Call a meeting.

"Sports Festival?!" Niki exclaims in excitement.

You sit at the head of the table in the War Room as Yin stands behind you with her hands politely together in front of her waist. Around the table itself sits Niki, Eva, Amara, Lynx, Snow, Nyllia, Vivi, and to the surprise of others, Catherine the vampire. While you could have only called for your main trio, you feel as if their speciality isn't in the way of planning, and you also would rather not cram the entire population of Castle Phoenix into this room either. The letter itself has been placed right in the center of the table, and its contents were already read. Now they're all murmuring to one another. So, you stand tall, and already the group quiets down and looks in your direction.

"So as you can see, this is a bit of a strange situation, but I suppose that's par for the course. Let's go over what we know about everything, because this is the biggest move Elok has made, besides the tunnels beneath Tivera, though those were meant to be secret." With all these eyes on you, it takes a moment and a deep breath to gather your nerves, though somehow it comes easily. You've grown used to this, especially with how close you feel with all of these girls. "All right. If the tunnels continue south, it would potentially mean his base is located somewhere in that direction. He also has insectrin on his side in addition to his magical constructs. And now, after we rescued the queen, and discovered his tunnel, he calls for a Sports Festival, which would gather everyone together to partake in competitions and games."

Nyllia raises her hand politely. When you give her a nod, she speaks. "Given the proximity to Tolis, many people may attend as well. Though it is hard to imagine his plan would lead to ****. If he had the means to massacre that many people in one location, he would have done so already, and it would be far too risky. This plan seems too specific for that to be the result. Therefore, we have to assume its public nature is related to something else, and I pose that he wishes to finally reveal himself."

"Indeed," Vivi speaks without a gesture. "Nobody knows who he is, yet he calls himself Demon King all the time. Maybe this is how he'll declare something to the Empire."

Lynx, however, raises her hand. She just doesn't wait for a response before speaking. "In my opinion, the plan is to lure us away from Castle Phoenix. I suggest we don't bring everyone if we choose to go."

"Oh! Uhm, uhm..." Eva starts to speak, but shuts her mouth as she raises her hand impatiently.

"Yes, Eva?" you ask.

"We should use the scrying mirror to speak with Lady Vex and ask if she was invited."

"Hm. Good idea. Yin, can you bring that to us?"

"Of course, Master," speaks the devil. Such an item is kept in this room for a reason, so she walks quickly over to one of the shelves and lifts the ornate glass. After walking back to the table, she places it down flat in front of you.

"Thank you." Then with a deep breath, you focus your mind, and use the item to call the other side.

It doesn't take long at all. Unsurprisingly, it isn't Vex herself to answer the call, but Masumi as usual. As her face comes into view beyond the glass, it's quite a bit closer than usual. As the image shifts around, you get the idea that perhaps she isn't clothed. From the glimpses beneath her neck, you spy her cleavage, yet no hint of fabric over her shoulders or below. It's impossible to tell due to it remaining strategically just high enough not to show anything off. Her eyes appear tired, but she smiles warmly at your appearance.

"... Mmm. What is it?" she asks with a voice deeper and more rough than usual. It's how she must sound in the morning, which is to say adorable.

"It's almost dinner time. Were you sleeping?" you ask.

"Oh sweetie. You didn't call me just to ask how I slept, did you?"

"Well, it's a bit of a more specific question than that, surprisingly. Did you and Vex happen to get a weird invitation sent to you?"

"Ah. Yes we did. What a lovely coincidence. I was going to call you after I had some tea. It seems my initial theory was correct then. This Sports Festival isn't only for the people, but for the Demon Kings of the land as well, or at least the ones nearest, or perhaps those who wish to attend. I'm uncertain who else would have received such a letter, but if I had to guess, I would say that Cresswell boy as well."

"Thanks, Masumi. We gotta discuss this more, so I'll talk to you later."

She gently bites her lip. "Don't be a stranger, Mr. Warren," she says slowly, and her end cuts out before you do so yourself.

Letting that sink in, you release the mirror and look over your allies.

"I guess that's another thing then, huh?" you finally say. I could call William too, but this is enough. I think that pretty much tells it all. Also, I can't help but think about the thing I was told before about not trusting him. Kinda silly though, cuz I don't trust Elok either, so really it's hard to trust any of them.

Snow speaks up. "I suppose if all Demon Kings are invited, perhaps the intention is not to invade, unless he has the means to do so with everybody simultaneously. That being said, we should still be cautious and leave guard behind."

You cross your arms. "Let's be real. King Thadius definitely is in cahoots with Elok Daven, Hero King title aside. They **** me into the mountains, and now they're baiting me to come. They know how tempting it is for us. We could learn so much, and we'd love to face both of them."

Amara raises her hand politely.

"Yes?" you ask.

"What if we do not attend at all?"

"But I wanna!" Niki blurts out.

You chuckle. "Yeah. We could theoretically just not go at all, but I think we need to take this bait. We just need to take it the right way."

Cat stands up as well--an intimidating visage, such an old, mighty vampiress looming over the others at the table. However, it's not her they serve. Even she looks to you with respect, despite the eyes looking back at you being the same ones that wished so ill of you in the past. "After the queen is cured, bringing her would be the wrong move, in my opinion. That's what I wish to add."

"But wouldn't revealing the queen to the people be the best move?" Vivi asks. "Like, her return, right?"

"No. The crown has already been passed. King Thadius would need to willingly give back the crown or be put in a similar situation as the queen. Or die. Also, this Sports Festival was revealed to us shortly after freeing her. I believe he actually wants us to bring her."

Suddenly, the door to the treasure room slowly creaks open. Emerging from inside is Stax, who doesn't even notice what's going on at first. She sashays her hips up the stairs, and smacks the door shut with her ass while she scribbles things down on a piece of paper. Her red eyes stare up at the meeting going on in front of her. For a long moment, she stares, darting her eyes between the others, and then she grins. "Am I missing a party?" she asks.

"Something a little more serious," you reply.

"Sorry about that. I was just taking inventory."

You stare her over for a lengthy moment with your Kitty Sense tingling in your mind. "You're lying."

She stares back for just as long. Then she breaks into a fit of laughter. "Wow. Nothing gets past you, Kyle. Yeah yeah, I was taking inventory while ago, but then I heard stuff going on, so I've been listening in from the other side of the door."

"It's fine. This meeting isn't secret. I just couldn't go and bring every single person here. Come on over."

Surprised by such kindness, she tosses the paper and pen onto the floor and hops up onto the nearest chair. "Don't mind if I do."

"So what did you hear? All of it?"

"That's right. Also, I've got a weird little thing to propose, actually. Just a theory. So like, this Elok guy probably lives someplace south, right? And he's got those ant chicks. Just spit balling here, and it'd be pretty weird if true, but isn't the old base of the Demon King who created the insectrin also south?" She gives a tug up on her top, readjusting her busty body in her tight-fitting attire. "I dunno if that's where his main base is, but maybe he used it, or is using it."

Nyllia shakes her head. "That place was completely cleared of everything when the Demon King was slain. Nothing was left."

Yin taps on your shoulder shyly. "Uhm. Pardon me, Master. But what was it that Elok Daven wanted with you again? This is all so confusing for me."

"Right. Well, to be fair, I don't know for certain, but it seems that Elok was able to summon humans from Earth, albeit not without a lot of effort, since he was only able to get both me and William... I assume. Also, humans from Earth have no potential to use mana or have a class, so his main experiment was playing God and creating classes himself. William and I were successful experiments, though neither of us turned to his side, which is presumably what he was hoping for. That means he could still have the means to travel to Earth, and he could still have the means to mess with classes."

Vivi tilts up the brim of her cap. "I'd like to add that it wasn't just him. My sister was there too. For all we know, she did most of the work."

"That's true."

"Isekai Theory. That's what Lord Barkis mentioned way back," Eva says. "Something about the theory that there's another world in addition to ours, and somehow, people and objects end up here that were over there, whether they're summoned, or it's by accident."

"Oh yeah. The guy from the Circle," adds Niki.

"I wonder if the Circle of the Unicorn will be there, or watching. Seems like something a wizard council would want to know about," you ponder aloud. "Who do we know from the Circle so far again?"

Eva counts with her fingers. "Lady Vazeela Sulta, transmuter. Lord Drev Barkis, enchanter. And uhm... my dad. Rada Beela, pyromancer. All chairmen, so like, the main people. The top wizards. Though I don't actually know how many there are."

Stax leans back. "So if Vex is a Demon King, and Daven is a Zero King, and Thadius is a Hero King, does that make you the Ero King?"

"I'm gonna throw you right back into our vault of gold," you reply.

"You have no idea how much I'd get off to that."