"So, yeah, I kinda got way too drunk and blurted out that I was moving out of Obsidian...my friends were making a lot of plans for when next to meet up and stuff like that, and before I could stop myself, I told them that this was going to be my last night in Obsidian. So, uh, I probably can’t go back there again," Rosary informed me sheepishly.

"I see...well, I guess that’s fine. Even if we are attacked by one or more of the other nations at this point, the situation here in Arcadia is stable enough that we should be able to repel any attacks without too much trouble. So, yeah, I wouldn’t have needed you and Ilex to go to Obsidian anymore either way," I replied with a shrug.

It’s not worth the risk, anyway...if anyone becomes suspicious of her or Ilex, they’ll be in danger.

"Well, that’s a relief. But even if this was a problem, you’d still have Ilex and Phyurio to go to Obsidian if necessary," She pointed out.

"Yeah, true. But we should probably quit while we’re ahead...if anyone catches on to the fact that you guys keep popping in and disappearing from Obsidian on a regular basis, they might get suspicious. It doesn’t seem like Obsidian has any immediate plans to attack us anyway, so we don’t really need to keep fishing for information as things stand," I reasoned objectively.

Phyurio is currently in Obsidian, I’ll discuss it with him too after he comes back.

"Alright, then...now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m gonna head out to that bar that recently opened up here, this place is finally starting to look like a proper nation with all the stores and shops opening up, might as well experience the progress," She grinned, as she began heading out.

Didn’t she just say that she had too much to drink yesterday? Well, whatever, I don’t really have a problem with it, she’s an adult who can make her own decisions, after all.

"Sure, have fun. See you later," I replied, as she opened the door before giving me a wave and walking out, shutting the door behind her.

After I took those few days off to refresh my mind, my workload had kinda piled up, so I’ve been pretty busy lately...there’s still so much to do, we need to redevelop the nation quite a bit more before we can try implementing the suggestions I made, the concerts and tournaments and whatnot.

I should call a meeting with everyone by the end of the week or so...

Hm?

Someone’s knocking on my door again...

"Yeah? Come in!" I called out, before glancing up as the door opened, a familiar head of green hair coming into sight.

"Hey, Larrk...can I talk to you about something? It’s, um...it’s kinda important."

"Sure, but I can’t spare too much time, I’m sort of swamped with work right now. So, let’s cut right to the chase, if that’s okay with you, Ilex...what’s up?" I asked him.

"Well...it’s about Obsidian. Don’t get me wrong, I fully intend to live here in Arcadia with you guys. For the most part, I have no reason to think twice about leaving Obsidian for good, but..."

"I see, there’s something tying you down. What, did you get yourself a girlfriend or something?" I responded jokingly.

"U-uh...yeah, kind of."

Huh?

"Wait, seriously? Wow...okay, uh, that’s a little surprising, no offense. Alright, so in other words, you don’t want to break up with this girl, and since you’re bringing up this issue to me, I’m guessing it’s not a situation where you can just tell her the truth and ask her to move here with you?" I surmised, before adding, "Did I get that right?"

"Yeah, that’s exactly it. The truth is, well...she’s a Knight Captain. So it’s really complicated, telling her the truth is really risky," He frowned with a conflicted look on his face.

Hold on, what?

"A Knight Captain? Huh...yeah, that does complicate things. Not sure what I can do to help though. I guess I could try forming an alliance with Obsidian...but I highly doubt that the King would agree to that, the majority of the citizens would definitely oppose becoming allies with a nation of Monsters, Demi-Humans and Heretics, and rulers are often pretty averse to making decisions that would earn them public dissent. Then again, this guy did play a huge role in reducing discrimination towards Commoners in Obsidian, which means he’s probably smart enough to surmise that making an enemy of us would be a bad idea, so you never know..."

"U-uh, no, I wasn’t thinking of anything so drastic. I just wanted your advice...like, how should I approach this? I don’t want to cut ties with her, but the only way to avoid that is to tell her the truth," Sighed Ilex, looking lost.

"Hm...then, why don’t just do that? Yeah, just straight up tell her ’I’ve moved to Arcadia, I’d like you to quit the Knight Order and run away with me’, or something like that," I suggested with a shrug.

"H-huh? I...I can’t do that, wh-what if she says no?"

"That’s definitely a possibility. Worse yet, she might see you as a traitor to Obsidian, since saying you live in Arcadia is the same as admitting that you’re allied with Monsters, Demi-Humans and Heretics." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"O-oh..."

"But, at the very least, you’ll have at least tried. If you don’t try, you’ll probably regret it later on, you’ll think of what ifs and hypothetical scenarios until you drive yourself crazy. You have nothing to lose, and a whole lot to gain, by just trying," I stated as I walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah...yeah, you’re right. Honestly, the thought of telling her the truth is terrifying, but...I need to at least try. Like you said, I’ll no doubt regret it if I don’t," He nodded, a look of determination appearing in his eyes.

"Alright, then...let me know when you’re going to do that. I think I might just drop by the capital and give the whole alliance thing a shot..."

_____________________________________________

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! Don’t forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!

Also, check out my Insta account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.

Join the Discord server, I plan to tease upcoming Chapters and future story arcs here, and you can also discuss or ask me any questions about the story and characters. Use the invite link to join:

https://discord.gg/sRbx9VbTVP