The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

"We have enough food supplies to feed the entire population tenfold, your Highness. The only problem will be its variety. Our main production is wheat and potatoes. While vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, onions, garlic, parsley, celery, cabbage and lettuce are gathered as quickly as they manage to respawn, they are considered rare, my Queen. Qirún recommends an increase of spawners or encouraging the farmers to try to grow more vegetables in the traditional manner." The young Nekomi girl flipped the page in her notebook while her tail curled nervously. "The three main meat sources we have seem to sustain basic needs, but this also leaves us short in terms of any long-lasting supplies."

"Thank you, Maya. Blithe, please prepare a note with all the deficiencies we managed to identify." Amber had two reports about two different things in each of her hands while listening to her Nekomi secretary. "Nami?"

"The elementary schools as well as the Royal Adventurers Academy are ready to go. Lady Stella believes the Royal University can be opened as well, however, there are still vacant positions, Your Highness."

"I want all schools running by the end of the week, Nami. What about schools in the Wolf Manor?" Amber looked at her Nekomi assistant with caution.

"They managed to cover all the faculties, so the two schools will be opening as scheduled! Lord Fuellar personally looked after this matter!" Nami twitched her ears nervously. "But some of their teenagers should attend the University or Academy, my Queen."

"Hmmm... Almost everyone will have to attend very intense courses before they start any classes at the University or in the Academy. So with the amount of material they have to learn, it would take them at least a half year. It's really without any difference if they do that at the City of Wolf Manor or in Avalon. Alternatively, tell Fuellar to inform their parents we can transport all eligible teenagers to Avalon."

"Yes, my Lady."

The doors opened, allowing inside a young Elf girl who carried a pile of reports and a big, bright smile. Qirún quickly put them on her table and she bowed to her Queen, who smiled back. She quickly grabbed her full report about the farms of Avalon and the supplies in the Kingdom and went towards Amber.

"Qirún, Blithe, Nami and Maya." Amber looked at them with a bright smile, taking the report and quickly skimming its content. "Sit down." She waited until her young secretaries took their places. "The incoming weeks and even months will be hard. But I don't want you to focus only on this work. I want you all to see the Royal University of Avalon and choose for yourself what you wish to study. I already gave orders to Stella to prepare admittance for all Royal Assistants."

Amber took out four brooches that had Coat of Arms of Avalon on them with one difference. The goblet that normally was empty was filled with red flame, which appeared to wear the gold crown that usually was above it. It was a personal Coat of Arms of Queen Amber va'Theon.

"Take this. Right now..." Amber almost laughed at herself after she realised how early it was and Irene, for sure, was still in bed. "... or later today, the assistants of my sister Queens will receive their brooches as well. These brooches are the symbols of your office, so wear them with pride. You have earned them." Amber smiled, seeing their hesitation, pride, and happiness mixed together. "As I told you many times before, I want you to pursue your hobbies, learn what you wish for, and find happiness. Life does not revolve around work alone."

"Yes, my Lady." The happy girls took their brooches and affixed them to their dresses with proud faces.

Amber's work was much more satisfying now when she had proper help. Luna was incredibly effective in looking for administrative talents and at this rate, she would single-handedly set up all of Avalon's public services. What was even more interesting was the fact that once Theon agreed to make his Queens responsible for something, he just assumed they would flawlessly take care of it. His stalwart faith in them was, on the one hand, encouraging and on the other, quite scary. The girls sent by Luna were not only great helpers but also they brought much-appreciated life into Amber's daily work. Their tempers and eagerness were proof that the people of the world were still full of energy to learn and discover. There was always something new and interesting out there to find and strive for. Amber smiled to herself because she never suspected that Queen was an actual class you could level, but life is full of surprises, it seems.

•••

The time was marching on, and my Legions were gathering in vast staging grounds under Avalon. The Praetorian Guards were reformed and were once again ready to serve as the shield and sword. Three field Legions were already ready: Legio I Fulminata, Legio II Ferrata and Legio III Infernus Ignis, while the fourth legion, Legio IV Ventus Aquilo, was at sixty percent ready. The two unnumbered legions, Legio Aegis, which was protecting Avalon, and Legio Umbra, which was guarding Avalon in Shadows and the Dragon's Gate, had lower reforming priority. These two legions would receive new types of units, mainly archers, growing their size by an additional 4500 men to reach a capacity of 10000 soldiers. However, the full upgrade of these legions would have to wait until I strengthened my field army.

My spies’ activities were much higher than usual and Luna insisted on looking at it. While some of the reports were alarming, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that we were missing something. Then I stumbled upon a strange report. One of my spies found a moderately large community consisting only of some unknown beastmen species, far in the mountains. It was a strange village because its inhabitants seemed to be absolutely oblivious to the state of matters in the Kingdom of Cridia. My spy reported that he couldn't identify anyone there, but the people were neither hostile nor hospitable. The Slime Butler was allowed to stay in the village for an undisclosed time, and he decided this village was worth a thorough investigation. I initially shrugged over that, but the relative closeness to the Mountain Dungeon made that village a worthwhile endeavour. I pointed it out on my war maps and marked it as a trade and outpost opportunity, hoping we could establish at least some trade routes with them.

But the village was not the thing that made me uneasy. To be frank, something was very off. The Cridians were not sending any scouting parties, and I didn't think it was because Josla cared about the lives of her soldiers. Nothing tried to watch us from the distance, no one tried to arrive and explore the dungeon undercover as adventurers. Maybe I had overdone it last time when I unleashed Jester upon the spy's party? While I didn't think so, I couldn't deny it either. The survivors were so terrified it took entire weeks for them to form any sane report and even then it was deemed gibberish by the authorities. I lazily stretched myself out on the bed.

"It's too calm..." I rubbed the top of my nose with a sigh.

"Don't jinx it!" Irene warned me and cuddled herself to my side. She yawned and giggled sweetly. "I like it this way."

"So do I, Sweetheart." I softly laughed and kissed her forehead. "But this is not how you wage war."

Amber and Luna woke up earlier than me and were already gone. Amber was supervising the preparations for the grand ball and banquet for tomorrow's Royal University and Academy’s inauguration. Little to say she was probably even more excited than the actual students and teachers, but I had to admit, not by a large margin. Luna was excited as well and was preparing her students for the official start of the academic year. Irene, on the other hand, dumped all preparations on Lanka, Gloria and somehow on Hestia, who showed up in the wrong place at the wrong time. While Irene was very diligent in her duties, it was a fool's errand to look for her in the morning, so that was why my Elven beauty was cuddling herself to me now. However, even I was surprised she was actually awake so early.

"Theon, the Cridians don't know for sure how big a threat you are. Even if they somehow realise it, they can't request any exterior help, just like that. They would be seen as a weak nation that can't deal with a dungeon. Even if they proceeded, all the neighbourhood kingdoms would attack them, sensing the opportunity to expand. Asking for non-aggression pacts because a particularly powerful dungeon emerged is nothing short of common. I remember the notifications about non-aggression pacts between Cridia and its neighbours posted everywhere from the time I was an adventurer."

She decided to lay on me, and I felt the warmth of her naked body. She looked at me with a soft smile and rested her head on her hands while I softly grabbed her by the waist. Her vibrant blue eyes studied my face for a moment.

"I want to believe that, Irene." I sighed and looked at the ceiling, but she only giggled. I decided to change the topic slightly. "You have changed, Irene. I remember when you didn't want to appear in public, but now it's not a problem for you. When you are the centre of attention, you seem to always know what to do. Amber and Luna have also changed similarly."

"It's one of my skills, Dar-ling." She playfully prolonged the last word.

"Oh?" I focused again on her incredibly charming face.

"We might have forgotten to tell you, Theon, that Amber, Luna, and I gained a sub-class we were not even aware existed. It turns out that the Queen is a class that can be unlocked by, surprise, being the actual Queen. Amber was leveling it unintentionally since the time she was acknowledged as the Queen of Avalon by the World's Words, with Luna and I doing the same, respectively. Soooo... Some skills are useful in understanding politics, some help with administrative tasks, and others enhance behaving like a Queen. This class has so many options that without the Angels Feathers, we would barely scratch it," she smiled.

"That's incredible... I think. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?"

"Hehehe!" She giggled again and winked at me. "It was similar to when you showed us the Legion for the first time. It was not exactly a secret, but we just never happened to tell you."

"Oh... I see. Hahaha." I laughed as well. "I told you already that I was sorry!"

"It's not revenge of any sort. I just wanted to admit that when the daily work and obligations start to pile up daily, it's so easy to forget to tell you about some things." She kissed me with passion. "Sorry for thinking back then that you did that on purpose."

We lay speechless for a moment, enjoying the silence of our bedroom. I don't remember when I had a moment to just lazily lay in bed in the morning, but it was very relaxing. Or it would have been if I could have thought about something else than the incoming war. We knew that the Cridians were preparing for war, even if they didn't want to show it.

"If I may guess, I would say it's the normal behaviour on the part of Cridians." Irene must have sensed what was troubling me.

"So you think it's normal?" I patted her head.

"Pffff... Probably?" She puffed out a breath of air and laid her head on my chest. "I am not Josla, nor am I sitting in her head... However, it makes sense to me. I told you previously that dungeon subjugation proceeds very similarly everywhere, at least where I have been. It's not the first subjugation done by Cridians, so I simply think they just stick to their usual plan to not raise any alerts on your side... Or the neighbourhood kingdoms, since they are preparing almost the entirety of their army."

"Makes sense... Thank you, Irene."

"Mrrrr..." She purred like a cat and tried to find the most comfortable position, but suddenly she rose and sat on me. "Theon! I almost forgot I wanted to show you something!"

•••

After a quick shower, Irene and I went to her office in the abbey that was part of the Grand Temple of Avalon. Her helpers, under the guidance of Gloria, were preparing something for tomorrow's inauguration. Lanka and Hestia were sitting together in the corner with dark marks under their eyes making me realise that a) they need rest or coffee and b) Irene is quite scary. I wonder if I should talk with her about the work ethic. On our way here, Irene told me about some young inventors who created a new type of item, but she was very mysterious about its nature. I sat down near her desk and she had pulled out a small pack from her drawer. I almost instantly recognized the pack as the medkit and the only delay was due to the fact how bizarre it was to see the small red cross in my current setting. The medkit was a neatly packed material pouch, made from the waterproof materials I had brought to this world. It contained five vials of high-grade healing potion, four antidote vials, one scroll described as Heal the Body, four smaller scrolls described as Dispel and...

"Bandages?" I picked up one and looked at it closely. It looked like an ordinary bandage that I had bought from the interdimensional shop right after I was sent here. It maybe was of a slightly better quality than the one I brought from Earth, but it was intriguing.

"Look at the seal on the far end," Irene smirked, and I rolled it over the table to see what was inside.

"A healing rune?" I was surprised. "The healing runes are far too high-grade to be grafted on such low-quality materials."

"I reacted in the same way." She was delighted by my reaction. "Check it for yourself."

She grinned, but before she specified what she meant, I took a knife from my inventory and cut my hand. To Irene's shock, my blood gushed from the wound straight on her desk.

"Sorry for the mess..." I murmured and put the bandage on my hand. Once I fixed it and initiated the mana flow in the rune, I felt the healing effect.

"Theon! I wanted you to identify it! Not cut yourself!"

"Oh..." I would have felt stupid a bit if not for the amazement I felt after the bandage took its effect. "Now we know it's working for sure. However, sweetheart, you forgot to mention to me its greatest advantage."

"What do you mean?" Irene quickly recounted everything she told me. "I told you that making one is as expensive as brewing mid-grade potion and they take far less space..."

"I have not felt mana discharge from it, Irene."

"What?!"

"Hahaha! You haven't noticed, do you?" I took off the leftover cloth and cleaned her desk with it after which I clenched my fist with satisfied admiration. "Not a sign."

"But!" Irene looked at the bandages sceptically. "It's impossible! Using runes or scrolls generates discharges."

I took a knife once again and cut my hand. Surprisingly, once again, the pain I felt was more a nuisance than what I expected it to be. I opened a new bandage from its wax paper package and looked at Irene with a grin.

"Look closely and focus." I activated the runic seal that once again healed the small cut instantly.

"You were right! I couldn't sense that!" She admitted. "But that's just a minor..."

"Hahaha... Oh, my Darling, you are wrong. This item’s production will be one of the biggest secrets of Avalon. It is going to change the course of many battles to come."

"How?" Irene hadn't suspected that the ability to secretly use a healing item was a big deal.

"All the hunters and other scout-type classes can sense the usage of skills because of the mana discharges in passive mode. More or less, everyone can sense the discharges if they actively focus on them. Using this allows you to stay undetected."

"Like potions?" Irene raised her brow sceptically.

"You could say that drinking a potion is similar. But potions take far longer to activate and for some injuries, you have to apply them directly to wounds, which is not pleasant. For potions, while you are healed bit by bit instantly, its full effects usually take up to ten minutes to activate." I pointed out my arguments and once again took off the used bandage. "So while I am intrigued by other factors, it still changes nothing about my overall impression. These bandages are amazing."

"Fair..." she agreed and took a closer look at my hand to check if everything was fine, after which she nodded contently.

"I want the inventors to work more on it and check what can be improved or mastered. You can tell them that at the prototype stage, the costs are not important..." I looked at her. "Who invented these, anyway?"

"The two girls and a weapon maniac. I already invited the girls to join the University and sent the boy to the Royal Military Academy." Irene smiled warmly.

"Right... Anyway, I leave the research for you to supervise. I trust you will squeeze everything from that project..." I hesitated. "However… my Darling, I think your helpers need more sleep..."