for the Sects, I must decline."
She shook her head quickly, "Oh no! I wouldn't dare trouble Master with such things! I was just saying that it will take more time for me to be ready for them and would just like to check if Master had any Sects in mind you might want to spare?"
I raised an eyebrow at her, "You really… Intend to purge the Sects?"
"It is necessary, Master. If such independent organizations exist in a country and do not answer to anyone else but themselves, the country itself will already have lost a limb. Especially when they sit on the gilded thrones and look down on the common man."
"Hmm… I don't know Guiying… This seems all kind of tyrannical to me."
She giggled, "Oh Master, I'm not saying I will get rid of all the Sects entirely! They are still one of the core parts of the country! I'm just weeding out the traitorous ones. But since a number of them have approached Master to make amends, they might still be saved if Master thinks them worthy enough of your mercy."
That's still giving me the executioner's axe, isn't it? Well what should I do then?
I thought for a bit, "Well… I suppose we can take Heavenly Sword, Lilac Lance, Nirvanic Gate, Swordmaiden, Fairy Garden and Teardrop Sects out of the list."
The shirt I was wearing tightened slightly.
Yes, Nirvanic Gate Sect sent the assassin, but they didn't know they were actually doing that so it's no fault of theirs.
Oh there's also one more but I heard they actually helped us in the war?
I scratched my chin, "Raging Winds Sect should be safe right?"
Queen Guiying nodded, "They were one of the first few to answer the call for help, so that is natural."
"Hmmm… Then I can't think of anyone else that would warrant my attention."
She clapped her hands together, "That's perfect! Oh! What about the Minor Sects, Master? You've only named the Grand Sects."
"Hmmm… Well I believe they should be reviewed on a case by case basis, no? Most of these Minor Sects do not teach combat related skills and sending their students to a war would be equivalent to suicide."
"Oh! As expected of Master Lin! Your insight is truly godlike!"
I raised an eyebrow at her, "Not at all… Any Practitioner should have been able to tell you that."
"Hehehe~ Master is as modest as always."
My shirt began massaging my shoulders as though agreeing with her.
"Master, more tea?" Alpha asked.
I nodded, leaning back slightly to give her more room to pour the tea. I must say though, her tea tastes very similar to Manami's, she must have taught Alpha how to do it during our beach vacation.
I raised the cup to my lips, "So what are the other things you wanted to talk about? You mentioned there were a few?"
Queen Guiying nodded, "The next one… Well, it's a bit more complicated... And it'll be more of me asking Master a favour."
"Oh? What is it then?"
She sighed, "Officially, the war with the Dongs neither started nor ended since there was no declaration of war made. The Dongs are now trying to pin this war on us, calling us the warmongers and making it look like we're the villains. They claimed to only be constructing a tunnel to link the two of our countries together and we had opened fire on their 'workers'."
"Haaa? They really are shameless aren't they? Who are they even telling all these to?"
Gamma appeared beside us, rolling in a board with a map stuck on it.
Queen Guiying gestured to the map, "We managed to salvage this map from the battlefield, presumably carried by one of the generals of Dong. It seems like we aren't the only countries on this continent. On this BeiYang continent, there exist three other countries other than ours and Dong's. The countries of Mei, Sun and Han."
Ok… I never knew this before.
"Let me guess… We are the smallest amongst all of them?"
She nodded solemnly, "And Dong is only the third largest. No one else actually paid us any heed because of our small size but having successfully repelled the Dong's attack brought us to centre stage."
"Why would the Dongs even be interested in us in the first place?"
"The Dongs are landlocked, Master. We are standing in their way of access to the sea."
I looked back at the map and sure enough, Dong was right smack in the middle of the other three kingdoms, its borders locked in by all the other countries around it.
"Huh… That reminds me… Why do we have no navy to speak of?"
Queen Guiying blinked at me, "It's because of the Kraken in the waters, Master… Any ship that goes too far from shore will get sunk by it. Any of our ships would have to take that risk when leaving the harbour."
Kraken… Kraken… It can't be that Kraken right? The one that I used to make takoyaki out of? Nah, what are the chances of that?
I shook my head, "So the Dongs have something that can deal with the Kraken."
She chuckled, "Ehehe~ Not at all Master, they don't even know about the Kraken. The Dongs thought we had a strong navy and demanded we surrender our ports to them."
"Right, that brings me back to what they want then?"
"Unconditional surrender and complete annexation of our country."
"Or else?"
"Or else the other countries might be persuaded to aid the Dongs to 'end this little upstart of a country who is nothing but a little frog in a tiny well'."
"Ok… So what is this favour you wish to ask of me?"
Queen Guiying gave me the sweetest smile she could, "How would Master like to have an all-expenses paid trip to the country of Dong?"
