High quality clothes from the modern era of humanity existed here, and were made by strongholds from the east side.
This also included high quality beds, furniture, and even machinery as well. The only thing they could not replicate so far, was the technology and advanced electrical appliances.
"Nope. Was I supposed to?" Juliette asked, twisting her figure on the bed to look at him.
"Not really." Damien responded, "Just as how it is unnecessary for you to learn summoning magic, sorcery and the other branches of magic." He added.
"I see. But, would it necessarily affect me if I learned them all?" She asked, and Damien paused for once to think about it.
As far as he remembers, there are 108 different magic paths, and each one had a different system compared to the other. Though most were lost through the ages past, and could not be used anymore.
Some were just too ancient, some were only capable of being used by certain people who have reached a certain level of power, and others could be used by people of a different race altogether.
In simple terms, there's never been records of people achieving mastery with all 108 magic paths. Or rather, he never knew of one, even as powerful as he was.
Showing how impossible of a feat that would be. Yet right now, his very blood, boiled I'm excitement. 'An impossibility... is it?' He thought to himself.
"No. It would not, but it would be close to impossible to achieve that." And he responded as such, his lips barely curling up into a devious smile.
And having the same Ascendenct Bloodline as him, Juliette could not help but frown, feeling uncomfortable deep down. "Impossible..." And repeated that word with distate in her mouth.
The couple's morning went on as such, and from there, they spent the day walking around the city, and enjoying the various changes that have taken place thanks to the changing era.
By evening, Adonis arrived home, and then he unsealed his stick wrapped in a black cloth. And upon opening it, he saw the name on it being, "Avarice", the city south west from the capital city.
It was the second largest city aside from the capital city, and was famous for being close to a crystal mine towards its north, and the mountain valleys on its south.
"This... is a bingo, isn't it?" He thought to himself, smiling in joy. The population ranked around fifty million, which was a lot, but he accepted the challenge with honor.
Meanwhile, Alonis obtained the city south of Avarice, the city of Rosario. It had mountain valleys towards its north, which were the same mountain valleys south of Avarice, called the Lumen Valley.
It was also built close to the gates of the Stronghold, with forty five or so million residents. And towards its right, was Bkack Stone city, with the smallest population of twenty five or so million residents.
It also shared a large forest with Rosario, which stood in between both of them. To its north, was the largest city aside from the capital city, with a population of over sixty million residents, city of Valeria, and also known as the city of gold.
It was owned by Amy, and Black Stone city was owned by Axel, with Rosario belonging to Alonis, and Avarice to Adonis. In between all these cities was a large plain field, which also took up the space between Valeria and Black Stone city.
And to their north, at the far back, was the capital city, the city of Eden, ruled by the Allianz, with its own unique environment.
"I guess... the game officially begins." Adonis thought, breathing out a deep sigh.
From tomorrow onwards, he would have to move to Avarice, and see how he would take over the city. At the same time, he would have to learn about his environment, as well as who owns which city, his advantages, disadvantages, and whom he could befriend.
"This is going to be tough." He sat down in his study, and began on the matter right away. Sixth and Ninth not here, but he didn't mind. He instead took out the map of the entire Stronghold and appraised it. "Well then, let's begin, shall we? I definitely got this."
The young man did not sleep that entire night, going through multiple plans and scenarios for his future path of becoming king, all the way until the next day.
And the next day, when he was completely prepared, with multiple carriages, servants and guards ready to move out, a royal coach he was now familiar with made its reappearance.
"Going somewhere?" Asked Fiona with a smile through the window of her royal coach. "Miss Fiona, good evening." Adonis greeted her with a smile, and nodded at her words.
"My path... has begun." He added, and she knew what path he was talking about, which made her chuckle in response. "No, our path has begun, Adonis."
"Hm? Wait, you mean..?"
"Yes." She outstretched her hand towards him, a beautiful smile blooming on her face. "I will be helping you here, so, looking forward to working with you, sir Adonis."
"...Pleasure is mine, miss Fiona." And Adonis took her hand, gently planting a kiss on its back before he gave his response.
The setting sun illuminating their figures, and creating a mesmerizing picture that would later come to be remembered by all his guards and servants as... the Allure of the evening Beauty.
From there, the carriages left, and Adonis, realized that he was the first one to set off on his new journey amongst all siblings.
"How long would it take us to reach Avarice?" Fiona asked Adonis, who thought about it and replied back. "About an hour or two at most, with our current pace."
He said, and she nodded. Meanwhile, Ella remained silent, wondering if Adonis and Fiona were much more closer than she initially thought.
After all, how could the princess move away from her own royal coach, and onto Adonis' royal coach. It was too suspicious. 'Does my son... like princess Fiona? Or is it the other way around?'
She thought, yet unfortunately, had no one she could gossip such good news with. The day went by, and nothing important either than that, took place.
Meanwhile, back at the Grays, "At this point, I think we are wasting our time." Juliette said, dispelling the water bubble and laying down on the bed once more.
"...True." Damien agreed, leaning next to the window, and looking at her. "What..?" She asked, and he shook his head while he responded. "Nothing. I was just thinking..."
"About?"
"...Nothing. Anyway, what are your plans from now on?" He asked, and though she didn't like the fact that he changed the topic, she still answered his inquiry. "I'm thinking of delving more into my studies of magic."
"...Alright then, it's decided. We shall both do what we desire." Damien said, "I'll also try to help those two take control over the entire situation, without using much force."
"I thought you didn't want to play ruler. What changed? Is their progress slow?"
"I don't, but that doesn't mean I also don't want to help. I'll give out suggestions and advices where I see fit. And as for their progress, it's going great... the problem is the wolves." He frowned mentioning this subject.
"Ah, yes, those wolves. They are awfully silent... so silent it's almost scary." Juliette nodded, feeling like the moment they attacked, the situation would be out of hand.
"Right? Things are getting out of hand. Plus, there's also the internal mess that would arise thanks to this trial of new kings that Alliamz set up." Damien added.
"But... don't you think he's been hasty? Couldn't he wait until the wolves were resolved?"
"It's impossible. These wolves accompanied us since we began this Stronghold, and I'm pretty sure he believes they would accompany us for more years to come as well." Damien responded to her words.
"Plus, he's still king, nonetheless. The total situation is still under his control... for the most part." He added, and she nodded in understanding, "Yes, for the most part."
Because if one of the children, or maybe all of them, banded together and attacked him, he would lose. That was a given scenario, yet he still went for the plan.
"Every king had to risk his throne and life at some point during the moment as king." Damien said, choosing the end the topic at that.
Juliette rolled her eyes at those words, but did not say anything against them. He was right, risk and sacrifices go hand in hand together. And if one was not careful, a risk could become an irreversible sacrifice.
"Hopefully... everything will go as planned." She said out of the blue, and Damien nodded, walking towards the bed. "Hopefully."