Trapped in Another World With No Magic

Hekate watches Doephluev as the archoneldwyn ‘maid’ tidies up Daniel’s stateroom. She doesn’t ask questions about what she finds, since at least some of the mess is because of her. She simply keeps herself busy with doing seemingly-simple servant work, even though she is overt about her schemes to become Daniel’s first and favorite Empress.

Given the recent events, Hekate is unsure how everything is going to play out. If he marries Ryuogriar and the others, will Hekate still be the ‘First Empress’? He has been adamant that she’ll remain the Empress for as long as she lives, more than how Daniel is ‘the Emperor’. For now, she’ll play along with his rules about age, but she wishes she could grow older more quickly.

And, ironically enough, Doephluev is also the person who can help her.

It irritates the little fox-eared feldrok girl, since Doephluev has become one of her most combative rivals. It’s even strange that both of them have stayed behind, since Doephluev has followed Daniel on multiple occasions.

It’s suspicious, and the human mechanic entrusted Hekate with finding anyone suspicious and reporting to him.

Sure, some small part of Hekate takes joy in the fact that the most suspicious person in the Fievegal is Doephluev, since it means there is some possibility of her being banished by Daniel, but Hekate has to be smart about it. If it backfires, he could end up trusting the archoneldwyn seductress even more than he does already.

After folding the blankets and placing them neatly on Daniel’s bed, Doephluev finally sighs. “Can I help you, your Greatness?”

Hekate flinches, certain that she had only cracked the door a tiny bit. Even if her quarry was aware that she is being watched, it should be extremely difficult to tell who is on the other side of the door.

Doephluev faces the door with her hands folded professionally in front of her like a true maid. “I know it’s you, Hekate. You were growling quietly.”

The young feldrok gasps as she recoils from the door. She whines impotently, and the door opens to reveal the archoneldwyn former-assassin. “You’ve been watching me all morning.” She grins deviously, taunting Hekate with her mature wiles. “Have you found my schemes to take over the Fievegal through Daniel?” She snickers mockingly. “My scheme is right here,” retorts the archoneldwyn as she pats her belly. She isn’t noticeably pregnant yet, but she’s starting to look a little more rounded than one would associate with a lithe and nimble assassin.

Hekate stammers, “N-N-No, I… I was just…”

Doephluev stalks closer, pinning Hekate to the wall. The young feldrok could easily overpower the Archoneldwyn right now, since her magic is sealed. Or… it should be. Even still, Hekate has absorbed a lot of mana from both Lugrae and the Devourer. Senn has remarked that she may be the most powerful being in the world, other than a god or goddess from the Divine Realm.

Doephluev uses her free hand to cup Hekate’s chin, and for some reason, it all makes the young fox-eared girl’s heart race. The archoneldwyn asks, “If you aren’t spying on me, then what is it?”

“I… I… I wanted to ask for your help with something.”

This surprises Doephluev, and she takes a step back. “My help? Seriously?”

Hekate nods sheepishly. “Y-Yes. There’s a spell I want to learn, and… I think you’re the only one who will teach it to me.”

“Mmm… Going to finally eliminate the rest of your competition? I understand.” She nods confidently, certain of Hekate’s goal.

“N-No! Not that! I… I want to be able to use illusion spells.”

Doephluev cocks her head. “Really?”

The ravenette bobs her head to confirm. She is embarrassed to ask it, but Doephluev is surprisingly discreet, considering her goal to undermine all of Daniel’s other companions to raise her own consort rank. 

Never has Hekate considered her position as ‘non-wife’ as useful as now, since, so long as Daniel is true to his word, Doephluev can never outrank her.

“Mmm… I see…” Doephluev snaps her fingers, and at once, she becomes an exact copy of Hekate, even sounding like her, which makes Hekate shiver. “So, you want to disguise yourself. Whatever for, I wonder?” The second Hekate smirks at the first, taunting the young feldrok girl with her own mirror image.

“I… I just want to learn more magic! That’s all!”

“Mmm-hmm,” retorts her new duplicate. It’s scary how proficient Doephluev is. If she wanted to, she could have likely infiltrated the Citadel this way and tricked Daniel, since he can’t see through magic on his own. She wonders if even the dragons could see through this magic, since Doephluev is surprisingly lifelike, other than her personality.

“Y-Yes. So, please teach me.” Hekate bows her head humbly. Truth be told, she doesn’t hate Doephluev that much anymore, but she is still on edge any time the archoneldwyn mistress makes it known that she is out to steal Daniel for herself.

The Hekate-doppleganger crosses her arms and looks away, even flattening her ears in irritation and swishing her tail back and forth. “I don’t do anything for free. You know that better than anyone.”

“You try to seduce Daniel all the time!”

“No, I successfully seduce my Darling all the time!” retorts the pseudo-maid bluntly. Hekate grunts in disbelief and shock, defeated by her own words.

Doephluev continues in Hekate’s voice, “More importantly, it’s different for someone you love. But, I get something out of it anyways, not least of which is that love.” The second Hekate smirks at the original with the same haughty expression Hekate has practiced for her empress routine, “I don’t love you, your Greatness.”

Hekate grits her teeth. She has to be careful, since her teeth are sharp, but she can’t help but feel frustrated by this impudent woman. Not that the feldrok girl is overly concerned with rank and noble authority, not to mention the fact that she’s an empress, but Doephluev certainly doesn’t hold anything back in any capacity.

“What do you want?” growls the true Hekate.

The false Hekate puts her finger to her chin as she looks up, pretending to think. For any of Daniel’s mistresses and empresses, she asks for the same thing most of the time; to exchange a day of empress in their place. She has several already stacked up, which she’ll likely cash in for some scheme of hers once everything is in place for her to do so. While her overtly stated goal is to claim Daniel and his power for herself, it’s possible she still has some other ulterior motive, considering what Daniel told Hekate to be looking out for.

“I want you to convince Daniel to make me a formal consort,” states the archoneldwyn assassin in disguise. Hearing it from Hekate’s own voice is less imposing than it would have been, though Doephluev rarely speaks harshly. She usually masks her vitriol and scheming behind a sweet tone, if anything.

“What? Then… What about your days as Empress?” asks Hekate, confused.

Doephluev smirks. “I can’t keep racking up something like that to be treated so trivially, wouldn’t you agree? Daniel might get upset if I treat his affections like a token to be traded. I already have a few, and I can use them to increase my position for a day.” She smirks, indicating that she has far more planned for those special days than simply being able to accompany Daniel formally as ‘Empress Doephluev’ for a day or two. While she has left her own wording open to a distinction between consort and empress, even Hekate realizes that she’s simply maneuvering for a higher position, and once achieved, she’ll reach for the next position when the opportunity arises.

She’s looking ahead and doesn’t care about anything else except for getting what she wants.

“You forget, Doephluev,” growls Hekate a little sassily, which is definitely awkward since she’s talking to a virtual reflection of herself. “I am the Empress of the Fievegal. Even Daniel will say that my rank surpasses his. I can make you his consort if I want.”

The seductive elf-like woman smirks proudly in her feldrok-girl disguise. “I do not think you wish to declare Daniel’s mistresses for him. Have you not already made that mistake once?”

The original Hekate flinches in surprise. It’s still somewhat recent, but no less relevant. She foolishly got Daniel another harem-member in Veiranoei through what the feldrok girl believed to be a lighthearted joke. But, Kalegrynten rightfully turned it into a lesson for her.

Hekate sighs. She’s no match for Doephluev, clearly. But, she doesn’t have to be a complete fool.

“Fine. But, we’ll make it a contract. Neither of us can use our exchange for harmful acts.”

Doephluev cocks her head, and her illusory triangular ears flop to the side, similar to Hekate. “Interesting, but I don’t object. I have been quite honest about simply wanting to be Empress. If I kill you, I lose that, so it’s better for me to seduce my way to the top, don’t you think?” She giggles playfully, and Hekate can’t help but growl as she squeezes her hands into fists. 

Suddenly, she asks coldly, “Did you know?”

“Hmm? Know what?”

Hekate glares at her temporary doppleganger. “Did you know about the curse?”

Doephluev recoils slightly. “What?”

“The cursed thing! You saw through that girl’s magic tattoos! How could you not have seen the curse!?”

Doephluev retreats backwards as Hekate presses forwards, angered by the sudden and total realization.

“I swear to you, I didn’t know! I’m not all powerful! I wish I was, truly! But… Well…”

Hekate grips the blouse disguised by magic for the moment. “What do you know!?”

“I-I-I only know what I heard once. I don’t even know how long ago it was, since I know we were in stasis, but I don’t know how long!”

Hekate relaxes her grip a little, and Doephluev dissolves her illusion, returning to her normal appearance. She clears her throat, adding softly, “Brosjak was looking for the journal of a feldrok. One who was said to have reached the power of the gods. But, the feldrok disappeared without a trace. The stories kept saying that he became an elder god, since he was actually more ancient than the gods who govern this world. But,... I don’t know.”

“What does that have to do with the curse?” asks the feldrok girl skeptically.

“W-Well, you see, this feldrok discovered a way to manipulate souls. W-Which matches how the curse bound to Daniel. Even without magic, it probably would have entangled with him. But, according to him, the only reason he survived is because he has so little mana. I-I-If… If someone found a way to cast that curse… I… Well, they must have found the journals Brosjak was looking for.”

“What if it’s something that Brosjak knew about when you returned from stasis?” asks Hekate. “Would you tell me if you knew?”

Doephluev narrows her eyes in irritation. “We are rivals, your Greatness. Not enemies. I chose to accept my new life with Daniel because I was tired of being a weapon.” She looks to the side, adding distantly, “Brosjak had someone giving him instructions. I don’t know who, and I don’t think even he was privy to most of the details. If his belongings are still in storage, though, we could analyze them for links to that maid, which might give us a clue.”

Hekate nods. That actually makes a lot of sense. I wonder if Daniel thought of that. Could he have been right after all? Is this some kind of fake war being orchestrated by puppet-masters?

She looks at Doephluev a little less skeptically. While Hekate is not a master of discerning lies or truth, she has a pretty good feeling that Doephluev is being sincere.

She asks bluntly, “Then, what would you say about the war between the east and the west being orchestrated by the same group of people?”

Doephluev doesn’t scoff or dismiss the idea. She thinks for a moment before answering quietly. “I would think you need to be more careful about who you discuss that with, your Greatness. I just followed orders, but with players like the Strylak, Yaulwembor, Vaergraes and Senn in the world, there’s not really a good explanation for why the war continued as it had. I mean, why didn’t the west rally the east to try to fight the Devourer?” She crosses her arms, looking up to the side. “Of course, if they had, they might have never summoned Daniel from his world, so I would still be a meat-sword assassin.”

Doephluev brushes her hair to the side as she wistfully stares off down the hall, though she’s more likely imagining something much further away. “You know, I know Ryukana is a goddess. Or an angel. Or whatever other term that is served by beings that manage worlds. I don’t care. When I was growing up, I learned that there are many forms of deities, including the elder gods. The elder gods are said to have come from people, and taught the gods how to treat their creations, lest we small folk lose faith and perish in despair. Among those elder gods is the ancestor to the archoneldwyn. Don’t think about it too hard, I don’t think we’re all inbred or anything like that. That’s just the story.”

Hekate scoffs. She comes from a race that was few in number to begin with, so she learned long ago not to ask those kinds of questions.

Doephluev continues her story, now looking at Hekate. “The elder archoneldwyn said that the encounter that is most surprising to us is likely to be our most important one.” She smiles as she looks down at her own belly, petting it surprisingly affectionately. “My encounter with Daniel wasn’t surprising at first. But, it evolved to be so.” She adds softly, “He confessed what he did to me, though I thankfully don’t remember it specifically. I had dreams of drowning for a time afterwards, even without knowing, but ever since…” She looks at the feldrok Empress with a fire all but literally glowing in her eyes. “A man who can defeat feldroks, dragons, faormyrs, and probably just about anything else without ever needing to abuse his authority over others… That is someone I can give my heart and soul to. I will make him mine, and I will be the Empress of the Fievegal. I will never give up, and I will take it without stooping low. I will teach you the magic you seek, because I know you are a woman of your word, Hekate. You will not rest until you have convinced Daniel, because you will promise to do so. And, I will continue to serve you not as a loyal retainer, but as your rival who will steal your love fair and square.” She smirks at Hekate, who can’t help but smile at the frustratingly straightforward former-assassin. 

“Fine. Xyreko, bear witness.”

The golem caretaker of the Citadel and Prime Minister of the Fievegal appears in a flash of light. “Present, your Greatness.”

“I, Hekate fell Lawson, do hereby declare that I recognize and dub Doephluev arc Lawson as a rightful consort to Daniel, accepting his approval which I will make him give, and that she is a member of this family.”

This surprises Doephluev a little. “R-Really?”

Hekate crosses her arms a little indignantly, looking away. “Prove to me you’re not an enemy. Help me root out whoever is. If you do that, I will be certain that you can at least be trusted to care for Daniel, even if I can’t trust you alone with him.”

Doephluev laughs, but she bows respectfully. “I owe you nothing, my dear rival Hekate. But, I will earn your trust because you will be the godmother to my children.”

Hekate blushes a little, huffing as she looks away to try to maintain her composure. “Very well. Then, report to me if anyone seems suspicious. B-But, don’t think this means I’m done watching you, either!”

The archoneldwyn servant smiles and bows respectfully. “I shall do as you command, your Greatness. At least until I’m the Empress.”

Hekate rolls her eyes and departs. She needs to check on some other things while she’s at it.

***

Daniel walks with Jieka and Tekten in his arms while the three dragon empresses follow him carrying their eggs. Shek and Skloe are giving them a tour of the improvements being made to the town around the Citadel, including the expansion beyond the wall. Hundreds of demon-kin and human-kin have been moving into the area after the destruction of the Orbicharium and the scattering of the tribes of the Citadel. Without Vaergraes to persuade the leaders and Zolorad to keep them loyal, the Covenant has virtually shattered. Most of the Dattakoriens had already been moving to the Citadel territories thanks to the subjugation of the dragon lord, and the Chi’rinnis have been granted access to greater farmlands and hunting forests thanks to the Fievegal. Together, they have begun to help develop the lands into a usable state, with goblins forming the bulk of the workforce. Jieka and Tekten are Daniel’s first princesses, even if the succession will likely go to the children of Hekate or one of the dragons, because Shek and Skloe don’t wish for a higher station other than Daniel’s lovers and goblin Queens. 

“Papa, food!” exclaims Jieka happily as she points at one of the many pop-up stands that the demon-kin have built to sell grilled meat. 

“Yes, yes, my Princess,” replies Daniel warmly, earning him a happy giggle. Money is a somewhat new concept to the demon-kin, at least in the sense of how human-kin use it in the east, but they’re adapting quickly. Trade is a fundamental part of virtually all societies, especially those that rise towards the pinnacle of prosperity. Earth has plenty of examples of virtually every system humans could come up with to both govern themselves and progress society into the future, and Daniel is doing his best to try to implement things that will quickly boost the well-being of his people, even if they are a random assortment of goblins, imps, gatonines, dattakoriens, dragons, succubi, Chi’rinnis, and a handful of other races.

The immigrants from Mattarglos have also started to arrive under secure escort from the Citadel. Ahok has been working on the other projects Daniel has tasked, so the power generators haven’t gotten any stronger, leaving the Citadel with a relatively neutral mana production to usage ratio, thanks to the donations of the citizens. He won’t be able to ignore the near-deficit forever, since he needs to be able to run the Citadel as well as rely on the military might of the golems if greater problems arise. The current army is doing well in the Stalvaltan Grand Duchy, but they have minimal training. Daniel would like to see the multi-specialty proficiency of the Stalvaltan Guard applied to the weapons of Earth, which would make the Fievegal army a nearly unstoppable force in this world, even more so than they are now.

Regardless, the town around the Citadel is really growing and bustling with life. The farmlands are recovering from the last siege, and the Citadel is needing to draw on its storage reserves less and less.

The feldroks stockpiled for themselves for decades worth of resources, but there are a great deal more citizens that Daniel is caring for, and draining the resources haphazardly will only lead to ruin. He is no fool, even if he has virtually no leadership experience of any kind, save training junior colleagues in his various fields of work. 

The governing body cannot simply give to its citizens indefinitely. There is a need for exchange, or the resources will run out.

Shek and Skloe come to a stop at the end of a small neighborhood leading towards a structure built on the lake. Daniel turns, facing the two goblins. “Is something wrong?”

Skloe answers, “We will return to our duties, if that’s alright.” She seems a little hesitant to answer.

The structure is the enclosure Daniel had built to house his next major financial endeavor for somewhat quick money. The one tasked with overseeing the endeavor is the second eldest of the female dragons, who goes by the name ‘Gold’.

“Has Gold done something to you?” asks Daniel a little coldly.

“N-No! Not at all!” urges Skloe as both goblin queens shrink. They are due any time for their third children each, and Daniel’s sons are being looked after by one of their own chosen servants while the boys nap.

Ryuogriar steps forward, looming over the two goblins. They aren’t afraid of the platinum dragon matriarch, but she does cut an imposing figure. She growls, “Speak, my dear sisters by law. If Lady Gold disrespected you…”

Shek finally speaks up, stepping in front of the more timid Skloe. “She did nothing wrong!” exclaims Shek. “Sh-Sh-She’s just… Um… W-With Daniel and our sisters by law, life is… comfortable and relaxing. L-Lady Gold… She’s…”

“Daniel is a stoopee fool!” exclaims Jieka with a laugh, and both goblin queens go pale. The laugh sounded like she was copying someone, however, and everyone looks at her.

“Gold dragee say Aunties Ryuo, Reina, and Geira too good for Papa,” adds Tekten softly.

“Nuh-uh!” retorts Jieka. “She say Aunties too good for Daniel because he a stinky fool.”

“J-Jieka! Tekten!” exclaims Shek, mortified by her daughter’s exclamations along with her step-daughter.

Tekten mumbles, “Jiejie, Papa is Daniel.”

Jieka is stunned by this, looking at Daniel with bewilderment.

Daniel simply smiles. He cuddles both girls to his cheeks so he can kiss them, replying gently, “Lady Gold said all of that, huh?”

“Mukori, we shall deal with…”

“There is nothing to deal with,” replies Daniel. He looks at his goblin consorts. “Has she said anything that made you feel inferior?”

“N-No!” replies Shek quickly. “She just… speaks more… abrasively than anyone else.”

“She doesn’t speak like the other dragons,” adds Skloe.

“Mukori, Gold will apologize…”

“Let’s go talk to her now,” interrupts Daniel with a polite smile. “Jieka, Tekten, what do you think? Do you want to go see how Lady Gold is doing?”

Jieka excitedly claps and nods, while Tekten is more reserved. Jieka replies warmly, “Gold is funny! I like talking to Gold!”

“Good,” replies Daniel. “She has always been fun for me, too.”

The three Dragon Empresses hum in disapproval, and he asks dryly, “Didn’t you try to talk me into making her a mistress, Mukori?”

All three dragons exclaim at the same time, “Those were different circumstances!” They blush and glance at each other as Daniel laughs, and he kneels to Shek and Skloe’s level. “My beloved queens, if she is too much for you, we’ll go on ahead. I’ll look after the princesses.”

“S-Sorry…” murmurs Shek.

He smiles, bouncing the two princesses in his arms. “Don’t be. How often do I get to play with the girls? They’ll protect me from Lady Gold’s wiles.”

Geirahoel clears her throat forcefully, and Daniel chuckles. “I was going to add ‘assuming she has any’.”

This causes the young orange dragon to blush, looking to the side.  

Daniel carries the princesses, which only becomes challenging when Tekten insists on climbing up onto his shoulders to cling to the back of his head and see everything better. Since she manages rather skillfully, he allows it, which frees up his hand to open the door for himself. Tekten is usually pretty sharp, and it’s possible she foresaw this scenario. But, it’s also possible that she was just getting sore from the position of sitting against his side, which Jieka is still perfectly content doing, since she can cuddle against his cheek.

The inside of the building mainly provides protection from birds, as well as easy access to the growing number of aquariums housing a modest little shellfish of Zenkon that is some kind of muscle or clam. After confirming that they do, in fact, produce pearls, Daniel started having the goblins, orcs, and dattakoriens who were willing gather them and bring them, while the Chi’rinnis and goblin artisans make the aquariums.

“Well, well, well… Look who decided to grace me with his glorious presence.”

The voice reminds Daniel of a female MMA fighter, possessing a little tint of masculinity to both her tone and mannerisms. She is seated on a large oval-shaped lounge chair with her legs crossed and her hand on her chin. Her egg is nestled in the cross of her legs while one of the experimental video crystals Ahok’s team developed plays a movie for her to watch. “What brings you to my humble abode, oh great and powerful Emperor of Calamity?”

“Johella-...!” starts Ryuogriar angrily, but Daniel uses his free right hand to stop her. She halts, looking at him urgently. Reignleif knows Daniel’s stance on the matter, and Geirahoel is also sometimes disrespectful with how she speaks, considering Daniel’s position as the Emperor of the Fievegal, second only to Hekate.

Gold grins as she leans her head smugly on her palm. “Are you going to draw on me, ‘Master’? Have I insulted your delicate sensibilities?”

“Goldie!” exclaims Jieka, squirming to be let down. Daniel kneels, and he can feel Tekten slide off of his back while he places Jieka on her feet. Both goblin princesses jog to the golden-blonde dragon seated brazenly on her chair. She stares down at them without giving any real response, and the two goblin princesses stop at the edge of the big seat. “Lady Goldie have good morning?” asks Tekten politely. But, her half-sister ruins it by asking bluntly, “Goldie give tweats?”

The dragon glances at them, and then the other four, while Daniel watches cautiously, still crouching.

Gold lets out an exasperated sigh as she suddenly scratches her messy blonde hair. “Haaa… You little…” She digs inside of her casual robes, which Daniel asked her to wear in human form, lest she be naked by choice. She presents a couple of hard candies made from some kind of sweet sap or nectar that Daniel hasn’t identified yet. She hands them over, saying sternly, “Don’t choke on them. I won’t feel bad if you do.”

“O’tay!” “‘Kay.” reply the princesses in character. She pets their heads and pulls them up onto the seat as they begin licking their candies, and she stands up. The golden dragon makes sure her egg is safely nestled in the seat before approaching the group of four adults, asking more seriously, “Do you need something, Emperor Harbinger?”

Daniel scoffs. He says gently, “I appreciate you not calling me a filthy human in front of the girls. Thank you.”

She huffs and looks away. “I’m a dragon, not a monster.”

“You’re a monster when you’re hungry,” retorts Reignleif fearlessly, and Gold shoots her an impressive pouting glare. She glances at Geirahoel, adding a little sourly, “The brat is lucky she only knew lost time. Starvation punishment was far, far worse.”

“B-Brat!?” whines Geirahoel, knowing immediately who Gold is referring to.

Daniel replies bluntly, but kindly, “If I could, I would bring Morthybargaron back only so we could all mount his head on the mantle. I’d even lend you my rifle, if you wanted.”

Gold scoffs, crossing her arms under her chest to push her breasts up. She doesn’t appear in human form as well-endowed as Ryuogriar, but she is still an impressive specimen of feminine curves, considering her somewhat masculine personality. “My, my. Perhaps I’ve misjudged you after all, Harbinger. You do know how to seduce a dragon maiden.”

Ryuogriar scoffs, and Gold narrows her eyes at her. 

The dragon empress smirks, replying warmly, “Apologies. I was only amused by the thought of either of us being considered ‘maidens’.”

“That’s not what you tell me in bed, Mukori…” teases Daniel, and Gold bursts into laughter as embarrassment claims the eldest dragon matriarch. Ryuogriar snaps, “Mukori!”

But, he ignores her outburst and tugging on his arms to ask, “So, Lady Gold, how fares our little wager?”

“Hmm? Fine, I guess. Just a few died. I cleaned them out like you said. Or… my minions did.” She gestures to one of the aquarium sections, where goblins are working together to clean one of the aquariums without disturbing the shellfish too much.

“Did you pry open their shells?” asks Daniel. Depending on the state of decay, there may be no need to forcibly separate the shells, but since they’re already dead, they don’t have to be gentle about it.

“No. We tossed them into the lake,” replies Gold.

Daniel palms his face with a sigh, and Gold whines, “What!? They were dead! What the heck was I supposed to do with them!? Eat them?”

“You should have asked for instructions,” retorts Geirahoel. “Ahok has a radio capable of reaching us anywhere.”

“Yes, or you could participate in the evening meeting,” adds Ryuogriar.

Gold frowns, frustrated by having to answer to anyone but herself.

“I’m not some good little housewife like the rest of you, and I don’t belong to anyone, not even the Harbinger of Calamity!”

“Oh?” retorts Ryuogriar, stepping towards Gold. “So says the tattoo on your chest.”

Gold growls, pressing her own chest to Ryuogriar’s, squishing their breasts together. “I would have chosen death if the Harbinger of Calamity was trying to enslave me.”

“You wouldn’t have had a choice if…”

“Ladies…” urges Daniel. When they both glare at him, he glances with his eyes towards the princesses. Tekten is watching nervously, but Jieka is watching like the only thing she is missing is popcorn.

The two dragons glance at the princesses and take a step back from each other. Each clears her throat, and Gold states, “Yes, well, either way, I didn’t know. I’m sorry, Emperor Harbinger.”

“His name is Daniel,” grumbles Reignleif.

“I know that. I’m not a moron.” Gold twirls her hair as she looks away. “It’s just… I’d rather have been defeated by the ‘Harbinger of Calamity’ instead of some random human named ‘Daniel’. That doesn’t even sound like a human name!”

“Wight!?” exclaims Jieka. “Daddy is Hawbinger of Cawamity!” The young goblin princess giggles excitedly as her sister nods in agreement, looking at Daniel like the greatest hero who ever lived. And, they’re only a few months old, completely lacking any knowledge of any of Daniel’s feats. Unless…

He looks at Gold, and she seems to piece it together at the same time. She grins and gives a devious giggle. “Have I done something wrong, your Imperial Great Harbinger-i-ness?”

“That wasn’t formal at all!” complains Geirahoel, while Daniel scoffs. “What have you been telling my children?”

“Mmm? Me? Only the brutal and savage truth of their monstrous father, the Harbinger of Calamity.”

Daniel covers his face with his palms as he sinks to a crouch.

“M-Mukori?” ask Reignleif and Ryuogriar urgently.

“I will never live down that cringe moment, will I? Curse my past self…” groans Daniel. 

Geirahoel pets his head, giving him a merciless reply, “There, there, Mukori. It is important to share these moments with each other, so we can all laugh together later.”

Ryuogriar, Reignleif, and Gold all snicker, while Daniel groans, being ‘comforted’ by Geirahoel.

“You’ve even tainted the princesses…” mumbles Daniel.

Again, the dragons all scoff, and Reignleif teases, “Mukori… We will all be telling our children stories about you. The Harbinger of Calamity is also an important part of the history of Zenkon now.”

Daniel flops onto his back. “Dragons are truly terrorists…” mumbles the human with a warm expression on his face.

Regardless, his daughters both exclaim, “Daddy!” and they slide off of Gold’s chair to race to him, touching and hugging him to check on him.

“Oh, on another note, Emperor Harbinger,” starts Gold.

He looks up at her as the two goblin princesses get comfortable on Daniel’s chest. “What is it?”

“The former Dawnseer Bellphine arrived a couple days ago. She has been having nightmares.”

“Do we have any good apothecaries?” asks Daniel, glancing at the others each in turn.

“That’s not the point, Daniel,” retorts the warrior-like woman.  “The point is, I think it’s a premonition.”

Daniel looks at the other three dragons, who have looks of concern on their faces. Ryuogriar explains softly, “Vaergraes would be better for explaining in full, but… The premonition that aligns with your arrival and Hekate’s awakening is why Morthybargaron was so afraid of you that he was desperate to gain control of the Citadel.”

“Premonitions are usually accurate in a sense,” adds Reignleif softly. “If a Dawnseer is having nightmares, it’s… only a matter of time before others do as well.”

Daniel nods. He asks seriously as he holds the two princesses, “Where is Bellphine now?”

***