After that, we moved everyone back to the villa while the two of us did our own things.
I was reading a random book to pass the time while Zeshion was sleeping on the sofa. I'm not sure if he's truly sleeping or just closing his eyes, but whatever the case, we were too bored with nothing much to do.
On the other hand, Goddess Zeta and Ember were still busy with their one-on-one lessons. She seemed to be making much progress, far from the goddess' expectations, making her want to push Ember's limits further.
"I'm back~"
Just as I was about to go and stretch outside, a portal opened once more by Zeshion's side. From there, the fluffy-looking Eta popped out and hopped to Zeshion's side.
"My king, I finished your assigned task~! Praise me, praise me~!"
"Hmmm? Oh, good work, Eta... Good girl."
"Ehehehe~"
Zeshion gave her head a pat while rubbing his sleepy eyes. It seems like he really was asleep until just moments before.
After watching the two's interactions, hell soon followed.
Zeshion and I did our best to decipher whatever information Goddess Eta brought back. The way she reported was so random that it was hard to pick up useful information without listening keenly.
In the end, after her long-winded talk, Zeshion summarized the information she brought back.
One is that Noir really left traces in the neighboring Cleaver Kingdom. He should be in there right now, which confirmed that my dream was true, or if not, that it was prophetic at least.
Another is that the Cleaver Kingdom was planning to launch an attack against our kingdom in secret. And they were drawing Noir in to add to their forces and boost their chances. I can't even guess how Goddess Eta gleaned this information, but there's also Alpha; She must've helped by using her foresight or something.
And last was that their demigod-level spies, sent in under the pretext of finding information on me, were actually there to set up traps from inside the kingdom. For this one, Alpha was already on the move as soon as she learned of it, making Zeshion smile briefly.
"So, does this mean a war is brewing, and I'm being used as a pretext for it?"
After hearing everything, that was the only conclusion I could draw from it. Basically, their initial claim to have my head served on a platter was under the assumption that King Leonard would refuse directly. They then planned to use that bit, urge the other neighboring kingdoms to join their cause, and launch a joint attack.
"Kingdoms fighting other kingdoms while under threat of getting wiped out by demons? Plain insanity."
I can't help but sigh.
"By the way, mind if I ask something?"
Since we were on the topic of kingdoms anyway, I tried to raise a question that I had a long time ago.
"Why does this kingdom not have a name?"
"Ah, that...?"
Zeshion's face turned awkward immediately.
"I'm not too sure, actually, since it had been that way two generations before I was even born. Nobody knows why the kings refuse to make a new name for the kingdom too."
"Weird..."
"Yeah. Even the documents that may contain the name of this kingdom were lost back at the old capital. I doubt there were any that survived the Demon's attacks."
Well, having no name to call your kingdom may be a bit of a challenge for diplomatic relations, but to me, I don't really care much. I haven't even felt the need to use this kingdom's name once in the whole 18 years of my life.
"Speaking of Cleaver Kingdom..."
Zeshion suddenly had a pondering expression, holding his chin while his brows furrowed.
"... Do you remember that guy during the Newbie Tamer's Tournament last time? The one that I stripped the system from?"
"You mean Aster?"
That was an old name that I wish I could forget. However, since he's Fang's previous tamer, I doubt I could wipe it off my memory.
"Yeah, him. He's from the Cleaver Kingdom too."
"..."
He's from the kingdom that just decided to attack this kingdom?
"... Is he like... The son of some powerful noble?"
I can't help but get this creeping feeling, so I had to ask. Zeshion looked up, deep in thought for a moment, before he nodded his head with a flat expression.
"Yeah, I think he is. Some Marquis or Duke or something's son."
"Damn..."
I think I know why we're getting attacked now. That guy must've made a comment or something, making their kingdom launch an attack. Most likely retaliation against Zeshion, who stripped him of the taming system, and me, who basically knocked him down a peg.
Zeshion then turned to me, tilted his head, and turned towards the girls' room, specifically Fang's, and then grinned.
"Will, do you want a chance to contribute greatly to our kingdom's prosperity?"
"No!"
I don't know what he's up to, but that smile is definitely not good!
"Hey, listen first before you refuse. You'll just need to go on a roundtrip to the Cleaver Kingdom and become a hero instantly! Amazing, right?"
I squinted my eyes, glaring at the suspicious smile plastered on God Zeshion's face.
"You mean, [Go and become a bait to draw the heat, and we'll support you from the shadows]? No, I don't want to die yet."
That's just asking the other kingdom to kill me. They've already sent an army of demigods for my head; why should I go to their doorsteps just to become a cold corpse less than a minute later?
"Come on, it's not dangerous, I promise."
Zeshion pleaded before pulling out a ring from his pocket.
"As proof, I'll even give this ring to you. You can use it as you wish."
I took the ring from him warily, watching if there was any weird energy flow around it. However, even after careful observation, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.
"What is this thing?"
Curious, I can't help but ask at last. Zeshion, as if waiting for that moment, showed a wide smile, saying, "Glad you asked!"
"That's a Death Aversion Ring. This little thing can prevent you from dying once before losing effect."
"So you're basically telling me to die now?"
"I gave that to you so that you won't. It's something that can protect you even against a demigod's fatal attack!"
"Same thing!"
Damn! So, as I suspected, going to the Cleaver Kingdom would definitely lead me to death. Zeshion was worried enough to give me something like this as protection. He's definitely assuming that I'll be in danger when I go there.
"If you complete this mission, then I'll give you five more of that."
But his next words made me pause.
Five? Then I could give one to Ember, Fang, Igni, and Fina and keep one for myself. Yorm and Judy... They could be protected by the others, so there is no need for rings.
Having a lifeline is a good thing, after all. However, to gain these little trinkets, I would need to lay my life on the line...
"... It's still not worth it."
I know that these rings are almost priceless, and Zeshion was even willing to give me five of them—six if I include the one in my hands already. However, placing my own life, and maybe the girls too, on the other side of the scale would still be too little compensation.
"Then let me add permission to use the time-accelerated training room."
A voice suddenly echoed from above. Both Zeshion and I turned to the source of the voice and found Yu Na slowly flying down and landing right outside the Villa's door.
"With that offer, I'm adding a monthly usage of the time-accelerated training room here."
"You have that?"
It was the first time I heard of it, actually.
"We do, but it's only available to VVIP users. Since you're a bit special, we can give you a VVIP treatment too."
Yu Na further explained.
"We have limited slots available for it since it's energy-intensive when in use. A single-use should cost about 2 billion Credits for an hour, and we're offering you 24 hours of usage for a month, for a total of 1 year."
So... That's about 576 billion Credits worth! What a kill!
"When do we start?!"
I asked Zeshion, who looked at me with a knowing smile. "You do know your value, after all."
"We'll move after your stay here is done. Yu Na, help me flesh out the plan."
"As you wish."
She bowed, a faint smile appearing on her face.
For now, all that Zeshion briefed me on is that I would need to go to the Cleaver Kingdom and act like King Leonard was offering my head to them. My girls would be staying at the Seimei during that time and ready to jump in to help me at any moment.
Doing that, the other party would lose the initiative to launch an attack against the kingdom and let the other God-tamers handle the spies that infiltrated inside.
"But then..."
The only problem was that Noir was there too. This would be an extremely risky excursion for me.
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