"Y-Your Highness!" Captain Tavin, a caracal demihuman, exclaimed.
He and his squad of Forest Rangers immediately sheathed their weapons, lowered their heads, and bowed, their mounts following suit.
A tense silence followed before Captain Tavin finally realized he'd been asked a question.
"These... criminals were refusing to obey a lawful order, Your Highness," he answered nervously.
"Your proof?"
"We heard a disturbance in the distance, and when we arrived, they were fleeing the scene. Whatever evidence we require would be found on their persons."
"A very sound line of reasoning that completely ignores the fact that you don't even know whether a crime was committed, let alone what that crime was. You wield your authority like a hammer, smashing everything in your path until you find something to justify it. Rather bold of you to call yourself a Forest Ranger with that mentality, Captain."
"I-I wouldn't dare, Your Highness."
"Then speak. What is your true purpose for apprehending them?"
"True purpose? I... we have no... we were merely planning to..." he stuttered.
"Because I have been tracking them since they left the Jungle's Claws, and I have coincidentally been tracking you as well, Captain Tavin. Please enlighten me. Why are you interested in them?" she asked evenly, as though it were nothing more than a casual conversation. "Is it perhaps to retrieve your owner's assets now that Ravok has failed?"
"Run!" the captain shouted as his mount leapt onto the nearest branch, fleeing without a second thought.
His men followed immediately, scattering in every direction and abandoning the few who watched them disappear in stunned disbelief.
Bastion considered trapping them within his Arcane Lockdown, but before their mounts could take a second leap, every ranger who had tried to flee tumbled from the saddle as their heads rolled away from their bodies.
"Who is next in command?" she asked.
"We are all equally unworthy, Your Highness," the ranger at the front replied, with no one left to hide behind.
"You will do. Congratulations. You are now a captain. Your first order is to collect these corpses and, by my authority, request an investigation from your superior. Inform them that I will be cutting off heads by next month. Whose heads they are will depend on them."
"Yes, Your Highness," the newly appointed captain said with a bow before immediately issuing commands.
Once the Forest Rangers finished cleaning up and departed, Bastion and the girls gathered in front of the carriage, awaiting their turn.
"Now, they may not have been intelligent enough to come up with a better lie," she began, "but I do know what crime you committed. You murdered someone within this kingdom and must answer for it, regardless of any claim of self-defense. What excuses do you have?"
"I merely followed your wishes, Your Highness," Bastion answered without hesitation.
"You dare put words in my mouth!?" she roared in anger as powerful winds swept against them, threatening to blow them and the carriage away.
None of them made any move to defend themselves. They were, technically, in the presence of royalty and were expected to submit.
Once the winds settled, Bastion gave his answer.
"If I may quote the words you spoke to Ravok earlier today, Your Highness. 'If you want to fight, make it official. If you're too barbaric for even that, you might as well die rather than become a slave,'" Bastion said. "Since Ravok chose to fight in an unofficial setting through an ambush in the dead of night, no less, I merely honored Your Highness's wishes and granted him death. If I have somehow misconstrued Your Highness's intentions, then I am more than willing to accept any punishment you see fit."
A long, tense silence followed.
Then a gentle breeze swept past, carrying with it a soft giggle. It quickly blossomed into genuine, unrestrained laughter.
When both the wind and her laughter finally subsided, she let out a quiet sigh.
"You are quite brave, merchant," she said. "What is your full name?"
"Bastion Diamondhart, Your Highness."
"Hm... You're quite handsome for a merchant, and young besides. Brave, intelligent, cautious, wealthy, and capable of bringing down a Rank 3 despite being outnumbered. You possess many desirable qualities."
"You flatter me."
"Pity. I had hoped to bring a Rank 3 like Ravok under my command, though perhaps he would've proven too difficult to control in the end. Perhaps you will suffice instead, Bastion Diamondhart. What say you?" she asked casually.
Bastion wasn't an idiot. He knew they were dead if he flatly refused or tried to make excuses. His Fortune was telling him as much. There was no declining this offer. All he could do was ensure that, whatever followed, he came out ahead.
"If the price is right, Your Highness," Bastion answered with a greedy smile, the signature of any merchant worthy of his fortune.
"Are you rejecting me?" she asked as the wind quivered ever so slightly.
"I am merely acting in accordance with my principles, Your Highness. After all, I am, first and foremost, a traveling merchant. If it's slavery you seek, then I'll die, for I refuse to live without the freedom to travel. If it's companionship, which I highly doubt, I'll honor the wishes of my harem. But if it's employment, as I suspect, then my services come at a price," he said with the same merchant's smile, wearing it with pride.
"How much are you worth?" she asked, amused.
"That depends on the service. I am a fair merchant, after all. If you ask for the moon, I'll quote you the moon's weight in gold, but you'll have your moon."
A soft chuckle drifted through the air.
"I like you more and more. Very well. I'll visit your new restaurant once it opens, and we'll continue this discussion there."
"I'll reserve the best table for you, Your Highness," Bastion said with a bow before ushering the girls into the carriage.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked.
"I am not. I am merely heading inside to release the prisoners, Your Highness."
"Make it quick."
Once inside, they hurriedly tossed out the dozen prisoners they had intended to hand over to the kingdom. They would have fetched a respectable price as Rank 2 slaves, but there was no taking them along now.
The moment the last prisoner was released, Steve burst into a sprint at Bastion's command, pulling the carriage away. They wasted no time putting as much distance between themselves and the princess as possible as they raced back toward the capital.
"The fuck was all that?" Lilia exclaimed. "And who was that bitch?"
"That was Princess Aria Goldmane, one of the many lionesses in King Evander's harem," Ariel answered, a hint of dread in her voice. "She has a bit of a rebellious reputation, with the Jungle's Claws being her haven."
As a Storm Chaser, Ariel was far more attuned to the wind than anyone else. The instant the rangers' heads rolled, she knew their group was completely at Princess Aria's mercy the entire time. Those wind blades would have carved through every defense they possessed, and even she wouldn't have seen them coming in time to react.
Witnessing such mastery over wind sparked a new desire within Ariel. So much so that she was seriously considering changing classes, or at least leaning even more toward the mage path than the archer path she was currently on. Maybe it would be worth pursuing once they arrived at the Eastern Empire.
"She's a princess, though," Seraphina said before it clicked. "Incest? Do lions do that?"
"Our lions? Generally, no," Bastion answered. "A male usually leads a pride for no more than 2 years before he's replaced, while his daughters don't reach maturity until around 3 years of age. They rarely stay together long enough to mate. But if a lion manages to keep his pride long enough, then yes, it can happen."
"Is that why...?"
"It's a bit different here," Ariel answered. "The king essentially has authority over his daughters, and if he decides to marry one of them, he can accept the marriage on her behalf before she reaches adulthood. With the God's System in place to prevent genetic defects, the tradition strengthens the royal bloodline, increasing the chances that the next king, his son, can continue to hold the throne as well as their traditions."
"What about the harem?"
"By law, they're free to leave whenever they wish because they aren't slaves. In practice, though, their instincts rarely allow it, especially for the lionesses. They're fiercely loyal to the throne and will accept whoever becomes king. They also have a social hierarchy that drives the weakest females to leave in the interest of strengthening the bloodline. I believe there are currently a dozen of them, about half of them lionesses."
"What did you mean when you said, 'continue to hold the throne'?"
"By law, any male noble of a respectable bloodline, which generally means a feral feline species, may challenge the king to a formal duel. The winner claims the throne, while the loser is, at minimum, banished. Should the reigning king prevail, however, he has the right to execute the challenger."
"Why only men?"
"Technically, it's more tradition than law, but the reason is the harem. A female ruler would almost certainly be killed by the lionesses, whose instincts compel them to protect the pride. It has happened before. The victorious queen was torn to shreds before she even made it out of the arena. No one dared enforce the law because the lionesses were the most powerful women in the kingdom, and the tradition has endured ever since."
"How do you know all this?" Seraphina asked, impressed, almost bewildered. "It's incredibly detailed. Is all of that in the adventurer's journey map?"
"It's essentially every male feline demihuman's wet dream," Ariel said, rolling her eyes. "It's all they ever talk about at the Adventurers Guild, even though everyone and their father knows it's never going to happen."
As the girls continued their discussion, Bastion felt he'd pieced together the puzzle that was Princess Aria. Understanding her would give him valuable leverage when the restaurant finally opened after Elyra finished giving their three new Rank 2 slaves a crash course in cooking and fine dining. More importantly, it might be the only way to ensure Princess Aria didn't decide their "service" was meant to last indefinitely.
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