The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

She sobbed for a while, and I gave her all the time she needed. Just one glance at Sebastian and Balin was enough for them to turn around and join the respective forces to lead them. The Praetorians stayed behind, protecting the empty doorframe against any intruder.

I lowered my gaze to the crate and teleported its contents straight to the unconsecrated graveyard. The Voidlings were still lurking in the shadows, leaving no trace behind. Their unpredictable nature had become troublesome, especially since they managed to invade the Dungeon, which lay near the heart of Arcadia. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became.

Before, I had thought of those creatures as mindless monsters, but now I would treat them as traitors and dangerous criminals. Amber and Luna would have a side job of developing a spell capable of tracking the servants of the Ruinous powers. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but the effort would be worth it even if we could trace just a few of them.

"Thank you..." Freya finally whispered, burying her face deeper into my cloak. "Thank you for coming to save me."

"No problem." I had no idea what to do now, but as I tried to let her go, she clenched her fists on my clothes, preventing me from moving. "Miss Freya?"

"Why?!" She moaned, her voice muffled with embarrassment through the fabric. "I was supposed to die here..."

"Did you really want to die?" No matter the reason for her current behaviour, I had to bring her back to her senses.

"...no..." She whispered very quietly and slowly let go of my robe.

"Then stop saying such nonsense." I looked around for some chairs while she stared motionlessly at the floor.

I ended up summoning a chair for her, a cushion for myself, and a Dwarf-size table. "Please sit down. We have a few things to discuss, I believe..."

She trembled, slowly covering her face, and let out a quiet, desperate moan. I sincerely pitied her, but she had pushed me to make a very hasty decision supported only by my desire to save her life and ruin whatever plan the Enemies had. She stared holes in the table, avoiding eye contact at all costs, making me sigh quietly.

"So what do you plan to do now, Miss Freya?" I noticed that she pursed her lips into a thin line before her shoulder-length hair covered her face. While I tried to be respectful towards her current condition, we couldn't postpone this discussion. "Or I should title you Freya va'Theon, the seventh Queen of Arcadia?"

She moaned, alarmed, and slammed her face on the table, covering her head under her arms.

"Please, give me a moment to get used to everything." She groaned desperately, making me take a deep breath.

"I suppose there must be some way to undo this marriage." I offered the solution, but it was immediately met with a chorus of disapproving moans.

She smashed her fists on the table, and after taking an intense breath, she finally raised her face. My overall first impression was that she was cute. Thanks to all gods, and the God, she didn’t have any loli features. Granted, she was short, but that was a racial trait. Still, at one meter sixty, Freya was exceptionally tall for a Dwarf. While she still avoided eye contact, she managed to speak up.

"I... I don't think that's necessary," she said slowly, focusing on every word to avoid stuttering. "I don't want to be alone anymore, and I... I..."

"Miss Freya, I can tell that situation is uncomfortable for you, so I am sure we can figure something out together."

She wasn't listening to me. She stared dead straight at me, or more precisely, straight through me. With a sigh, I slowly turn around only to see Ragnar and Bjorn entering the room. Freya gasped in pure excitement and stood up, teleporting right before the startled Dwarves.

"You are Dwarves! Actual living and breathing Dwarves!" She moved swiftly, in an unsettling fashion around the two, but I gave them a sign to relax. She wasn't dangerous. Probably.

"Yes, Ma'am. My name is Ragnar, and I would like to report to my King..." She gasped and teleported back to the table. Right next to me.

In fact, she was kneeling right next to me or, more precisely, on all fours, looking at me with her big, green eyes. The speed and ability at which she shifted from hopeless embarrassment to unbridled excitement was staggering.

"No!" she shouted with all her might, and I noticed sparks of pure joy in her eyes and a confident smile on her face.

"No?" I asked and leaned back, watching her face getting closer to mine.

"Look... You are clearly not a Dwarf, which is a real shame, but with that body of yours, you can easily pass for a Viking! You even used the Legendary Gungnir during that battle!" I suddenly realised that she had been lonely for a bit too long. I slowly nodded, which only increased her excitement. She jumped to her feet and turned her gaze at Ragnar, who had donned his best poker face. "Tell me, Mister Ragnar. If I am the wife of King Theon, that makes me your Queen as well?"

I rubbed my eyes, seeing where this was going. However, I did absolutely nothing to stop it. If I learnt anything about the World System, it was clear that we needed the consent of all parties involved in the deal to call it off. And, clearly, Freya just lost any interest in doing so.

"Indeed, that would be the case..." The polite smile froze on Ragnar's face as he looked at me for confirmation.

"I guess she is now." I opened my hands in a powerless gesture, but in shock, I noticed extremely proud smiles as both Dwarven Lords kneeled in front of us with a loud thump.

"Theon, forget about the divorce." She grabbed me under the shoulder and snuggled herself to my side without even a microscopic trace of her previous embarrassment. "Soo... You are a bit too handsome just to let you go without giving you a chance. Besides, becoming the actual Dwarven Queen? Nu-u. Forget it. No divorce."

"All hail the Dwarven Queen! All hail the Queen under the Mountain!" Ragnar and Bjorn chanted, making Freya smile widely.

I gave up. It was a pointless discussion I could not simply power through. I was already used to the concept of political marriages and the brutal reality of arranged weddings that were only recently forbidden. In fact, some of the people and foreign officials expected me to have many wives, which was something I wasn't so eager to discuss. At least I gotten used to my private life and... Wait.

"A Viking?" I slowly turned my head towards her, but she just smiled brightly.

"Yes!" She just happily nodded, probably thinking that was enough.

"Excuse me, but how do you know about them?" I asked slowly. I wasn’t too surprised—they most likely arrived here aboard their Drakkars. America all over again.

"I learnt about them in school during history lessons," she admitted as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You learnt about them in school during history lessons?" I repeated her statement and stared at her in pure shock. The various elements of her unusual behaviour and many of the strange things found in her Dungeon finally clicked into their places. "You were reincarnated?! You came from Earth?!"

"Yes?" She risked the answer, and it looked like she slowly realised that I didn't have as much extensive knowledge about her as she had about me.

"We definitely have to talk..." I sighed and turned my head towards Ragnar. "What's the situation?"

"We have secured all points of interest, Your Majesties, and we counted the fallen. One thousand two hundred eighty-four perished during the fight against the Enemies. The Enemies quite literally flooded the Dungeon... Uhmm." He looked towards Freya and fell silent for a moment.

"Right. I believe that some introductions are in order." I slowly nodded, realising that Freya's status was uncertain at best. "She is Freya va'Theon, the seventh Queen of Arcadia, and the Queen under the Mountain. Freya, these two are some of my most trusted advisors, and they are responsible for most of the marvels of Avalon. Meet Lords Ragnar Thunderhand and Bjorn Silverhand."

"Nice to meet you." Freya smiled warmly and gently as she lightly inclined her head. "Welcome to my home, Ragnar and Bjorn."

"Are you, my Lady, the..." Bjorn's eyes went wide as he started realising who she was. He lowered his voice to be barely heard. "Are you the Dungeon Core, my Queen?"

"Indeed." She straightened proudly.

"My Lord... If that's the case, wouldn't our initial plans offend the Queen?" Ragnar looked at me with an uncertain grimace, which made me laugh.

I started laughing so much that the three looked at me with concern. I needed a moment to calm down because nothing in this world would stop me from seeing Freya's reaction as she learnt about our plans.

"Please, Ragnar, tell your Queen about our plans." I took a closer look at her so as not to miss a single emotion.

"As you wish, my Lord. My Queen, in accordance with the order given by the King, we gathered the Joint Dungeons Forces and ten thousand Dwarves. We aimed to conquer the Mountain Dungeon and establish the new Dwarven city once the Dungeon's Core was subjugated. However, that was before we learnt about Your Majesty... My Queen?"

"Ten thousand Dwarves?!" Freya could barely speak, her voice overloaded with excitement. I felt her trembling. "The new Dwarven Capital?! In my domain?!"

That wasn't a simple happiness or joy. I couldn't imagine what I could compare her euphoria to. She looked as if she wanted to cackle in glee and jump in happiness, but I wouldn't be surprised if she was going to simply faint from emotional overload.

"Yes." I saved Ragnar from answering the question and felt her hands clenching on my arm like the two vices.

"Oooohhhh!" She moaned in pure joy. "You know how to make a woman happy."

"That won't be a problem? We don't want to cause any problems for you, my Queen, so if you want, we can find another..."

"NO! Never again spout such nonsense!" With blinding speed, she turned her head toward Ragnar, and he simply lowered his head.

"As you wish, my Lady."

I felt that Sebastian wanted my attention, so with a feeling of regret, I focused on him. I listened to his explanation and furrowed my brows.

"Sebastian just reported that he found the intrusion site and is currently purging the place. Your Mountain Giants were responsible for this, Freya. Their spawner was corrupted." I took a deep breath. "I already informed Stella to bring and install all necessary magic wards and protection runes. She will also inspect other spawners to ensure they are clear of any sign of corruption."

"So that's how it was... I lost contact with the Giants and their Scion." Her eyes dimmed, and she trembled, but this time in fear. She looked at me with shock, disbelief, and sadness. "I can't destroy their spawner. I no longer have any control over them."

"Don't worry. Sebastian, Crawline, Balin, Rango, Hrulf, Leo, Rukla, and Vaani are there. Your Giants were powerful, but they stood no chance against eight scions and the army they have at their disposal." I patted her shoulder.

"It's sad that something like that went under my nose unnoticed..." She sat beside me and rested her head and arms on the table.

"The Enemy is cunning and unpredictable." I sighed. "They fought us before, they tried to kill Luna, and they are constantly working against Arcadia in the shadows."

"That's why you fight them?"

"Yes. I was also obliged to fight them and protect this world. I made a contract with the Angels and Eriar."

"So... You are also a Hero?" She turned her head slightly and looked at me with curiosity. "I still have much to learn about you."

"Oh, indeed, there are a few things you have to learn..." Amber's voice sounded right behind us, startling Freya, who straightened, but two strong arms clamped on her shoulders. "Please excuse us, Theon. We have to exchange a few words with our newest sister..."

Freya slowly looked up, only to see Amber and Aoi's friendly but unsettling smiles. She turned her head in fear at me and managed to utter, "Save me..." before they disappeared. I simply let out a long and exhausted sigh before I stood up and walked towards the two Dwarves. They also stood up and looked at me with broad and suggestive smiles.

"All the jokes are on you. She's your Queen now, and it was your idea to hail her as the Queen under the Mountain." I laughed. "If you think this over, you are woefully wrong."