Whether it be on Earth or my kingdom, I'd grown accustomed to mornings filled with a sense of peace and tranquility.
Everything was quiet and calm, with nothing to hurt me.
I used to enjoy taking deep breaths as I looked through the window, taking in the world. It was a soothing ritual to start the day.
Now that I had begun living inside the Kingdom, there was this mystery and wonder that filled the air.
While it was a breath of fresh air at first, I had grown to miss Earth. Especially when my safe haven was invaded by a hostile force that, even though I knew would come, gave me no chance to resist.
She brought me breakfast, served with a death stare that sharply contradicted the kindness of her actions.
Licia: "So, what happened yesterday?"
I took one bite of it, blissfully falling for her trap as she commenced her attack.
Miwen: "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."
I set up the fiercest barrier I could. A logic with no holes in it whatsoever.
Licia: "Let me refresh your memory then... yesterday instead of talking to Claire like I told you to, you ended up giving her a day off, does it ring you any bells?"
Honestly? An entire church's.
I tried looking at Licia seriously, but neither of us could hold our chuckles in. We turned away from each other for a second before resuming our talk.
Miwen: "Do you want one too?"
I laid my own trap.
Licia: "That's not-"
She stopped for a second, surprised by the offer.
I didn't waste this opening.
Miwen: "But you'll have to do something for me."
This way, I could solve two problems at the same time, without actually putting in any effort.
It was the best for everyone, especially me.
Licia: "So Claire gets one even though she did something bad, while I need to work for mine?"
While Licia and I fought a fierce battle, Claire stayed silent, biting on her toast while watching us with the corner of her eye.
She was acting like it was none of her business when it was all about her, so I decided to throw her into the fire as well, as a little payback for putting me in this situation in the first place.
Miwen: "Quite, but Claire had a good argument that ended up convincing me yesterday. Right?"
Claire's eyes widened as I nudged her on the shoulder.
Since I was the one who brought up the idea of giving her days off, she obviously had no arguments.
Still, I wanted to see how well she'd do when put on the spot.
It certainly had nothing to do with my thinking that Licia was a bit scary to face alone.
Miwen: "The fate of your day off rests on this battle, so do your best."
I whispered encouraging words into her ears, shifting my attention back to the breakfast before us.
Claire: "Huh!?"
Her eyes drifted from me to Licia, but when Claire saw the dark smile on her face, she lowered her head, facing the table.
Licia: "So, what did you say to him?"
She spoke with her usual soft voice, tapping her shoulder with her finger.
Claire "Uhh... I told him that... you know? That we were worried! Since we can't really help that much.... And uh..."
Even though she needed to gauge Licia's reaction, she could only keep eye contact for a second, if that.
Claire "...I told him that the only reason I lost track was that I calmed down by binge-watching the movies... So... He gave me a day off?"
Her nervousness ended up helping her case as she pulled the same "pity me" maneuver on Licia.
It was even more effective on her, since they shared common ground in worrying about me.
Licia: "...Well, I guess everyone deserves to rest sometimes, and I guess this much is fine, but... Just make sure not to slip when we need you. After all, I'm also counting on you!"
The pressure of that "I'm counting on you" was palpable.
I would've never thought that such a brimming smile could be so coercive.
Claire "S-sure."
For some reason, Claire felt inclined to lift her hands, as if to disarm Licia.
If Claire had hit me with that puppy act, I'd have given her an entire week off, but Licia was surprisingly strong and kept a cool head.
Though she did drop the scolding...
Licia: "So, what do I need to do to get mine as well?"
Seemingly satisfied, she finally sat by the table as well, facing me with a more relaxed smile.
Miwen: "You're to take the newly created position of Head of Scolding, thank you very much."
I tried giving her no time to refuse.
Licia wasn't so easily pressured, though.
She squinted her eyes, staring at me with suspicion.
Licia: "...Why?"
The main reason was that I didn't want it.
However, I gave her something more substantial.
Miwen: "You're better than me at it."
Even though I wasn't exactly a soft person, I had a hard time reprimanding the girls. I just liked seeing them have fun too much to tell them "no".
It was fine with Licia; she never caused any trouble, but Claire...
She had just proved her ability to avoid a well-deserved sermon.
If Licia, who had a much better head on her shoulders, struggled with her, I had no hope.
Licia: "Alright, but does that mean I can reprimand any citizen?"
She brought a hand near her face, half-hiding her lips.
Miwen: "Yeah? I guess..."
This lovely sight distracted me, and I thought nothing much of it.
Licia: "Even you?"
She revealed a smirk hiding behind her hand.
Miwen: "...The king is an exception, obviously."
Licia: "You can be such a child... But alright, I'll take your offer."
Even though we were mostly fooling around, it was a nice little talk to have.
I was looking forward to spending some time with the two on our day off.
And with this little issue dealt with, the girls returned to Earth to enjoy the rest of their day while I visited Melissa's fortress.
The bars of my cell appeared before me, and a couple of meters behind them was Mia.
She curled her lips into a smile upon seeing me, her eyes glistening for a second, and even her fang briefly made an appearance.
I had never seen her so happy before, and I couldn't imagine why she'd be relieved to see me.
However, it was such a cute, warm sight that it blew away the cold from the prison cell.
Mia: "...! You're back! I'm gonna call Mom, stay there."
She left in a hurry, leaving me no room to tease that odd attitude of hers.
Since I had nothing left to do and nowhere left to go, I sat on the bed, burning that cute wolfgirl's expression into my memory while waiting for Melissa.
Melissa: "Boy, it's good to have you back."
She came down the stairs with her hair messier than usual.
I also noticed she was having trouble catching her breath.
Miwen: "It does look like it, huh?"
Mia stood behind her mother, looking up at her back.
Occasionally, she'd glance my way with a strange expectation behind her gaze.
I decided not to dwell on it too much and asked Melissa directly.
Miwen: "So... Why do you two seem like you're in a hurry? Something wrong?"
I asked half-jokingly, but I gave her my full attention.
Melissa: "I'm afraid so. Last night, the enemy managed to disembark. Five ships in total and-"
She spoke rapidly, almost glossing over something monumental as if it were of no importance.
Miwen: "Wait... What? How?"
This was too sudden. Everything was perfectly fine when I last left them.
Unless something major had happened, Hamperlon shouldn't have been capable of landing on the island.
Melissa: "It's not exactly clear to us either, but I'll tell you what I understand from the situation. You remember Prince Gerbil, right?"
She opened the door to my cell, letting me sit on a chair by the small table Mia brought.
Mia also handed me a few blankets, but even the island's cold couldn't distract me.
Miwen: "The third prince of Hamperlon, right? You mentioned him to me before."
I was still planning on how to deal with him, thinking we could get a ceasefire or even a peace treaty by ransoming him.
Melissa: "Yes... It seems like his older brother, Prince Normyu, joined the fight because of a perceived failure."
...Because we killed the Angel?
Shit
Miwen: "That's a name I haven't heard before."
I should've imagined the moment she brought the chair that Melissa would have a new story to tell me.
This was good, though.
There were many things I wanted to ask, and her going out of her way to let me out could only mean she'd tell me everything I needed to know.
Melissa: "He wasn't a factor until now. Both the first and second princes were severely injured in Hamperlon's last war, but... It seems like Normyu is now healed."
One head down, another pops up.
We had just begun turning the situation around for the Snow White Wolves, but it felt like every thread untangled led to another knot.
Miwen: "Prince Gerbil is astute. The Seven Rainbow Miracles is a defensive powerhouse. What is Prince Normyu's deal?"
Before answering me, Melissa closed her fists, steadying her breath.
Mia also looked away. Her face was plastered with shame, but one different from what I had seen when we'd tease each other.
It felt much more bitter.
Melissa: "...To put it bluntly, power and resourcefulness."
Seemingly realizing that I'd use Mia's expression to gauge her emotions, Melissa quickly steeled herself.
Miwen: "In which way exactly?"
Considering how strong the Angel was, I expected power to be something all three generals had.
However, Melissa was careful with her words.
She chose to point out that this guy was powerful, so I prepared myself to hear something absurd.
Melissa: "You know how you can expect someone to have one, or at most, two Gifts, right?"
Long ago, Catherine had Earth participate in a Divine Event in which a prize was a second Gift, bestowed by one of the higher Gods.
Like usual, Earth didn't do well in that Event. However, after it was over, many speculations about the limit of how many Gifts a person could have started to spread.
While no one on Earth had been confirmed to have more than two Gifts, several people claimed to have three or four.
Most of the time, those people were quickly debunked, but it wasn't always easy. Some Gifts had multiple effects that could easily pass as a different Gift, after all.
Hell, [Gacha Kingdom Building] itself was a perfect example. Sharing skills, summoning weapons, summoning people, travelling to other dimensions... That was all one Gift, but it could easily be divided into a bunch.
Still... once humanity had reached lower floors inside the Dungeons, we confirmed the existence of monsters with three Gifts.
For now, those were rare exceptions... the currently known limit.
Miwen: "Yeah... I'm aware."
Though no one knew exactly why some beings were born with more Gifts-
Melissa: "Well, Prince Normyu is said to have at least 10 of them."
Miwen: "Hah!"
I didn't mean to provoke her.
Hell, I didn't even mean to laugh in the first place.
It just escaped me by reflex.
And considering how much of a stupid joke it was, I felt like she was the one who owed me an apology.
Unfortunately, even after a couple of seconds, that apology didn't come.
Melissa: "Well, he might actually have fewer Gifts than that..."
That wasn't comforting at all.
Melissa: "But 10 is his maximum potential right now."
I could tell from her tone that she was being serious, but...
How I wished she was joking.
Melissa: "It's also not quite right to say that he has ten Gifts, since he only has one..."
Seeing the expression on my face, her motherly instincts activated, and she began trying to bring hope back into my eyes.
Sadly, she didn't have much to work with.
Melissa: "Simply put, he can copy other Gifts. The limit of Gifts he can hold at one time depends on his level. He's level one hundred now, so... He can hold ten."
She went on to explain that his Gift was known throughout the continent, as Hamperlon boasted of his power.
Miwen: "That's his limitation? Really?"
I had just begun thinking that [Gacha Kingdom Building] and its many mysterious effects were an overpowered ability...
Wait.
What if he copied [Gacha Kingdom Building] as well?
That would put him above final boss-level, right? He'd be like those cheat, joke characters that we're not meant to fight.
Melissa: "Well... On the bright side... Whatever Gift he copies can never be as powerful as the original. Its strength depends on the original Gift's complexity, power, and how much he uses it."
Bright side my ass.
That was still ridiculous.
...All right. He was a problem, then.
No discussion about that.
However, there was one thing bothering me about this whole thing.
Miwen: "You seem to know an awful lot about him."
While I could understand why a nation like Hamperlon would boast about their noteworthy prince, the amount of detailed information Melissa had on him was a little suspicious.
And given the way she and Mia acted before mentioning his name, I felt there was more to the story than mere hearsay.
Melissa: "...I fought against him ten years ago. His biggest weakness was how much he liked to blabber about himself."
Ten years ago.
So... At the start of the Snow White Wolves-Hamperlon war.
Miwen: "Did you win?"
Melissa: "I... I can't say I did."
Her fangs appeared on the corner of her mouth, her nose twitched, and her eyebrows furrowed as her feet tapped on the ground.
She hadn't noticed it, but she was slowly pulling the table her way with the hand she had placed on it.
Melissa: "My husband and I fought him together. We managed to... We gave him a life-threatening injury that forced Hamperlon's army to retreat. He also couldn't fight for a few years..."
I hadn't been introduced to Melissa's husband yet.
Seeing Mia breathing unsteadily, with her eyes closed, I understood the reason for that.
Melissa: "There was another kingdom back then that saw this as an opportunity to get rid of Normyu and launched their own war against Hamperlon, but since that war ended, they focused back on us."
I was getting a little worried about how agitated Mia had become, but...
Even if it hurt her, I had to know as much as possible.
Otherwise, fate could repeat itself.
Miwen: "Just so we are clear, does the crown prince of Hamperlon also have an absurd power that I should know of?"
Melissa: "The First Prince is said to be as average as they come. He mostly handles internal affairs, strengthening his alliance with the Hamperlon nobles. It is believed that he focuses on solidifying his position as crown prince due to the excellence of his brothers."
That was probably for the better.
Having Normyu as a brother, his position would never be truly secured.
The same should be true for the third brother, Gerbil...
Maybe I could exploit some distrust within the family?
I'd have to know their circumstances better, though.
Melissa: "The fourth prince, however, is another-"
For the love of-
Melissa: "I'm kidding, ok? You don't need to be so scared."
She placed a hand on my head, messing with my hair.
I wasn't sure why she chose me for that when Mia was clearly more anxious, but...
I felt her hand trembling.
She was trying to fight it, of course, but... She definitely couldn't reassure her daughter like that.
Miwen: "You shouldn't joke about that. I was about to leave you to your fate."
It was a shame to take so many steps back after we had just started making progress, but as long as there were no surprises left, we could find a way to deal with it.
So, instead of cowering or running, I decided to face this upfront, as it was the only way I could reassure Mia and Melissa.
Miwen: "So, for them to have managed to land 5 ships, I'm guessing this guy has a copy of the Seven Rainbow Miracles? Or at least a similar defensive Gift?"
Melissa: "We believe so. Even though the Seven Rainbow Miracles barrier was more spread, there were two layers thanks to that idiot. We managed to break the first layer, but the second was too much..."
She forced me to use both arms to lift her hand off me, gleefully smirking at my struggle.
Melissa: "We also confirmed that Gerbil, Normyu, and the Seven Rainbow Miracles have made it to the shores."
...Huh.
Surprisingly enough, I was happy to hear that.
I had spent a lot of time thinking about how I could get her, to no avail, and now she just handed herself over on a plate.
Even though the situation couldn't be worse, from another perspective, it was also the best opportunity to send them home indefinitely.
All I'd need was a good trap.
And I already had one idea...