Chapter 305: A Freezing Boat Ride.

Chapter 305: A Freezing Boat Ride.

Mhmm?! Princ

Shush!

A day has passed since I teleported Saoris group to Firwood, where they would begin their journey through the Belzac Forest in search of its namesake, the S rank fenrir, Belzac. I woke up inside the RV this morning, as Grimnirs group had to wait for the train to return to Estralia. Meaning, his trip to the Ankor-Nazta would be delayed.

After I said my goodbyes to the bishop of the local Temple of Aurena, also thanking him once again for all the help he gave me, I went over to Reajaens place. Parilostro, her son, was moved from the destroyed dungeon to their mansion, but hadnt woken up yet. However, from the looks of it, he was merely resting and having his body get used to his new heart. Reajaen expected him to wake up in a few days.

While I did come to her mansion to check up on Parilostro, I also was there to say goodbye to Reajaen and also to receive my boat tickets from her. My trip to Yeos would probably be faster if we flew over there, but the festival only started next month. Aurena had told me it was fine if I took my time, since shell just warn me if something happens.

Alright, Ill leave the rest to you, Reajaen. If you need any help, go to Gael and dont be afraid to work him like a mule. Shaturein can probably afford it, anyway, I told her after receiving my tickets.

You mean monitor me, she responded bluntly. I wont say you should trust or not worry about me. As a merchant, the best way to gain somebodys trust is through action and effort. You give them a quality product, and they will continue their patronage. It is as easy as it gets. You have given me the tools, my lady, so I will make sure to repay the debt of saving my sons life back. I will become president of Estralia.

Shaturein, Artorias, and Jadhund from Gleisvales dwarven district promised to aid her. I honestly didnt know how Jadhun would do it, but with the dwarves on Reajaens side, I do not believe any of the other senators could challenge her properly. It was just a matter of time.

And so, I would trust in her, for now. Saying goodbye to Ellaine, Grimnir, Daichi, Haruka, and the Magical Biscuits, I left for the pier for a family vacation. Well, most likely things would be a bit hectic, but until we reached the Principality of Yeos, I only had Mother, Tasianna, Rajah, and the twins with me. That was pretty much a family boat trip, yeah?

Still, when we got on the boat, I expected the ride to be a fun one. It was a relatively high-tier cruise ship meant for rich merchants and nobles. It wasnt very big, since we were on a river, but I noticed several well-to-do people when I boarded, all protected by their own guards. Reajaen wanted to treat me, it seemed.

Gleislane, the river we were on right now, traveled east into the Kingdom of Astraford, Estralias neighboring nation. From what I heard, Astraford was pretty much similar to Artorias in that they were a medieval, European-style country, only with magic and fantasy mixed into it. Except that Astraford was extremely beastmen-unfriendly, had slavery, was extremely loyal to the empire, and was extremely vigilant against mages since the Magical Capital Aleistunum was right next to them.

Reajaen mentioned that if you were a mage and werent registered at a mages guild and were not granted permission to enter Astraford, you could be trialed and executed for potentially being a spy or threat to the kingdoms security! Fun.

I wondered what Mother and the twins would do if they actually stopped us for that reason. Mother and the twins didnt want to register themselves to the mages guild, after all. Mother would abide by local laws as long as she found it not tedious, and I even managed to persuade her and the twins to get IDs, at least. However, they were not fans of being bound by human laws.

Something about an Empress and natural disaster being above all of that. The wyverns also had no love of how controlling everything was. Honestly, I really should sit those three down and have a talk with them about being too stubborn.

Anyways, if it happened, itd happen. At least, I had evidence of their identities with my ID and status as a princess.

Once our boat had finally left the docks, we headed to our cabins, took a break there, and then decided to enjoy the breeze a bit before trying out the diner. Reajaen complimented it.

However, while we were walking around, Tasianna suddenly encountered somebody she had met before. In fact, I only got to see them for a few seconds before dashing away, but I still remembered them. Most likely since they were levianewts!

Adhi! Tasianna cried out as I shut the giant scalekins mouth up, stopping him from calling me Princess Hestia while on the boat.

Everyone on board probably knew who I was, but they were keeping a careful distance for now. If somebody suddenly confirmed it, they might come to me to talk. I didnt want to deal with merchants on my family trip!

Hey, you should know better than to reveal someone on a pseudo-adulthood pilgrimage, I whispered into his ears, causing him to nod furiously.

I let his mouth go, seeing as he understood me. He bowed reservedly before speaking, Depth Goddess drown me, my apologies! I-I the surprise was ahhhhhhhhh!

This levianewt, Adhi, stopped talking for a moment. His mouth was agape as he turned his head around to the person behind me Mother. He began to tremble, shivering as if he was freezing.

I turned around, but Mother was only looking at him normally, even showing a polite smile. What was going on here? But then I figured he probably felt the [Draconic Aura] Mother had naturally, which probably was extremely noticeable to another scalekins senses. Cernust had a similar reaction, after all.

Uhm, let me introduce you. This is my Mother, Melloxtressa. Our bodyguards, Shayatierus and Bethlieranha. You already met Tasianna and me before. And also, I picked up Rajah like a cat. Rajah, our bestest boy.

[Master, I can smell a lot of fear from him,] Rajah said out loud with his [Telepathy]. The moment he learned how to speak properly, he became even more talkative.

I put him down and ignored what he said. Anyways Adhi, sorry if we surprised you like that. Were just here for a trip. Its not exactly secretive or anything, but we would still like you to be quiet about it. If possible.

Y-Yes! Of course, my lady. As the Depth Goddess is my witness, I shall adhere to your command! He was pretty enthusiastic.

Hmm. Looking up and down the levianewts attire, I noticed he wasnt wearing the captain outfit he had on the last time I met him, back when Saori brought him in to question him about the OBlooms bandit base. When I asked him about it, he smiled and bumped his chest with his fist.

Why, this is far more convenient to work in, of course! A captains outfit is there to present yourself, your prestige and your command, but if you need to work, plainclothes are better! Hahahaha! he laughed, but I was questioning why he was supposedly working on this ship.

Miss Saori and I already told you that you may leave Estralia, Tasianna spoke up to Adhi. We resolved your issue with OBloom. Why arent you taking the next train back to Ankor-Nazta?

Ah, that? Adhi scratched his head, looking away bashfully. Well, you see. Do you remember when I said how everybody's drinks and meals were on me? Well, like a sudden storm, after running the numbers through my head, I realized I was lacking in funds to buy the train tickets for my crew. Even for myself, to be honest.

Hold on, what?

I am a man of my word, after all Goddess Plesia is my witness. My word is my honor. What captain can be trusted when he cannot even pay for his mens meals and drinks? Mutiny, my lady! God Melicertha would probably strike me with storms, if I were to do that!

You three will register yourself at the next mages guild we visit! I will transport you to Griffonpeak, if I have to!

I refuse. But Mother was still stubborn. I am not human. This is not my land. As I said before, all of these restrictive rules are only there for people to control their populace. Why should I, a foreigner who bears no ill will towards them, have to follow something like this? I can understand why you want to fit in for your dream, Hestia, but I see little reason why I should do it.

Because its the right thing to do and it would cause us fewer problems, Mother! Why cant you get this in your head! I told you this multiple times, already! You are in human lands. You need to follow their rules, otherwise well continue getting into this sort of trouble! Artorias already knew you and Estralia only demanded your IDs, but some factions are more strict. Like the mages guild, or what we just saw before.

Mages guild? That puny looking ant in Estralia, you mean? That ant who tried to cage me in with his laws, to make me another part of his organizations vast array of networks and connections? Dont jest, daughter. Just who does he think he is? I have seen 3000 years fly by. I have learned more than he would ever achieve, and he dared threaten me? Like those humans from before? Threaten and insult?

I still remembered how Mother froze the entire mages guild in Estralia after its guild master asked Mother to join the guild as a member. She declined for this very same reason, but when the guild master still continued, even urging her by reciting the laws of the land of how all mages needed to register with the mages guild, Mother just blew up. When I left Estralia, the guild building was still frozen in place.

But you saw what happened today! I dont get how you cant just say Whatever. Ill do it and just get a membership. Does it really matter? I am one, but no one has bothered me about it to this point, I replied but Mother still had that same look in her eyes.

I asked Muraina about it. She told me you were fined a heavy sum by the mages guild in Griffonpeak.

I flinched. I didnt expect her to learn about that.

Do you call this something a good-willed organization would do? They punish and drive you to the point you must join their guild, or you will be treated as a criminal, Mother furiously chastised my actions. The arcane arts are dangerous and highly volatile for the lives of many people, especially to those ignorant of them like most humans and beastmen. I agree with that. Dont get me wrong, Hestia, I understand rules were made for some past reason. It is an adaptation. It still doesnt warrant them strong-arming you or me into their fold.

But things like before will just happen, again. Aleistunum, and as their proxy, the mages guild, are everywhere. Most definitely, if there is a mage guild in Yeoss capital, they will most likely try to do the same as in Estralia Mother, I want to follow their laws, so I will have to register myself there. I dont want trouble. In the end, Mothers own outburst was the catalyst to cool me down.

And you may. You are your own person, Hestia. You want me to accept you as an adult in a whelps body, right? But I will freeze up more of their guilds if they try to coerce me into this humiliation. I did not train for centuries to become a pawn of some pompous mage. I am an Empress of Kargryx, an SS rank dragon, and a survivor of the demon wars. They will grant me and my daughter our due respect, or they will answer to my breath.

It was futile. Mothers own pride overshadowed anything I said. I looked over to Shay and Beth, and they seemed to be following Mothers opinion on this matter.

[We will not bend to anybody but you and your mother. Their words and attitude showed little care for us. Why should we care for them?] Shay bemoaned the actions of Astrafords guards. It was only a short visit, but it left a bad taste in his mouth.

[In the mountains, only the strong reign free. The strong create the laws,] Beth said something dangerous, potentially problematic if any monarch were to hear this. [Astalos was the second strongest there. He led us, and we followed him. He was defeated by you, Princess Hestia. You are strong. You must show your pride as a dragon, a being of incredible power.]

I knew Beth meant nothing bad with the last part, but it still went contrary to what I believed. Unless I wanted the whole world to hate me or if I wanted to rule it all, following their local laws was how I should act. I was an idol, not a warmonger. Unless they weren't totally unfair, I would not go around breaking them.

Although, working with Shaturein and Reajaen already is tipping the very limits of the law. Haaaaa.

Rajah, dont forget to be nice, alright? Unable to convince them once again, I hugged Rajah to comfort myself.

[Big Sis Beth is right, Master. You are strong. You should not bow as an alpha predator,] he just said.

They had the mindset of monsters, while mine was that of a human. I guess seeing eye-to-eye here would always be an uphill battle for either side.

With this discussion being mostly fruitless, we stopped it for the day and returned to the subspace. During our argument, Tasianna left to make her deal with the captain by acting as the ships water mage as compensation. She would turn the waves into ice and move the ship with her [Cryokinesis], essentially cutting down on our trip by days.

In the meantime, as that happened during our trip, I spent my time with Mother, the twins, and Rajah by returning to my obsidian cavern to train up. I still had more to learn about scale management and also [Volcanic Blaze], not to mention Krampss [Battle Frenzy] training.

From what I understood about lust, you will eventually lose interest in it, correct? On the other hand, greed is about want, while gluttony differentiates itself with need. As you said.

This was the second step on my road to mastering [Battle Frenzy]. Kramps and I have been going through this same explanation over and over again after I had finished mastering my slothfulness. To find contentment with what I have now, and to know when to act slower to attain a goal.

From what Kramps explained, by mastering the first step, it should be impossible for me to randomly go berserk again if I repeated this mantra. Well, outside of something terrible happening, at least. I didnt need to constantly fight or spar to keep my desire to fight intact.

So, what does gluttony do?

Like Mother, when she trained up to become an SS rank to conceive a strong child? I remembered what Mother told me about her past.

And so on. Training, training, training; it was all about training. And I couldnt stop. If I wasnt preparing for my next concert, my time was spent on bettering myself. After all, I had a great need to constantly grow.

And so, a whole week passed at this rate. Tasiannas involvement enabled us to reach our destination nearly a week earlier than the captain predicted. On the 29th of HarvestBloom, my group arrived in the Principality of Yeos.

In the meantime, for the other groups, Grimnirs group had reached the Ankor-Nazta already and were currently forming a plan to take back everything from Grimnirs old workshop, including his cousins. On the flip side, we had lost full contact with Saoris party after they told us they would be talking with Belzac the next time they left the nexus.

Honestly, I was worried. It was really creepy to see Saori gone like this. To see anybody gone for this long. But I had to trust in them. Whatever Saori was facing there in the Belzac forest, I had to believe she would survive it.

As such, until we meet again, I had to focus on the first goal of my stay here.

Make contact with Plesias Saint and Champion.