System's POV

Prince Aurelion conducted himself better than Princess Xynalia had expected.

However, it didn’t require much thinking to figure out what made him so.

His gaze would wander over Zia, who was seated between Princess Xynalia and Princess Laventia.

The two succubus princesses had an obviously protective stance, ready to move if ever the Dragonkin Prince ever harassed their little sister.

Despite their elegant posture and composed smiles, both Princess Xynalia and Princess Laventia exuded an oppressive aura that told anyone present, especially Prince Aurelion, that crossing certain lines would come with consequences.

And Prince Aurelion, to his credit, seemed to understand this.

Of course, the two Princesses couldn’t really do anything if he decided to have his way and snatched their youngest sister. They’d even be more hopeless once he had brought the beautiful succubus to his residence.

While it was a high-handed move, he believed that no one would be able to do anything to him even if he did what he wanted.

Even if the faction of the Succubus decided to go all out and fight him, their resistance was simply like moths fluttering before the flame.

However, he still held back. After all, he didn’t want the third princess of the Velmoria Kingdom to hate him.

Her cute and shy gestures were very pleasing to the eyes. Although he was tempted to see her fearful appearance, he decided to hold back… at least for now.

“Forgive me,” Prince Aurelion said with a slight smirk. “I was merely admiring how radiant your younger sister looks today. No offense was meant.”

Zia lowered her gaze and didn’t respond, her fingers lightly gripping the hem of her robe.

She really looked like a shy, innocent angel who didn’t know how to respond to such praise.

“As you can see, she’s very timid and can’t handle being around strangers,” Laventia answered coldly. “Her circumstances allow her to only meet with mother and us sisters. She doesn’t know how to react to people she is meeting for the first time.”

Aurelion raised both hands in a disarming gesture. “Of course. Of course.”

He leaned back in his chair, clearly not intending to make the young lady feel pressured.

Princess Xynalia exchanged a glance with her sister, Princess Laventia.

They both knew what this really was.

The Dragonkin Prince had failed to get what he wanted through political pressure. Now, he was trying to charm their “sister” instead.

‘How typical,’ Princess Xynalia thought.

She was well aware that the Kingdom of Velmoria had only managed to gain their neutrality through the sacrifices of the members of the Royal Family.

In the past, Princess Xynalia had already prepared herself for a political marriage to ensure the continued peace and prosperity of their kingdom.

But the opportunity to expand in another world had postponed her engagement. Her mother, the Queen of the Succubus Race, believed that this was an opportunity granted to them by fate.

As such, she followed her little sister, who acted as the Vanguard of their race, establishing her own faction and territory before she arrived alongside the army of the Succubus Race.

Unfortunately, things were more complicated than Princess Xynalia had expected, which had led to this very moment.

Their kingdom’s neutrality had earned them a place at the table, but not without cost.

Eyes were on them constantly, some coveting their beauty, others their power, and a few, like Prince Aurelion, both.

Zia was never meant to be in the public eye.

At least, that was the background story that she and Princess Laventia had come up with to protect Zia’s real identity.

‘How ironic,’ Princess Xynalia mused bitterly. ‘Would he still act this way if he knew the truth?’

The answer would be a simple no.

If Prince Aurelion knew that Zia was Zion Leventis, he would not hesitate to capture her at this very moment.

Of course, the Prince wouldn’t kill her until the transformation became undone. It was very obvious that he would subject Zia to humiliation until she was back to Zion.

“Prince Aurelion, if you have no more important matter to talk about—shall we end this meeting?” Princess Xynalia asked. “My sister needs to rest.”

“Oh, what a shame,” Prince Aurelion replied. “By the way, three days from now, we will be holding a gathering at our residence. We are expecting some special guests.”

“Special guests?” Princess Xynalia frowned. “Who?”

“The Artemians,” Prince Aurelion answered. “My people had reached out to them, and they decided to accept my invitation. While I didn’t talk to them personally, I received word that they are very open to collaborating with us in order to defeat the Wanderers.

“Of course, we need to cede some lands to them in return, which would allow us to become friendly neighbors with them. Things will be discussed further during the celebration, and I hope Princess Zia will be there to grace us with her presence.”

Before Princess Xynalia could even give a reply, the young lady beside her beat her to it.

“I will be there,” Zia said. “Thank you for the invitation.”

“Good!” Prince Aurelion smiled widely, doing his best to charm the young lady with his smile.

However, Zia once again lowered her head after giving her answer. Still, that was enough for the Prince to look forward to the banquet he would be holding in three day’s time.

After bidding his goodbye and promising he would give Zia a wonderful gift at the party, Prince Aurelion left with a spring in his step.

It was very obvious to see that he was in a very good mood despite the fact that he wasn’t able to force the succubus race to become his subordinates.

“Thank you, Zia,” Princess Xynalia said when the Prince and his entourage had finally left the airspace of their territory.

“Thanks for what?” Thirteen asked back.

“Prince Aurelion came here today to force us to become his subordinates,” Princess Xynalia replied. “At least, that was his original plan. It changed because you were here.”

Thirteen hesitated before nodding in understanding.

“But going to that banquet will be dangerous,” Princess Laventia said. “Not only will the Jinns go, but the Artemians will be there as well. Why must you take such a gamble?”

“That’s because I need to know what they are truly after,” Thirteen answered. “If Prince Aurelion and the Artemians allied themselves to each other, they would truly become a dangerous adversary.”

“If that happens, you can just blow them up like last time,” Princess Xynalia smiled. “That scene is still etched in my mind right now. Seeing Prince Aurelion’s defeated face made me so happy.”

However, the princess also thought it suspicious why Zion didn’t just obliterate his enemies if he had such a devastating weapon at his beck and call.

There were two reasons for this.

The first one was that he couldn’t use these weapons repeatedly and effectively wipe out all the Jinns from the face of the world.

The second reason was more complicated.

The God of Wanderers, The One, didn’t want Thirteen to single-handedly fight the invaders on his own.

While Thirteen fighting against the Rank 9 Sovereigns and the Majin Princes had gained The One’s approval, the Wanderers would also need to participate in the battle.

It was for this sole reason why the Wanderers were created.

If they couldn’t even fight for the sake of their own world, then what was the purpose of them gaining powers that it bestowed on them?

Thirteen wasn’t originally meant to become part of the world of Wanderers.

He was simply sent there against his will, and was even given so many restrictions.

Although they were happy to have him, they didn’t want the Wanderers to overly rely on him.

They had to grow on their own and overcome challenges, the sole reason for their existence.

Thirteen understood this, and had managed to wiggle a few underhanded deals like having Erasmus transfer from the Rigel Continent to the Aldebaran Continent.

His reason was simple.

He would help the Wanderers fight, but someone had to guard his family back home, so he could fight with some peace of mind.

The Laplace Demon and The One agreed to this condition, and it worked well in his favor.

As for the Wanderers, Thirteen agreed that they should fight for their own world.

This was why he was only planning to deal with the Rank 9 Sovereigns and above, beings still too powerful for the current Wanderers to face head-on.

“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to protect myself,” Thirteen said. “Also, make sure to bring Zapar—errr, Zafira with us to the party.”

Thirteen didn’t plan to explain Zapar’s powers because if he did, the succubus race would be the first one to feel threatened.

His power delved deep into the subconscious minds of women, planting suggestions that would take root and control the women’s thoughts, aligning them with Zapar’s wishes.

While Thirteen didn’t know if the Majin Princes’ abilities would work on the Azothralls, there was still a high chance that it would work on the Artemian women who had followed them in their expedition to Pangea.

‘I just hope no one in the party would see through my disguise,’ Thirteen thought.

Although the pill had transformed her entire body, making sure that there were no flaws, Zia still felt uneasy. After all, there were many kinds of abilities in the world, and one of them might be able to reveal her true identity.

Still, this gamble had a fairly high chance of success.

If things worked out the way they intended to, then they would have another hidden trump card during this war, where Wanderers would fight against the combined might of two enemies that wished to conquer their world.

————

A/N: I’m feeling slightly better. Regular chapters will resume tomorrow.

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