Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

The following morning in the expanding city within Dion’s domain, a rooster crowed to signal the rising sun. A man in his early thirties opened his front door and stepped outside, inhaling the fresh morning air and stretching his body.

”Morning,” a man in his mid-thirties greeted him as he passed by carrying a hoe toward the fields.

The first man glanced at him. ”Morning. Looks like a clear day today.”

”Yep... See you around,” the passing man replied, heading toward the farm.

The first man watched him walk off toward the fields, but suddenly, a massive shadow blanketed him from behind. He turned around but saw no one there. Yet when he looked straight up, his eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and all color drained from his face. A colossal floating island hovering at a surprisingly low altitude was slowly passing directly above the town. Shaken to his core, the man collapsed onto his rear, his entire body trembling.

”W-what is that?” he gasped.

The floating island drifted over the sizeable city, which had grown rapidly thanks to the ceaseless labor of the golems. Meanwhile, inside the command bridge:

”Everything is set, Lady Olga. The island is aligned with its destination,” a crewman in front reported.

”Good. Adjust our course and proceed directly with landing,” Olga commanded.

The island came to a halt in midair, then drifted to the right, positioning itself immediately beside the city constructed by the golems. A massive tremor rumbled through the ground below, terrifying the townspeople; the golems held their ground and stood at attention, saluting the sky. The river encircling Dion’s residential city suddenly drained, and the land adjacent to the city right behind the river collapsed inward, forming a giant circular canyon equal in size to the floating landmass of Mageford above. Two colossal chains shot up from deep within the earth, ”Clang!” locking themselves onto the floating island.

”We are ready for touchdown, Lady Olga,” the operator at the front announced.

”Very well. Begin landing procedures,” Olga replied.

”Understood, Lady Olga,” the entire bridge crew responded in unison.

Luna, Cleo, Aria, Mei, and Sheila stood behind Olga, silently praying for a smooth descent. Meanwhile, Dion stared intently at a side monitor, his jaw clenching as he caught sight of his estate or more precisely, the hill sitting right behind it. Thanks to the recent earth-shaking tremor, the hill had crumbled, revealing that the structure behind Dion’s mansion was actually a massive crystal pyramid with its top sheared off flat. He could see his parents’ tomb resting completely intact upon the flat apex of the pyramid.

”Good grief,” Dion muttered under his breath.

”Yep... That is the true form of the hill behind your home. Besides Mageford and your city, Xandor possessed one final city. While Mageford served as the magic city, the last one was a military city, supposedly located somewhere among the nearby ruins, according to the relief records beneath Mageford,” Olga explained.

”This is... truly extraordinary. I am grateful to witness all of this in my lifetime,” Cleo said, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

”Alright then. Allow me to step outside once we touch down,” Mei requested.

”Huh? Why?” Sheila asked.

Mei pointed to one of the monitors displaying a live feed of the surrounding area, including the one-kilometer-wide circular canyon behind them. She had spotted several Shadow Hand operatives clad in all-black sneaking out from their hiding spots, evidently startled by the sight of a floating island in the middle of landing.

”Oh... Those guys... Shadow Hand? They were still watching us?” Aria asked.

”Looks like it,” Mei answered.

”Good thing they exposed themselves. Now we know where those scouts are hiding. Need a hand, Mei?” Sheila asked, cracking her knuckles.

”No need, I can handle it myself. Alright, I’ll go get ready,” Mei replied casually.

Mei stepped out of the bridge, shutting the door behind her. Meanwhile, Dion kept his eyes fixed on the hill behind his house.

”So... that means my secret chamber was actually part of an Aztec-style pyramid all along?” Dion asked, utterly bewildered.

”Aztec?” Luna, Cleo, Aria, and Sheila echoed in confusion.

”Ah, right... Never mind,” Dion brushed it off.

”You sound like you know something,” Cleo pressed immediately.

”Aaargh... Please stop analyzing every single word I say like I’m hiding something!” Dion snapped in frustration.

”Very well, Your Highness,” Cleo teased softly.

”Don’t call me Your Highness!” Dion shouted, thoroughly stressed.

The island descended further and further until its lower subterranean structure settled deep into the earth, its upper surface aligning seamlessly with the surrounding terrain. The river refilled its banks, and Mageford’s outer defensive walls automatically linked with the barriers built by Dion’s golems, merging the two cities side-by-side into a single sprawling metropolis separated only by the river. Once the rumbling finally subsided:

”Is it over?” Luna asked.

”We have arrived and landed safely. Let us head outside,” Olga said, rising from her captain’s chair with a smile as she surveyed everyone.

Olga then turned toward Dion, who was still staring at the screen. She stepped behind him and offered an elegant bow.

”Welcome home, Your Highness,” Olga said smoothly.

Dion turned around, his face no longer pale, but rather a sickly shade of green and blue looking as though he might throw up at the sound of being called ”Your Highness.” Meanwhile, Luna, Aria, Sheila, and Cleo stood behind her, fighting with all their might to hold back their laughter and maintain composed expressions.

”Lady Olga... please don’t call me Your Highness. I’m no king, I’m just a regular guy,” Dion pleaded.

”Thanks to you, Mageford has returned to where it belongs. You opened the seal, you are the master of this domain, and you alone possess the power to unlock the giant seal at the back. Therefore... you are our king, Your Highness,” Olga stated calmly and respectfully.

Dion wanted to argue, but he couldn’t deny the reality: he really was the one who broke the seal, restored the floating city of Mageford to its rightful place, and owned the domain housing the massive ancient seal. He turned toward Luna, Aria, Sheila, and Cleo behind Olga, desperately seeking backup and defense. Instead, all four crossed their arms and nodded along, silently agreeing that Olga’s words were entirely spot-on. Finally, he threw in the towel.

”Sigh... Fine. But please, drop the ’Your Highness.’ It gives me the creeps,” Dion groaned.

”Very well... Dion,” Olga replied with a smile. ”Oh, and one more thing, as Luna’s only and eldest sister, I give you my full permission and blessing to marry her.”

”Okay... okay... thank you,” Dion sighed in defeat, too exhausted to argue any further.

”Now then, are there any ancient ruins nearby? To unlock the seal at the back, all three cities must be gathered together. According to the records, the last city was situated near the capital of Xandor, though the relief didn’t specify its exact location,” Olga noted.

”Hmm... Ancient ruins, huh?” Luna pondered.

”I have no clue. This domain was completely enclosed by forest, though someone recently blasted a shortcut straight through to Eredor,” Aria said, shooting a side-eye at Dion.

”Okay, my bad,” Dion grunted defensively.

”Wait a second... Remember when Dion and Gina got kidnapped?” Sheila brought up.

”Ah, right! That time you fought the Cave Leviathan and came home carrying that giant magic stone... You mentioned waking up in some ancient ruins back then, didn’t you?” Cleo chimed in, glancing over at Dion.

”Ugh... yeah... I remember,” Dion muttered weakly.

”Alright, tell me where those ruins are located. We will go investigate them,” Olga requested.

”Those ruins are located behind...”

Dion cut himself off mid-sentence. He knew the location of those ruins, but they used to be completely unreachable through the dense forest since they sat right near the outer boundary along the road to Eredor. However, now that there was a direct path cleared straight from his domain to Eredor, those ruins could be accessed with ease through that very same road.

”Aaaah... This is all because of Rene!” he groaned, tossing his hair in frustration.

Luna, Aria, Sheila, and Cleo looked at Dion in utter confusion, completely lost on what he meant, while Olga simply watched him with a serious expression. ”Sigh.” Dion let out another heavy breath before explaining the exact location of the ruins, the very same shortcut used by the Shadow Hand from Eredor.

***

Meanwhile, inside the forest situated behind the eastern rim of the circular canyon, two men dressed in all-black removed their masks. Their faces were ghostly pale.

”Did you see what just happened? My hands are still shaking,” the first man whispered.

”Same here... I... I can’t even write a letter to inform Master Haruto,” the second man replied, his voice trembling.

”And what exactly were you planning on telling my father?”

Both men spun around in shock, but instantly threw their hands into the air as two sharp blades pressed firmly against their necks, ready to sever their heads at a moment’s notice. Mei stared them down with eyes brimming with cold, lethal intent.

”P-Princess... please forgive us! We were merely following Master Haruto’s orders!” the first man blurted out.

”Princess?” Mei asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

”M-Master Haruto... has gone to Minatheras to investigate something... but before leaving... he entrusted something to us since we were assigned to monitor this area... Here,” the second man stammered nervously.

The man slowly reached into his inner pocket and pulled out a sealed scroll, handing it over to Mei. Mei bit down on her sword to free up a hand, snatched the scroll, tucked it away, and immediately re-aimed her blade at their throats.

”Now get out of here. Do not report a single thing to the king or my father, understood?” Mei commanded coldly.

”U-understood, Princess!” both men squeaked out.

The moment Mei lowered her blades, the two men vanished into thin air. Once she confirmed the coast was completely clear, Mei pulled out the scroll, unrolled it, and began reading. Her eyes swept rapidly across the text from left to right, scanning line after line, until suddenly all color drained from her face. The scroll slipped from her fingers and fell onto the grass.

”W-what? I’m... the illegitimate child of King Kenzo Araki? And the man I killed... Yugo... was also King Araki’s illegitimate child, not a prince? The king has no direct heir? What on earth is this?” Mei thought to herself, her mind still reeling in shock.