"Ahem!" Scarlett cleared her throat, drawing their attention back to the matter at hand.
"So where do I begin? It's a small task, but you'll need to execute it perfectly. Especially you, Vermillion," she said, her gaze fixed on him.
"Me?" Vermillion asked, genuinely confused.
"You're originally from Almeida, correct? Do you still have a home there or any connections?" Scarlett inquired.
Vermillion had actually been born in almeida, but his dream had always been to become an adventurer. Since Almeida was already a powerful kingdom with excellent security against monsters and demons, there was no demand for adventurers who hunted monsters for money and rewards.
That's why he had migrated to Gwarga to pursue his calling, where he eventually met Jenessa and Kaelan.
"Listen carefully," Scarlett continued. "By tomorrow night, I'll return with a gold statue of myself and teleport all three of you to Almeida. There, you must bury the statue deep underground—somewhere close to a temple, church, or ancient heritage site. Then you'll arrange to 'discover' it, making sure it appears as though the statue was found by pure chance."
She explained concisely, watching their reactions carefully.
"A completely legitimate coincidence where people unearth a thousand-year-old ancient statue of their goddess that happens to look remarkably like me," Scarlett added, smiling innocently as though she were engaged in some sacred work.
Jenessa and Kaelan exchanged uncertain, worried glances. They clearly lacked confidence in their ability to pull off such a deception.
Vermillion, however, grinned mischievously. "I think I can manage that. I've got considerable experience in swindling, but I have one condition."
"What is it?" Scarlett asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"If there's any way I can profit from your statue scheme, then I get to keep that money. Deal?" Vermillion proposed, his eyes already gleaming with opportunity.
Scarlett let out a light chuckle, exhaling slowly. "That's it? Very well, then."
"It's a deal," Vermillion declared, clapping his hands together once. His mind was already racing, formulating plans to maximize their unexpected windfall.
"Well then, I'll be going," Scarlett announced, rising from the sofa and walking toward the balcony once again.
Jenessa immediately followed her. "Already? Why don't we chat a bit longer and have some snacks?" she suggested, her voice tinged with disappointment.
Scarlett smiled gently. "I'd love to, but I'm really short on time," she said, waving her hand lightly in farewell.
Jenessa sighed softly but didn't press further.
Just as Scarlett prepared to take flight, something else occurred to her.
"By the way, what happened to your surroundings? Did you three blow everything up while fighting amongst yourselves, or what?"
Before Jenessa could respond, Kaelan jumped up from his seat, his face contorted with anger.
"It was those Armament bastards! Some big round floating thing came and destroyed everything around us. We were lucky the mansion itself was spared," he explained, his voice shaking with fury.
"A spaceship?" Scarlett wondered to herself. Based on Kaelan's description, it certainly sounded like one.
"I'll never forgive them for destroying my farmland," Kaelan clenched his fists, tears of anguish streaming down his cheeks.
"You were trembling in a dark corner, hugging yourself though..." Jenessa muttered with a disappointed sigh.
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to take revenge for you three," Scarlett promised, her voice filled with determination. With a powerful flap of her wings, she soared into the air once again and left without looking back.
After flying a considerable distance, she stopped her flight pattern and directly teleported to reach her next destination—the Kingdom of Victoria.
*****
Arriving high above the Kingdom of Victoria, Scarlett gazed down at the landscape below.
The royal palace and surrounding areas, once damaged during the fierce battle between Queen Victoria and the twin holy knights, had been completely repaired and renovated. Everything looked even more splendid than before, as though no destruction had ever occurred.
On the streets below, beast-kins moved about in great numbers, despite this being a human kingdom. Humans could be spotted here and there, but their scarcity was evident compared to the beast-kin population.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the royal palace, a massive army of guards stood in perfect formation. Divided into distinct groups, some carried spears and shields, others wielded swords, while a third group held wands or hammers.
Several instructors moved between the ranks, providing discipline training to each unit.
It was clear that preparations for the upcoming war were progressing smoothly.
Scarlett was ready to fly directly to the royal palace to meet Victoria, but she felt a knot of unease in her stomach when she recalled their last encounter. Not only had she delivered some ridiculous lecture about responsible leadership—despite not fully embodying those qualities herself—but she had also slapped Victoria across the face.
"I should have brought Kroenen with me," Scarlett sighed.
There was no point dwelling on it now, though. Whether Victoria was angry about the incident or not, it wouldn't change the fact that they were allies for the time being.
"Fuck it," Scarlett muttered, descending directly toward the royal palace.
As she approached, another dilemma arose: should she enter through the main gate or find a balcony to meet Victoria directly?
After a moment's consideration, she decided to save time by approaching a balcony. But then another problem presented itself: where exactly would she find Victoria?
What if she was in the throne room? Or the basement? Or her personal chambers? Perhaps hosting a banquet in the grand hall, completely unconcerned about the impending war? After all, Victoria had more than a few screws loose in her head.
Scarlett shook her head and activated her stealth ability again, ensuring those below couldn't see her. This way, she could circle the palace to locate Victoria, or she'd have to remove her blindfold to use her enhanced senses.
As she descended lower, all her worries proved unnecessary. Though curtains covered the balcony, the shadow of the tall Queen Victoria was clearly visible through them.
For some reason, the shadow's position was quite peculiar. Her legs appeared straight as if she were stretching, her head seemed to touch her left foot while her right hand reached toward her right foot.
"Is she training for the Olympics?" Scarlett joked to herself but decided not to dispel her stealth. She slowly drew back the curtain and slipped inside without making a sound.
Once inside, she saw Victoria holding the exact same pose. In person, it didn't look as strange as it had in shadow form. Instead, it appeared quite graceful.
Her muscles and veins bulged slightly, her curves stretched against the fabric of her clothes, and a thin sheen of sweat made her skin glow and glisten.
"Oh... she's doing yoga. That's unexpected," Scarlett thought to herself.
Whether for ordinary folks who imagined Victoria as a cold tyrant queen, or for those who knew her true nature as a masochist with a slave fetish, it was difficult to picture the queen practicing yoga daily.
Scarlett found herself surprised as well.
Before she could observe Victoria attempting more poses, the queen's nose twitched. She immediately released her position and sat up, sniffing the air continuously.
Scarlett took a step backward, her back pressing against the wall. Then a realization struck her.
"Wait a minute, why am I hiding? I only came to talk," she thought.
But before she could dispel her stealth, Victoria turned directly toward Scarlett's position, a wide smile spreading across her face.
"Master~..." she exclaimed, lunging forward to grab Scarlett.
Her arms wrapped immediately around Scarlett's waist.
Scarlett dispelled her stealth, revealing herself completely.
"Why were you hiding like that?" Victoria asked, her voice filled with delight.
"Um... nothing. I was waiting until you finished your exercise," Scarlett replied, scratching her cheek with her insect-like finger in embarrassment.
"There's nothing more important than you, master~," Victoria declared, hugging Scarlett even tighter.
Scarlett felt odd about how Victoria was embracing her like a child, which clearly didn't suit someone of her stature. Victoria was, after all, slightly taller and more muscular than Scarlett herself.
A serious looking young dude behaving like a child like in those shoujo female lead webtoons.
Scarlett couldn't help but roll her eyes behind her blindfold.