Aster and Gale froze in their tracks. Once again, there was a knock at the door. "Your majesty, Miss Yababa is also here!"
Annoyed, both fixed their dress and went out of the bedroom. Seeing Wendy outside, Aster asked, "What is it?"
"Prime Minister and Miss Yababa are waiting at the tea room. They asked for you urgently."
Although Seiko likes to tease Aster, she will not bring Monore Yababa into the mix. Knowing this, both the couple hastened their pace to the tea room.
When the couple entered the room, they could see the steaming tea at the table, but both the visitors stood at the corner of the room rather than at the table, and were discussing in a hushed voice.
Seeing the queen at the entrance, Seiko approached the queen and said, "Your majesty, an alarming intel came."
Aster silently sat at the tea table and gestured for Seiko to continue.
Seiko gave a glance to Gale, who is still standing beside the queen, and continued, "It seems Temple of Gemini is sending a high bishop to Summers Bloom."
Aster and Gale are both surprised, and there is a bit of disgust mixed in their expression as well.
The structure of the Temple of Gemini is, at the top there is Pope, then there are three Cardinals and two Paladins, after that there are 12 High Bishops for each Cardinal and 26 Inquisitors under each Paladin. These 94 make the higher echelons of the temple.
There can be any number of Bishops under a High Bishop, given he has land and resources. Under each Bishop, there are Priests, and under them are nuns and preachers. As for Inquisitors, they command multiple battalions each. They are practically warlords.
Usually, the upper echelons do not move. They command what they want a country to do. Most countries follow suit, and those that don't will have to face the wrath of Gemini.
"what do they want?" Aster asked with dread.
"We don't know! There was never any official request from the Temple of Gemini. We have no idea of who, when, or why in this matter. Even the information that a high bishop is to visit Summers Bloom came to us by accident." Seiko answered.
"No official request? Do they intend to tell us at the last movement?" Aster asked.
Seiko took her seat in front of the queen and said, "Most probably. They probably want us to be unprepared so that we will make mistakes."
"To change our secular status?" Aster asked doubtfully.
Seiko just looked at the queen without answering. Unlike the other three in that room, Aster is not militaristic, so it took her some time to get to the answer by herself.
Immediately there is horror on her face. She shouted, "They want Summers Bloom to be the frontline of their damned crusade!"
Seiko nodded and continued, "They would ask us to join the crusade, and if we decline that, they will ask us to allow the crusading army to pass through. They probably want to put pressure on the Beastmen by opening a new front."
"I can not and will not push our people into this mindless crusade! even if I allow an open-border policy, it is but a suicide."
Yababa nodded to the queen's words and added, "If the crusaders win, we have a massive foreign army who are dissatisfied with our non-participation and secular policy, sitting at our capital."
Gale continued, "and if the crusaders lost, we have an enraged Beastmen army at our gates."
Seiko sighed and, said "Knowing the empire, they will not let go of this opportunity to bite at us. You have to pick Aster. Empire and Crusaders, or Empire and Beastmen who do you want to fight."
"Why do we have to fight! I do not want to fight!" Aster grumbled.
Laughing weakly, Gale said, "Although it is hard, we can handle a two-front war, but I really hope Gemini will keep to just harassment."
"Oo! Sir Duke, so brave! If two-front war is so easy, why don't you try it at the bed? I am ready if you so decide to challenge." Seiko said teasingly.
Although Gale seemed interested, he vehemently denied once he took a loot at Aster fuming face.
Looking at angry Aster, laughing Seiko, and blushing Gale, Yababa thought, [These youngins sure are energetic].
This is not the first time that this trio faced extreme odds, and every time they came out victorious. Bruised but victorious, and Yababa knew, they cherish each moment as if it is the last because any of those moments could have been their last.
Although a bit sad that these young people have to shoulder such a burden, Yababa is also jealous, as she has so little to cherish or look back to, like this trio.
After some more banter, the meeting continued into the morning in a serious tone.
----
It's been 3months since the night meeting about the High Bishop and 7months since the trio decided to implement the five-pointers.
Seiko Bume Vulpine is at her desk, or more like sprawled on it. She is irritated these days as nothing seems to go her way. The five-pointers is a borderline failure.
She is not able to get the consent of 2 of the Dukes and the 3 Marques. The only agreement she got is from her husband, Duke of Westwind Gale Graham.
What's more painful is that even her father, Duke Reynard Vega Vulpine, rejected her pleas.
This stopped the economic reform, which affected the royal army expansion. The only good thing is that Arata is not suffering and is even learning from Yababa herself.
As for the High Bishop matter, Seiko is now thinking that it might be false intel provided by the empire to divert their attention. She cursed herself as she even allocated resources to monitor several Gemini Temples when she is tight on resources already.
As she was reminiscing where she went wrong, there was a knock on the door. Without waiting for her answer, a nervous assistant entered the room and said, "uh...umm... Madam Seiko, yo-"
Before the assistant finished, irritated Seiko shouted, "What?! Do you have something to say? huh?"
The scared assistant shrieked, "yee! don't kill me, please!" while holding her pad like a shield to cover her face.
"Che! It's not like I ever hit you. So? What do you want?"
"um... you asked me to remind you to go see the prince to decide on his present."
"O right! he is already 11months. I wonder if I can get something nice for him in just a month."
"Um... I am sure we can find something!"
"O! how about that umm...you know that thing that creates snow in your hand! or that bear with antlers or O! I know, that lepper frogs, those are mighty fun for a kid, right?"
"Um... those are not princely gifts, and they can only be bought in their native lands, and getting them in a month is..., and the only other option is to buy at the Empire ..."
"Che! Hate all you want, but at least those goons have better trade than us. I should have grabbed a couple when I was there!"
Grumbling Seiko found her way to the queen's palace. As she went inside, running like a penguin, prince Arata came and hugged her legs.
"Auntwie Siiko!!"
"wahoo! wahoo!" Seiko lifted Arata and tossed him into the air a few times, making Arata giggle and even use {hearts roar}. "[ehhehehe]."
This has become a bit common in the queen's palace. Although Arata's strange words seem to reduce a lot, his use of his bloodline trait increased. Sometimes he even uses both the blood trait and his mouth at the same time. But he uses it mainly when he is excited.
"Arata?" came the queen looking for the prince, who seemed to run away.
"Mama, Siiko!" Arata said, pointing towards his step-mom.
"Yo! how are you holding?"
"mm, fine, I guess"
Although not public, Queen Aster is pregnant with a second child. Soon the royal house is planning to announce this news at Arata's birthday celebrations.
Seiko carried Arata, while they continued to talk and walk until they reached the tea room. Unlike the elegant demeanor the room had 3months ago, it is now littered with toy-like magi apparatus.
"Seems like Yababa took a liking towards the kid," said Seiko as she glanced around the room filled with toys.
"Yeah, I don't remember her being this nice to me! even though I am her friend's granddaughter".
"Nice!? She did not even glance at me when I was a kid. To be fair, it seems my father pulled a prank on her when he was a kid, so might have black-listed the Vulpine family."
Aster laughed, imagining the stoic Duke Vulpine pulling a prank on Yababa and getting punished by her.
"So, is Arata good at magi? Almost all of these seem to be magi-type!"
"Ohh, that is more to do with Yababa. It seems Arata is good at figuring out how to use them, but he gets bored easily, and his mana pool is small. So Yababa brought a lot, so he can choose without getting bored or tired."
"Woo, that old bones sure seems to like Arata a lot!"
As they are talking, Wendy came running and said, "Your highness, a delegation from Temple of Gemini came! Miss Yababa sent a message saying she is going with the plan."
