Ocean had thought that he would eat lunch with Reina’s family later to let them know that he was all right and they need not worry but Davian having suggested that they eat together had brought them to the dining hall of the annex where currently everyone who were a part of Ocean’s plans, apart from two were present.

Ocean sat at the head of the table with Sol on his right and Davian his left side too much for Duke Aurelius and Rune’s displeasure. Duke Aurelius sat beside Sol with Rune beside Davian, Eric sat aside Rune and Miri took a seat right beside Eric. Marquis Fairisles sat beside Duke Aurelius with Lyall on his right and finally Zale sat right at the other end of the table.

A huge feast was laid out before them with the rest of the food on the trolleys on the side. Ocean had dismissed the maids and servants before explaining everything that had happened the other night after they were teleported outside of the ballroom.

"So, that clock not only was tampered with to be dropped over His Majesty but also had demons hiding inside it?" Duke Aurelius asked after Ocean had explained.

"Demons of all the things, again." Rune grimaced.

"Again?" Eric frowned as he looked Rune and then at Ocean.

"I have battled with a demon before, that’s what he means," Ocean said as he finished his soup.

Eric was surprised and concerned and Miri who noticed it broke the leg of the crab which was a part of the dishes and expertly fished out its tender flesh and placed it in Eric’s plate making his cheeks go red.

She smiled at him and he hesitantly took the bite.

"Anyways, I wouldn’t call those things demons though, they were way weaker than a demon. If anything, they were just spectres."

"Then you could have let us fight them?" Rune said and Ocean sighed.

"It was complicated," Ocean recalled the way those apparitions swallowed his mana and instead of getting purified or destroyed they came for more as if they were able to get stronger with his mana.

If it were normal people then it would have been a huge problem, the basic reason why Ocean was out of mana was because he had purposely released a huge amount of mana so that they would burst from over absorbing. As for the cursed trio then, though they were strong and swift but they were the easiest to take care of.

Those spectres or whatever they were, they shouldn’t ever be released on humans. If what he thought was right then those spectres were capable of sucking the life out of the living things and they had no sense of moderation as he recalled the way they kept coming after him again and again even after looking like they were shattering into the lights of blue after having had gone beyond their limits.

"Those things were bad news, I’m glad that I had a Plan D and had you all evacuated." Ocean said and the others noticed the grim tone.

Ocean glanced at Sol who was looking up at him and then at his plate the slices of meat were larger for his small mouth. Ocean grabbed the plate with the steak and cut them into small sizeable bites before exchanging his plate with Sol’s wordlessly.

Sol was surprised and stared at Ocean for a moment who turned his attention back to the conversation. Sol didn’t say anything but just ate the pieces sliced just for him.

"Is that why you were in such a bad shape?" Marquis Fairisles asked.

"Yes, I’ll have to have Un-Archmage look into those creatures or find some books that I could read to have more information." Ocean said before he started eating.

Sol paused for a moment and then looked at others who were in the hall, it seemed as if he had something to say but he kept it to himself.

"So, you had two more plans besides what you told us?" Rune spoke before he put the bite of his fish in his mouth.

"Did you know that demons would be a part of this?" Marquis Fairisles asked and Ocean shook his head. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"I didn’t, I only had the rest two plans in case of some unforeseen possibilities and I’m glad I had them." Ocean sighed as he finished his third serving of steak and reached for the fourth serving.

"You could have told us about those Plans, though." Rune said.

"Plan C had nothing to do with you all and Plan D was only for me and Lyall so, I didn’t tell you." Ocean said as he cut another plate of steak for Sol.

"What was your Plan C?" Davian asked.

"Us," Miri piped in with a smile and then gestured at Zale.

"Duke Lancaster was also a part of it," Ocean added.

"Is that why Duke Lancaster stepped up to take your side when you were being accused?" Marquis Fairisles asked.

"Yes," Ocean said, not explaining that Damon had always been a part of his plans regarding Denril.

"It’s a good thing that Crown Prince came to us that night though, it would have been harder to convince His Majesty that we were innocent after all those accusations." Eric sighed.

"You didn’t need to worry about that though," Miri smiled as she sliced the duck leg from the large platter in the middle and placed it in his dish.

Eric gulped watching it, Ocean and others were noticing Miri serving him from time to time but none was commenting.

"Master had Zale and myself on standby for that," Miri said and Eric took a bite of what she offered and she smiled reaching out her thumb to brush away the stain of sauce from his cheek.

The ones who saw it were so stunned that they almost forgot the topic at hand, Duke Aurelius almost dropped his fork. Ocean didn’t bother but he noticed as Davian stared at the two with a small smile and a strange look in his eyes. It seemed as if he was watching them but envisioning something else. Ocean didn’t want to think about what might be going through his head.

"I had the plans laid out first, His Highness Arian had just come along as a bonus. Although, I’m glad he came and supported us during all those baseless accusations but it was already handled." Ocean said before taking another serving of another dish.

"No wonder you were so calm," Davian spoke mid-chew, "but then again, I couldn’t imagine you being shocked by anything since you always seem to know what’s going to happen."

"Speak after you swallow." Rune frowned at Davian and he swallowed before smiling.

"I’m sorry,"

"I thank Your Majesty for helping us out," Marquis Fairisles looked at Zale who simply smiled.

"Oh, no need to thank me. This is nothing before what Master did for me."

"That’s right, we were even ready to take them out," Miri said with a smile and then sighed, "Too bad, I didn’t get to have any action."

"Indeed, even I was a little disappointed that the only role I had was to make that man confess." Zale sighed.

"I didn’t want it to turn out into a great battle, Miri and Zale." Ocean spoke making the others turn their heads to look at him.

Ocean looked at them midchew and swallowed before asking, "What?"

Miri who noticed their looks chuckled, "It’s fine, don’t look at him like that, Master and us are casual."

Sol was quiet throughout and Ocean noticed it, he used telekinesis to pick up the bowls of duck salad and the potage and placed it before Sol. Sol was a little surprised but he ate.

"Still, the Golden Serpent went a bit too far this time. Summoning demons just to make her son the King." Duke Aurelius grimaced.

"It wouldn’t be easy to prove it, would it? That she’s been plotting such a big thing!" Rune asked looking at Ocean.

"No, it won’t be easy but she’s just lost the chance of having it fair with me." Ocean said as he grabbed the crab’s leg and crunched it loud enough for everyone to flinch.

"Now, I don’t have to play nice." Ocean smirked darkly.

"You can’t go and kill her right away," Marquis said and Ocean nodded.

"I know, but she’s not longer a human deserving redemption. So, at the end of it, I’ll make sure-"

Before Ocean could complete his words, Sol grabbed his sleeve making him look down at him.

"What’s wrong, Sol?" Ocean asked, the earlier devilish expression vanishing in an instant.

"Hold your thoughts, we’re all eating." He spoke and Ocean turned his gaze over to others.

Some looked surprised, especially Reina’s family and Eric while others had smirks.

"Ah, right." Ocean mumbled before he smiled and picked up the platter of roasted pheasant with his telekinesis before resting it before Sol.

Sol was slightly taken aback watching the whole dish before he sighed.

"Stop feeding me so much! You need to eat more to replenish your energy." He chided and Ocean chuckled.

"I’m eating."

The topic was then changed and everyone talked among themselves as Ocean glanced at everyone. These were his people to protect, what he faced last night was something he hadn’t ever came across but if such a thing were to come before Kai or his family or his people then they might not be able to overpower it like he did.

For now, he wasn’t only their shield but also their sword so, he needed to do everything in his power to make sure that they were safe.

Besides, the last night’s fight did increase his assimilation with the Dragon Bloodline which probably was the reason why he recovered so quickly.

[Assimilation with Dragon’s Bloodline: 80% complete.]

Now it was only the matter of 20 percent for Reina to become a full-fledged Dragon.

The Preserver who had been watching it all couldn’t help but sigh, he knew Reina was smart enough to understand with this incident that things wouldn’t be as easy anymore. That was the reason why his Divine weapons were placed as a reward.

"Now, let’s head over to my dear friend and remind him to assign her the next quest." He mumbled with a smile.

He stood up from his seat and flicked his wrist opening a portal, the wild snowstorm that was blowing on the other side rushed right in through the portal and he stepped in completely unfazed.