The Hundred Reigns 236: The Land of the Warlords (16) (Patreon)

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As a true master organizer and event planner, it only took Anna a few days to organize a small family getaway at one of the royal family’s private resorts.

Simon had never been invited to one during his years as an isolated bastard, but he recalled imagining the Sanctuary’s island of Boreas would put them all to shame. He turned out to be half-right; for while Navarre’s sandy beaches lacked any beautiful vegetation, the resort did offer many more amenities such as a pool, a mansion with a well-stocked bar, a cadre of servants to entertain their every whim, and even a massive gold-plated pleasure barge. Balzam Magnos apparently enjoyed using it to relax with paramours or to go on crocodile hunts. 

Anna had gathered nearly the entire royal family here alongside a handful of retainers, with only Dassein and Lauriane declining to focus on Operation Meteor-related matters while Norbelle remained in Cocagne for now. Even Maublanc and Louis had agreed to come with their significant others.  

Of course, they had many methods of communication and teleportation gems available to continue coordinating the empire from their location. The likes of Maublanc wouldn’t entirely relax, but it was probably the closest thing to a moment of free time Simon had experienced in his more recent reigns.

Simon spent most of the morning playing ‘catch’ with Louis, Hector—who masqueraded as a golem—and Thalas on the beach, which involved all three of them firing at the Warrior with crossbows. Simon would watch his brother catch the bolts with his gauntlet, then throw them back until it passed a few inches past the sender’s ear. 

It was quite a bizarre event. Certainly the exercise served a practical purpose in Louis demonstrating a prized Technique to his siblings, but Simon didn’t recall the three of them ever doing anything so mundane together. Was this how normal siblings behaved when not trying to kill each other?

“Arrow-Snatcher is an unarmed Technique developed by a Fablan Monk to catch and throw back ranged weapon at its sender, turning the enemy’s strength against themselves,” Louis explained. “Unlike what the name suggests, it works with any ranged weapon, not just arrows. It allowed me to catch one of our sniper’s bullets in midair.”

“Did you manage to throw it back at them?” Simon inquired.

“I tried, but I lacked the strength to throw it back across hundreds of miles.” Louis smiled thinly at Simon’s obvious displeasure. “A Technique is only as strong as its user, and I have yet to reach the apex of my Class.” 

Disappointing, but not unexpected. Simon strongly suspected the sniper had used a potent Crafter-enhanced rifle to threaten him from that distance. 

Simon’s Warmonger treated his Overlord armor’s gauntlets and boots as weapons, which in turn synergized with Armsmaster to let him learn certain hand-to-hand Techniques. Louis saw fit to teach him a defensive one to help deal with that cursed Musan sniper in the future. 

Unfortunately, they had confirmed this loophole didn’t apply to broader Body Techniques, since those relied on breathing, quick movements, sleight of hand, or unique biological traits like tails or wings. This meant the likes of the Ninja’s Kawarimi were beyond him, alongside many of the Dancer’s dances. Simon should be able to transcend that issue by consuming the Monk’s Crestone, but he only had one open Devour Crestone slot and too many good choices to pick from at the moment. 

“Some Techniques require specific Affinities to work as well.” Louis summoned a warhammer into his hand. “Witness.”

He raised the weapon to the sky, and although there wasn’t a single cloud to mar the horizon, a lightning bolt struck the warhammer out of nowhere and charged it with electricity. Louis then threw it at the beach, its impact unleashing a thunderclap mighty enough to scatter the sand and startle the women currently sipping cocktails on the beach. The hammer then returned to Louis’ hand on its own afterwards.  

“Lightning Hammer is a hammer and mace Technique channeling the thunder’s might into itself,” Louis told his siblings. “Since you both have a good Lightning affinity, this would be a welcome addition to your arsenal.”

“I can already infuse my axe with the Lightning element,” Thalas replied gruffly.

“But you lack range options. It will cost you one day should you face an enemy you cannot close in on.” An insightful statement, considering how Thalas had fallen to the likes of Vouivre in the past. “As for you, Simon, Techniques do not rely on magic and should prove useful against the Musan Champions.”

“Didn’t you want me to focus on my fundamentals first?” Simon pointed out. He wasn’t denying the use of elemental Techniques—they were useful and learning them would take less time than creating new miasmic spells—but he already had so much on his plate.

“You can do both. Your issue, Simon, is that you are excellent when it comes to adapting to new circumstances, but short-sighted when it comes to preparation. Take your use of your Inventory. You should never leave home without oils to anoint your weapons with—”

“I can’t believe it!” Anna shouted from under her umbrella. She and her ever-growing court of female attendants had been enjoying themselves until Louis’ Lightning Hammer interrupted their discussion. “This is supposed to be a relaxing getaway, not a training session!”

“This is Milord’s way to relax,” Isabelle Barbatos replied. She looked a bit more subdued than usual, perhaps because she had something on her mind. “He enjoys teaching more than he lets on.”

Louis smiled thinly. “It appears our ladies demand our attention.”

“They do,” Simon replied with a sigh. “I’ll never catch up to you at this rate.”

“Do not blame yourself,” Louis reassured him. “Father relentlessly trained us for twenty years, giving us trainers and pointers to ensure we made the best use of our Classes so we could become his perfect little tools. It is impressive enough you reached your current level of power in just a few months.”

“Yes, it is,” Thalas replied with a wary tone. He still sounded convinced Simon had been possessed. 

“You have made fantastic progress yourself,” Simon pointed out. He had checked his brother’s Party System screen and confirmed he had shot past level 73 in record time. “You’ve made the best use of my gifts.”

“It’s not just your Party System’s boost. I feel I’m progressing faster now that…” Thalas scowled and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

Simon raised an eyebrow, while Hector spoke up. “I feel it too, Your Highness… I feel more in tune with my Executioner Class now that my mind is clear.”

“The Berserker is as much about mastering one’s anger as it is about surrendering to it,” Louis mused. “Perhaps you’re finally finding your true strength, Thalas.”

Thalas’ scowl darkened in response, with Simon putting two and two together: their last encounter had put the Berserker on the same path he had trod during their feud back when he worked with Vouivre. He was letting go of his hatred for his sibling, and in doing so, slowly stepping out of their father’s shadow. 

Louis was probably right. Thalas had hidden strengths Balzam Magnos never let him develop, because he always mistook compassion for weakness. This might be an avenue to explore to ensure they could survive the Zodiac Parade together. 

Simon had used the last few days to rehearse in his head what had gone wrong with this reign and drawn a few conclusions. First, while Euphemia could kill Vouivre with certainty, the latter only risked herself when the Beast Class’ power made her overconfident; she would otherwise swallow her pride and flee to fight another day. The best way to deal with her was simply to wait for her to unlock the Noble Crestone, and then kill her to steal it.

Second, while destroying the Attic gravely impacted the Cobweb’s operations, it wouldn’t remove their threat so long as Valravn, Silk, and their kind remained active. Those two eels would always slip away unless he came down hard on them as soon as the reigns began. He was wondering if he shouldn’t just prioritize annihilating them first and foremost. 

Third, he had severely underestimated the Crafter’s power. Maublanc was confident they would eventually defeat Muse at war—although they lacked the troops to occupy it for long—but Simon was certain the Champions would make them pay dearly for every inch of territory. He had to find out more about the mysterious inventor, either to win a war with the republic or avoid one entirely. 

Fourth… he needed to work harder to win the Sanctuary over. Letting Alcyone escape had been bad enough on its own, but alienating Eole through his negligence and summoning Vayan without warning had sealed the deal. He would have to be more careful in the future. 

And finally, neither appeasement nor all-out war worked on their own to unite the world against the Zodiac Parade. Both approaches created as many enemies as they neutralized. Simon was starting to wonder if allying with one party over the other was truly the best way to deal with Endymion’s woes. 

Maybe I should just bunker down the empire and leave the rest of Brimir to fend for itself until the Zodiac Parade? Simon’s fog defense could engulf all of Endymion and its tributaries, ensuring no armies could bother him for some time. If I can’t save the entire world, maybe I can at least preserve a portion of it… but that would make me no better than those cowards in Illusea.

On the other hand, he had to admit that this reign had confirmed something he already suspected: a united House Magnos was poised to conquer the world.

They were still winning the war by such a margin that its leaders could afford to take a short vacation. Valne had fallen, Muse was bogged down in its borders, and Lore would become their next target in the following months. Maublanc’s strategy was working, Louis and other War Party assets could decimate the enemy, and Anna had successfully convinced the Church Party to maintain the peace at home. Even Euphemia knew better than to cause them trouble and kept Cocagne firmly in the imperial camp in spite of her doomed attempts at diplomacy. 

A united Endymion could run itself well-enough that it didn’t need an Overlord leading the charge. Maybe that was why his father had planned to attack Illusea directly rather than start with Valne. He probably believed they had enough strength to cut off the serpent’s head. 

Overall, Simon was now convinced he should spend time and maybe a few reigns to train before he assumed the Overlord mantle. His leveling rate had slowed down to a crawl and he still struggled with some combat fundamentals, but he had other ways to improve himself: binding more eidolons, mastering more Techniques, learning more spells and Performances, developing battle scripts as Alcyone suggested, devouring the Crafter Crestone, alchemically unlock more of his Darkblood latent abilities, unlocking his Remembrances, maybe investigate Libromancy… Simon was skipping the steps and trying to do too many things at once. 

He had gone wide; now he needed depth. 

—------------------------

To ensure Simon would spend the day relaxing rather than train, Anna had them take a trip on the pleasure barge. 

Brightly painted and trimmed with gold, the vessel’s polished planks glimmered in the sun. Painted columns supported a silken dais protected by curtains and drowning in comfortable cushions. Simon had to admit the faint sea breeze flowing on his face was rather pleasant. Anna had taken only a very small crew with them, namely Elaine, Tiella, Cassandra, Hector, and a handful of servants. 

“I tried to invite my father and stepmother to join us, but they declined,” Anna informed Simon as the couple slouched on the pillows. “Things aren’t going well between them.” 

“So I’ve heard,” Simon admitted. “It’s… disappointing.”

Antonine had telepathically informed him that, one, Euphemia had been trying to use Cocagne as an intermediary to negotiate peace treaties with Muse, Lore, and potentially Illusea; and two, that she and Maublanc spent most of their private time arguing over the war’s direction. He remained dedicated to bombarding Lore back to the stone age and then doing the same to Muse, whereas she wanted to tone down the attacks as a peace offering to secure a truce. 

All in all, imperial politics had torn apart their marriage before it could even take off.

Simon felt some sympathy for Euphemia. It was a difficult thing to waste years pining for a dream and realize it might not have been worth it. Maybe her relationship with Maublanc would flourish better in different circumstances, or she needed someone else to be happy… a better man who could satisfy her needs like with Remedia…

“Are you pitying them?” Anna asked. As always, she was far too perceptive for her own good. 

“I admit I thought they would get along better. They suffered a lot because of my father, and I thought they had feelings for each other.”

“Maybe they each had an image of the other in their heads,” Cassandra said sharply. “Ones that did not match reality.”

“I think so, yes.” Anna rested her head on Simon’s shoulder. “Euphemia thought she could fill the hole my mother left in my father’s heart, but it’s too big; and he mistook their political alignment for personal affinity.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Simon said. Speaking of relationships… “Hector.”

His retainer, who had been busy fanning his sister and the group, turned his helmeted head their way. “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“What was your relationship with my sister, Lauriane?” The question had been bugging Simon since he woke up. 

The helmet-possessed golem straightened up. “I… was in her service.”

“It was more than that, wasn’t it?” Simon had suspected there was more to it for some time. “Back when I awoke from a coma, she said she was afraid of losing me like she lost you. I don’t believe she would feel that way for just any soldier.”

Anna raised an eyebrow, her expression darkening. “She never told you?” 

Simon had begun to suspect the truth before Hector warily confirmed it. “Your lady sister and I were once… engaged.”

“Engaged?” Now that took Simon aback. He had expected a discreet emotional affair rather than a full-on betrothal. “I never knew.”

“Lauriane’s engagement was a well-kept secret,” Anna said. “Father only told me many years later that she had had an affair with one of her knights, but that was kept under wraps. Powerful nobles would have plotted her paramour’s murder to free the way to her bed had it been publicly known.” 

“Yes… I suspect one engineered the attack that… ended me.” Hector’s voice brimmed with sorrow. “Moreover, a princess of her rank… was far above my meager station… Her father reluctantly approved the betrothal out of affection for Lady Lauriane… but he ordered us to keep it secret… and to wait.”

Because he knew you would die. Simon wouldn’t put it beyond Balzam Magnos to allow the tragedy to occur so he could exploit Duchar’s and Lauriane’s grief for his own benefit. Or maybe he simply couldn’t care less.

“My brother perished protecting her from a goblinoid ambush many years ago,” Cassandra said. “She was very sad about it.”

“That’s awful…” Tiella commented with genuine sympathy. “But… wouldn’t she keep your brother close to her now?”

“She believes my father was wrong to… to bring me back,” Hector admitted. “That I am not the man I used to be. She’s… correct, I believe. All that’s left of my feelings… is a memory of a memory… and sorrow.”

“Half of you is better than none, brother,” Cassandra reassured him. “We will mend your wounds and truly return you to life one day.”

Hector remained silent, and Simon could read between the lines. Seeing her former fiancé in this undead state only deepened his sister’s pain and guilt for failing to save him. She couldn’t grieve properly. 

“Between us, I think that’s why Lauriane is so overprotective of you and your siblings,” Anna whispered into his ear. “She’s afraid of losing you like she lost him.”

Simon found that plausible. Lauriane had always struck him as more emotional than she let on. She had been willing to murder her ‘father’ when Simon impersonated him in a mistaken attempt to avenge her mother and sibling, after all. Watching him nearly perish from that sniper’s bullet no doubt reopened old wounds. 

“Speaking of engagements…” Tiella coughed. “Is Your Majesty planning one for me now that my old one has been set aside?”

Anna laughed. “Are you so eager to lose your newfound freedom, Tiella?” 

“What freedom? I had to abandon going to the Academy for you.” Tiella smiled ear to ear. “I’m drowning in offers now that everyone thinks I’m His Majesty’s mistress, but I–” 

“What?” Simon’s head perked up. “What did you just say?”

Tiella giggled. “Your Majesty had a Dreadnought Crestone delivered to me before falling into a coma.”

“For your own safety, and because I foresaw you would make good use of it.” Simon scowled in annoyance. “Don’t tell me people misinterpreted that gesture?”

“Simon, Simon…” Anna shook her head. “You have my dear Tiella’s fiancé imprisoned for sedition, break her engagement, and then send her a precious Crestone gift? And you wonder how gossips might interpret it as you showing interest in our dear Tiella? Not to mention you elevated her brother’s new fiancée to the rank of countess…”

“Robert was a traitor, and Meredith deserved her promotion.” Simon grunted in annoyance. “I’m sorry, Tiella. I didn’t mean to cause you trouble.”

“No need to apologize, Your Majesty,” Tiella reassured him. “As I said, I’m drowning in marriage proposals now. Everyone thinks my future-husband will have the Overlord’s ear.”

“Elaine has accumulated many suitors too,” Anna mused. She eyed her half-elf handmaiden. “She took the rumors less well than Tiella.”

Elaine didn’t dignify the response with an answer, much to Simon’s annoyance. “I see your disposition hasn’t improved since our last discussion,” he observed. “I thought returning your father’s soul to your care would have been proof enough of my sincerity.”

“I am grateful for Your Majesty sparing my family’s life, and returning my father’s ghost to me,” Elaine replied, her gaze icy. “However, I cannot respect a man who can poison an entire nation and still think he’s a good person.”

A tense and awkward silence fell over the barge, which Simon broke. “Because I disgust you, or because I remind you that you aren’t a good person either?”

“Both.” Elaine frowned as she assessed Simon. She seemed vaguely puzzled that he hadn’t exploded at her like last time. 

“Does Your Majesty not think of themselves as a good person anymore?” Cassandra asked.

“It’s…” The memory of Musan civilians transforming into monstrous slimes, and an imaginary vision of Eole in a cell, flashed through Simon’s mind. “It doesn’t matter.”

“I know the antidote to a troubled mind,” Anna mused as her hand caressed his chest. “I could administer it right now.”

Simon smiled as he welcomed the distraction. “Right in front of your handmaiden and Cassandra?”

“They’re welcome to participate if they don’t want to feel excluded,” Anna replied, much to Simon’s shock. “I have seen the looks you send Cassandra, and Tiella was looking forward to losing her virginity at the Academy. Everyone already thinks you had your way with her already, so what would it change? You’ve nearly died on me, so I can let it slide this once.”

“Does Your Majesty fancy me?” Cassandra asked with genuine curiosity while her brother remained eerily quiet. “I have never been courted, so I cannot tell.”

“I… I do,” Simon admitted, his hand pulling Anna closer. “But I’m married, and that should mean something.” 

What happened with Maublanc and Euphemia—nay, even his own marriage to the latter—only hammered home that fact. 

“I’m pleased to hear that, Simon.” Anna stroked his hair. “Well, in that case, I guess you could summon that fog of yours for some privacy…”

—-----

The group spent most of the evening and the night on the barge. 

Anna found something of a workaround to deal with his hang-ups: namely, using the Brand of Envy to change her appearance into women he continued to lust for. Simon could immediately tell the difference compared to bedding the real Remedia—besides the lack of teleportation, Anna always acted differently—but it was still a very pleasant roleplay. 

All in all, Simon found sleep rather easily… until Anna woke up screaming in the middle of the night, startling everyone. 

“What the…” Simon held Anna as she gasped for air, sweat dripping down her forehead. “What’s going on? Did you have a nightmare?”

“I… no, not a nightmare… too vivid…” Anna covered her mouth with her hand. “The earth… the earth was screaming…”

“You had a vision?” Did unlocking Pharis’ Remembrances allow her to unlock some passive Visionary dreams? “What did you see?”

“Death.” Anna had turned paler than chalk. “Death from the sky.”

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