Despite the victory they had just won, Regina and her allies had to make some difficult choices. She supposed it would be worse if they’d lost, although that might have also narrowed their options.

At the core of it was the same problem she assumed commanders had been facing since the Stone Age: they had too few fighters and too many objectives.

“We can’t just let the earldom lick its wounds and recover unthreatened,” Bianorn opined. He was leaning against the wooden conference table, looking at a map and frowning.

Regina glanced at the others. They were gathered in the room in the baron’s manor, standing a bit uncomfortably close together, but she’d refused to leave her drone commanders at home. Now, Max, Ben and Mia stood with her, their extra limbs making the room feel more crowded.

“We also can’t expose the village or the fort,” Max replied. He didn’t look any happier. “For all we know, the Cernlians and their allies have another strike force in the forest, just waiting for us to let our guard down.”

Anuis cleared her throat. “I assure you, we would know if they had built up such a strike force.” She paused for a moment. “Your point is not without merit, though. They do still have significant forces, not very far from the border. In that sense, my people’s recent victories are working against us, forcing them further out of the deeper regions of the forest. It is possible they could decide to scramble a strike force to clear the Cernlian part of the forest’s border.”

Regina nodded. From what she’d heard, it seemed the elves’ war was going very well recently. They were still closer to the Nerlian heartlands than here, though. “That means we shouldn’t send any significant forces out so far that they wouldn’t be able to make it back in time,” she said. “At least not without a strong force remaining behind.”

“How do the Hive’s numbers look like, Milady?” Neralt asked. “You are the only one of us who can expect significant reinforcements.” He made a bit of a face at that, as if he preferred not to think about where her reinforcements came from. She’d never actually come out and told him about it, but he wasn’t an idiot and had obviously figured it out.

“Our rate of reinforcement has increased,” Regina answered. So it seemed to her, at least. She suspected that the recent reinforcement to her psychic link actually made it easier for her to have more eggs developing, however that worked. Of course, it might just be having reached level 35. “Many of my Swarm Drones died, however. We only have about fifty War Drones here, currently, and not that many more Winged Drones. On the other hand, many of the surviving drones gained a few levels and have grown stronger.” They had a few more Evolutions, too, both among the Swarm Drones and a few among the sapient Hive members.

The others looked thoughtful. “Perhaps we could still send a few of the Winged Drones north,” Tia said. “Maybe a few drones who’ve Evolved?”

“We might also be able to do something with the Earl himself,” Mia added. “Since we have him in custody and everything.”

Regina smiled slightly. “You want me to win him over?” She shrugged, looking at the others to gauge their reactions. “Well, I guess it’s worth a try.”

“I’d also prefer to wait with any excursions until we know more about what has been happening in the south,” Anuis added. “Furthermore, I believe you have a new kind of drones coming, correct?”

Regina nodded. “They’ll hatch soon,” she confirmed. “You’re right, I think we can afford to wait a little until we get some more information to work with.”

The others nodded. The meeting trailed off soon after that. They’d held these little gatherings several times, and while Regina thought it was good to touch base, dragging them out would be a waste.

After it was over, Regina stepped out into the street and made her way to the village’s edge. She saw villagers working on their homes, aided by the occasional War Drone. She’d put most of them to work helping the village, mostly with cutting and carrying wood and simple tasks like that. The further she went, the more prominent the damage became, until she saw a few houses that probably needed to be rebuilt entirely. The sight made anger rise in her throat, and she clenched her jaw to stop herself from snarling subconsciously.

"We’ll rebuild,” Max said reassuringly. As always, he’d followed her quietly.

Regina glanced at him, but didn’t respond. Instead, she looked down the road at the healing tent. She found herself tugging on her mandible again and made herself stop.

“How many people died, Max?” she asked him quietly.

“I’m not entirely sure,” he answered after a moment. “We don’t have exact numbers for the enemy, it’s possible some of them ran and succumbed to their wounds.”

Regina just gave him a look at that evasive answer. “Still far too many,” she said. “And the worst thing is — well, not the worst thing, but I think some of them died that could have been saved if we had modern medicines. Healing magic is nice and all, especially the ability to just regrow anything, but still …”

“They made their choices,” Max said, his jaw set. “They came here, intruded into our territory, attacked our people.”

Regina shook her head. “Yeah. Right.”

They were quiet for a few seconds. Then Max asked softly, “Are you alright, Regina?”

Regina blew out a breath. “I’m angry,” she responded tersely. “I’m sure you’ve noticed. I’ve been able to control myself since I noticed it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel it. And intruders are just a convenient target.”

“Honestly, I’m sick and tired of all … this.” She gestured around them. “Of living in this time period, I guess. Now that I no longer had to scramble for survival, that we’ve started to see more of civilization, it’s really hit me. Especially now that I know my memories are real, that everything I remember actually existed.”

Max was quiet. She could tell that he didn’t know what to say.

“What are you going to do about it?” he finally asked.

Regina snorted. “Not much, I guess.”

She paused, looking into the fields outside without really seeing them. It’s not like I can take revenge even if I wanted to. “How would you even go about getting justice against gods?” she muttered, mostly musing to herself. Then she shook her head ruefully. “Let’s go. I’m tired of talking about this.”

Max looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn’t. In silence, the two of them continued on their way.

Regina stopped by the medical tents, looking in on some of the wounded. She did her best to help those who needed it, though she was running into the limits of her Spell. Basic Heal could do miraculous things, at least if you combined it with the medical knowledge Regina had, but it couldn’t regrow limbs, restore ones that were completely shattered, or treat anything but the most superficial of brain damage. It struggled with internal organs, too, especially if several of them were close to the point of failure. Luckily, she wasn’t the only one who could do healing. There were a few humans with the respective Classes and Skills, who were working to the point of exhaustion to cure as many patients as possible. At this point, she suspected that anyone who hadn’t shown major improvement wasn’t going to, though. Although that was, fortunately, a very small number. Many of the injured had already moved out of the makeshift infirmary.

Once she was done, her mana drained to the point she was uncomfortable spending any more of it, Regina stepped outside and took a deep breath. She knew that by this point, whether she poured more mana into healing or not didn’t make much of a difference, but it was still frustrating. She didn’t like the feeling of failure.

Regina shook her head and pushed those thoughts aside. She had more important things to think about. Like Ira, who was walking up to her with a piece of paper in her hand.

“We received another message from the army down south, my Queen,” she reported.

Regina took the letter and read it quickly. She nodded. “Good.” It seemed that things were working out nicely. The combined army had reached the town they’d been heading for and captured it without much of a fight. “Let’s go find the baron.”

They didn’t have to look very hard. Baron Neralt actually came to meet them just a few meters out from the healing tents. “Milady,” he greeted her with a respectful nod. “I was hoping to discuss a few things.”

“Me, too,” she answered. “Let’s take a walk.”

They remained quiet as they walked past the camp that had sprung up beside the village. Looking at the scene in front of her, Regina realized how much it had changed. Their palisade was mostly gone, but also being repaired. Most of the houses and a few wooden posts had ivy and a few other climbing plants covering them, which the drones harvested for food. They’d even planted a few berry bushes in strategic locations, where the thorns would hinder one’s passage in case of more attacks.

“We’ve had a bit of trouble with those berries,” the baron commented, probably noticing what she was looking at. “Children trying to eat them even after being told not to, that sort of thing.”

Regina turned back to him. “Oh. They shouldn’t?”

“They are mildly poisonous.”

Regina blinked in surprise. These were the same berries she and the drones had been eating since the beginning. “Not to us, they aren’t.”

“So I assumed,” he said drily.

Well, I suppose our metabolism seems set up to digest pretty much anything. Who knows, maybe humans lack an enzyme that can break down a toxic compound in the berries, but Hivekind do have one.

They kept walking for a minute in silence. Whatever he wanted to talk to her about, it didn’t seem to be urgent.

“What do you know about Earl Whitor?” she finally restarted the conversation.

Neralt smiled slightly. “Not very much, I’m afraid. We’re casually acquainted, nothing more. As a mere baron, and not one of his own vassals, I did not have many interactions with him. But he seems straightforward enough. He has a reputation as an honorable man.” He shrugged slightly. “Of course, they all do, until some scandal or other brings it down. Still, I do not believe he has any particular agenda here besides the obvious.”

Regina nodded, and suddenly wondered what Neralt’s own reputation in noble circles might be like.

"Of course, I believe he will not be very happy to have closer interactions with me,” Neralt continued. “Least of all as his captor. While his own loyalty to the king might be firm, that would only make him less sanguine about my own actions.“ He paused for a moment. “I have visited him since you woke him up, and it certainly does not seem like he is kindly disposed towards me.”

“Yes, I think I can see how that might hinder friendly relations.”

They continued walking slowly, with a short pause in the conversation. Then he spoke up again. “Milady, I hope you don’t question my loyalty.”

“No,” Regina said slowly, wondering if he was going to ask for something. “Of course not, you have never given me any reason to question you.” She still wouldn’t trust Neralt unconditionally, of course, but it would be stupid to make a point of that.

“Good,” he said. “Because this has only given me a small taste of what it would be like were I to go to the king’s men. Whether or not it was my idea to host you and see Lord Lyns rebel against the king, I would be treated like a traitor either way.” He scoffed slightly. “Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but I am in fact a traitor, at least to the crown, as it stands.”

“It can’t be easy for you,” Regina said. “You would’ve had to betray either the king or your direct superior and liege lord. Although, forgive me for saying so, but you didn’t seem too broken up about it.”

Neralt shrugged. “What can I say, Milady? Marquis Lyns was always a much better lord than the king, and to be honest, I always found it abominable how His Majesty treated him.” He shrugged slightly. “Besides, according to some, the marquis also has a good claim to the throne. His mother was the king’s father’s older sister. My mother says the late king married her off to the furthest estate of sufficient standing to get rid of her, although she only has it second- or third-hand. And I am not quite sure the Lyns march is actually the farthest, but the point might still stand.”

“The king and the marquis are actually cousins?” Regina raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t known that. Although I guess this might explain why he could start a rebellion that easily, or at least assume leadership of the rebels, if he has a valid claim to the throne to push. It looks like this is more of a succession war than I thought. She frowned to herself. Though I suppose someone would be going to replace the king anyway, if they win, and he’s the obvious candidate, either way.

“Sometimes I forget that you are a newcomer to these parts and lack much of the knowledge I take for granted,” the baron said. “Are you ever going to tell me about this, by the way? I know it’s impertinent to ask, but I would like to know.”

Regina hesitated for a moment. “There’s not — well, there is much to tell, but I don’t like to talk about it. Simply put, I feel I’m from a very different time or place. The knowledge I have doesn’t seem to fit, and I’m very different than I used to be. That is why I will continue to depend on your support, and your guidance.”

He smiled slightly and bowed his head. “I am at your service, Milady.”

They turned and made their way along a different field. The crops were a bit trampled here, although Regina assumed the villagers would be able to save most of them. Hopefully.

She gave her companion a sideways glance. It suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t know his level, or Tier. She’d just assumed he was in the third or maybe just second Tier, and he certainly acted like he didn’t have much combat capability. But there was his Class name, Master of the Earth. She couldn’t help but think of Enais’ ‘Mistress of the Forest’.

“Forgive me for asking, and I know this is rude. Lord Elric, in which Tier are you?”

He blinked, then smiled. “I am level sixty-one, Milady. In the fourth Tier.”

That was quite high. And he was telling her more than she’d asked for. He’s definitely after something, but it’s probably nothing nefarious. “I see,” she said. “Thank you for telling me.”

“Of course.” He inclined his head. “You might be wondering why I was not more active on the battlefield, but the truth is that my Class is not suited to directly fighting. My somewhat considerable stats are my only real advantage when it comes to combat. It is instead built around the land, my domain, especially considering the Class Skills I have picked. I can help my farmers through a hard winter or lean year with relative ease, I can tell the position of almost anything on the earth in my domain if I meditate on it, and I can shape the earth to my specifications, to some degree, although it is not a quick process.” He smiled wryly. “I apologize if it appears I was holding out on you, Milady.”

“Apology accepted,” she said distractedly. Those are some pretty interesting Skills. I wonder if I can make use of them?

She shook her head and focused on her companion. This would have been nice to know earlier. Although he had definitely thrown in his lot with her now. Or at least wanted to make her think so, but she wasn’t going to turn paranoid. “I’m sure we’ll continue to work together quite well, to the benefit of our land and all of our people.”

“Oh, certainly, Milady.”