"Absolutely not." Aurelia crosses her arms and replies with a sour expression on her face.

"Why are you so opposed to this?" I've been learning under her since before my official coronation, and there's always more for her to teach me, so she's obviously the best choice.

"Because I wish to come with you." The golden girl's expression softens as she looks up at me.

"Oof, that was a critical hit." My defenses against an attack from that angle were down, so I took full damage from her gaze. There's no way I can refuse her coming with me to Armeria now.

Well, it was just a thought. I don't ever want to be separated from any of my girls again, so I'm going to bring all of them with me from now on. It's not a vacation, but I'd pick some of the maids to come with me through a lottery. I'm taking along Nymphy by default though.

"So, you want to go to Adanak and see how it's doing?" Tokomaha asks in our language. She still has an accent, but her progress has been incredible. She initially made excuses by saying that she only wanted to learn it so that she can understand what we're talking about. But her real motivation was to be closer to me all along. It's just another expression of her tsundere side.

"Yeah. There are several things I need to keep watch over in the Dominion, but Mataku poses a bigger threat to the world as a whole than the Old Humans." I turn to the little goddess with the leaf hair. She has started to tie the willow-like branches and leaves that grow from her head into a giant ponytail during meals recently. It's quite evident that it's to entice me rather than for convenience's sake.

"The movements in the Fatas Triarchy worry me." Hestia comments. At first glance, it may not seem related to my wish to visit Armeria, but the truth is that the Fatas have an iron grip on the humans in their nation, which they keep like slaves. Even if the influence of the gods has waned, the triarchy is large enough to start another war if they learn of my absence.

"Should we pay them a visit before going to Adanak?" I turn to the angel girl and ask. She has lost any attachments to her homeland even before I met her, and as a fallen angel with black wings, she feels a closer connection to demons than her kin. Her expression is neutral when talk about the Fatas Triarchy comes up.

"I believe that would be for the best. If they refuse peace, they shall have war then." The Black Valkyrie states with one of her bloodthirsty smiles. Then a giant crab claw lightly bops her on the back of the head, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Stop that." Kamii says with her usual deadpan expression. The angel girl and the little dark elf have grown quite close over the past few months, so an interaction like the one just now has become commonplace between them. "We can't attack them."

"She's right. If we attacked first, we would be sending a message to the other nations that the Dominion is willing to use force to subjugate them. We'd just start another war." I explain with a sigh. It's not that Hestia doesn't understand politics, but she seems to be too excited at the prospect of killing her hated kin.

"Trying to maintain the moral high ground is doable with enough power, but it's by no means easy." Senka adds to the conversation with one of her tidbits of wisdom.

"We need to find Sintress." Even though she said that she doesn't want to flaunt her false godhood, at this point, she's the only one who can control the Fatas. I saw at Erbilan how they revered her while completely ignoring Exla, so she's still recognized as one of their gods despite opposing Zenlith.

Sintress made the human and Fata army leave back then, but she didn't give a definite order for them never to attack again. Few Fatas died, and there are many more where they came from, so their thirst for war is most likely still strong - unlike that of the humans, who have been beaten bloody in that last battle.

"What first?" Korenga asks with a thick accent. She learned the language alongside Tokomaha but displayed less enthusiasm in the process so she isn't as good yet. She understands most of our conversations, but forming complete sentences is still difficult for her.

"First comes the meeting with the clans. The treachery of the Vampire Court has finally been uncovered." Rewera interrupts our planning for a journey away from the Dominion.

I look up from the dinner table and find the maid leader towering over me. She's as intimidating as ever, but I've gotten used to her so her overbearing matron-like presence no longer cows me. And I'm the queen, so at the end of the day, she still has to listen to my decisions.

"Can't Chandra do something about that?" I roll my eyes. The vampire clan turned traitors during the human invasion, but there has never been definite evidence of it until now. Codebreakers were finally able to decipher the code Ascelin Sheason, the relatively young female leader of the court, used to write correspondence with the Alliance. Senka obviously had a hand in that.

"Lady Chandra wants nothing to do with such matters." I know that the Ajura clan leader stays away from politics, but the way Rewera said it makes it sound like she's too lazy to care. She's the leader of one of the Four Great Clans and known as the Kingmaker, but that doesn't mean she likes to live up to those titles. All that matters to her is fighting strong opponents.

"What about Nilotec?" I grasp at straws; in truth, Great Clan leaders Oquachit and Markor would both have more authority than the crocodilian general when it comes to matters regarding clans.

"Lord Nilotec has his hands full with taking over administration in Rodens." Despite knowing that he shouldn't have the power to pass judgment on the Vampire Court, Rewera still regards my question with an earnest answer.

After the - hopefully - last great war against humanity, Ophalen retired at a venerable age of over a hundred and thirty, and left it all to his first son Nilotec. The ceremony was conducted last month, but his newfound responsibilities keep tying the crocodilian down.

The only reason I mentioned Nilotec is that the Petsobek are like the natural enemies of the Vampire Court. With their hard scales and visceral fighting style, they can easily cut through the masses of artificially bred thralls of the court. Vampires themselves are physically stronger than humans, but not nearly on the level that allows them to compete with Kirali.

"When is the hearing going to be?" I sigh and give up.

"The Vampire Court has been ordered to appear in Arkaim in three days." Ignoring my attitude, Rewera informs me in a neutral tone.

"Do you think I could make it to the moon and back in three days?" I turn to Aurelia, who chuckles at my joke. Admittedly, I could most likely make it there in an hour or so, but the thing that disguised itself as Juzual on the moon is a Crawling Chaos, so I'm sure I'll be stuck there for a while if things go south.