Ryan started to return to his dorm room with a frown on his face, deep in thought.
'I can't catch a break when it comes to this egg. Yoko's the daughter of a runaway ruler of the Multiverse, one of the big 7 races, and now I don't even have contact with her. I wonder why a person would even run away from their family.'
'I wish I had a family,' Ryan shook his head.
[New Message From: Harem Knight Velmuuth]
Having turned on his messages to display automatically, Ryan jolted when the notification appeared in his vision. 'Real smooth, Ryan.'
Clicking to view the prompt, Ryan grinned, seeing the three-word message.
[I have returned.]
Assuming she was in his dorm room, Ryan quickened his pace.
===
Flashback to outside the Dawn Pavilion before Ryan's trip to the portal realm...
"Velmuuth," Ryan said, looking at his newly acquired knight.
"Yes, my Lord?"
"How do you think the Zol'Gan Empire would react if they heard about me?"
"What exactly do you mean, my Lord?" Velmuuth asked, tilting her head.
"If they learned a human overlord swore an oath to destroy the Kheaweth Empire and is currently bedding two of their princesses. How would they react?"
A smirk appeared on Velmuuth's chiseled face. "I'd say the Empress would declare you a national hero, seeing as we hate the Kheaweth Empire and the Holy Alliance almost as much as you."
pαпdα Йᴏνê1,сòМ "Why?"
"It's a long story, but the short version is that the four original Empress's of the Holy Alliance attacked and fatally injured our original Empress, Lady Zol'Gan."
"Was there a reason?"
"If there was, it's not well known."
Nodding, Ryan told Velmuuth his plan. "I want you to set up a meeting between myself and Lizzy and Izzy's mother."
"You won't regret this, my Lord," Velmuuth said enthusiastically.
"Alright, go meet up with your team."
===
Back to the present...
Ryan entered his dorm room and found Velmuuth waiting for him in front of the large window in the corner of his room, her back against the wall so that she could look out into the night sky. She looked over her shoulder, hearing Ryan enter.
"My Lord!" Velmuuth said, inclining her head.
Ryan waved his hand dismissively and said, "Let's get down to business. Please take a seat."
The two sat on opposite couches facing each other, and Velmuuth waited patiently until Ryan began to speak. "How did the trip to Zol'Gan Empire go?"
Velmuuth cleared her throat. "Everything went perfectly, my Lord. The Empress agreed to your request. But, unfortunately, the earliest she can meet is three weeks from today due to unchangeable circumstances."
"That's fine. It seems nothing will happen until the wedding anyway," Ryan muttered.
"The Grand Prince's wedding, my Lord?"
"You know about it?"
"Everyone knows about it, my Lord. It's the most important news the Four Great Empires has had in decades."
"Then, can you tell me what you know about it?" Ryan asked curiously.
"What exactly do you want to know about it?" Velmuuth answered, still sitting rigidly on the edge of the couch as if waiting for an attack from an unknown enemy.
Ryan mused, "Let's just say something seems off."
Velmuuth nodded, "It's funny you should say that because that's what my squad thinks too."
"The wedding should have never happened. No one knows why the Grand Empress, the real head of the Kheaweth Empire, would trade her precious grandson to the Ice General."
Velmuuth continued, "Although the Frost General is strong, the Holy alliance isn't as tight-knit as they would want you to believe. They are different from what their name suggests, they have rivalries with each other all the time, but it never escalates to anything significant."
Ryan nodded without a word.
Getting permission to continue, Velmuuth explained, "Obtaining a marriage to a direct descendant of the Kheaweth Empire would make the Alliance side in Kheaweth's favor since there are only two other alliance members."
"You mean the Red Dragon Empire and the Holy Phoenix Empire?" Ryan asked.
Velmuuth nodded, "Yes."
Ryan asked another question, "Then why is the wedding happening?"
Velmuuth answered, "Do you remember how I told you that the Holy Alliance is controlling the Dawn Pavilion?
Seeing Ryan's silent agreement, Velmuuth continued, "Several years ago, Grand Empress Kheaweth offered to buy the remaining shares of the Dawn Pavilion from the other alliance members for an astronomical sum. When she was rejected, the alliance fell into disarray as things became very tense. We believe Empress Kheaweth is spiteful and would marry her grandson to gain favor with her most prestigious and highest-ranked general rather than marry him to one of the alliance members.
Ryan frowned, thinking, 'Although that theory makes sense, there's no way a highly intelligent cultivator would throw away such an excellent opportunity to gain the advantage in their turbulent Alliance.'
'Could Grace's mother be right, and this is an attempt to take over the Dawn Pavilion? And what does this have to do with me?'
Ryan broke his silence and looked up at Velmuuth, "Can you tell me about this wedding tournament?"
Velmuuth nodded, "It used to be a tradition long ago. It's Inspired by medieval times in the Fantasy World. The-"
Ryan interrupted, "I hear about this Fantasy World a lot. What is it exactly?"
Velmuuth grinned, "The Fantasy World is like a portal spell, but it happens in a dream. For example, high-ranking cultivators, when they rank up to A-Rank or higher, they have a chance to fall into this deep trance-like state that lasts years, but in reality, it happens in a blink of an eye.
"Some manage to have Enlightenment from the heavens and are transported to the Fantasy World inside their mind."
Ryan asked, "Why is it called the Fantasy World?"
Velmuuth answered, "We can access the realm in some fashion, but it contains no energy, so it's not exactly real. The people inside are likely figments of our imagination; at least, that's what everyone believes."
"Alright, let's get back on topic," Ryan said, anxious to hear more.
"The tournament will determine the true groom of the Frost General's daughter. Since no one would dare beat the Prince, it's just a way for the Kheaweth Empire to show its power," Velmuuth said.
'Unless they happened to brainwash someone to beat the Grand Prince,' Ryan thought and asked, "What would happen if someone were to beat the Prince?"
Velmuuth paused, tapping her chin. "That person would probably die on the spot. Then war would break out against the kingdom that dared do such a thing."
'Great,' Ryan thought, 'just great.'
His mind went to memories of Protocol Z, where he had been instructed to remember the first five years of his life. Ryan thought it unlikely that the Human Empire would want to kill him if he won.
'But then, what is their goal?'
Noticing Ryan's sad look, Velmuuth thought that Ryan was confused about why no war would break out.
She explained, "Weddings on Ravier aren't so much about love; they are about alliances."
"If someone were to defeat the Grand Prince and take the Frost General's daughter as his own, that would be paramount to saying they are now allied with the Frost General."
Ryan clarified, "You said Grand Empress Kheaweth was interested in taking over the other portions of the Dawn Pavilion? Does that mean someone else also owns a portion?"
Velmuuth nodded, "The Holy Alliance members own 90% of the organization's profits. But Aurora owns everything. She just can't move it. At least that's the rumor."
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