Nah, most aren't even up yet.

I thought over my future plans as I began the trek back to town. My plans admittedly didn't go as far into the future as I would have wished. I would build my church in the near future, then I could spend my time converting others like Oliver and Shina to my cause. This plan was not as thorough as I would wish either, I realized after going over it.

While backtracking along the forest path, I took stock of my situation. 'Let's go over what we know. I am in a city known as Wodegta, which is the capital of the Normn Barony. This city neighbors a great forest, which at least a large portion of is now infused with my mana, which will cause rapid growth in the land as well as the creatures due to my new skills. Somewhere on the far side of said forest, is where the Hornet Empress resides, and at some point within say two years, she will launch an attack on this city, which would normally result in the **** of Oliver and the capture of Natalia and Silvia, if not the destruction of the town. The lord of the town, Baron Norman Normn, seems to be adept as a lord and has a variant bloodline of daemonic origin, as well as a skill that prevents me from seeing his views on me. The eldest son of Norman has been disowned, and the younger five are fighting political battles against each other in order to take the title that was left up for grabs. Of these children, I am so far opposed to Nathaniel, a swordsman with excessive pride, as well as Lana, a priestess who challenged "my god's" divinity. On the other hand, Millana has done her best to get into my favor, and Kyle and Norma have done their best to take neutral stances.'

Even after going over it all again, I couldn't see what the greatest move was. The key factor was the attack of the Hornet Empress. I didn't know when it would be, which left strategical issues. If it was soon, then I should not make any moves for power against the Normns, as that will make a battle against them more difficult. On the other hand, if it was a long way away making preparations now would be wasted, as they may deteriorate by the time the invasion comes, as well as wasting my time while I wait. I facepalmed and let out a groan as I neared the edge of the forest. 'It's times like these I miss having henchmen, but in this life my hierarchy is going to be so much more complicated, seeing as of now that I am my own right-hand man.'

I dragged my hand down my face, making me realize I was still in my true form and quickly polymorphing back to Matthew. Back in my human body, I had the spirit turn into my clothing again as I walked through the fields towards Wodegta. In the end, it would be best to set up lesser defenses in case of the invasion, while setting up a series of dominoes to take down the Normns. That way, I would not commit to either and could choose one to do first when the time came.

At last I reached the edge of the city, and made my way through the streets. It was still a bit before sunrise, so very few people were out and about. Even the town square was pretty empty as I passed it by on the way to the tavern. Though, to no surprise, the lights within the tavern were still on, 'It seems I was not the only one who got no sleep, huh? I really should investigate that barkeep... later.'

I let out a sigh. I didn't have time to investigate some mysterious man who owned a tavern at this moment. I walked through the door, seeing Silvia look up to see me. She was the only one at the table, indicating that there were no other members of the party awake. The barkeep was of course standing behind the bar as usual, performing simple maintenance upon the wooden counter.

Silvia looked between me and the hallway to the rooms with a confused expression, "Wait, when did you-"

The barkeep came to the rescue, "Matthew went out a few moments ago, just before you came out."

Silvia scoffed, "Unlikely, I have never seen a human up as early as me."

I walked up and sat down at the table, "Well then, have you gone blind?" She glared at me for a moment before turning to look back at the rooms, presumably waiting for the others. I took this time to try asking her some questions, "So, what do you know about the woods nearby?"

She looked at me with a questioning glance before looking back to the rooms, "More than most others, why are you asking?" I took slight offense that she wasn't looking at me, but let it slide.

I put on my best contemplative expression as I answered, "Do you know if it is magical at all? I believe that it looked different this morning that the past few days."

She froze and turned to me slowly, "What do you mean by that?" She seemed immensely tense.

I shifted my stance while keeping my expression, "Well, when I looked at it this morning in the distance, it seemed much... I don't know how to say it but wilder? As if it had changed in some way." I was banking on the fact that Oliver had not spoken of what I told him, but I feel he would be the type to bear that kind of burden himself. He also seemed somewhat loyal to me, and he would probably realize that saying that fact would make me look bad.

Silvia's eyes were wide, and as Natalia groggily emerged from the hallway, she grabbed her and started pulling her to the door. "Goodmorn-Hey! Why are you pulling on me?"

The young sorceress was no match for the elf as she continued forcing her to leave, "We are going to the forest, RIGHT NOW!"

I watched them leave, Natalia seemingly fighting for her life against the stronger elf woman until they were both outside. I looked towards the barkeep, and we shared a head shake before returning to our own tasks of cleaning and waiting. The biggest decider of what I would do today depended on who would wake up first.