While Frie carefully tapped into the sky spruce to harvest the sap and Kuch returned to shopping with renewed focus, I sat in my workshop in no mood for crafts. Not when I had to take in and reflect on what I'd just learned from an ancient tree who bore witness to a potential end of the world. Yeah, there was a lot to process here.

  So as it turns out, the Crystal Conflicts weren't just the yearly spat between nations doing a little power flexing. It had been utter total war, the likes of which on the scale of global conflicts of my old world- but made infinitely worse thanks in part to the fantasy elements. Magic-induced war crimes definitely make things even more horrible, to the point that one could almost be forgiven for giving up and writing the world off. Because what right did it have left to keep existing if the gift of magics and the like were ultimately abused so?

  Yet despite everything, the gods still believed in it so, enough to break their ancient pacts of non-intervention to finally act directly themselves.

  Lore-wise, they had always insisted and left things to their mortal champions. That had been the deal struck when they realized how mortals could not grow when the immortals walked the world, hence why they had retreated to watch afar from the heavens. Only their mortal agents could act on their behalf, to ensure a level playing ground for all and that had translated to fellow NPC adventurers whom the players had worked alongside to influence the world's story.

  Yet it sounded like when adventurers had vanished, so did they. Or maybe as they had been scarce and few in number compared to the players, when the servers shutdown arrived, they became a simple dwindling minority as time passed and more became restricted by the level cap. By the time the Crystal Conflicts had broken out, it was clear they were all gone- and nobody could stop the growing threat anymore in their place. Because, as it had been stressed many times in FLOW, people were illogical.

  They were greedy. They were honorable. They were envious. They were trusting. All these and more, the faults of those who lived only once, they mixed together into that explosive drama known as legacy. It had been why despite people claiming to have only the best interest of the world, they fought with one another. Why nations who had touted prosperity for their people would so easily levy them for war against foreign pours. Why even adventurers had even sometimes faced each other on the fields of battle, determined to prove their cause more just.

  All this and more had likely fueled the outbreak of the Crystal Conflicts. At this point, whoever had been right or wrong didn't matter. If the chosen voices of the gods couldn't quell the chaos, then there had been only one recourse the divines had left: wipe the slate clean, and try again.

  I guess, in a way, it was a raid wipe.

  So everybody was forced to start back from scratch- well, almost. It was clear civilization remembered what had come before, and there could still be traces of that old world lingering around. But so much had been lost in the fall like technology and knowledge, with so much gained like fear and stigma. And in breaking their ancient pact, the divines likely were driven further away from the mortal world in shame. I doubted their voices could even be heard anymore by their champions, which would explain why they had let such misunderstandings degrade this far.

  Well, I guess I wasn't going to confirm whether or not the Ten Lights were my actual player friends just pulling a trick on me anytime soon because of this. But even if they were, I think I might even let them off the hook for all this. I knew that choosing to intervene couldn't have been an easy choice, not when they beheld the suffocating world drowning in its own creation.

  But it had been the right one to keep the story turning onto the next page. It's what Mikel would have done.

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  "...And so the divines decided to sprinkle new life onto this world and out came all of us!" Lilita dramatically narrated to the group of awed village children. "Humans, kits, demons, dwarfs, elves, and so much more! We're all their mortal children, just like how the god of monsters seeded the world with their own kin. So it's up to us to fight them in the divine's stead too!"

  That earned some energetic whispers and murmurs from the audience, a few proclaiming that they'd hunt down mighty monsters one day. The kit was thankful she'd only taken a couple of drinks in for the moment and wasn't so sloshed to bluntly admit that fellow mortals could be the worst monster out of them all. The light in their eyes could shine bright for a little while longer.

  Eventually the various fathers and mothers came to usher their offspring back to their homes when the story was concluded. They filed out of the elder's house she'd been given to stay in for the winter, the poor individual having unfortunately been one of the first victims of the bandit occupation. But that recent takeover was already fading fast from memory, melting like snow on a warm day with worries of a return assured by the newfound force.

  Soldiers, instead of bandits this time around.

  "Lady Lilita-" the reporting captain began, only to be cut off by the exorcist raising her hand .With resignation, they watched her po open and take deep swig from a bottle of cheap wine, the only sort of alcohol a village of this size would have.

  "Gah, but that's the good stuff!" she exclaimed, mood immediate buoyed by the alcohol in her system. "Ah, what is it now? Trouble?"

  They fidgeted, still slightly taken aback by the apparent true side of the holy woman. But they were both loyal and disciplined to not speak on, even to their subordinates. "Nothing of the sort. Another squad emerged, asking if the rumors were true about your return. And if they could fight under your banner then."

  "Ah, really? Well, you know the drill," she yawned and stretched, working out kinks in her tail. "Make sure they hadn't act dishonorably or disgracefully like pillaging villages. I can forgive a little requisition if compensation was promised later, but only the Ten can forgive truly heinous acts."

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  "Of course. I do know their sergeant, they've got a good head on them and know better than to smear the honor of Viszal."

  "That really doesn't mean much more, does it?" Alcohol had certainly loosened her tongue and she made sure of that with another pull of the bottle. The captain simply sighed and made sure the door was closed behind them. "Really. I couldn't have imagined that soon after I left, father's health deteriorated and brother basically became the acting duke then."

  "It did feel a little too convenient, if I might say something on that matter. I hesitate to suggest, but you do you think-" They faltered, realizing what they were about to say, only for Lilita to fill in the blanks

  "That he poisoned father? It's not impossible, but I don't think it likely. More than anything, it was likely just a happening that spurred Eifer on. He likely took it as a sign from above that his time had come and accelerated his own agenda, gaining the approval of the local religious authorities by supporting their witch-hunts."

  "To think Levitca would go that far-"

  "Ah, Levitica isn't involved in this. I would know, I'm a member," she airily said with another sip of wine. "But the church's influence is wider than the branch that teaches the manifestation of miracles. It encompasses the great institutes like Magia and Celia too, with chaplains and missionaries who spread the faith far and wide. That isn't even mentioning the different sects, leaders, and it's a right mess that I don't think anybody quite gets, even the gods! Aha!" Lilita giggled with another gulp, and frowned, realizing she was already halfway through the bottle. She faintly recalled being requested to keep it one a day for rationing and grumbled briefly about it.

  "If...if that is what you say then," the captain muttered, no stranger to the games played at courts but neither a familiar actor in them. "But then, should you reclaim the duchy, what will happen then? Will you still support the church even if it is technically a violation of your vows?"

  She made a face and decided she definitely wasn't drunk enough yet. "I told you, again and again! I'll worry about it when it comes to that, I just came home to pickup some more money for my living expenses. Living in a monastery isn't cheap, especially when I can't even buy the booze they make to look prim and proper! I gotta sneak out to buy my drinks!"

  "I almost wish that you kept prim and proper with me too, my lady…"

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  Gregori couldn't help but feel very pleased at the inventory report. Both necessary tools and seeds had been successfully procured at a bargain price, along with even the bonus of some livestock to already work the fields or act as supplementary food sources. "Very good job, Teodor. While overconfidence might be underestimation, I believe you've at least a strong foundation to already get the settlement going as soon as a suitable site is selected. You might still have to rough it out with a week or two camping, but you should at the very least have the basic buildings up before next winter at least."

  "Father, you handled most of the purchases though," his heir commented with a wry smile. "I ended up just buying more food to help replenish our castle stockpiles."

  The duke blinked, then returned his attention to the report. "Is that so," he mumbled, a little shamefaced. "My mistake. It's your expedition after all, you should be handling these details."

  "As you say, my lord. Though father, I'm not opposed to this side of you either," Teodor mentioned, drawing the older vampire's attention up to them. "I might have been very young when mother died, but I still remember you smiling a lot more back then. The years since then have been hard, especially since my older brother died- but I think she'd be proud of where we've come. Noel and Puppet Atelier especially have eased so many burdens and duties of us that we can finally relax just a bit.

  "Though not all the way," he hastily added after a moment's pause and glanced at the purchased map of the western regions of the empire. "The neighboring chaos is of course worrisome, and we have to keep an eye on any rising players. Any of them rising up to match us before we can successfully establish our western expansion would be quite troublesome."

  "Indeed. It should be my duty to make that happen then," Gregori noted in a forlorn and reluctant tone. Of course it was his duty, but it was definitely the heavier of the two burdens to shoulder. One he would have never hesitated to before; So why did he feel this way now?

  Before he could think more on the matter, there was a knock on the office door. Upon being granted permission, his daughter entered and respectfully greeted the two men. "Kuch seems to be back to their regular self and went shopping again. However, instead of heading straight for the caravan on its last day, they went to first purchase items like eggs, milk, and chicken meat," Petula dutifully reported. "They also did visit the caravan later to purchase a few bags of spices, as well, but that's about it."

  Spices though could be very expensive, even at cut rates. Her daughter produced a full expenditure report that showed it thankfully wasn't such a huge expense, the doll apparently having only purchased enough to spice up maybe a half a dozen mealtimes. But for what reason? Noel had repeatedly mentioned they don't taste or eat food, the food they did make was usually out of consideration for guests.

  "They also did ask if House Cordis would be interested in having a little celebratory feast at Puppet Atelier, something about a holiday. If that doesn't work, then they wish to demonstrate a showcase, they claim, of what the future could be like."

  Ah, that explained much. Gregori shared a look with Teodor, who checked a few reports before nodding. "We can afford to perhaps take a few days off. It's the least we could do especially after all the help they've given already. And you'll need an escort back anyway to resume your training."

  "Agreed, father. I'll let Kuch know that we accept Noel's invitation."

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