"You didn't do anything stupid until now. So you won't be killed." The voice was directed at the envoys.
And then the pair of wings turned to the single loyalist who accompanied them, to a young nymph who recently turned 25.
It's been more than fifty years since humanity away from this Paradise. The nymphs were originally a highly selective race that mated only with the best of the best.
With only a few hundred of them left, they were on the verge of extinction when they were about to leave and begged him.
While they did not recieve a chance to be a concubine or even just bear his child as their ancestors and their ancestor's ancestors hoped, they did recieve a solution to the problem.
Akin to a world tree that could bear elves without a mate, the nymphs recieved a different flower each. If they cared for the flower, nurtured it well and willed for it, it would eventually bear a child.
The flowers could even birth more flowers, given enough time and resources.
The Nymphs that were on the verge of extinction were saved. And in just fifty years, they bounced back from a pitiful 500 to an astonishing 50,000.
It was a story that could go down in the history of eden races. It's extremely rare for a race so close to extinction to bounce back. And bounce back so well.
Of course, the rate of growth would slow down once the numbers grew large. It wasn't enough to just bear children, they also had to be raised well.
And Nymphs, for all their faults, were excellent mothers. It's in their very nature to care and nurture.
Given a century or two, they'd be in a few millions. And a few more centuries, they'd be able to cross a billion.
A billion wasn't a big number for any race. It wouldn't even make them comparable to some races that dominated provinces.
But the difference laid out in the fact that as formers Hortians, their average rank was far higher than any other race outside.
If raised properly, then this one billion would a terrible force to reckon with. Perhaps no kindom in the empire would be willing or even able to confront the monstrous army.
Thankfully for them, Nymphs didn't were a warring race.
"Chloe!" The pair of wings called out in a soft voice, completely different from the solemn tone used for the envoys.
The nymph who was maintaing a proper posture for a guest blinked in surprise and then looked up in amazement.
"O-Oob uncle? When you have grown so big? You're like a roc!"
"Uncle? Who is the uncle!" The wings shrank to a handful size and hovered over Chloe's head, flapping around her in reproachment.
"You are the uncl—ouch!" Chloe pointed out plainly and Oob knocked her lightly on the head.
"A brat, always a brat! Hmph!" Oob folded its wings in front of Chloe and seemed to pout.
Chloe smiled brightly, the nervousness on her face melting away. "What happened to launching the Lord's logo with your symbol? And the caption, Fly with the wings—all the way to Paradise."
"Ahem, ahem, ahem." Oob folded its wings and coughed.
"Yes?" Chloe tilted her head, a curious look in her eyes.
"T-That is...Hahaha, that is..." Oob tried to find an answer and in trying to do so, glared at the half-curious, half-shocked envoys. They froze in shock and stepped back. Why? Why not?
"The l-logo of L-Lord is..."
"Hm, what happened?" Chloe insisted.
Even though the material it built itself was scraps that Sarah discarded from her training room, what she considered scraps were something even low rank 1s would find hard to break.
In that sense, while Boo was weaker than Oob in offense, its ability to protect was way higher.
"W-We're asking for help. Please save us." A brown-haired man bowed deeply and pleaded in a steady voice.
"We can't save you." Oob said coldly. "We don't want to. And even if wanted to, we simply don't have the capability to affect the entire empire."
The petite woman next to him bowed quickly. "W-We plead for the Emperor's mercy."
A moment of silence passed before Oob chuckled. Boo joined.
Since they didn't bother to change their voices, their sounds were cute. But neither the brown-haired man nor the pink-haired woman or any of the envoys felt glad.
It was a mocking laughter, one that came without trying.
"Emperor?" Boo finally said, its small face contorting. "The day the empire vanished, so did the emperor. There is no emperor anymore."
The two envoys panicked and turned to others for help.
The purple haired woman took a deep breath and said in a pleading tone. "Lord Boo, Lord Oob, we understand why you hate us. Rightfully so. We too regret what happened. Our parents are the same and even their parents too.
But somethings are simply not meant to be. We will regret what we have done. Hortus will remain an unreachable Paradise for us. It is already turning into a fabled myth, my people believe it's the destination for those who die after doing good deeds."
"What are you trying to say?" Boo asked, frowning.
"This is our only chance of survival. We will be slaughtered or enslaved if He doesn't help us. If that's what He wills, we will bow our heads and accept our fate. But whether life or death, let us hear the words from him.
If he doesn't help, this will be the last time we'll see him anyway.
If he does want to help, then all the more reason we should see him."
Oob looked at the woman deeply for a long time and the woman lowered her head, silent and still. She was nervous but she certainly wasn't scared.
"You were prepared for death since the beginning, huh." Oob finally said. "So you gave your best shot anyway. I still don't want to take you but girl, you know what you are doing. I'll request an audience."
The woman's shoulders relaxed and she sighed in relief.
Perhaps they had a chance. Perhaps.
"But be warned, Master is in the middle of a very, very important task. He might decline my request right away." Oob said.
The hope that just rose in Athena's heart shattered and she rebuked herself for having any hope in the first place.
Hope in the face of inevitable only prolonged suffering when reality eventually strikes.
Oob's wings shone and it whispered something softly to the air.
The six envoys remained silent, not even daring to breathe. Chloe bit her lip, looking at them with an anxious gaze.
Oob sighed.
That sigh nearly caused their hearts to break.
"A short meeting is granted."