Thankfully yes

On the other side was possible the most opulent room in the entire palace. The same decor as before was present, but in much greater quantities, an elaborate silk carpet bordered by a golden pattern looking like flames, marking the path up to a large throne made out of what seemed to be a mix of gold and some other metal that wasn't easy to recognize at first glance.

The throne itself featured the design of a dragon, coiling around the throne itself, the tail near the floor, and reaching far above the headrest decorated most prominently by a large, blue gemstone sitting within it's mouth.

To make sitting on it comfortable, it also counted with some kind of elaborate cushion. The path was bordered by a number of courtiers, these ones wearing much more elaborate clothing than the ones the group had seen before, expensive silks embroided with beautiful scenery.

Behind them and the throne sat a large mural depicting some ancient battle, no doubt a point of great pride among the ruling family. It appeard to involve a large fleet of some kind, though most of the warriors decorated with dragons were on land, led by a powerfully built man in imposing armor. And as Emmaline finally moved her eyes onto the throne, she noticed that their sponsor was sat upon it.

Shoguness Fumiko was a pretty woman of only 19 years of age, likely far too young to actually rule. Long black hair streamed down her back, with shorter bangs framing her pretty, attractive face, dark brown eyes looking at the with interest, but also kindness. Atop her head lay an elaborate headdress that was decorated with multiple patters, and had chains of jewelry hanging from it in areas, giving her a more formal appearance despite her young age.

She was wearing an equally elaborate dress, flowing robes descending from her collarbone, exposing her shoulders and revealing a pair of large, round breasts, but, surprisingly for someone who was supposed to be a ruler, or at least regent, cut away short afterwards, revealing a slender stomach and the supple curves that marked the start of her thighs, where the robes finally resumed covering her.

From there down, they hugged her legs, clearly marking them out, slender and feminine. From her pose, Emmaline could tell she was trying to supress her curves as much as she possibly could when she was so gifted.

Seeing little else and figuring it would be rude to just remain at the door staring, especially with how... revealing her official clothes apparently were, Emmaline stepped forwards, walking towards the throne, the others following behind her, earning more than their fair share of stares from the courtiers as they did.

Once they were close to her, she stopped, and following what little protocol she’d learned this nation followed, gave her a deep bow, the other Bravos doing their best to imitate her.

“You may rise, Bravos. It is my pleasure to have you at my court, willing to accept my request for aid” she spoke, her voice soft and kind, and a gentle smile on her face, but clearly trying to remain formal.

“You have travelled far to arrive here, and I imagine you desire rest. You shall get it soon, but I first wish to discuss what your task shall be. As you are aware, I am ruling in my father's stead, due to his illness, and being the only one who could take power in his stead, as his sole children” she added, before quickly calling for a servant to prepare the guest rooms, as well as calling for the courtiers to leave, desiring some privacy between her and the adventurers for this coming meeting. The second part also sounded a little ****, as though she was trying to establish her authority.

Her face screamed relief when they did leave, and Emmaline could see her visible relax, the smile on her face growing wider, and even looking a bit nervous and bashful, something she took as a good sign as an idea formed in her mind. In the mean-time, Fuu stepped up next to Emmaline once they were given persmission to rise, glad the shoguness seemed to be agreeable. And thankfully, Emmaline had given her a quick briefing about the local culture.

"It is our honor to be here before you, your Grace. And I must thank you for being so generous with covering our travel expenses" Fuu said, testing the waters before allowing herself to smile a little. She hadn't allwed herself to show it yet, but the prospect of taking down an evil cult was exactly the reason she started to adventure, and she was eager to get to work. "However, I believe it would be useful for us to know more about or upcomming mission, if it isn't too much trouble"

"Of course, of course. The situation has progressed during the time of your trip, so that will also be important for you to know" she said, her tone confirming Emmaline's suspicions that she was nervous, likely due to her age. "A number of our agents in the islands have been lost, contact with them has been severed so I urge you to be wary once you arrive. Several of them have also been spotted now working for the cult and in some cases, erm.... out highest ranking agents were seen, ummmm.... selling themselves off in the streets, claiming all they got would go to their 'masters'. We're still not sure what happened, but please be careful!"

"Oh, umm, it also appears the Fencian League's involvement in the region has increased. If they learn of your activities, they may target you, so please also be wary of that. We do not know their plans yet, but they likely wish to support the cult further. Oh, and the pirates, can't forget the pirates that appeared in the region recently! They call themselves the Silver Waves Plunderers, and have begun to raid the islands" she said, seeing increasingly nervous about having their undivided attention and squirming a little, before Emmaline stepped a little closer.

With a friendly smile, the noble spoke. "Please, Miss Fumiko, breathe. There's no need for you to be nervous around us. We're merely normal women, before a Shoguness, and a beautiful one at that, it is us who should be nervous" she said, as the tension slowly vanished from her expression, though there was now a faint blush upon her cheeks.

"_sigh _You're right, miss... Emmaline, right? I've just been... struggling to keep my position stable lately and feel the need to appear formal at every moment. Even when I don't need to. May we start over? I am Morita, and I am so glad you are here to help us. Is there anything else you want to know?" she responded, her smile now looking more genuine.

The group, now that the atmosphere was more relaxed, took their time to mull over thing as Emmaline shot Morita another smile, the Shoguness blushing and looking away, but eventually shyly returning it. Eventually,Liv spoke up.

"What is the islands' terrain like?" she asked, knowing this would be important to how useful she'd be in the fighting, especially with her rifle. And if the terrain wasn't benefitial to her, she had to plan appropiately.

"I'm not sure how helpful or unhelpful this is for you, but most of the coast is composed of wetlands and rainforests. It's very humid, and the coasts regullarly recieve a lot of rainfall. Further insland, grasslands created for the purpose of cattle and wild deciduous forests reign" the Shoguness explained, before quickly getting an idea, calling for a map to be brought in.

Getting off her throne and laying it down on a table, moving gingerly, she pointed the various islands to Liv, explaining that the further east one went, the more prevalent the wetlands, marshes and rainforests became, bending over the table a little.

She was seemingly unaware that she was accidentally giving everyone present something of a show as her robes clung to her rear, showing off how shapely her ass was, something no one felt brave enough to comment about and Emmaline somewhat enjoyed looking at.

She also took the opprunity to show them the route they'd take to the islands. They would sail along Omuma's nothern coast westwards, and then across the Katori Sea, stopping in the land of Fuhan, a very religious nation, before once more setting sail to arrive at Suryu Island.

Liv nodded at the information, making mental notes about the preparations she'd need to undertake, especially in order to keep her rifle in working order in such humid conditions. At least she'd have no shortage of hiding spots so long as they didn't venture far inland, and her skill with stealth would help the others if they were found out by the cult.

"Now, does someone need anything more? I'm happy to help with anything" she asked eagerly, wanting to help with this as much as she could. It was her people that were in danger, and now that Emmaline had gotten her to calm down, she let her passions show more. However, there was another question hanging in the air.

"Shoguness Morita, why are you dressed like that?" asked the soft, almost innocent voice of Robin, who's curiosity had finally gotten the better of her. Kiera gave her a bit of a glare at the insensitive question, but she couldn't help but admit to herself she was curious too.

For her own part, the young Shoguness blushed and looked away a little, again trying to supress her curves. Standing, it was all the more clearer how little protection the two sets of robes gave her body, almost looking out of place in the body of someone who ruled a nation.

"A-ah, ummm, that, right. I suppose it makes sense my clothing would surprise you. It's, ummm.... the official garb of Shogunesses, from the start of our history. I'll admit.... I didn't particullarly wish to wear it, but my councilors all but demanded I wear it to, erm 'preserve our glorious tradition', or else they wouldn't support my regency... still not quite used to wearing them, even after months..." she explained, displaying to the Bravos a more **** side than she usually would to people. Of a young girl not only struggling to keep her father's nation safe, but also sitting in an unstable position, perpetually in danger and sorrounded by potential enemies wanting to take advantage of her.

"A-anyways, d-does anyone else have any questions?" she asked shyly, trying to move the conversation away from a topic that was clearly somewhat touchy for her. Still, only Becky spoke up, the rest not having much more to ask about after that.

"When we were coming in I saw many herbs on sale, and it make me think. I was hoping I may be able to briefly borrow some books from your library to learn about local plants, Miss Morita?" the small blonde asked, to which the dark-haired girl nodded emphatically.

"Yes, of course! You'll find the library... actually, it's practically next door to your guest rooms, mostly because I saved our best rooms for you. If you want, I can escort you all there" the young ruler said, latching onto a topic that not only kept the conversation moving, but also let her leave the throne room.

The rest quickly agreed to her proposal, and after officially gifting the map to Fuu to help them in the future, they were off, led by the stunningly scantily-clad Shoguness, towards the rooms they'd be staying in for the night.