Chapter 124: Empowered Companions and the Spreading Shadows

Dion, Sheila, Luna, Cleo, Mei, Aria, Nala, and Haruto made their way up to where Olga and Elrond were standing at the apex of the pyramid behind Dion’s mansion, gazing out at the ancient palace in the distance. When they met, Dion laid out the entire strategy to Olga, Elrond, and Haruto at once. After listening to his plan, the three narrowed their eyes, studying Dion thoughtfully.

"Your plan is sound, Lord Dion, but... it is quite dangerous and carries a high level of risk," Olga remarked.

"Are you certain the general we captured won’t turn around and stab you in the back along the way?" Elrond asked.

"There’s no need to worry about that, Lord Elrond. That’s precisely why I requested two Shadow Hand operatives to monitor the situation from a distance. Besides, Nala is coming with us, so I don’t think it’ll be an issue," Dion replied.

"It is true that the Shadow Hand can act before any betrayal occurs, but Lady Olga is right, having all of you go personally is far too risky. Originally, I assumed someone disguised as Princess Sheila would be sent instead. Don’t forget, every one of you holds a vital status," Haruto pointed out.

"Don’t worry, Lord Sion, we have Dion with us! Besides, none of us are weak, I can guarantee that much. Don’t worry too much... and you stay calm too, Sister Olga," Luna said nonchalantly.

"That’s right! I’m going with them too, Papa, so there’s no need to worry," Mei added.

"We aren’t who we used to be. We’re strong now," Aria chimed in.

"Still, before we set off, we’ll make proper preparations. I’ll have all the mages assemble so we can reinforce the barrier enveloping our entire domain. The main goal is to keep undead scouts and assassins from infiltrating our territory, especially considering how dangerous things are getting with King Kenzo Araki being attacked inside his own palace," Cleo said, turning to look at Olga.

"Ah, that’s true," Olga replied, though her eyes remained fixed on Luna, Aria, Sheila, Mei, and Cleo.

Olga continued to observe the five girls before shifting her gaze to Dion and Gina, who was currently perched on Dion’s head. Reaching into the folds of her dress, Olga pulled out a stone tablet-like artifact.

"Forgive me, but could the five of you place your hands on this? Starting with you, Cleo," Olga requested, holding out the tablet.

"Oh... sure," Cleo said.

Cleo placed her palm on the tablet. Instantly, a soft glow erupted from the artifact, forming floating text in the air. Haruto, Elrond, and Olga’s eyes widened in sheer astonishment as they read the glowing yellow text hovering before them: Demonic Warlock rank SSS+.

"Wow... Demonic Warlock... This is... incredible," Elrond muttered under his breath.

Olga quickly composed her expression before turning to look at Luna, who stood beside her.

"Now you try," Olga said, extending the tablet toward her.

"Okay, Big Sister!" Luna replied casually.

Without delay, Luna pressed her palm against the tablet. Light flared once more, revealing glowing yellow letters in the air: Unholy Paladin rank SSS. Seeing the text, Olga flinched slightly but maintained her composure. Next, she tested Mei, whose class registered as Shadow Walker rank SSS, followed by Sheila, who displayed Beast Berserker rank SSS. Finally, she had Aria, standing at the far end, place her hand down, and the text Mechanical Demon Merchant rank SSS illuminated the air.

"This is... astonishing... The ancient relief in the Eredor ruins did mention that the five empresses of King Xandor gained immense power equal to the king himself... but... that was supposed to occur after a sacred wedding ceremony... or... intimacy," Olga noted, her voice trailing off.

"Yes... that’s correct. Elder Cylona used to say the exact same thing, and now I finally understand why she didn’t leave right away and chose to wait for her grandchild to give her a great-grandchild," Elrond added..

"Hah?!" Dion gasped, completely caught off guard. He reflexively turned to look at the five girls, whose faces had flushed beet red as they hurriedly averted their eyes, staring off in every direction except at him.

Suddenly,

"Oh... maybe that happened when everyone was drunk? But the Mamas said it was ’exercise.’ They put Papa to sleep and did exercise with Papa... I wasn’t invited," Gina’s innocent voice echoed in Dion’s head.

"Hah... You saw that?!" Dion asked in his mind, completely stunned.

"Yeah! You know, Papa, when Mama Cleo and Mama Sheila got drunk, Mama Luna passed out, and Mama Mei and Mama Aria were helping them... and they got a little tipsy too... We went straight to the inn... That night they did exercise with Papa... But I wasn’t allowed to join... It made me kind of sad," Gina answered innocently.

Listening to the pure, clueless child’s voice in his head, Dion lifted Gina off his head and looked her straight in the face. Gina tilted her head, gazing back at Dion with a utterly confused expression, clearly clueless about what she had witnessed. Dion then whipped his head around to glare at the five girls once more.

"So that night at the inn in Eredor’s capital after we met the king and Lord Sion... you girls assaulted me?!" Dion asked, annoyed.

"Hah! As if! We were just making our relationship official!" Luna, Cleo, Sheila, Mei, and Aria blurted out in unison, their faces glowing red.

"Since we knew you’d refuse, we... used magic to put you under. That’s the only thing we’re apologizing for, dosing you with sleep magic! Right, everyone?" Cleo argued defensive.

"Right!" Luna, Mei, Sheila, and Aria agreed, nodding in rapid succession.

Dion was left speechlessly dumbfounded, his face turning bright red. What gave him an even bigger headache was that he had zero memory or sensation of it, while the five girls before him looked thoroughly pleased, happy, and shyly embarrassed. Noticing the awkward shift in the atmosphere, Elrond raised a hand.

"Ah... so that’s how it is. Well then, I understand now. You see it too, don’t you, Lady Olga?" Elrond asked smoothly.

"Yes... That means the bond between the princesses and Lord Dion is already fully established... Very well, we understand. The five of you alone are more than capable of destroying an entire nation, so... I see no issue with executing Lord Dion’s plan," Olga concluded.

"Hmm... Agreed. I’ll assign two Shadow Hand operatives to keep watch over them," Haruto added.

Hearing the three elders sign off, Dion glanced back at them before turning his gaze back to the five girls, making them flinch slightly.

"We’ll be discussing this again later," Dion told the five girls flatly.

"Okay!" Luna, Cleo, Sheila, Mei, and Aria chimed back cheerfully.

From there, they began hashing out their infiltration strategy. Dion, Mei, and Sheila worked through the fine details with Haruto and Elrond, while Cleo, Luna, and Aria discussed domain defense with Olga, focusing on barriers, watchtowers, and military deployment. Dion also promised to erect several elemental watchtowers to fortify their three unified cities before departing.

As they chatted casually atop the pyramid, Your Grace! a voice called out. Everyone turned toward the stairs to see a knight of the Thetor Kingdom looking completely pale and exhausted, supported by an elf soldier carrying a rifle and a soldier golem. Seeing this, Dion and the rest immediately hurried over to the front of the stairs.

"What happened?" Dion asked, stepping up to examine the weakened knight.

"F-Forgive me, Your Grace... I was instructed to deliver this message from Her Highness Princess Evelyn," the knight stammered out, handing over a scroll.

Dion took the scroll and unrolled it. Luna, Sheila, Mei, Cleo, and Aria gathered behind him to read along, while Gina flew over to the knight, gently patting his head as if saying "good job." Dion’s eyes darted across the text. His expression darkened steadily from pale gray to a flushed red. Aria’s face similarly flushed red with distress. Noticing the drastic change in their expressions, Haruto stepped closer.

"What is it, Lord Dion?" Haruto asked.

Dion didn’t answer, simply passing the scroll over to Haruto. As Haruto read through the contents, his jaw dropped and his face drained of all color.

"W-What?! The capital of Thetor and the city of Millfrost were attacked by Damned Beholders?!" Haruto gasped.

"According to the letter, fortunately Evelyn was present alongside a strong force of holy knights. King Lamberd survived, though he was injured... but the grand abbot didn’t make it. Five Damned Beholders ambushed both the palace and the grand cathedral," Dion summarized grimly.

"I’m worried about my sister Olivia back in Millfrost," Aria muttered under her breath, clenching her fists as her head hung low.

Luna gently placed a hand on Aria’s shoulder while Mei wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort and soothe her. Supported by the elf soldier, the knight took a slow step forward.

"Her Highness Olivia is safe, Lady Aria... The situation in Millfrost was not as severe as in the capital," the knight assured her.

"Is that true? Thank goodness... But what about Father? The letter mentioned he was wounded... Is he alright?" Aria asked anxiously.

"He will recover. He merely suffered a slash to his arm, nothing life-threatening. Princess Evelyn remains at the palace guarding His Majesty," the knight reported.

Having heard the report and processed the letter, Olga and Elrond exchanged grave looks, turning to Dion and Haruto.

"Lord Sion, didn’t you mention earlier that the King of Eredor was attacked by the exact same creatures?" Elrond asked carefully.

"Indeed... The undead army is making its move. They intend to plunge every kingdom into utter chaos," Haruto answered grimly.

"Given the escalating situation, you should set off for Northgard at once, Lord Dion. If every kingdom is targeted, Northgard will certainly be no exception," Olga urged.

"Yes... But what about the Kingdom of Lutherias? Has there been any word from them?" Cleo asked, unable to hide her anxiety.

"Forgive me... I have yet to receive any dispatches regarding Lutherias... I will send scouts to investigate immediately... Lady Olga is right: you all must depart for Northgard without delay. We cannot allow anything to happen to King Gred in Northgard," Haruto stated firmly.

"Alright... Let’s get ready, everyone... Oh... you too, Nala," Dion called out.

"Eh? Oh... okay!" Nala squeaked, startled at being addressed. Even though she had been standing there the entire time, she had remained completely silent.