Using the lights of the city as guides, I start flying around and scanning with my mana. However, after doing a full sweep of the city I don't find any elves at all. I can't bring myself to believe that the elves I bought earlier were the only ones in the city.

So, I do another sweep of the city, but this time I go slower and use more mana. Still, I don't find any signs of any elves, but I do find an odd area in the city. There is one specific mansion in the city that my mana can't penetrate to scan.

Once I have finished sweeping the city I return to the mansion and land outside. Then I shapeshift to my elven form and put on my cloak planning to sneak in. However, before I do I examine the walls of the estate and find a network of detection spells on it.

If I so much as touch the wall an alarm will sound, but it is not just a single spell. Instead it is a bunch of spells linked together and if I break one the others will go off. Unfortunately, they also cover the area above the walls, meaning if I go over the wall I will be detected.

The spells pretty much form a dome over the mansion, they even cover underground. The only reason I didn't set them off when I flew over was because I was higher than the spell reaches. Someone went to an extraordinary amount of effort to protect this estate.

Of course, that just makes me really curious as to what is inside the estate that is so important. So, using the cloak, I blend into the shadows and circle around the estate. Unfortunately, I am unable to find a single gap in the network of detection spells.

As I am searching I also notice that there are no guards outside the walls of the estate. However, looking through the gate I am able to find that there are guards patrolling inside. The guards are patrolling in pairs and each pair has a wolf-like beast with them.

Even if I get inside and manage to avoid being spotted, the beasts will pick up my scent. This level of security is really amping up my curiosity, but I can't figure out how to get inside. About the only idea I have would be to set off the entire network and try to sneak in during the confusion.

However, that will only work if they don't call for help, if they do it would attract way too much attention. If I am going to resort to that kind of thing I should wait until after I leave the city. Before I can do that I need to wait for the princess to send me my sword.

She should have reached safety by now and this is the city I told her I would be heading to. That is why I don't want to cause a big fuss just yet, so I shapeshift back to an eagle and fly back to the inn. Grimgar is asleep when I get back, so I sit down, open a soulscape, and invite Myria and the kids.

Myria says "Hi, Ash!"

"Hello, Myria. Are you able to report on what has been going on now?"

Myria says "Yep! First, and most serious, the conflict with the Empire has been increasing. The kingdom, Illium, and the Free Union have tried using political pressure to end it. Unfortunately, since the beast lands are not a recognized kingdom, they were unsuccessful."

"What level has the conflict reached?"

Myria says "The imperial army has sent forces into our lands a couple of times. However, so far Leonarr has won every single conflict!"

"That is good! How is the army doing?"

Myria says "Really good! The new training has improved their skill level a lot. Also after all the fights against the empire the morale of the army is really high!"

"That isn't too surprising. It is a result of having a common enemy! What else?"

Myria says "The city construction is going well, right on schedule according to Mason. The road network already covers about a quarter of the beast lands."

"Good, good! What about the conversion process I left Nived in charge of?"

Myria says "It is already complete! At least for all the beastmen who have joined us!"

"That is faster than I expected! Nived must have worked hard, thank him for me!"

Myria says "Will do! Oh, you probably already guessed it, but Lizzy already left for the Free Union. Also, Muyaun's scouts have spotted the demons, they are building a road across the land bridge."

"That doesn't surprise me. It is hard to move troops over rough terrain. Tell Muyaun to have her scouts do what they can to slow down the progress. Suggest leading beasts to them, those beasts on the land bridge were fairly strong."

Myria says "Don't remind me! Alright, I will tell her! Although, I still don't trust her!"

"Good! Neither do I!"

Myria says "Then can I kill her?"

"No! Not only do I doubt you could kill her on your own, but she is still useful."

Myria says "You think I can't handle her? You have no idea how much stronger I have gotten!"

"Myria, if Muyaun didn't have an extreme weakness to my holy magic I am not sure I could handle her! Besides, her tribe basically worships her as a goddess. If we killed her we would have to massacre her entire tribe!"

Myria says "Alright, I will leave her alone. For now."

"Good. Anyway, it sounds like everything is going well!"

Myria says "There have been issues and setbacks, but the people you left in charge have dealt with them."

"It is good to know that my trust wasn't misplaced. I will need all of them to help me run a kingdom!"

Myria says "You mean you will have them run the kingdom while you run around, right?!"

"Yeah, probably. I am really not good at sitting still."

Myria says "That's fine. Just promise me that the next time you run off you will take me with you!"

"I promise! Honestly, I never expected going through the gate to turn out like this!"

Myria says "Whatever! Anyway, that is the end of my report. The only ones I can't tell you about are Isabella and Ruby. No one has heard from them as far as I know."

"That's easy! Isabella, Ruby, I invite you to my soulscape!"

Myria and I sit and watch the kids playing while we wait to see if they show up. Due to the time difference it feels like an hour has passed before they appear. When they appear, before anyone can say anything, Ruby throws a fireball at me.

Isabella says "Ruby! What did I tell you about being rude?!"

Ruby says "What's going on? I know this is your soulscape, but that still should have hurt you!"

"It is nice to see you too, Ruby!"