At Master’s request, the werecat mage Elmersia had returned home and been sending promising mages to Meraldia over the years. I was looking forward to seeing her again. Many Meraldians were coming along as well. Kumluk, who was from Kuwol but was now a Meraldian through and through, would join as an official ambassador. Parker was also tagging along since he was good friends with most of the river lords along the Mejire. As much as I wanted to leave him behind, he was too important to exclude.
I had also picked a few werewolves to serve as an honor guard. Monza, who’d somehow become Fahn’s right-hand woman, was leading the squad, which honestly worried me. Of course, the rising stars of the new generation—Friede, Shirin, Joshua, and Iori—were joining us too. The four of them had performed admirably during the dragon hunt. Everyone treated Friede as the leader of their little group, which surprised me. I’m proud of my daughter, and I think she’s grown up splendidly, but are you sure you want her as your leader?
As I watched everyone assemble, I felt someone tug on my sleeve.
“Hey, you sure I can’t come?” Ryucco asked, his ears drooping.
I gave him a small smile and said, “We’re not going to Kuwol for fun, you know? Besides, don’t you have to keep working on your teleportation device?”
“I mean, yeah, but...” Ryucco trailed off unhappily.
I crouched down to eye level and said, “I read your progress report. I’m amazed by what you’ve accomplished. If you can perfect the device, it’ll revolutionize trade and transportation. You’re basically inventing the aircraft of this world.”
“The heck is an ‘aircraft’?”
“Just think of it as giving everyone wings.”
“Well, if it’s that important, I guess I need to keep testing,” Ryucco replied, smiling bashfully. “Just you wait; I’ll have a working prototype ready by the time you get back!”
Definitely looking forward to it.
Ryucco seemed to have forgotten we were going to Kuwol to visit the werecat village. As a lagomorph, he had a deep-seated instinctual fear of carnivorous demon races, which was why I didn’t want to bring him. He’d spend half the trip scared out of his wits.
Once everyone had gathered, we set off for Kuwol. We first journeyed to Beluza to board one of the Demon Army’s new state-of-the-art ships. Thanks to all the trade revenue Meraldia brought in, the Demon Army finally had enough financial leeway to upgrade its equipment. Of course, Beluza was benefiting the most from the trading boom.
“I’d read the reports, but Beluza’s harbor really has grown,” I said. “The roads within the city are much better paved and maintained now.”
Parker turned to me with a smile. “Come to think of it, you haven’t had a chance to tour Meraldia in a long time.”
“Every time I try to make time for it, something pops up and takes priority. There are meetings practically every day now too.”
I was starting to miss the days before we occupied Ryunheit, when we just fought sporadic battles against the Senate’s army. I had a lot more freedom when I was just the leader of the werewolf squad. We could camp wherever we wanted in the forest, fight battles when appropriate, and roam as we pleased...
Seeing my nostalgic expression, Parker patted my shoulder and said, “All this peace and prosperity is thanks to you, Veight. We wouldn’t be here without all you’ve done.”
“It’s thanks to everyone’s efforts, really. Humans and demons worked together to forge this peace. I was just a small part of it.”
“Don’t be so humble. You’ve accomplished enough to go down in history as a legend! It’s about time you accepted that fact.”
“No thanks,” I rebutted. I would much rather be a humble Demon Lord’s Vice-Commander than some great hero.
Parker shook his head in exasperation, then turned to Friede. “How come your father’s so stubborn? As his soul brother, I’m worried about him.”
Friede put on a sad expression and said, “I’m worried about him too, Uncle Parker.”
Hold on, he is not your uncle. I desperately wanted to say something, but I held it in. I knew this was Parker’s ploy to rope me into the conversation.
Since I wasn’t taking the bait, Parker continued talking to Friede. “You know, I’ve started writing a history book. I’ve been around since the war between northern and southern Meraldia, after all. I’m from the south, and Melaine’s from the north, so we’re working together to write this history from as many viewpoints as possible.”
“Wow, that sounds like fun! I love reading about history!”
I’m glad you do. After becoming friends with Micha and Iori, Friede’s interest in geography and history had grown considerably. It was nice that she had friends broadening her horizons. Unfortunately, it seemed Parker was intent on feeding her misinformation.
“But you know, ever since the Meraldian Federation collapsed, practically every historical or important event has involved your dad. When we reach that point, it stops being a history book and becomes a list of Veight’s accomplishments.”
“But it’s true that dad did all that, right?” Friede asked, as if it was common knowledge that I was a legend.
“That’s right.” Parker nodded. “But if I record things truthfully, future generations will think it’s propaganda. I don’t want to be seen as a historian who spreads mistruths.”
“You’re never going to die, so can’t you just tell them the truth yourself, Uncle Parker?”
“Oh, good point. I could teach a course on Veight at Meraldia University...”
Please don’t. I couldn’t believe how brazenly they were discussing this in front of me. I leaned against the boat’s railing and hung my head over it, knowing there was nothing I could do to stop Parker from talking about me after I died.
There was a school of mermaids swimming around our ship. They were nautical escorts who kept an eye out for underwater dangers and used their magical song to speed along our journey. I waved a greeting to them, then let out a long sigh. Why does life never go the way you want it to, Friedensrichter?
Thankfully, the boat ride was uneventful, and we made it to Port Bahza without incident. Now that Bahza was trading regularly with Meraldia and Wa, they’d had to increase their number of docks, and the harbor had doubled in size since I’d last seen it. Despite its size, almost every dock was occupied. Bahza was completely unrecognizable from its old self, and I was suddenly looking forward to seeing how much the rest of Kuwol had transformed.