It was a bright and sunny day across the Kingdom of June, the small peninsular nation on the southeastern corner of the continent of Kira. The kingdom, despite it being smaller compared to the giant major powers of the continent, such as the Leonite Empire which was an extremist and revanchist empire built from the ruins of the Hillsbrooke Empire that imploded a year and a half ago. The Kingdom of June was also the leader of its own alliance of kingdoms and duchies that came out of that event, forming the Coalition of Free Kingdoms which was the main supplier, financier, and military backer. Although on paper it was the Kingdom of Amadite led by King Antwerp I who was the leader of this alliance, everyone knew that were it not for the Kingdom of June coming in to pick up the pieces once the other nations stopped supporting the rogue kingdoms, they would all be back in the Leonite Empire. The Kingdom of June was not the strongest militarily, its Royal Army was a juggernaut in battle but it was dwarfed by the size of the other armies on the continent and thus had to rely on its allies in order to win battles if it was outnumbered. The Royal Navy likewise was smaller compared to the rest of the navies on the continent, but what it lacked in numbers, it made up for in versatility as Royal Frigates, bristling to the teeth with heavy ballista launchers could outrun and out-fight any ship it came across. Economically however, the Kingdom of June was one of the strongest on the continent as it was the only nation that had ports that taxed traders at a lesser price than the rest on the continent, making it a favorable port to make landing in and then use the nation's extensive courier businesses to transport them across the empire, becoming an economic trading point in the continent that then used these funds to build the nation, its army and lessen the burden on its own citizens. 

But it was not always like this, hell, a year and a half ago, many wouldn't have believed that this small peninsular nation could have been pushed into this situation. The former king, Arthur Cameron, and his family had died in what many believed to be an accident involving magical research but others believed it to be an assassination attempt. Regardless, the death of the Cameron Line had enacted a royal clause in which the siblings of the deceased monarch, if there were any, would become the next monarch. This led to the coronation of Ilena Halfriva as the next Queen of the kingdom and what followed a mere week after her coronation was a massive purge of hundreds of nobles and their families by Ilena's daughter, the Crown Princess, Sharon Halfriva. Earning her title the 'Bloody Princess' for personally carrying out these executions. 

Now, inside her estate in the southernmost port of the kingdom, the port city of Herubia which was resting on the edge of the Hrubvetia Sea to the south, Sharon was busy on a call with her family whom she missed dearly inside her grand office. 

"Are you sure you won't be able to come back today dear?" Ilena's voice sounded from the magic crystal ball in front of her 

"I really want to mother. But I am still in the process of sorting through Baron Hykenns shady dealings, I am trying to see who owes who money between the merchants and getting it all sorted before it becomes a headache" Sharon replied as she rubbed her temple and then looked at the massive pile of papers next to the desk 

"Hmmm, alright then. I will tell you Father and your siblings you won't be able to be with us for family dinner tonight. Unless of course, we all head down there to see you" The Queen of the kingdom said with a slightly wishing tone 

"That would be much better really. I do need your help or even Father's in sorting through all of this" The Crown Princess replied with a small smile on her face as she looked at the glowing crystal ball 

"Then it's settled then. We will see you tonight, love you Sharon, and see you later" 

"Of course Mother, I love you too, and see you soon" 

With an audible click the call ended and Sharon sighed as she rose up from her seat and walked out to the balcony of her office. From where she was standing, she was dressed in a form-fitting pair of black slacks that highlighted her curvaceous and alluring figure, her large shapely butt fitting into it like a glove while her top was a form-fitting blouse that had a button struggling to keep itself alive and doing its job. Her beautiful auburn hair was tied in a ponytail that swayed slightly and she had a pair of reading glasses perched on her nose that she took off when it wasn't in use. 

"Haa....so much to fucking do" She sighed as she rested on the railing of the balcony, her eyes turned out to the sea which was glistening a beautiful blue, she could see several ships leaving and coming into the bay leading into the city

"Hmmm, I better get back to it...but I think I will just stay here first. It is a beautiful day to relax" 

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Meanwhile, with the port city, their destination in sight, Admiral Neys, the demonkin admiral in charge of this convoy of ships that had come here to trade with the Kingdom of June on the instructions of his monarchs, was getting a little giddy as the fleet was approaching their destination at top speed after nearly 4 months of sailing. The fleet followed the directions given to him by their monarch and they had seen many a sight, but now, now it was finally time to get to what they set out to do in the first place. 

Aboard the flagship of the convoy, which was also leading it, the HNS Indefatigable, Admiral Ney was standing by the helm as he wanted to be the one to guide the ship into the bay. The fleet was still cloaked due to the leviathan named l'rai keeping it up as per his orders for security reasons. The escorts of the merchant ships, the Sloops of War and the Brigs were all spread out in at the edges of the cloaking field to act as first encounter vessels if any wayward ships somehow managed to get close to the fleet.

"Admiral. The city of Herubia is in sight. What are your orders?" Ney's first officer, a well-dressed orc by the name of Kavendish asked as he walked up the steps to get to him 

"Tell l'rai to please drop the cloak and get our siren marines out to make a show. We have to make a favorable first impression" The demonkin admiral said with a grin that Kavendish returned with a nod 

"All hands! Let loose all sails and approach at full speed! Sirens! Get you bodies in the water and give our future friends a little show!" The orc bellowed which then caused the rest of the crew to scramble 

"And Kavendish" 

"Yes sir?" 

"Tell the fleet, beat to quarters" 

"With pleasure sir" 

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As Sharon was busy enjoying the calm waves, her eyes suddenly widened at the sight of a fleet suddenly appearing out of thin air close to the mouth of the bay. She saw a fleet in the formation of an arrowhead, with several ships inside and the escorts on the outside. The other ships leaving the bay quickly maneuvered to the sides to avoid collision with these incoming ships, which were seemingly going faster than any other ships they had seen before. 

"What the hell!?" She exclaimed before quickly drawing out a spyglass from her bag of holding holstered on her waist 

Through her spyglass, she saw several figures leap from the lead ship and dove into the water before reappearing on the surface and gliding atop the waves, they were dressed in some sort of sailor's uniform and each of them had a spear in their hands that they held at the ready as they glided forward, passing close to the ships in the bay that were leaving and looking at them in awe. The figures on the water did little tricks like doing some flips or even diving back down before reappearing in a swirling pillar of water before going back down and just continuing to glide on the water. 

"Who the hell are these people" Sharon muttered bere vaulting over her balcony and then landing smoothly on the pavement of her estate's courtyard, startling some of her servants 

"My lady what-" 

"No time. Send word to the local garrison to muster and meet me in the harbor. Now" She told one of her servants before going off at full sprint out of her estate 

As she was rushing down towards the city, she crushed the amulet she was wearing and her full peach-colored plate armor manifested and encased her while she was running. Taking a glance each time at the fleet which was getting closer and closer, looking up in awe as she saw another massive swirling pillar of water that housed several of the figures who were gliding on the water. 

{!} 

While she was rushing down the road and then jumping from rooftop to rooftop, she began hearing a band play, violins, trumpets, drums and the like, it wasn't any of the music that she heard from the harbor, no, this was different. She stopped on one rooftop overlooking the whole harbor and then used her spyglass again, seeing that the source of the music was coming from the lead ship which had a band playing the music on the bow of the ship. She then finally saw a glimpse of the flag, it was a pair of flags she had never seen before, one of them was a white flag with a red cross and a black double-headed eagle with a crown in the center, and the other was a flag with a black and white field with another double-headed eagle with a crown, but this one was over a red sun and had a regal-looking curtain behind it. 

[A/N: The flags for reference] 

"Where did these people come from?" She muttered as she placed her spyglass away, looking at the port area and seeing that there was a large crowd now gathered, cheering for the people she could finally make out as sirens who were the ones creating the spectacle of water they had all just witnessed. 

As the ships finally entered the port area, all of them stopped on the dime as their sails were furled and the anchors dropped into the bay. Many were curious as to who these people were and many still wanted to be the first to meet them, but when Sharon landed in the port after getting across several more rooftops, the area was evacuated a little, but it got bigger when the garrison of the city arrived and began telling the merchants and bystanders to move back and let the Crown Princess do her job. 

Everyone watched as the leading ship of the fleet, a massive and sleek-looking vessel that dwarfed anything that Sharon had ever seen, slipped into one of the docking bays near her. She looked at the impeccable craftsmanship of the vessel, noting the black paint and golden accents and even the little hatches along the ship where she assumed their large anti-ship weapons were hiding behind, probably some sort of large ballista like their own. 

"By the order of I, Sharon Halfriva, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of June. I ask that you disembark and identify yourselves. You certainly wanted attention with that display earlier and now you have it" She shouted at the ship

{!} 

Then, a gangplank was lowered and landed right next to her. She took a brief look at the passageway and had a thought to walk up but stopped when she saw a demonkin, his red skin, red horns, and silver hair, clad in an impressive officer's outfit of white and blue step off the vessel with a box in his hands. He stopped right before Sharon and they looked at one another eye to eye, both of them trying to decipher the other. 

{!}

Then, the demonkin began to chuckle as he nodded his head and then gave a quick bow to her, leaving Sharon a bit perplexed as she watched him straighten up and then clear his throat. 

"I am Admiral Neys of Her Majesties Imperial Navy"

"Sharon Halfriva, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of June"

"Ooh, I see. I have come here to act as first contact with your nation on behalf of the Halkare Empire and our monarchs" Neys said with a succinct and polite tone as he looked at her with a small smile 

At the mention of a new nation, the various merchants and bystanders who were looking at them were all murmuring with one another as they had never heard of this nation, even Sharon who raised an eyebrow at the name of this nation. 

"Halkare? Empire? I am sorry but I have never heard of such a place before" She stated as she crossed her arms 

"Ah, you wouldn't have Your Highness. But, my monarchs told me that giving you this would help you understand" Neys said as he held the box out for her 

"A box?" Sharon asked as she raised an eyebrow and looked down at it 

"My monarchs told me that you would understand once you saw the contents of it. I have not opened it since we departed from home so I do not know what's inside" The demonkin answered, making Sharon look at him with a gaze that was trying to see if he was lying but found nothing 

"Hmmm...alright then" Sharon answered as she took the box into her grasp and then gave one last look up at the demonkin before opening the thing 

When she opened the box. She saw a lovely velvet cloth and cushion lining the inside of the thing and in the center of it all was a pair of items, a letter that was addressed directly to her and a necklace that's chains were made of silver and gold that ended in a locket shaped in the form of a heart. Sharon was still pretty confused but when she took out the letter with her free hand and opened it, it read 

To Sharon

I know this will get to you safely. I know you will be confused, but I just wanted to give you something to know we are alive and well. 

Will be seeing you soon. But before that, these people are here to trade so please, could you accommodate them and make sure they don't get scammed? Thanks. 

From Your Best Friend now Empress of her own empire: Amelia Rothild ERSTAD

The last sentence made her jaw open slightly as she reread the part multiple times, a smile forming on her face that grew wider and wider before she began to chuckle, making the bystanders and the guards wonder what was so funny. Placing the letter back into the box, she then opened the locket and immediately felt a rush of Holy Magic surge into her, as if replenishing the blessings that had been left to her by her best friend. She smiled as she then wore the necklace and felt the magic flow through her even better, feeling the energy radiate within her body perfectly. 

"Haaa, now. Admiral Neys was it?" Sharon said as she closed the box and looked at him with a smile 

"Yes, Your Highness?" Neys replied with a nod

"Let's go chat back in my estate to get you started on trading. We have much to discuss" 

"Of course Your Highness. Please, lead the way" 

A/N: And here is one of the first epilogue chapters of the 2nd Volume, once again, if you got questions for the QNA chapter, u can post em for me to make note of them down below.