Chapter 336

Our vacation in Elza turned out to be much longer than expected, and the detours we took along the way gave everyone a big scare. But now that the danger was over, everyone was able to finally relax. Princess Amira was more than eager to let us on board the Break of Dawn. To my surprise, her twin cousins, Vanessa and Leandra were here the entire time. They just avoided the fighting. The skyship was large enough to accommodate even the beastkin, dark elves, and Shade prisoners, though it was a crowded journey back. Fortunately, most of the succubi were still in fit flying form.

We made a brief stop in the Fiora Plains to drop Chief Dolanna and her tribesmen off. They invited us to stay for a while and celebrate, but the light elves weren't going to wait for us. I said goodbye to my beastkin friend, who in turn gifted me a necklace with her baby claw hanging on it. According to her people, this was a symbol of reverence, and I was the first and possibly only succubus to ever earn that honor from a beastkin.

A second stop was made at Elendir's manor, where the dark elves and succubi disembarked to get some much needed rest. And sex. The dark elves from Oakfall, however, wanted to stay aboard to visit the City of Everlight, a place they once called home a long time ago before the Demon King.

Everything considered, Tirnicia and Erma's keen sense for warfare kept casualties to a minimum. Thanks to light elven and beastkin reinforcements, it turned out to be an overwhelming victory for us.

Despite our triumph though, some trauma stuck. Nyra wouldn't leave my side the entire time. She slept next to me, didn't walk without holding my hand, and only occasionally played with Mio.

"Saeko, I'm coming in!" Amira's voice reached me from the other side of the door.

The princess let herself into the small room which was only large enough for two beds stacked on top of each other. This was just another sailor's room she had allocated to us. Space was limited on the ship, and every inch counted.

"I wish I could have given you more appropriate furnishings suited for a queen." Amira bowed her head apologetically.

"This is more than enough, really. Nyra and I slept fine, too." I smiled.

"About the child." She lifted her head and frowned at the demon girl. "I'm still in disbelief as to her true identity. For yours and her safety, we should refer to her as a succubus child whose wings were clipped. It would not end well in the City of Everlight if anyone learns who she is."

"Thanks, Amira. I really appreciate you helping us."

I thought that was going to be the end of the conversation. Amira stood there awkwardly, rocking on her heels. She had an expectant look on her face like that of a curious child.

"I was hoping if you were interested in joining me for some tea! Vanessa and Leandra, as well as Arniel and Raniel will be there, too. Perhaps you can regale us with tales of your latest adventures and of Earth," Amira said.

"For tea…" I turned to Nyra, who was stuck to me like glue.

"Of course, you're welcome to bring her along. The true nature of her identity worries me, but Erma assured us the child is fine. There will be sweets and snacks!" She bent down next to Nyra.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Nyra bounced up and down.

"It's settled then! Saeko and Nyra shall join us for tea!" the princess declared against my will.

I rolled my eyes and relented.

We walked along the outer walkway of the airship. Winds battered the heavy masts, and the cacophonous metallic symphony of machinery boomed from somewhere deep within the ship's bowels. Glancing over the rails, we were nowhere near the surface and above the rolling clouds.

"If you're wondering, the Break of Dawn was constructed by the dwarves, not us. It took a lot of negotiations from my parents to get those stingy halfmen to part with the schematics," Amira explained.

"I haven't seen a dwarf yet. Are they rare?" I asked.

"Outside of the Iron Mountains, yes. You see, dwarves have lived underneath the mountains for countless millennia. Their eyes are accustomed to the dark. Risking the light of the sun may very likely incinerate their retinas. During the war, brokering an alliance with them seemed silly. However, their technology in combining magic and science is second to none. I envy their intelligence. Hate it even," she grumbled.

We reached a door that led back into the airship, then ascended a spiral staircase to an upper deck that appeared to be a kind of bar lounge. The furnishings were much more lavish, and the only people around were officers with an air of self-importance. However, no one was more important than Princess Amira. As soon as she entered, every single officer rose from their seats and stood at attention.

The princess ignored them all. She walked past them, and so did Nyra and I. Though some did shoot me a nasty look.

"Filthy demon," an older elven officer muttered as I passed him.

I ignored them. Their words didn't bother me at all. Amira, on the other hand, stopped abruptly and whirled around on him.

"Lieutenant Denten, is it?" Amira glanced over her shoulder.

"Yes, Highness! That you know me by name is a great honor." The elf named Denten smiled brightly.

"You speak of honor, yet you besmirch my honor by insulting a guest of mine. This is Queen Saeko, who you called a filthy demon. What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked.

The lieutenant was dumbstruck. His mouth flopped open and closed.

"A-Amira, it's fine! Your cousins and the twins are waiting for us, aren't they?" I whispered.

"I am deeply sorry for my brazen comment, Queen Saeko. It will never happen again." The lieutenant bowed.

"It's alright. I forgive you, so—"

"Apologize. On. The. Ground," Amira said before I could finish.

Denten dropped down to his knees, but even then, the princess wasn't satisfied. He prostrated on the ground, head practically scraping the floorboards. She pressed a foot to his head.

"I apologize, Queen Saeko!" he exclaimed.

Amira let her foot off, satisfied. It felt more like he was apologizing to her rather than me. On my back, Nyra snickered derisively, bemused by his humiliation.

We entered the room in the back to a private quarter with a view out the side of the airship. Half the dining chamber was an open kitchen, where cooks prepared food in plain sight. Crystalline chandeliers hung above. Several musicians playing the harp and flute conducted gentle music, and standing against the wall, a fleet of servants waited to be of service.

Vanessa, Leandra, Arniel, Raniel, and even Erma was here, seated around an almost rectangular table because one end was rounded. They all stood up at once until Amira sat down at the head of the table. She gestured to the open seat to her right, then eyed her cousins to scoot down one to accommodate Nyra. However, the table was missing a seat. I put Nyra down on one chair, but I had none for myself.

"This won't do. Why are we missing a seat? Servants, bring Queen Saeko a seat this instant!" Amira boomed.

"Allow me to offer Saeko a seat," Erma said, rising from hers.

I thought Erma was going to give me her seat. Instead, she walked around to me, got down and all fours, and offered her back. Everyone else stared at her in disbelief.

"W-What's going on? Legate? Weren't you going to give Saeko a seat?" Raniel gaped.

"That is my intention, yes. Mistress, please, sit on me!" Erma exclaimed.

"Oh, my god… You picked a terrible time to express your kink," I lowered my voice and said.

"This amuses me. Sit, Saeko. Your seat awaits." Amira grinned.

Sighing, I sat down anyway.

"This isn't how I wanted to see Legate Erma…" Arniel buried his face into both hands.

"Bring forth our feast! Saeko and Nyra are very famished," the princess barked at the servants.

Servants quickly brought food from the open kitchen to the table. Wine flowed, sweets were consumed by the handfuls— mostly by Nyra, and I occasionally fed my grateful living seat. However, as soon as all the food reached the table, Amira demanded all the servants and cooks to leave.

They did as ordered, and it was only just us in the room. We shared stories about the battle back in Morharst. Amira wanted to hear about everything. I recounted as much of the fight against Maeyene as possible, leaving her wide-eyed and at the edge of her seat.

"Ah, what an epic tale. I remember it fondly until the end of my days." Amira shut her eyes to imagine.

"Princess, is it true that… that the demon child is… him?" Vanessa asked nervously.

The mood around the table grew tense.

"Yes. But that stays between us. I'll not hear a peep spoken to anyone else such that it risks Saeko and Nyra's well-being. I was provided with once-in-a-lifetime entertainment in that brief battle. They deserve my assurance," Amira concluded.

"If it ever came to the King and Queen's attention, we would be returning with a much more dangerous welcome." Arniel breathed a sigh of relief.

"And my parents will not know. You have my word, Saeko. I also find Nyra rather adorable. In a sense, she technically is royalty. We are kindred spirits! How are you enjoying the pastries, dear? There's more!" She leaned forward on the table and scooted a multi-tiered cake stand closer to her.

"Ish delishous!" Nyra exclaimed, her cheeks smeared in frosting and jelly.

"Hey, show some table manners." I grabbed a napkin to wipe her face. "Anyway, now that I get the chance to talk to you all— thank you for coming to help me. It really looked grim back there until we saw the Break of Dawn. I… don't know if I can ever repay any of you."

"Gifts." The princess reminded me smugly.

"Yeah, yeah." I waved her off.

"We're happy to help, Saeko. Hehe. Arniel and I got to wield our Goddess Everlight's artifacts, and we have you to thank for that. More importantly, stopping the Demon King is an everyone problem. Still can't help but wonder, is Nyra really not the same person?" Raniel, the twin sister, asked me.

"It's complicated. The Demon King died, that much is true. Nyra is him, reborn. But the more time I spend with her, there's nothing Demon King about her," I explained.

"I can attest to this. Nyra is like any other child, only much much stronger. To rip her away from Saeko would be a grave mistake. There is no better place for her than beside those who love her," Erma added from beneath me.

The light elves around the table shot each other nervous glances. Justified, at that. They were the ones who waged a war to stop the Demon King, and I wanted to be a guardian to his new resurrected form.

A reassuring hand fell upon my shoulder. It belonged to Princess Amira, whose grace and smile only royalty could muster restored my confidence.

"We're not here to chide you for your decision, my friend. If you believe this is the right choice, then I trust you," Amira said.

"Really, I can't thank you all enough." I wiped a tear forming on my eye.

The journey concluded when we arrived at the City of Everlight. There wasn't much fanfare for the Break of Dawn's return, since its expedition was supposed to be on the down-low from Princess Amira's parents. Thankfully, we never did run into the King and Queen. They were supposedly extremely busy following the end of the war, going around the world to conduct peace missions and broker new alliances.

We were able to fix the mirror artifact without journeying to Emerald Dardaria. Our previous foray had gathered enough. Princess Amira paid to rent an entire lavish inn up in a fancy district of the city to give everyone a place to stay. The cobbled streets, illuminated by magic-powered streetlights, were smoother than the roads back home. The palace was within view from where we stayed, too.

"I'm so glad we're off the airship. The airplanes back home I can do. But all the shaking… ugh… I'm getting nauseous thinking about it…" Kana trembled.

"Pussy. We had a once in a lifetime opportunity to take you flying off the ship, and you clung to the bed instead!" Mio complained.

"Five feet high is the maximum distance I'm willing to let you carry me!" he fired back.

I turned the other way and laughed at their bickering. Today, the three of us took a carriage ride around the district in the morning. Elendir and Shayle promised to look after Nyra while we did. The carriage stopped at a bend in the road which overlooked the City of Everlight in all its splendor.

"Man, I bet this place would've been cooler if it'd been taken over by succubi. Guess we gotta settle on this." Mio sneered.

"Hey, the stagecoach is right there you know…" I groaned.

"Since Nyra is sticking around, do you guys think we should get a new place? I know we only moved not too long ago," Kana said.

"I don't want to think about getting a new place yet. I have to get Nyra's citizenship cleared by Mr. Ishioka. We still need to find Elendir and Erma a stable job, too. There's a lot of stuff to do, now that I think about it." I sighed.

To my right, Kana held my hand. To my left, Mio did the same.

"I? You mean, we. We're all in this together, remember? For the long haul." Mio grinned.

"What Mio said. Me and you have been friends since grade school. I'm going to be with you even if the sky starts falling. As long as Mio isn't the one dropping me from the sky…" Kana glared at her from my other side.

Mio whistled playfully and looked away. I pulled both of them into my arms for a hug.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I smiled.