I watch as the procession advances through Elphen’s large main street.

There are quite a few bodyguards, but I don’t have any way to guess at their ranks, other than a nebulous feeling telling me that any one of them could crush me with his pinky finger.

Several luxurious carriages – which are probably more solid than they look, considering they made the trip through the Frontline without even scratching their gilding – follow along in the middle of the protective encirclement of these numerous bodyguards, imperial flags flying over each of them.

…How ostentatious.Continue reading

I wake up with a terrible hangover and with a naked girl I don’t recognize sharing my bed, her legs entangled with mine and her head on my shoulder, her peaceful breath tickling the side of my neck.

And once I make a small effort of will and direct my body to break down the alcohol inside me, the hangover disappears, which leaves only the naked girl.

I have no idea who she is, exactly, but that doesn’t prevent me from appreciating the way the early sunlight caresses her skin. I decide to follow the sunlight’s example and slowly run my fingers over the curve of her hip. The girl shifts slightly under my touch and lets out a blurry moan, but she doesn’t wake up.

I smile mischievously and gently push her down onto her back, then get on top of her. Once again, she frowns a little as her sleep is disturbed.Continue reading

The convoy slowly makes its way across the wasteland.

The edge of the contaminated zone is just a few hundred meters away. There, wispy fumes rise up from the black, cracked ground, reflecting the fuzzy starlight. A few crooked, leafless trees dot the slopes of the hills, here and there. Small critters flit from one to the next, hiding in their roots and peering furtively in our direction, their small eyes glowing brightly in the darkness. Every now and then, the wind rattles the carriage’s windows, and airborne sand scrapes against the walls and roof.

Since any normal animal would quickly die in the Frontline’s environment, an earth golem pulls the carriage instead. A rhythmic, regular pounding shakes the floor and resonates with a dull thud each time it takes a slow, ponderous step. The sound of the golem’s footsteps is the only thing breaking the silence inside the carriage, apart from the quiet breathing of its occupants.

So deep into the night, most of the passengers are sleeping, but even then, the atmosphere is filled with tension. Everyone here knows that an attack could come at any moment, so people can only sleep very lightly, nerves tight and ready.Continue reading

Paperwork.

That is the backbone of running an empire, apparently.

It’s all rather tedious, but not exactly difficult. Most of the work is delegated to subordinates selected a long time ago by my father. Subordinates already used to their responsibilities, who all know to deliver proper results.

Indeed, just that the seat of ‘Emperor’ has fallen onto my lap doesn’t mean that the entire hierarchy and command structure is going to change. That would be ridiculous. Since everything already works pretty well, there is no real need to replace people left and right. At most, I only need to clean up those who suddenly get it into their heads that I might be an easier target than Father, and try to rise above their station.Continue reading

Haris’s punch landed firmly on the side of Akasha’s face.

The impact rang out like an explosion, and the little girl was sent flying across the room, crashing through the wall there, and the wall after that, and the one after that again, the sound of destruction and crashing rubble following her all the way.

Haris stayed in this position, with his fist raised, stone dust obscuring his sight.

He blinked.
Continue reading

When I open my eyes, I’m still inside the capsule, soaking in the healing solution that fills it to the brim. Even though I’m completely submerged, I have no trouble breathing. It takes me a moment to shake off the daze hanging over my mind and remember why I’m here at all. Those several rounds of treatment have been quite exhausting.

But at least, my wounds have closed.

I managed to escape from that explosion alive, but not unscathed. But I suppose I shouldn’t complain, simply surviving the blast could already be considered some kind of miracle.

A miracle that cost me a shielding artifact and three Rebirth pills…Continue reading

“Is there something wrong, your Grace?” Viktor Odhran asked as he watched the strange young maid fly off into the distance.

“I’m not quite sure myself,” Duke Solaire replied. “Finram, do you know?”

Lord Finram shook his head, looking even more dumbfounded than everybody else here. “I don’t have the slightest idea.”

“Well, I assume Akasha will come back if she wishes to. In any case, few of us could catch up to her and ask her what happened, now. Oh, I’ll be sure to reimburse you for the damages your courtyard sustained, Earl Odhran,” the duke added after a moment, looking at the shattered ground where the young maid had jumped. “I’m terribly sorry about this.”Continue reading