Aion decided to watch his situation at home for a while… since Seris was there as well, things changed a bit. Suddenly, the number of people having breakfast together duplicated, and things were even more lively.
During that week, he also checked things in his territory that needed attention. Still, Artemisia told him that things were as fine as they could be. It got even easier after his excursion, where he took over an entire country by himself.
"Unless you annex some territory to these lands, I am going to get buried in managing it since it is too easy," Artemisia said while she was organizing some papers. "The nearby lords sent some letters, though, asking if you want to meet their daughters of appropriate age."
"... What about our neighbors from the left side," Aion asked after a sigh since it seemed that he was married for life with work.
"They don't have leaders to raise the morale of their troops after that defeat years ago," Artemisia replied. "It makes me wonder how come to Vangel isn't taking advantage of the situation to invade them… I guess he is watching to see things proceed on the territory that you annexed for him."
"I see… by the way, mom," Aion said and then scratched the back of his head. "Grandpa offered his help if I could convince Vangel to hand over the entire desert and to repair the fallen capital. He also says that he can convince the others to offer me some mana. What do you think?"
"Father wasn't usually that meek… you must have put him in his place," Artemisia furrowed her eyebrows.
"He did not!" Arc shouted.
"I can't see him doing anything bad, and if it is just to repair the old capital, I can't see much problem… you will have to do that all by yourself, though," Artemisia nodded. "It has been a while since I saw your true power when it comes to magic, but since you can cross the entire country and some in less than a day, I guess you can do that and more. If more of the souls agree to help, it should be a cinch."
"All right, anyway, you can make use of Seris and Arlana while I am away," Aion said. "They are guests, but I am paying them for their services as well."
"You should be more nice when talking about them," Artemisia said after she raised her right eyebrow.
"I didn't mean anything by that, though," Aion shrugged. "More allies, the better, right? We aren't forcing them to kill anyone."
"I suppose…" Artemisia scratched her cheek.
"Anyway, I am going to talk with Vangel and father as well, I suppose," Aion said. "If negotiations end well, I will start working on the road as soon as possible. Maybe I will return only in one week."
"All right, I will have some surprises waiting for you," Artemisia smirked.
"That makes me feel uneasy," Aion said while looking at his mother's playful expression.
Although it wasn't the same as before, Aion also used that week to train and make his death knights hunt in the dungeon. He felt like leveling up the tier one classes would be easy with the help of the souls of the Millerians, but he couldn't get carried away.
"I am talking with that guy a lot lately… even though it is annoying," Aion thought and then sighed once he began to fly to the capital of the kingdom.
A few hours later, Aion arrived at his old home, and at that point in time, the guards were already used to that, so they didn't react to it. It was noon, and Aion imagined that his father would have lunch with his wives, but that wasn't the case. He still was at the castle.
"I guess I won't be able to hear his opinion beforehand, and I will have to surprise him," Aion thought while wondering if he should tell them that he had made an agreement with Arc.
Unless he explains that, it will feel like Aion is being controlled, but even if he reveals the truth, it will raise some suspicions… It was truly a difficult situation, so he had to make sure both sides would benefit from it.
As usual, Aion had to waste the good part of an hour with the usual procedures to visit the castle. That is why he hates politics and bureaucracy… it felt like their sole goal was to annoy the heck out of him. Fortunately, Lexus had the chance to come to see him before he could talk directly with Vangel.
"Aion? Did something happen?" Lexus asked after he approached.
"Not much. Seris and someone else started to live with us, though," Aion replied. "I came here because… grandpa is willing to help me, but he wants something in exchange, so I came to negotiate."
"When you say not much, and then you say all that… anyway, are they your future wives?" Lexus asked. "I know that I didn't introduce you to a lot of girls, but you should at least warn me beforehand."
"Like I said, my reason for being here isn't them, and I don't think that it is possible for me to marry any of those two…" Aion imagined how weird it would be to marry a girl who says that she is your fan. "The real issue is the stuff with grandfather."
Aion explained about what he had to do and what he could do… he still kept a secret about his time travels since his father was too close to Vangel, and Aion had to consider several things when moving and working from now on.
"If you can do that, it will benefit us a lot since it will open the commerce between us and the new territory," Lexus crossed his arms and then nodded. "However, the earthworms are still a problem… Also, I'd you continue to bring that kind of suspicious stuff to His Majesty's ears. You will only look more like you are planning something."
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