White City, the home for the current King, lays in the western region of the Olga Federation. The western region is the least cold region in the large federation. At its center is the Imperial Palace that is the residence of the man known as the “Bloody King” — Marquis Farlord Reskina, who is the current head of Reskina clan. It is surrounded by universities, the Imperial Military Academy and all manner of government buildings which radiates out from it, and it could be considered the the most state of the art place of the federation.

While its population is lower than that of the Olga City, capital of federation and other places owned by top noble families , it is larger in scope than the rest of federation. In addition, several years of reform meant that the federation is currently in the middle of its greatest boom in history, with non-stop innovation and a steady stream of resources and human talents coming in. The old is being torn down to make way for a promising future, and the faces of the residents are bright.

Hiro and the girls walk through the heated, bustling city streets. 

Under normal circumstances, Hiro would be gawking at everything as he walks, like a country bumpkin fresh from the farm. At the same time, he would have been deeply moved by how different this place was from the other places he experience since coming to this world. 

The state of his heart is reflected in his actions, and his troubled steps.

What rules him now is the feeling of unhappiness.

Coming to the White City has been part of Ivanna’s desire, and the more he thinks about it, the more his eyebrows — weird as they are — knotted together.

He is worried that Ivanna, the first woman he fell in love with, would be separated from him for good. 

Hiro begins muttering the words he had used to talk himself down several times already.

"I need to be calm. I need to cool my head. I need to be rational. If forced to choose between reason and emotion, a superior ought to select reason. The type who act on their emotions might be able to reap great rewards if they channel all their energies into their work, but for the most part it never ends well for them. Besides, it’s already—"

“—The die has been cast?”

He takes a deep breath, and then exhales.

The surrounding citizens looked in puzzlement at this man with rare appearance who is suddenly sucking in and expelling the air as he walks, but they don't  seem to mind.

The beautiful girls surrounding him often draw the stares of passers-by. 

After repeating that cycle a few times, only a little bit of annoyance remained within him. That is when he notices Selene, who is trailing behind them.

“Forgive me, I seem to have been walking a little too fast.” 

Hiro is a man, and the way he takes large strides is completely different from the way which the feminine Selene moves in her robe, especially when the elven girl is walking carefully so that the robe covering her head won't slip down. Otherwise, people will find out she is an elf.

“Not at all, it is fine.”

“Is that so…”

Was that her answer as a follower, or did she really not mind? Hiro has no idea, so all he could do is shorten his stride while looking for something to talk about.

He feels uncomfortable about the prickly air around him just now, and he racks his brains for some way to change the mood. However, he could not think of a suitable topic.

Businessmen often uses trivial matters like the weather and so on to get a conversation going. Discussing sports is not a bad idea either, but that requires prior knowledge about which team the other party supported.

As Hiro ponders how to initiate the conversation, he suddenly goes “tch” in his heart.

"Why am I walking on eggshells around girls who most of them I had already fucked?" 

That said, there is no point thinking about that now. Going on in silence like this makes the mood too grim. He decides to throw caution to the wind and say the first thing which came to mind.

"Ivanna,.are we going to your home?" 

"Well, it is indeed my home, although it may be very different from you usually think of home." Ivanna answers.

"Different from normal home? Hmm.." Sekrit interjects.

“Good grief, the more I think about it, the more worried I get. I wish I had a more cheerful topic to think about instead.”

Hiro pauses here, and then he casually glances around.

“Speaking of which, the federation really is quite lively.” Clementine says nonchalantly.

“Is that so? It feels about the same as everywhere else to me.”

After hearing Ivanna’s words, Hiro looks around once more.

“The streets are filled with life and the people’s eyes are gleaming. There is a certain ambience in the air, one which belongs to people who believe their lives are going to get better.”

“As expected of Hiro-sama,” Mirai says from a small distance behind him. However, Hiro feels embarrassed by his own words and doesn't answer her. That is simply an impression he has gotten, and he is not confident in the accuracy of his assessment.

***

The guards open the large door. They follow Ivanna into a long lane that leads them to a hemispherical room. She stands before a pair of vast double doors. Intricate carvings decorated both sides of the doors; a beautiful goddess on the right and a cruel-looking demon on the left. Countless ominous-looking statues are arrayed around them.

He ponders those doors as he looks over them.

The huge room is quiet, so quiet that he imagines he could hear the metaphorical sound of silence.

Indeed, nobody from his party has uttered a single word ever since they have been brought here. The only sounds are the metallic noises of luggages scraping against luggages.

They are not silent out of politeness, but rather, they have passed all manner of wondrous sights before coming here, which have stolen their souls away.

In truth, even Hiro finds it hard to control the impulse to gawk openly at his surroundings as he walks, given the splendor that surrounds him.

“The Throne Room lies beyond. Marquis Farlord waits for you within.”

After that, an old man in expensive clothing announces that his part was over, and bows deeply to Ivanna.

As though waiting for those words, the vast double doors swing open slowly by two guards.

A vast room comes into view, with a ceiling that is very high and very broad. The walls are predominantly white, with extensive gold decorations and highlights.

Luxurious, multicolored chandeliers ―made of precious stones from all the colours of the rainbow― depends from the ceiling, radiating a fantastic light. Huge flags hung from poles set into the walls.

This room is the epitome of a “throne room”. There is no better word to describe a place like this.

Girls other than Ivanna blanche pale as an oppressive air sweeps over them from inside the room. A crimson carpet ran down the center of the room.

The door has been opened, but it has not been opened for long. It is certainly not long enough for anyone to comment on their inactivity. Still, they could not wait out here forever. And so ― Ivanna steps forward.

And upon the throne is the bloody king, Marquis Farlord Reskina himself. He is a man who is over fifty years old, and Ivanna's uncle. Ivanna herself is a princess, as the daughter of the previous lord. If Ivanna is a man, she would be sitting at Farlord's position now. Her father couldn't pass down his throne to his offspring as he has no male heir. Ivanna was his only daughter. When he passed away, the throne was given to his younger brother.

A magnificent crown sits upon Farlord's red hair, and his body is cloaked in a luxurious sable robe. Rings glittered brightly on his fingers. Even from such a distance, Hiro could clearly tell that the exquisite accessories which that man wears are expensive beyond imagination.

Beneath him, on both sides are two red haired men, in their twenties. Their arrogant posture indicates that they are Farlord's sons.

"Ivanna. We really thought you were finished in the battle against Negara." Farlord speaks.

"No. I am alive because of my comrades here." She answers as if she is at the same level as that king. The two princes act as her blasphemy is nothing. 

The others put our luggages in the floor as they are embarrassed by bringing those into such extravagant room.

"Hmm..." Farlord doesn't say much.

But his son voices up,

"What a peculiar mixture of persons."

"They are my comrades who save me from Negara. Then, we went through thick and thin together until I reach here." Her voice carries a lot strength, manifesting the rich experience we had been through. Her uncle and cousins become speechless by her retort. 

"Wow. You have changed a lot, Ivanna. Before, you became the general because of your skill but you look matured now." The bloody king gives comment about her.

"I had been through for the past months, is priceless." Ivanna vows.

One of the sons has been staring sharply at Hiro. He never expect that the gaze will bring harm to him later.