"They're finally almost here. Alright! Everybody get ready to greet the two commanders! If we piss off any of them, we're all dead!" I shouted across the entire hall, which was filled to the brim with the nobles of my dukedom.

We were given mostly free rein over this place without the eyes of the empress, but it seems she's finally locked down on trying to excrete all impurities…

The war has truly changed this plane for the worst.

…

(Lucy POV)

As we approached the gates of the towering walls of this dukedom, we were quickly greeted by powerful knights who were on par with some of the weaker ranking of the twelve… ten… I forgot.

But of course, they were obviously no match for us.

"Greetings Commanders… It seems you've encountered some trouble on your way here, but I am glad you are safe. Please, follow me, and I will lead you to where your men can stay…."

"Alright, then get to it,"

"Y-Yes, ma'am," The leader of the knights said, and as we followed him past the dukedom walls, I could feel the tension practically becoming so thick that the air was humid and moist.

Despite this place constantly being showered with a light snowfall, it was hot with tension.

But, the streets were still bustling with all kinds of activities, such as merchants calling out to any customers, adventurers strolling up and down the streets, and even some families smiling gleefully as they had as much fun as they could create.

"Everybody seems quite calm about their situation," Cora said.

"Well, everybody is trying to make the most of it. But, everybody is especially reliant on you two and trusts that you'll save them… Not to put any pressure on you two, but yeah… it's a bit sad, to be honest,"

"I agree," Cora muttered, and after about half a day of strolling through a few small towns, we finally reached the capital, which was strangely close to the wall.

It was bustling with even more activity, and this time, some people recognized us and called out to us, so we put on our best smiles and waved.

Just smile and wave… just smile and wave…

I felt so tense around everybody that it felt like my heart was about to jump out of my chest, but I made sure to stay calm and put on the best front for everybody.

Having people rely on me like this… felt pretty good.

"Okay, and this is the place all of you will be staying," The knight said as he presented a giant field coated to the brim with snow.

It was beautiful and all, but there was nowhere for them to sleep.

"Where do they sleep? Do you at least have any tents?" I asked, and the man looked at me with a bit of surprise as if he didn't expect this question.

"D-didn't you bring your own tents for when you traveled here?"

"Yes, we did, but shouldn't you have bigger and cozier ones? My men will go insane if they're forced to sleep in their little tents here,"

"O-Of course. Please forgive us for overlooking this matter," He said and sent off a few knights to go converse with whoever will get us some proper shelter.

"ALL OF YOU MAY RELAX NOW! YOU MAY GO INTO TOWN, BUT IF I HEAR THAT YOU STIRRED UP EVEN A BIT OF TROUBLE, EVERYBODY WILL BE DOING THOUSANDS OF PUSHUPS!" I shouted, ordering the army to sit down and not cause any trouble.

"YES, COMMANDER!" Everybody shouted before splitting apart.

Cora and I hopped off our horses and adjusted our armor as we followed the head of the knights deeper into the capital.

Tons of eyes landed on us, with some being filled with admiration and some being filled with hatred or discontent.

Bump

"Oof… Ouchie…" A little girl muttered as she was chasing her balloon that had drifted off with the wind and then bumped into me, hitting her little forehead against my hard chest plate.

"Make sure to watch where you're going," I said while bending down to her level and stroking her hair, giving me a smile that was so wholesome and warm that thoughts of having a kid with Mia flashed through my mind.

Maybe we should adopt one… well, of course, Mia has to agree first.

I chuckled to myself a bit at the thought of seeing Mia all flustered after hearing I wanted a baby, and as the little girl tilted her head with confusion, Cora handed her balloon back to her.

"Th-Thank you!" She exclaimed before running off.

As we both waved her goodbye, I suddenly blurted out that,

"I want to have a kid. I want to have a kid now… Now… I want that kid, actually. She's too cute to be with anybody else but yours truly," I smirked, and Cora looked at me with a deadpanned face.

"That's random," She muttered, and before we knew it, we arrived at a large palace that scraped the sky and pierced the clouds.

We were soon greeted by a few guards who checked our identities, but after feeling just our presence, they let us through.

I heard them murmur amongst themselves about us, but I couldn't make out the sub-topic of the conversation.

"Please try not to anger the duchess. I know you are strong and all and stronger than everybody else in the room, but if you anger the duchess, she'll try to get in your way… and I wouldn't want that upon you two,"

"What about the duke?" I asked as the knight pushed open the heavy double doors and revealed a long and large hall filled to the brim with important-looking people.

"He is very understanding,"

"That's good…." I muttered before we both stepped through the double doors and into the long hall, feeling the pressure of nobility weigh on our shoulders.

But, these weights were so very light.

We both smiled a bit as the nobles eyed us, judging us and, more importantly, evaluating us to see if we were pushovers or not.

"Greetings, Commanders. It is wonderful to see you are both in great health," A man said as he stepped up on a raised part of the floor and greeted me with a wine glass stretched out.

"It is nice to see you," We both replied while bowing, easing the eyes of the nobles around us.

"Please, sit down anywhere you would like. If you have any questions, then please come to me, and I'll answer anything you want,"

"Thank you very much," We both replied before stepping up to the duke's table and sitting down directly at it.

This drew, even more stares from the nobles around us, but we only followed his directions… though it seems we've made a mistake somehow.

"Are we not allowed to sit here?" Cora asked, and the entire hall went tense as her menacing aura spilled out into the room.

"Duchess, would you stop looking at me with such eyes and look away," I said before turning my head to the right.

There I saw a woman with long black hair and mesmerizing purple eyes staring at me like I was the devil or something.

"What? Did you not hear me?"

"F-Forgive my rudeness," She said before diverting her eyes elsewhere.

"She's quite pretty," Cora smirked before grabbing the bottle of wine across the table and pouring not only her some but also mine.

"Now, continue with the banquet. Think of us like we're not even here… We're just here to enjoy the atmosphere, nothing else," I announced, and the hall slowly began to get more active, but it was very, very steady.

I had no plans to make connections with this place. I only want to defend it and get the hell out of here.

"Are you both pleased by our commodities?" The duke asked, his wrinkly old face and short black hair telling me everything I needed to know about the state of this dukedom… it's clearly failing.

An old fossil like him most likely doesn't even care about his people and probably just himself, his wealth, his reputation, and possibly his family… though that's a bit of a stretch.

"Yes, the wine is pretty tasty," I said before cheering our glasses together.

"Ahahaa… I'm glad,"

『Status』

[Name: Lucy]

[Race: Descendant of Quetzalcoatl]

[Level: 0/250] (0/250) XP Needed

[HP: 400/400  MP: 400/400  SP: 250/250] - Non Human

[Strength: 360] - Non Human

[Defense: 360] - Non Human

[Magic: 390] - Non Human

[Speed: 370] - Non Human

[Skills: [Necromancy] [Stolen Tundra Crown] [Aurora Borealis] [Snow Magic]

[Ice Reading] [Glacier Wall] [Ancient Sacrifice] [Tangible Bloodlust] [Descendant of Quetzalcoatl's Fire] [Crown of Flames] [Gravity Press]

[Variant Skills: [Servant of Flames] [Servant of Ice] [Servant of Death]

[Passive: [Photographic Memory] [Black Drakes Blood] [All Language Perception] [Acid Immunity] [Black Drakes Regeneration] [Fire and Lava Immunity] [Death Immunity] [All Elemental Resistance]

…

[Servant of Flames] [Servant of Ice] [Servant of Death]

"Get me some food," I ordered my servants and as they all appeared out of nowhere, the entire hall went silent again.

"As you wish,"

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