Chapter 252

As they're talking, Cain remembers that he's got a gift for the family from Arial. He removes the small box from his inventory and holds it towards the King. "This might not be the time, but Arial, the Black Dragon of Earl RhickJaymz, sent this for the youngest Princess who is coming of age soon, or just did."

Gurda whoops in joy. "That's me. From Arial, you said? It must be good; she's got excellent taste."

She tucks it away as soon as it's in her hands, and Cain is about to ask how they know each other when he sees Laura sneaking up on Prince Sven, eyes firmly locked on his tails. The prince misunderstands, thinking she wants attention, and reaches to scratch her head at the same time that she takes two quick steps forward and embraces him with her front paws, burying her face in his three tails.

"Floof! Oh yeah, that's the good stuff."

"It looks like you've made a friend for life, Sven. Be careful, though, Dragons get possessive, and she's higher level than you. Plus, what is that quality? With a Tarnished Gold status plate is that Dragon Ancient?" The King asks with a mixture of amusement and confusion. ;

"Only in Quality. I'm still in the prime of my youth, thank you very much."

That makes Sven chuckle, and he gives up on trying to escape the affectionate advances on his tail fluff.

"Irreverent, unruly, and overwhelmingly powerful. Try not to let them corrupt you too much, brother." Gurda informs him in a severe tone. ;

"Enough joking. The fog won't last forever. How do we get him out without being noticed?" Lukas looks much more concerned than the others. Maybe he's actually a high-strung person? ;

"I could put him in a maid outfit and make everyone think I've rescued a lover from the palace," Cain suggests, and Sven throws up his hands in an X.

"No, not happening. Pick something else."

"Can you transform?" Sven shakes his head no. ;

"Can I transform you?" They all look confused, but nobody turns it down. ;

Cain calls one of the Nemu twins into a Merger with him, before activating [Troubadour's Transformation] and changing Prince Sven into a bobcat-sized, fluffy house cat. A middle aged fox woman coos at him, and Sven gives her a dirty look and hisses at her. It must be his mom. There are two other younger human women with the King as well, standing near the edge of the room, but if nobody is going to bother introducing them they must not be too important. ;

Though he is the younger Prince, the Fox woman is not the Queen, and doesn't seem to hold much status here beyond family, so she's likely either a consort or a mistress. That makes Cain look more closely at the highly fashionable King and realize that under the makeup, his eyes are yellowed and his skin is splotchy from heavy drinking. ;

Both of his surviving children look to have their act together, but the King appears barely cognizant of what is going on around him, as if he'd never paid attention before and this was all new to him despite his age. If appearances aren't deceiving, Cain is beginning to understand what went wrong in Landis. An oblivious drunkard with too much power for anyone to override his edicts turned a blind eye to the nation while his advisors in the Senate turned the nation against him and all non humans. ;

"Don't you think it will be suspicious, leaving with just a cat?" Lancelot asks. ;

Gurda claps him on the shoulder. "Good point; we need a better cover story. Maybe we really should send a maid with them?" ;

"I've got that covered. I am a Puppet Master after all." Cain takes a maid-dressed Puppet out and instructs her to get comfortable in Laura and raise her skirt. ;

The Landis Royals look scandalized, but Cain picks Sven up and places him under her dress before smoothing it down. "There, one pregnant Elf Maid. Hold on tight to the Prince."

The Puppet wraps her hands around Sven as if cradling her belly, and Cain mounts up.

"We're leaving now. Good luck."

The fox woman conjures a mangled body that looks like the Prince, and Cain takes to the air, sending the second Laura to a higher altitude and attacking anything that comes close as if he is defending her passenger. ;

[Area Message: Crown Prince Sven has been removed from the Royal Family. Gurda becomes Crown Princess.]

The announcement stops most of the fighting almost instantly, some cheering, some gloating, but most simply disappear from the streets, afraid of being identified and hunted down as insurgents later should the Revolution ultimately fail to overturn the Monarchy. Mercenaries have already begun to regroup and move towards the outer perimeter when Cain loses sight of the city, headed back for the Queen Rose. ;

Sven manages to escape from the Puppet not long after they lose sight of the city, changing his shape back and taking a seat on Laura, while the Puppet wraps him in a hug, following her directions to keep a good hold on him. Laura would have complained about the extra weight, but the wind was whipping past, making his tail fur tickle her scales, so she decided it could wait until they landed. ;

There are scattered signs of the Naval battle still visible in the water, damaged vessels, debris, floating cargo. Any Pirate ship that could still move has fled the area; if any did survive the battle intact. ;

There are a number of Navy vessels still in the harbor unmanned and Cain sees many more out at sea as they leave. Some show signs of damage, but nothing major and they're making no attempt to assist in the battle in the city. That might be orders to guard the waters, or it might be indifference to the chaos in the city, it's impossible to tell from up here. ;

According to the summons, roughly a third of their numbers turned on the others and tried to save the Pirate fleet, being summarily sunk by their former compatriots or the Octopus in return. ;

Cain has Laura drop low to the water, close enough that he can can talk with their guest, and Sven decides to start with his most pressing concern. "Your maid is cute and all, but isn't she too affectionate and obedient?"

"Puppets follow orders. I don't have the skill that makes them more intelligent and autonomous yet. She won't let you go until instructed to. If you jumped off, she'd go with you."

As they get closer to the ship, Cain notices a lot of flying creatures and churning the water. Thinking they're under attack, he brings up his interface and finds that it's just the Inquisitors and the Giant Armored Octopus relaxing after the Naval battle. They'd all been wandering around looking for targets until they found the Queen Rose again. Now they're bored and playing a game of catch in the ocean. ;

Since it's safe, Cain sends Laura to land on deck, letting Sven dismount, while the Puppet holds him from behind.

"You can let him go now," Cain instructs, and the Puppet almost looks sad to release him. ;

"Everyone meet Sven. Formerly Crown Prince of Landis. He'll be traveling with us for the time being until we find a good and safe spot for him to settle, or he decides to join our little family of misfits."

"Hello, everyone. It's a pleasure to meet you all, and we thank you for helping us during our time of need."

"The pleasure is all ours. Did you have any destination in particular in mind? Or would you prefer anonymity?" Vala asks. ;

"The Demon Kingdom might be the safest. No decent human would set foot there. No offense to, wait, are there any other humans on this crew?" Sven says, looking at Cain. ;

Misha raises her hand. "Since Cain isn't actually human anymore, I'm the only one in the group." The Prince does a double-take, having just now inspected Cain with his interface. ;

"You aren't human. The transformation hides it from casual view. Fascinating."

Cain also takes the opportunity to inspect Prince Sven. Other than the fact his tails are very much to Laura's preference, he knows next to nothing about the man. ;

[Name] Sven Landis

[Race] Spirit Fox

[Class] Wraith Shaper

[Level] 76

"What is the specialty of a Wraith Shaper?" Cain asks, unfamiliar with the class. ;

"It's a racial exclusive. We specialize in rapier-style sword fighting and illusion magic. I can make mirages that cover over an acre. It's perfect for hiding, diversions, and ambushes." An acre of hidden soldiers or traps? That would be brilliant. Cain double checks to make sure Sven is recorded as a Supporter before hiding his interface screen away again. ;

Cain and Nila share an intrigued look at that description. He's incredibly well suited to be a sailor, or in Cain's estimation, even a Commander. He's thinking of all the fun they could have making enemies attack a disguised fortress when Nila pokes him and Cain realizes he's been quiet too long. ;

"That sounds like a very versatile class. If you enjoy a life at sea, you might make an excellent Captain, able to sneak by Pirates and Blockades alike with ease. Or we could find you a position in command of a smaller fortress? An acre worth of mirage would keep intruders thoroughly lost."

"I never thought of it that way. As the younger Prince, and under the King's explicit directions, my training focused on using it to impress and deceive foreign dignitaries. It's going to be a bit of an adjustment."

"You could be a kept man. Find a Sugar Momma to brush your tail and pet your head." Nemu jokes, and Sven shudders in horror.

"Preferably not. It was bad enough as a Royal. Now that I'm out of the castle, I can finally make some of my own decisions."

"You'll have plenty of time to think; we're going to take a roundabout route at sea before going to the Serrah Woods. I doubt anyone is following us, but they might have hired someone to wait for ships trying to flee during the fighting. Everything north of Landis was already in the middle of a civil war, most of the way to Pampa." Cain says with a shrug, heading for the hammock. ;

He dismisses the Seraphim but not the Giant Armored Octopus. Those he leaves to roam the ocean to guard against attacks. They're also happy to fish for the crew, bringing fresh fish to their daily meals and reducing the strain on the stored goods. ;

Once they got a few days south of Landis, a strange message came up when they tried using the Guild Bank. [Maximum Distance From Guild Property Exceeded]. Until they purchase a Guild House down at this end of the continent, they will be unable to access anything but the stored money from the Guild Bank. ;

Somewhat inconvenient, but they brought enough supplies with them to last several months, and Laura loaded her limited inventory with bulk sweets.

The days at sea got cooler and wetter as they traveled south, and they slowly realized that seasons were an actual thing when you weren't in the bone dry and scorching all year-long desert or the sheltered Beginners Valley.

Outfits also got heavier and more protective as they went, and the deck less crowded, with the covered wheelhouse becoming the preferred spot for those on duty. Mythryll's limited amounts of Fire Magic saved them a great deal of hassle, keeping the stove heated to warm the ship's inside as temperatures dropped towards freezing overnight.

They've certainly gone beyond what anyone might be patrolling, so Nila decides to take them northwest back towards the central continent the first time they see signs that there might be ice or snow in their future. ;

This was intended to be a vacation, they've got no intentions of dodging icebergs just to remain hidden.