Chapter 369: An Endless Road

Chapter 369: An Endless Road

Mid Afternoon - Early Fall : The Elder Estate | The Cabinet (New Elder Hall)

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"To think you were actually late..." Hera's surprised voice met my ears as I hurtled through the thick, dark clouds looming over the estate I left from almost three weeks prior.

"Had you given me a general area to search, it wouldn't have taken me a week to just find the damn place. I didn't know I needed to search the entire fucking mountain for a cave barely big enough to fit a horse!"

"Pft-Hahaha!" Hera immediately burst out laughing, comedically slapping the end of her tail on the ground next to her. "Acanthis did make a bet that you would never find it. That must be why."

"Haah..." My sigh was deep and heavy. "Well, I hope you at least bet on me."

"Hoho~, of course."

FWOOSH Finally piercing the underside of the dark storm clouds, the sight of nearly a thousand dragons bustling about came into view.

Although I was technically over the exact area I left from to explore The Scar nearly three weeks prior, the view was completely foreign to me.

Directly below me was an absolutely colossal structure, still in the midst of construction, with a massive town being built around it, seemingly in a hurry.

None of it was a sight I didn't expect, as I saw it through my aura from quite a ways away, but I still had to admit.. it was quite a jarring sight. -I guess it makes sense for people to be flocking here, considering the opportunities that will eventually arise... -

wooOOOSH-DINGGGG Landing on a thick metal driveway in the middle of a colossal courtyard, I looked up at the massive main doors of the new estate, large enough to let Myles comfortably walk through, and tilted my head in confusion. -But I have to wonder.. how is she staying hidden after starting a project like this? She couldn't have already announced herself as the Monarch to the public yet, could she?-

Previously, the estate that was once there was meant for those in the Elder Hall to use, with rooms reserved for each member so they could all stay there and have more fluent communication with one another when they weren't needed at the Hall itself. However, with the dissolution of the Elder Hall, Hera had taken it for her own use, using it as a sort of temporary estate until things were worked out.

But at that moment, I had to question the way I interpreted 'temporary'.

"What in the world are you planning on using this huge ass estate for?" It was almost big enough to be considered a small town on its own, with a large central circular courtyard and exactly eight long offshoots to create a star pattern reminiscent of the academy. "I can't say I could imagine you living here..."

"Of course not. This place is too small for me." She paused as she shuffled around papers in a smaller room not far from the main entrance. "This place is going to be the new hub for the cabinet, called the Elder Estate. Each member will be expected to live here and manage a 'branch' specialized around their field. In theory, it should centralize everything for us in quite a convenient and orderly manner."

-Huh?- "A 'Branch'?"Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

"Yeah, I'm actually going to try something Bahamut was too afraid to implement when he was Monarch." She spoke while deep in thought before setting down most of her papers. "I'm going to make the cabinet members something similar to my direct subordinates, each related to a specific subject, while also having each of them form their own organizations, or branches, that are vaguely similar to human guilds."

Finally walking up to the massive front door, I opened it and made my way inside.

"Each branch will be responsible for gathering its own information and managing its own field all around Bahamut. A quick example would be Myles and the Military branch. To explain it quickly, it will be responsible for all military matters that don't require my input, such as establishing public security forces, remote military training and recruitment, and documenting everything under the span of their branch. With their branch centralized here, if I ever need anything from the military, I can simply come here and issue orders or look into information. In my case, if the branch was already established, I would have gone through them to find and deal with the remaining supporters of the Holy Kingdom, at least when the time comes."

-How.. horrifyingly smart...- To summarize, it made it so all she needed to do to get what she needed was say a single sentence, even if it was to implement a completely new system that needed to be built from the ground up. -But...- "Why was Bahamut too afraid to implement that? It seems pretty convenient..."

She instantly froze before looking me in the eyes. "You.. can do that?"

I quickly nodded with a small flicker of excitement in my tail. "I'll need to study the specifics of the existing runes, but yeah, I don't see any reason why I couldn't."

She paused before cycling through pages again, falling victim to her rampaging thoughts. "In that case.. that makes things easier..." Quickly writing and editing hundreds of pages of documentation, she took out a stack of a few hundred pieces of paper before finally standing up. "I need to give these to the construction manager here to add on another branch here. How long do you think it will take to make the rune?"

I gently shrugged my wings. "Longer than the thunderbirds can reasonably stay here." I gently motioned my wing up to them before her gaze followed.

"Alright." A smile immediately washed over her face. "In that case, we can talk about the details of your trip while we fly them to Emporio and get them set up." Finally standing up, she quickly walked past me with a partial trot and a smooth, happy sway in her tail. "I'll meet up with you after I drop this off real quick." Flashing her smile at me with a clump of papers in the air, she left without giving me a chance to move.

But, even if she wanted me to hop up right then, it would have been difficult. "Haah..." From the moment I sat down, a lethargic wave washed over me, and the cushion felt as if it were sucking me into it. "Well, Ilios.. I know you're ready for a nap, but it looks like we still have some flying to do..." I honestly wanted to just pass out right then and there too... -But.. we still have so much to do...- "Ugh..."

Forcing myself up with a little groan, narrowly escaping the grasp of the cushion, I let Ilios up on my back before walking out into the only half-built hallway.

There was a lot on the to-do list, and from my talk with Hera, it looked like I wouldn't be getting any rest for quite a while.

But oddly enough, I didn't really mind it. Although I had minimal political experience or knowledge, I was oddly fascinated by learning how Hera was going to run such a massive country fluidly.

Afterall, I was the Monarch of not one, but two countries now. I had a lot to learn from her.

But sometimes.. her methods were.. a little unconventional...

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