[TWS] Chapter 296 – From a Party to an Army

After the brief conversation with Queen Civienne, Asterios and the girls went back to the undergrowth. It was a little bit too early to check on the ores that were soaking in his blood in Imadil’s and Cynthia’s workshop, and they didn’t want to disturb the elves during their rest or intensive brainstorming, whichever the pair could have been engaged in.

Therefore, they decided to spend some more time in the mysterious underground city since they hadn’t really had the occasion to wander around without something urging them forward with their plans and objectives. In the early evening hours, the earthen streets were bustling, even if the number of people couldn’t really be compared to the surface.

To some extent, the mud constructs and buildings reminded Ast’s group of the clay huts used by the Lizardkin in Miria’s world. Naturally, the elven approach was much more advanced and polished. The numerous shops, stores, establishments, and pubs had at least two or three stories.

Everything was adorned with plenty of decorative patterns and designs, though plain and simple buildings weren’t a rare sight either. The clearly controlled vegetation was the most impressive part. It had to be tough to keep the entire underground place from overgrowing with weeds or cavern-based flora.

Satisfied with their tour of the hidden kingdom and their visits to various shops with interesting trinkets, they headed to the residence assigned to them by the queen. On their way there, Tina insisted on getting in touch with her squad, which was diligently working with Civienne’s forces, aiding the elves however they could, as per the delegation’s duty used as a cover for everything else.

They had no issues getting into the barracks after Tina introduced herself and one of the standing guards escorted them to her subordinates, who were supposed to be resting for the rest of the day after their hard work. It was clear that the group hadn’t been expecting any visitors as the guard opened the door to most of them lounging on their assigned beds and chilling through various friendly activities. The sudden appearance of their captain caused the entire squadron to bolt straight up and stand in front of their bunks.

“Greetings, Captain!” they shouted in unison.

The girls chuckled as their guide left them and Tina let out a soft sigh. “At ease. This is nothing official. We are just passing by.”

Everyone visibly relaxed, but they all chose to remain standing. A woman stepped forward, stopping in front of Tina. If Asterios remembered correctly, her name was Kathy, and she was Tina’s right hand.

“It’s been a while, Captain.” She smiled at her shorter superior. “We thought you might have forgotten about us.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been quite busy. And we’ve been all over the place lately.” Tina smiled back a bit apologetically. “I hope you’ve been well since our last expedition. They aren’t overworking you or keeping you on the side with all the boring stuff?”

“Not in the slightest, Captain,” one of the men answered. “Honestly, I never thought we would get a chance to work this closely with another nation’s forces. We were supposed to be a special kind of unit, meant more as a reserve rather than the front face of the Royal Division. This is great and exciting.”

“Is it the same for you, Captain?” another asked.

“Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to share with you too many details about what I’ve been up to, but yeah, it certainly is exciting. And dangerous,” Tina replied, glancing at Asterios and the others. “Just know that whatever you are doing right now has a much deeper meaning and much more importance to our nations than you might suspect. It will all become clear after we finish, but you are key figures in something big. I hope you will not disappoint.”

The squad members looked amongst themselves in mild shock and wonder. They obviously had been briefed about a few things, but their information revolved mostly around the importance of assisting the elves as the human delegation and securing a good relationship between the nations. That already could be considered big, but Tina’s words indicated that such a thing was close to nothing to the real purpose of their help.

Kathy thumped her fist against her chest. “We would never disappoint you, Captain! Just give us an order and see it done!”

The rest followed after her, making Tina smile, half-proud and half-embarrassed.

“Good.” She nodded. “Your orders remain the same. Continue doing your best at the appointed tasks. You can pride yourselves in knowing that most of them come almost directly from the queen herself or her intelligence officers. With a little bit of my own input, of course.”

Her squad preened at that news. It clearly wasn’t anything common to be this involved with the higher-ups of either nation. Though, King Welrond had said he was overseeing the Royal Division greatly by himself. But even so, he had to delegate some of the commanding to proper officers and people under him.

With the last request to be ready for action at any moment, Tina and the others left the squad to their own machinations, returning to rest too. Making use of the full sleeping hours during the night rather than spending half of it tiring themselves out with other activities, they woke up well-rested and ready to tackle the huge amount of cross-realm jumping that awaited them during the day.

But first, they paid a quick visit to their elf friends and confirmed that some of the ores in the experimental batch had in fact become altered overnight. Imadil rejected the suggestion to use more of Ast’s blood right away and instead proposed focusing on discovering what exactly was different in terms of the new metals’ qualities. He and his daughter had their hands full with that since they had now been introduced to a plethora of new possibilities for the girls’ weapons and gear.

Thus, Asterios decided to begin their recruitment spree. Tina and Silvia offered to stay behind and keep appearances. Other girls volunteered to accompany them, but they were thanked for their initiative and asked to rather assist Asterios. Ast’s two noble ladies were more than enough to handle anything thrown at them, both in terms of bureaucracy and something more on-hand. The fire-water duo was a force to be reckoned with, there was no doubt about that.

Miria suggested they start from the very beginning and their first friends. With that, they all transferred to Glimmervale and approached the local Adventurer’s Guild. The establishment was as busy as they remembered it. The queen's supportive involvement definitely hadn’t ceased. It was plainly impossible for just the local quests to attract this much attention. Though, perhaps it wasn’t just that.

Nevertheless, they spotted a familiar redhead amongst the receptionists, doing her job with as much enthusiasm and kindness as always. It surprised no one that Ellie’s line was the longest. She had attracted most of the male adventurers back in Rosewind too. But, other women weren’t that far off, though. Especially a certain adorable-looking dwarf taking her protegees really professionally. A blackboard with white chalk had become an inseparable part of Truvi’s image by now.

Noticing Asterios and his companions, the human girl smiled even wider, which seemed almost impossible with her already incredibly friendly expression, and hurried with her current conversation partner. Right after, she abruptly closed her post and apologized to the dozens of people waiting to talk to her. Amidst a chorus of groans, she disappeared into the back room and soon popped back up next to Miria, spooking the panthergirl enough to make her jump.

“Hi there! I’ve seen you guys looking at me so intently! Is there anything I can help you with?” Ellie asked with a giggle.

“Well, we planned to ask if you were busy, but seeing that you’ve already dropped everything to get here, would you mind accompanying us to Guildmaster Suanori if she’s around?” Asterios smiled wryly at her.

“Oh, that sounds important. Of course, I will. Let’s go before some of the spotters notice you. It will be a pain to push through the crowd after that. You are kind of living legends around these parts.” She grinned at them.

“Spotters?” Grea raised a curious brow at the girl as she pushed through the adventurers.

“It’s what we call those who loudly shout out the arrival of any reputable person without an ounce of reservation. They usually are die-hard fans of high-ranking adventurers. Just one is enough to make all the heads turn, and suddenly the entire guild is in chaos. It’s like a stampede during those moments,” Ellie explained with a tired sigh.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh! It’s Moon Goddess and Blazing Hellcat!” someone screamed at the top of their lungs and all the voices suddenly ceased.

The gorgeous receptionist turned her wide-eyed face to them as she froze. “Run.”

The silence prevailed for about two-and-a-half-second before the hall erupted in an even more heated chatter. Asterios and the girls sprinted over the crowd starting to surge around them by running over Selene’s translucent platforms. They made it to the stairs and a trio of guild employees blocked the path, valiantly holding the mass of rushing adventurers from going up. The fact that the upper floors were off-limit without special permission did not stop the adventurers from trying to follow the fleeing group.

Reaching the safety of the higher level, Grea stared at their receptionist friend with raised brows. “Moon Goddess? Blazing Hellcat?”

Ellie chuckled awkwardly. “Remember the nighttime defense?”

There was a collective ‘ah’ from everyone else than Miria and Selene as the others turned to look at the beastfolk duo.

“Looks like you two made quite the name for yourselves.” Asterios snickered. “I can definitely see how.”

“Does Asterios have one too?” Bryn asked curiously as they continued towards Suanori’s office.

Ellie bit her lip while glancing at him. “If just one…”

“Like what, for example?” Miria bounced around her, eager to hear any.

Their receptionist friend seemed a tad awkward. “Well… There are some more general ones like Summoner Sovereign… But the quite popular one right now is… Interdimensional Philanderer…”

Asterios stopped in his tracks as Grea exploded with laughter.

“Oh, that’s just perfect, hahaha!” She almost fell over while clutching her stomach. “Fitting for the only man with access to unlimited pussy all across the universe!”

The person in question groaned, running his hand over his face as the other girls chuckled. Miria and Selene were clearly amused if not proud of that name. Unfortunately, almost all women in their ranks who could potentially feel any shame about being around someone with such an alias had stayed behind at the Garden of Sinners. Bryn was Ast’s last hope for any normalcy, but she didn’t show too much dissatisfaction at the news either.

“That’s not sticking on. Period. That title doesn’t even consider Umbra.” Asterios huffed.

“An exception proves the rule.” Selene smirked at him impishly.

He just shook his head as they crossed the remaining distance in silence, broken only by occasional chuckles or giggles coming from the girls. Ellie shot him a few reassuring and sympathetic glances over her shoulder, which he definitely appreciated.

Soon, they found themselves in front of Suanori’s office and Ellie knocked on the wooden door, guiding them inside after receiving verbal permission to come in. The guildmaster sat behind her desk, working on some documents, but she stopped after noticing who the guests were.

“Oh. Seems like I haven’t misheard. This is what caused the uproar that shook the entire building a few minutes ago.” Suanori smirked softly.

Ellie chuckled as she closed the door. “Yeah. We almost made it but the girls were recognized.”

“So, what do I owe this pleasure? I take it isn’t something critical or else you would have shown up right in front of me instead.” The guildmaster leaned back in her comfy chair.

“We bring good news! And an offer!” Miria glided to the massive desk with a massive grin.

“An offer?” Suanori glanced at Asterios.

“I remember you wishing to be a bit more involved with everything we do, including the more secretive matters. Would you still be interested in joining our cause?” he asked.

Grea clicked her tongue. “Two out of ten. Could have done better. You should have just gone with the highly desirable ‘be mine!’ like a proper budding Dragon King. Ladies love a man who knows what he wants.”

The guildmaster furrowed her brows at the demon woman but Asterios just shook his head.

“Ignore Grea, please. Long story short, the entire man-turned-dragon thing wasn’t the final step on the road to my draconic future. My life continues to change quite regularly. Right now, we decided to embrace another part of my lineage and start recruiting people we trust as allies. To be precise, as servants and aides, mostly. There are also slaves, but I assure you that it’s only the naming sense that’s wrong,” he explained. “So, I wanted to bring this offer to the two of you first. Would you follow me as the subjects of a True Dragon? Naturally, you can expect plenty of benefits, but as they say, nothing is free in this world. You would end up somewhat bound to me and expected to fulfill your duty whenever the time comes.”

Elie gasped in surprise, covering her mouth with her hands. “Do you really… trust me so much?”

He turned to her with a warm smile. “How could I not? We’ve known each other for years. You always supported me. I couldn’t really do much to pay you back for all that kindness back then besides doing my best as your protege, but now I can finally offer you my protection, amongst many other things.”

The red-haired receptionist looked to be on the verge of tears at his exclamation. “But, you have already done so much for me…”

“Like what?” Asterios asked.

“Rhode, for example. Or bringing us here,” she listed.

“That was just the right thing to do. Both cases.” He shrugged. “This is much more personal. And, of course, you are not obliged to accept, nor will you lose the chance to ever do so if you would change your mind one day.”

“Getting bound to Master is the best life decision you can make,” Miria chimed in as her tail swished gleefully behind her legs.

“No biased opinions.” Asterios pointed at her and turned to Suanori. “We are aiming to recruit a bunch of people all around the world, or worlds, to help us keep watch over things in multiple places, and we could use a few loyal friends here, in our still fresh but already beloved home.”

“That sounds like you are building your personal army.” A faint smirk curled up the corner of her lips. “Dragon Emperor.”

“Oh, that’s so much better than Dragon King!” Miria buzzed with excitement.

Asterios rolled his eyes. “Did you really have to?”

Suanori chuckled softly. “It wasn’t my idea. It’s just one of your many titles. I’m pretty sure someone came up with it after noticing your ominous wings. Though, it’s not too popular as the masses aren’t really that much aware of your secrets yet.”

“So, are you girls in on the fun?” Grea waggled her brows at the guild duo. “The best guildmaster and the best receptionist are very much welcome.”

The two women shared a look before Suanori sighed.

“Honestly, I’m tempted to do this just to finally be privy to all those things you keep away from me all the time, but…” the guildmaster dragged on, making the girls just a tad anxious. “That’s not the only reason I would like to join your team.”

A collective sigh of relief washed over Ast’s companions. Especially Miria and Selene.

“I had plenty of time to think this over after our few quite fun and interesting adventures. I believe I had seen enough to judge what kind of person you and your girls are,” Suanori continued, looking straight at Asterios. “I don’t dislike my current, retired position and its obligations, but the few times we worked together might have reminded me of the good old times when I was very much active and right on the field. Now, presented with a chance to once again be a part of something greater, a team with clear goals and agenda, additionally under a legendary creature such as a True Dragon, I would be a fool toward myself not to jump right at it.”

Miria started clapping joyfully while Grea snickered at the guildmaster’s admission. Asterios nodded at Suanori’s determined gaze and refocused on his receptionist friend. Ellie showed a bright smile and moved closer to him, taking his hands into hers and holding them low between themselves.

“I had lots of fun acting as your supervisor even before being officially registered as one, but even though I’m just a normal, almost powerless girl when compared to the guildmaster, I think I would like to see how it would feel for our roles to be reversed. You’ve always been a great friend to me and I would be happy to follow you, Ast,” she shared her thoughts too.

“Well, your roles wouldn’t change that much considering the fact that I don’t exactly want you two to abandon your current lives but rather continue doing as you are while also joining my inner circles. What will the future bring? Who knows. I just hope everyone can be ready to act whenever we need more help.” Asterios chuckled.

“That’s more than fine,” Suanori replied and Ellie nodded. “I assume you would come and fetch us with your shadow-hopping familiar during an emergency? Hopefully, being connected to you makes it a tiny bit easier on the transported person.”

“Actually, there might be no need to do that soon.” He smiled at the anxious elf lady. “One of the possible perks of our draconic arrangement.”

“And what are the other ones?” She raised a curious brow at him.

“Remember this?” Asterios rolled back his right sleeve, revealing his Spellslinger. “Our Spellsong friends are onto creating a bunch of toys on an equal or higher level as this little guy here. It’s obviously in my best interest to have both of you equipped better than well. The followers of a True Dragon can’t barely get by with some shabby equipment, can they?”

The pair’s eyes widened at his unexpected promise.

“Considering the potential threat level of associating oneself with a True Dragon, such gifts are only natural,” Bryn agreed with a sagely nod.

“Good gods… Maybe I should really just stay retired…” Suanori rested her face in her hands, making the girls chuckle.

“I feel like this world is soon going to experience some Era of Dawn level of stuff for a second time...” Ellie giggled nervously. “For a mere receptionist to be walking with fortress-leveling artifacts… Just unbelievable…”

They all shared a few laughs together before moving to the heart of the matter, which was the less-grandiose allegiance ceremony. For only two people, Asterios didn’t have to transform into his complete draconic form and let some of his blood out in his usual shape.

Guildmaster Suanori took the position of an aide while Ellie chose to join him as a servant after consulting with Asterios and the girls. She believed that she lacked the power to take such a high position in his entourage and felt more than just fine ending up a step lower. No one wanted the kind young woman to feel uncomfortable within the ranks of Ast’s coterie so they agreed without arguing too vehemently about it.

Bryn offered to stay with the duo to fill them in on everything they had been missing out on and the others snuck out of the guild through the shadows to continue on with their quest of recruiting more people to Ast’s cause.

“Who are we going to visit next, Master?” Miria asked as they stepped into the streets. “Yumi? Grandpa Endymion?”

Asterios ruffled through her soft, black hair. “I think I would rather get done with the most stressful candidate first.”

“Which is?” Grea wondered out loud.

“Mom.” He chuckled nervously.

★━━━━━━━━━━━━Author's Notes━━━━━━━━━━━━★

The recruitment starts, but don't worry, we aren't going to spend multiple chapters on this and drag stuff out. I just wanted to sneak in a few nice scenes with the most important characters so it will take one maybe two chappies to close this, rather than having almost the entire chappy cover one meeting like this here. You can call it calm before the storm :)