Steel and Mana

Traveling to the Empire's capital city would be long and exhausting. I knew that, and my estimations told me that I would probably miss a good chunk of the year, so I ensured everyone had their missions and tasks delegated while I was gone! When I returned, I made it clear what I wanted to see finished and left everything to my Mother and Sasha.

"Take care..." Sasha murmured, standing next to my carriage when I was about to board it.

"I know you want to come, but what if they discover your gift?" I smiled at her, giving her a long kiss, "I'll be back before you know!"

"Don't worry, I will satisfy him!" Echoed Yuri's loud voice from the side, sitting atop her horse.

"Hmph! Don't knock up that crazy one!" She whispered to me, almost making me choke on my saliva. "I am sure she has some disease between her legs!" Well, my dear Sasha... your jealousy is something else!

I didn't wait any longer as it would be a tiresome trek anyway, so it was time to move out instead of further delaying it. First, we would visit my Uncle's place, and Elliot would join us. At least on paper, we will conduct an official visit to the Capital. All because of some new trading rights; that is what my Uncle Piggie would be told. It was a half-truth, as our cargo would be the heads and his life. Not that he would want to come, as leaving his castle is already a strain on his great figure.

"Your bandits were surprisingly obedient!" Father chuckled, sitting at the opposite side of me, taking up the two-seater, looking out the window, watching Yuri ride her horse along with Oleg. "Following all the orders of the soldiers, heh! I didn't think it would be possible!"

"I was also surprised, but it shows they are trainable. Viscious and bloodthirsty but controllable. As long as I know what Yuri wants."

"Mmhm. She is a sick woman, but that makes it interesting! Those scars on her show remarkable will to survive and continue living despite her appeal being destroyed."

"Geez, you are ruthless, Dad!"

"Anyway, make her dress up properly when getting to the Capital. There are laws in place that dictate how much skin she can show."

"Really now?" I asked, as it was my first time hearing about it.

"Nothing serious, but a long dress or skirt is preferable. Bare shoulders are allowed, but the way she flaunts her almost naked torso? Would be thrown into a pillory, naked, and offered for public use."

"What?" I choked, taking a sip from my flask, filled with fruit wine. "You mean, there is a dress code which, if breached, the offender is punished by public indecency? What is this? Nero's Laws?"

"No, Emperor Nero ruled further back; his most famous law that is still remembered is that you can't marry within the family for more than two generations. Emperor Usborn made the public shaming law some two hundred years ago. He loved watching it happen... Since then, it remained in effect!"

"What. The. Fuck."

"You see, old laws established by the other rulers are rarely revoked or changed. Maybe they get slowly forgotten about, but... changing it goes against the image of the Empire. Our monarchs are chosen because they are the best of us. Their bloodline contains the righteousness of Gods, so their decisions can't be wrong or questioned. That is how it is."

"Well, going by their church, the righteousness doesn't last long, eh?" I groaned, shaking my head.

The massacre that happened a few days ago was surprising. When we confronted the local church, they were fighting viciously to escape, even killing multiple innocents trying to use them as hostages or meat shields. It was a total shitshow, so we left none alive. By the end of it, their headless corpses were dragged away by the ordinary people, being paraded around the town. The church's brutal act quickly turned everyone against them, so at least I don't need to find excuses for why we did what we did!

"We exchanged letters with Elliot." After a brief silence, Father added, "He will bring the evidence that supports us! The little bastard is really crafty; your Mother said his forgeries would fool even her!"

"Is he a bastard as in bastard or...?" I asked, ready for some juicy gossip, but I was disappointed.

"Nah, he is alright; I just like calling him that! Anyway! If everything goes smoothly, you will be named the new ruler of our region, and I can finally relax!"

"Huh?"

"Duh!" He laughed, taking out his own flask and swinging it hard, "Everything will be your achievement. I will step down, and you will take over! Don't worry, I will live in the castle with your Mother, beating back beasts in the winter and fucking like bunnies! It will be like when we married!"

"Why am I not surprised?" I moaned softly, rubbing my face, but it wasn't like I wasn't doing that already. No wonder they were content with letting me do what I wanted; they were enjoying their early retirement!

"Bwahaha! You will do fine; you are already doing it!"

...
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Our little caravan was an interesting sight throughout the journey, but it kept most people away when they saw my family's flags. It was a simple but recognizable symbol as it was the image of a white rook before a black mountain, the identifying mark of the Frontier Region. Our journey went through the middle regions of Ishillia, a very flat land dotted with nothing but thousands of square kilometers of farmland. I thought this whole world was nothing but wheat fields while passing through!"

"What is the long face for my dear? Want me to suck you off?" Yuri asked, riding next to me.

"Just bored, nothing more!" I answered, not wanting to entertain her offer because it sounded way better than looking at another wheat field! I expected more but... damn! This was just as boring as watching paint dry!

"Let's do it on the back of the horses! I sit in your lap, and we start galloping! We can fuck by matching the rhythm!"

"Why are you so horny all the time?" I asked, looking at her with one eye. I was now questioning if it was a good idea to borrow a horse from one of the soldiers and decide to change up the monotone journey a little.

"Because I am also bored! So are my girls! At least they can have fun with the guys when we make camp!"

"What?" I chortled, looking around, but it made sense. "And you are doing nothing? Are you pulling my leg or something?"

"I am keeping myself for you!"

"Yeah, sure!"

"If I lie, fuck one of my eyes out!" She said forcibly, and I was surprised by how serious she was. "I can't risk it, my young baby daddy!"

"Stop calling me weird names."

"It's the truth! If some other dickwielding blabberfuck makes me pregnant, how am I supposed to bag my Princess status? To hell with me if I risk that! I am not fucking around here! Literally!"

"You take this extra seriously, aren't you?" I shrugged, sighing again.

"Of course! I learned quick enough that power is everything! My Sweet Prince, you are my ticket to the seat of ultimate power!"

"Are you seeing me as a vibrator?"

"I don't know what that is. What does it vibrate? Sounds fun!"

"Whatever..." I waved a hand, not wanting to get into it. "Were you always like this?"

"Pretty much! Only I was more put together! I still had both of my breasts until I turned 13! Then one was mangled so much in a fight it had to go!"

"What type of fight?" I asked, curious about her past.

"Life or Death! Most of my battles were that." She explained it without issues, telling me everything without wincing or looking hurt. "I was sold away early; my first memories are about being railed in a cheap brothel."

"Sor-" But before I could even say the word, she waved her hand.

"Nah, it happens. I don't care because I made my own fortune! By the time I was ten, I had seven kills under my belt, and I robbed the fuckers blind! It was easy to get into their bed as little bitch! Good sex, and I slit their throats while doing it! They never suspected a thing, and then I just had to leave with the money!"

"You do realize that this makes me more reluctant to get naked with you?"

"Don't worry, My Prince!" She laughed, "I wouldn't hurt my ticket to a good life!"

"No wonder you are this wicked... shit, you have been disfigured in the head."

"I'm liking it like this!" She countered me with a hearty laugh, "I am me, pure and undiluted passion! I wear no fake masks and say no honeyed words because I am what I show! Have a problem with it? Too bad, ahaha!"

"How did you collect the rest of the girls?" I asked before she would go on another tangent.

"Trained them myself! The first of my partners is no longer alive, but she accompanied me to a guy to serve him, and when I offed the old prick! She got hooked on it there and then! We did multiple heists together, and it was awesome! Later on, we gathered more girls, and, well, here we are!"

"What happened to her?"

"Blown up. We had a botched run-in with a mage. We realized it too late, and when she struck down while riding the guy, an energy field blocked her swing and blew off her torso. Instant death! Luckily, he thought it was her idea, and I could play it off as a scared little girl!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" I almost yelled out, and Yuri just shrugged.

"It was a quick death! It was always a possibility in this type of work!" She began speaking, rolling her eyes.

"What energy field are you talking about?"

"Oh? That?" It took her a while to continue, recollecting her memories, "Yeah, I think it was the necklace he was wearing. It lit up before turning into dust. It blocked the strike, and the rebounding force tore Umi apart like a paper doll."

"Was it CC?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Mmmm... It could have been... I don't remember too many minute details; my mind was focused on playing the crying, terrified little girl persona to not get killed!"

"Are you sure it was a mage?"

"Yep! He used a long incantation afterward, cleaning up the mess with a spell! It was the first time I saw magic. It was pretty awesome! But I wanted to avoid running into another one, so we moved to your region. I guessed that in a backward place, there were easier targets!"

"It had to be a one-time use artifact..." I whispered, already thinking about multiple possibilities.

So they have artifacts developed! One-time-use trinkets? Maybe even weapons? I guess I won't really be able to find out more about them, not even in the capital city! But... that doesn't mean I won't try!