Meet the others.

Lady Isabelle Turner leads the way back from the throne room, to the hallways of the manor. She walks ahead, while you stand between both Xiaoqing and Nyllia, at your left and right respectively. Truly they're still both stunning sights to behold. You look down at yourself, and while you look incredibly regal yourself, you can't help but admire the beauty of both women stepping along beside you.

Xiaoqing is a blue-haired traveller from afar--Earthling like yourself--though in her time here she's clearly become something far more fantastic. She may not carry with her the confidence of the other, but she's an adorable, lovely girl with an exterior of ice, though the sort which glistens beneath the sun of a perfect winter morning, and within is a hidden warmth. Nyllia on the other hand is a noble templar and draws the eyes of others wherever she goes. Not only is she famous across Tivera as an adventurer, but she can back up those claims, and then some. If a woman of snow marches at your left, one of golden flames is instead at your right.

"Something kinda unimportant I've been thinking about," you speak up, mostly to your allies than to your guide. "The cities of Tivera vote for their mayor. But the Empire's ruler is decided by royal blood. Also the Empire is ruled by the Queen, instead of an Empress. The Kingdom of Varat is the one with an Emperor instead of a King."

"Is that so strange?" Nyllia asks.

"It is a little weird," speaks up Xiaoqing. "Though do you ever wonder if some of this stuff is just a mistranslation?"

"Huh. I guess the language we're speaking right now isn't exactly our native one," you say.

"Though this world does just seem odd in general."

"Every world is probably bizarre in their own way."

Lady Turner twists her head and looks to the party, confused. "The only thing bizarre is the conversation you're having. Also, we're here."

You stop at a doorway. It looks otherwise ordinary, besides the rich beauty of the home itself--halls decorated by paintings, floor covered by a lovely red carpet. Your guide turns the door, though stands aside to allow everybody else to enter. Immediately, you're greeting by a pleasant, relaxing scent. It smells like cinnamon. Once you enter, you can see a stick of incense burning opposite of you, just beneath a closed window with an exterior decorated by a bed of flowers. The interior is warmed by a flame, crackling and roaring within a fireplace of brick.

A sofa sits beneath the window. Another, perpendicular to that, faces the fire instead. Behind that one is a large bookshelf nearly filled. There's a seat nearby as well, closer to the warmth of the flame--perfect for reading in quiet solitude.

The window seat is where you see all three other members.

Sitting beside the rightmost armrest is a woman that looks shockingly familiar. It brings a chill up your spine. She's the spitting image of Princess Abigail, which does make sense given they're all siblings, including the one pretending to be one, though you can't help but think back to all that happened. The best way to describe her would be to say she looks like if Abigail were older, which also makes sense. The high doppel had supplanted herself as the youngest sister.

Unsurprisingly, given she's related to Catherine, she has a stunning figure. Thick golden locks flow down well past her shoulders. Though her eyes are just as cute as Abigail's, there's more wisdom there to be found instead of naive innocence. Her dress is pure white, tied with deep blue strings, so that's familiar as well, though it's cut a bit lower, and instead of the dress reaching all the way down, it ends above her knees, with pale stockings to cover her legs instead, right down into glistening blue and silver flats. She has two gold rings in each lobe, and one especially decorated band of jewels around her right hand's ring finger. She has quite the prominent chest, and though she's sitting, she seems to be somewhat shorter than her older sister as well. Her hips are wider though.

One of Catherine's parents must have had black hair, and the other was blonde. Though if I look past the colour of their hair, their faces are so similar. Catherine is barely older. If they did each other up the same, they could pass for twins.

Perhaps it's because she's a mother, but she also comes across as an entirely different sort of mature, especially in her tone of speaking. Though her voice is soft, almost whispered, there's something calming about hearing her words. "That's him, dear," she says to her husband sitting nearby. "Kyle Warren."

On the opposite end of the sofa, separated by their child, sits Prince Finaros. He's garbed in a flashy, frilly, deep green suit bedazzled with with pieces of silver, and ruby jewels on his buttons. His hair is short and brown, and it comes to a long, swirly curl down over his forehead, which bounces with each and every movement he makes. He looks to be a little older than she is, though not by a lot. Enough for Catherine to be younger than him, however.

Though he doesn't speak, your Kitty Sense immediately senses the passive aggressive sarcasm in the way he moves his eyes, and shifts in his seat--crossing leg over the other as he doesn't meet your eyes.

And between them is little Prince Einarr. He seems to be only around three years old. He has a short, dirty blond bowl cut, and has a small, shiny, navy blue suit, in a similar style to that of his father. He hops from the couch before anybody else and shouts, "Wow! Those girls are really pretty."

Finaros scoffs. "Not as pretty as your mother, of course." His hair swirl bounces. "Not even close."

Dayna frowns. "Honey, that's quite rude to say." Then she stands and bows her head towards her guests. "Greetings, everybody. As you know, I am Princess Dayna of Tivera. And those dresses are so lovely. I'm jealous. Perhaps this evening, people will mistake one of you for the queen."

"You are too kind," says Nyllia. "And I do not know if you remember me, but I am Lady Nyllia Tesgella, adventurer and knight of Tivera. It is a pleasure to be allowed within your home."

"I believe I do, though your reputation is what I know of most."

"Beside me here is Lady Xiaoqing of Castle Phoenix. And as for the gentleman, I believe you certainly know that already."

You bow politely. "Kyle Warren. I've spoken to your sister many times. It's an honour to finally meet her younger sister. The real one this time."

"Oh dear." Colour grows across the Princess' face. "I've heard the entire story. I can't believe that happened in my absence. From what I understand, the high doppel modelled its appearance partially off me, so I imagine it's quite strange for you now."

"She was quite... forward with me."

She chuckles. "I can be quite forward as well."

Finally, Prince Finaros stands. He clears his throat in an attempt to steal everyone's attention. "Greetings then. My name is Prince Finaros of Tivera. Beside me is my son, Prince Einarr. Say hello, child."

The little one looks up at you in awe, fixated. "He looks so cool."

"Child! I said to greet him. Don't be rude now."

"H-Hello. You look so cool."

"Thanks," you respond. "That means a lot. You look pretty cool yourself."

Einarr claps excitedly.

From outside the doorway, you can hear a voice. "Thank you, Lady Turner. You're dismissed for now." It's the queen. She then enters, and the door shuts at last behind her. Queen Catherine II immediately takes the attention of everybody in the room, more than even the loudest throat-clearing possible from Finaros. She moves with effortless, unspoken charisma, though perhaps it's more accurate to say that it's been learned through many years of experience, especially more recent happenings that would have shaped any ingot into a sharpened dagger if it were to have survived, which she did.

She looks between the others. "I see introductions have happened. Please, have a seat."

Dayna, Einarr, and Finaros sit back down again. Meanwhile, you take the middle of the sofa facing the fireplace, while Xiaoqing and Nyllia join, keeping on your left and right. As for the queen herself, she sits down upon the chair. With a sigh of comfort, she leans back, and slowly crosses one leg over the other. The cut of her dress slips from her thigh, showing a generous amount of skin, though not enough to expose anything risque.

"First, I would like to say something," speaks the queen. "Once Demon King. Now Hero King. I am beyond honoured to host the ruler of Castle Phoenix, Kyle Warren, here within this home of mine. The others here of my family were not present during the attack. Whether they know this already, I want them to understand that Tivera may have fallen without the intervention of Kyle and his people."

"Sorry, Catherine, but I can't believe that to be true," says Finaros. "Our soldiers are unmatched. Varat won't even touch Wolvenhood. And on top of that, the Circle of the Unicorn's headquarters are within our capital city. I'm not saying this private army of his didn't help, but still."

It's Nyllia who speaks up next. "Pardon my disagreement, but as strong as Tivera may be, its guardsmen were not enough. On top of that, the Circle of the Unicorn cares for themselves first and foremost. It took Kyle's influence to even convince them to help as much as they did."

"She speaks the truth," adds Catherine.

"But surely one Demon King could not have fallen an entire empire such as ours," Princess Dayna chimes in. "Though that doesn't matter much. If his intervention saved even one life, it was greatly appreciated."

"This was no ordinary Demon King," you explain. Then you stand. Your presence is towering. Perhaps it's your cloak, the suit made by Luna, the power you've amassed, or the charisma you've learned, but everybody looks to face you with widened eyes, perhaps even moreso than the entrance of the queen. "I am Kyle, traveller from another planet. Earth. The man who you speak of, Elok Daven, was once called David, and was from Earth as well. He teamed up with an ancient witch named Breiah, and through experimentation, manipulation, and a lot of patience, they ascended him to near godhood by playing with the rules of this world. Not only that, but they were able to coerce their way into this very royal family by means of Thadius. It was a long, calculated ****. We made him play his hand sooner than he wanted, and we took it all apart with such as much strategy. An ordinary Demon King? That would have been Sa'dis, who I also slayed. This was something else."

Getting red in the face, Finaros stands as well. "Sit down, sir! This is the house of--"

Dayna places a hand up his arm. "Dear."

But next, it's the queen who stands. "I will have no combat in my household. Prince Finaros, control yourself or I will throw you from this room, even if you're married into this family. Everything Kyle has said is true. We were close to succumbing to the worst case scenario. If you weren't here, you may not comprehend the magnitude of it. Now everybody sit back down. That includes you, Kyle. Apologies."

And you do, as do the others.

Through the awkward silence that follows, Einarr speaks up next. "Can you tell me about the golden soldiers, Mr. Warren?"

Dayna giggles. "Sweetie. I appreciate you calling him Mister, though that's a king, just like how aunt Catherine is a queen."

"Sorry. King Warren."

"Golden soldiers?" you ask, and then ponder. "Oh. You mean the ELIS automatons. They were made in the Demon King's likeness. The so-called perfected version of his ALICE golems, which you may have heard about as well. They looked like girls with green hair and almost wood-like skin. We destroyed every ELIS, as they were nothing more than mindless weapons. The ALICEs though, they scattered all over, free from Elok Daven's influence. One has lived with me for a long time now, even before all that happened."

"Wow. So your friends with a golem?"

"Yeah! She's very nice."

Dayna can't help but smile warmly at your interaction. Faint red comes to her cheeks as she watches you interact so naturally with her son.

Xiaoqing leans in to whisper to your ear. "Thank you, for not talking about me."

She's from Earth as well. You could have mentioned her, but you figured she'd rather stay as anonymous as possible for now. "Of course," you whisper back. "How are you doing?"

"I'm actually quite relaxed."

"That's good to hear."

Once again, Einarr speaks up. "Can you tell me about the Sports Festival? I wish I could have gone."

Catherine leans forward from her seat and crosses her fingers. With a wide smile, she watches you closely. "It looks like you may have to stay here for a time, dear Kyle. Little Einarr won't rest unless he hears a couple more stories from you and your friends."

You shrug. "Shoot. Well, if I have to stay here with the always-stunning Queen Catherine II, so be it."

Finaros crosses his arms. "Oh please," he mutters under his breath, though not much caring to hide it.