“Presenting Her Majesty, Queen Lyudmila of Renalis, and her betrothed, Ranger Levin!” Announced the town criers. Musicians began playing the Renalian national anthem as the gates slowly swung open.

My jaw dropped at the sight of Lydia’s royal procession lined up on the main street leading from Veles to the citadel. A retinue of 20 mounted royal guardsmen in full armor and regalia guarded five large carriages, one full of supplies, one laden with gifts for Avalon, one for Lydia’s servants, one for her retainers, and one for us. To top it off, Renala drew lazy circles just overhead.

Lydia and I stepped out of the citadel gates, arm in arm, flanked by trumpeters and soldiers. The soldiers formed a wall of steel that kept the commoners from jumping into the streets when they pushed and shoved for a glimpse at their new Queen. I couldn’t blame them; Lydia cut a sensual and magnificent figure. She wore a dress of deep red with golden accents. A hip-length slit revealed her right leg with each step and her back was fully exposed. From her shoulder blades a pair of draconic wings, rimmed with embers, flexed and folded gracefully to showcase her dragonkin heritage. Her expression was calm and confident. The crowds fawned over her every move and threw flower petals in our path.

I felt like a fucking mess in comparison.

Anna reassured me that the suit she tailored was enough. And I was fully aware I wasn’t supposed to overshadow Lydia’s first royal parade through the streets with my own rugged, good looks, but damn did I look dull in my plain, black suit. A whole fleet of servants followed in strict formation after us, with Anna and Idyia at the forefront. I strained my hearing to study the crowd’s reaction to Idyia’s presence. There were whispers of discontent and I could only hope those would change within my lifetime.

By the time the national anthem finished, we were about to board our carriage. Anna and Idyia split off from the rest of the servants to join us. Lydia turned at the top of the staircase leading into the carriage and waved at her subjects. Renala then roared and unleashed a blast of golden dragonfire straight up into the sky. Many fell to their knees in worship. A look of satisfaction passed across Lydia’s face and she dismissed her wings then strode into the carriage. Anna, Idyia, and I quickly followed. Anna shut the door behind her and we were off.

“Pass me the bag, please,” I asked Idyia, who reached under her chair and pulled out my Bottomless Dufflebag, fully restocked for the trip. I immediately set about changing out of the monkey suit, much to Lydia’s chagrin. She folded her arms in amusement.

“You must grow accustomed to wearing finery, Levin.”

“You aren’t actually going to wear that dress the entire way, are you?”

“Of course not, but I would at least wait until we left Veles before changing.”

“They don’t even care about how I look, anyway,” I rolled my eyes and stripped. I wasn’t comfortable until I was back in my modern threads. Anna’s attempts at recreating modern stitching improved every day, but my poor, sensitive skin couldn’t endure the crude, itchy feel.

I released a long, low exhale once I was dressed back into my uniform.

“I’ve prepared a light lunch for us,” Anna announced and drew out a small basket of sandwiches from the Dufflebag.

“Oh, gimmie,” I childishly reached for a sandwich. Anna shook her head in bemusement then served Lydia, Idyia, and then herself. Idyia’s reaction was the cutest of my girls. She hardly ever enjoyed Anna’s culinary delights, so watching her apathetic expression slowly melt into one of barely concealed joy with each subsequent bite was a treat.

“I believe this is the first time the four of us had a moment to speak since I reclaimed my throne,” Lydia said after she finished eating.

I gave it some thought and silently agreed. Life moved so fast these past six months that we hardly had time to spend together. I wondered what she wanted to discuss. Probably something related to the Rift-

“This is the perfect opportunity to finally set the proper order between the three of us.”

My eyes widened. Cold fear crept up my spine. No Skill or Aspect could hope to suppress this. I looked to my other lovers, who nodded in agreement, their eyes gleaming with a hint of competitiveness I’d never seen. Even soft and sweet Anna’s expression was like hard steel. There was only one thing a soldier could do in the face of such impossible odds.

Retreat like fucking hell.

“Nope.” I immediately kicked the door open while the carriage was still moving and combined a flip and pull-up to haul my whole body up onto the roof. Renala glided low and reached down to swoop me up in one of her claws. I free climbed up her body and onto a newly crafted saddle around the base of her neck.

“Levin, you know your participation isn’t entirely required anyway,” Lydia’s voice echoed mirthfully in my head.

“Yeah, but it seemed like an intense girl-talk moment.”

Lydia didn’t disagree or reply, so I assumed she let me off the hook for now. Renala easily outpaced the procession, so she simply soared high into the sky and glided back and forth, drawing slow circles above the road. From this height, I could see a majority of Renalis through my magnified vision, including the Peak and further beyond, Altanova and the ocean. It would take us about two weeks of travel to get to Avalon and another two weeks to arrive at Camelot. First, we would cross through the southern border, skirt the dwarven nation of Kazadun, and enter Avalon.

As I gazed upon Valeria from one end of the horizon to the other, I mused over the geopolitical situation of the world. Thaysil to the north tended to isolate themselves within their vast forest. Arasthai, a kingdom of beastmen to the south was around the same size as Renalis, although relations with them weren’t that strong since Renalis was seen as an Alliance pariah. Pherae was ruled by a Council of Twelve Archmages and shared a small landbridge with Altanova. Avalon and Pherae bordered the Blighted Lands, the regions of the world consumed by demonic hordes from the Rift. My army would have to march through one of those countries, fight through the Blighted Lands, and reach the Rift. The Rift bordered the ocean, so going by sea was an option, but Altanova was only recently conquered, and building a powerful navy capable of surviving in demon-infested waters would take too long.

For the first time in a while, I allowed my thoughts to drift into a pointless haze. I slid off the saddle and down toward Renala’s back, turned to face the sky, and folded my arms behind my head. The wind rushing across my body caressed me until I finally fell asleep. I trusted Renala to keep me on her back.

For the duration of our trip, I patrolled the route we would take from dragonback. Renala and I cleared any potential threats before they made contact with the procession to minimize danger and time spent on the road. Despite my best efforts, I still failed to reach 7th Level, although my Experience bar was just over 75%. Killing enemies vastly weaker than barely added decimal points worth of Experience. I would either have to massively increase the volume and speed of my kills or hunt for truly extraordinary targets. I didn’t dare leave Lydia and the others unguarded, so that left me with whatever monsters and brigands preyed along the roads.

When I wasn’t clearing the way, I spent time with my lovers. Our carriage had a single bed, which was barely large enough for us all to share. In a frustrating show of unity, my lovers demanded I learn how to sleep on my back so they could all cling to a part of my body at night. I wasn’t very fond of cuddling while I slept, so I had to force myself to change a lifetime of ingrained preferences. Surprisingly enough, we kept our sexual activity limited. Idyia must have advocated for that and I was grateful; I was still actively escorting the convoy and I needed to reserve my stamina just in case something unexpected happened.

Our days passed in that fashion. Compared to all the shit I had to deal with since my arrival in Valeria, it felt like a honeymoon.

One night I finally got the Menu prompt I was waiting for. I deftly slid out from under their grasp, dressed, and quietly climbed the roof to get some fresh air and some time to sort out my thoughts.

After almost seven months of constant use, Communication and Tracking finally Ranked up to D.

«Survival has increased to D-Rank. You may choose one Survival Skill Upgrade, gain a new Skill, or Synthesize a Skill.»

«Communication and Tracking (Unique) has increased to D-Rank. You may choose one Survival Skill Upgrade, gain a new Skill, or Synthesize a Skill.»

Now that my army wouldn’t increase in size any time soon, it was finally time for me to utilize my Survival upgrade along with my Communication and Tracking one. I already knew what weaknesses I needed to correct in order to boost my effectiveness as a commander, so I chose to upgrade my Movement and Tracking System and Telepathy (Group) Skills.

I now had access to a much more comprehensive map and I could add Captain Finlay, Captain Dauf, and Captain Martha to my Squad. Real-time communication between the three of us would be crucial. They would even benefit from my Map and World Map data. That enhanced their independence and improved their tactical awareness as the battlefield shifted. Because demons were rumored to be so chaotic, I needed my field leaders to be adaptable and flexible, so augmenting their ability to do so was one of my highest priorities.

Satisfied, I joined the riders who were assigned to the retinue. At night, they set up camp by circling the wagons and establishing a defensive perimeter around them. At first, it was difficult for them to accept my presence. I was their future king, so they treated me with a certain level of distance and decorum. I slowly disarmed them with a friendly and casual attitude. In many ways, I was more comfortable huddled around a dim fire surrounded by men than safe and warm in a bed sleeping with three beautiful women.

I hunted, skinned, and field-dressed several deer. Every person had their duties in the camp, and if I wanted to earn a soldier’s trust, I had to be willing to get my hands bloody. We stripped and cleaned the deer hides of any fat, flesh, and membrane to tan later. The soldiers explained we could also use the unprocessed hides to barter for additional supplies at towns and waystations. I grinned at their pragmatism. Despite my modern knowledge, they were just as ingenious as I was and their down-to-earth perspective reminded me of my own time in the military.

I took it upon myself to handle as much bushcraft as possible to train up my Survival Aspect. Lengthy escapades through the wilderness were the best chance for me to practice, so I had to take full advantage of every opportunity.

I also assisted with cooking. Preparing meals was the fastest way to build up comradery. Everyone loved the cooks.

And so my days passed for a month. Aside from the occasional combat encounter along the road, the trip was peaceful and it gave me a chance to breathe easy.