Strawberry Devil in a Fantasy World

The Highlander Emperor, Arknorl Grusia, commanded a majestic aura and composure suitable for his lordly position. His head was that of a lion with magnificent golden mane. Under his robed attire was a furred body. With two slits on the back of his robe, two beautiful white wings folded.

Now, despite him having artifacts that hid his status, it couldn't be hid from my eyes. Interestingly enough, he wasn't a winged beastfolk but rather a high level fey being, specifically a level 82 fey being. He was quite powerful if I could say so myself.

My speculation was that perhaps Imperial Family were all fey beings. But, seeing that fey beings governed the beastfolks was kind of peculiar to me.

"Greetings, Emperor Arknorl Grusia. Your name precedes you as a righteous ruler.  I believe this is our first time meeting face to face. I am Berry the Mediator, and an administrator of this world. It is my hope that we get along for the foreseeable future." I properly greeted an charismatic tone.

"Likewise. Your deeds are well received in our nation. Rewards are normally bestowed to individuals with honorable achievements. But given your position, would you receive them?"

Down to business already?

"I'm not here to receive rewards. If I may, I would request a private conversation after this banquet. Is this not a celebratory feast?"

"That is my view as well. Let us speak at a later time."

"Very well."

Wow... So different from Jaco. This is what I call a pragmatic leader! I approve.

Various forms of entertainments such as minstrels and dancers performed in groups before the guests.

There was one thing that caught my attention. It was those talking parrots that Smoothie had seen shortly after she became a fey being. To be honest, I had completely forgotten about them. These birds were storytellers and also fey beings who had lived through centuries, recounting stories and hearsay they'd heard in their travels.

"In a faraway kingdom of yore..."

From these birds, I had learned quite a bit. However, whether they spoke of truth or simply told stories to for entertainment, I couldn't discern.

Apparently, there was once upon a time a fairy queen who was once the ruler of a fey kingdom. This was long before the humans and reptilians had arrived in this world from the outside. The world back then was split between the fey beings and the elves.

The beastfolks, according to the parrots, were descendants of elves and fey beings. Though, I kind of doubted anyone would seriously believe that. Biologically, probably not, but this was a world filled with magic so anything was possible.

When I had asked Echo, the system, about this fairy queen matter, it couldn't tell me a thing or perhaps I just didn't have enough access. In fact, this ancient story was even before the system was put in place.

As the story went, a calamity befell the fey kingdom where countless fey beings were dying out from an unknown disease. Healing magic had no effect whatsoever. The elf king at that time came to the rescue. With much difficulty, he was able to locate the source of the disease, that being countless tiny fissures had dotted the kingdom where miasma was seeping out endlessly. After knowing the cause and in a joint effort, the fissures were sealed to prevent further contamination of the land thereby resolving the calamity.

Following that event, the fairy queen fell in love with that elf king and they were married happily ever after.

It was a standard happy ending fairy tale.

Anyhow, it was refreshing to hear a fairy tale once in a while. If that fairy queen was still alive, I wondered if she had either died or transcended. If she was still alive, I wondered if she would be level 99 by now. Though, since she had existed prior to the implementation of the system, I really wondered how powerful she was. All the ancient beasts I had seen in recent days were above level 90.

Fey beings... They're everywhere in this region.

The next day, the emperor invited me for a chat over tea in a secluded chamber.

As I entered, he was the first to break the ice with a heartwarming smile, "Between the two of us, there's no need for formalities. Here, have a seat."

He treated me like an old friend, welcomed me by the arm, and had me sit before taking a seat himself. One thing I had to note was that his wings had completely disappeared.

Simple snacks and a tea set were neatly arranged on an expensive looking table between us.

"Is it alright to display your transformation ability before me?" I asked.

"You have seen my status. As expected, I can't hide it from someone your caliber. Truthfully speaking, wings are there as a decoration, and as a symbol for the ruling class. Other than that, more often than not, they're just in the way." He spoke with a soft chuckle.

"Hahah, you have a point. I prefer hiding my wings as well."

"Then we've already established something we share in common. That's good, isn't it."

"You're unlike the other leaders I've spoken with so far. I would say, the only one I haven't gotten the opportunity to speak with is the Federation leader. I'm assuming you don't get along with him, is that right?"

"You bet. That stubborn old lizard is nothing but trouble."

I sighed with a frown, "Hopefully I don't have to use violence against him as I did with the Hero King to the south."

"Oh? Would care to elaborate on that? It seems my sources aren't yet up to date."

Seeing how the emperor was a sensible guy, someone I could get along with, I didn't hold back on the information.

"I see. That should be enough to buy us peace to an extent. Since their leadership is changing, a meeting with their new leader wouldn't be feasible for the time being."

Following that, I further disclosed the state of the Abyssal Gate. To that, he thanked me but added, "Still, that's a bit troubling," in relationship to the demons and guardians. He had dealt with them many times in the past and continued to do so in the war to the west. Regrettably, the situation at the Abyssal Gate wouldn't be enough to convince the Federation to stop its invasion.

I advised him that "the demons and guardians cannot directly harm a country. It is their minions or disciples that you'll have to watch out for."

"I appreciate your advice and I am very much aware of the heavenly rules."

"One thing I'm curious about, if you don't mind me asking."

"There's no need to hold back, my good friend. Speak."

Being a little too friend... Now that is putting me on guard. If this is his tact, then I'll have to repay in kind. Information is what I need, so thanks in advance.

The current Highlander Emperor was the oldest leader on the continent regardless of his official age or actual age. Unknown to outsiders, his position was passed among his clan or his relatives. They would take turns ruling this nation. It was akin to having a royal bloodline. The only difference was that the ruling class was basically immortal. They'd change their appearances to suit their various positions. 

"How do you deal with those that knows Imperial Family's secrets?"

"I'm not sure how familiar you are with the policies for the fey beings in this country but this nation is a haven for them where no other nations would take them. If we welcome their service, they are allowed to remain. If we can't put a leash on them, we would silence them."

"That reminds me. When I was a fey being having an audience with the king of Teir, I didn't get the best impression of him. It was either to bow down or die."

"Yes, it's like that. You had live in the royal palace or somewhere close by, did you not?"

"Indeed."

"You were under surveillance. If my memory serves me, Teir had an excellent fey being from the shadow clan. They were expert in stalking and silencing potential threats."

"See, now I'm getting chills thinking I might have been assassinated if I made a wrong move!" I protested aloud amidst my bewilderment. "Still, to think I survived despite showing signs of becoming a demon."

"Gaarp probably thought you still had some uses. Before he could take action, you ascended, did you not?"

"That's probably why. I did ascend rather quickly with a guardian advising me."

"A guardian, that must be Vorte."

"Do you personally know them?"

"We go way back."

He recalled back when he first met many of those talented individuals before recruiting them into service. Although not everyone was fully on board, they generally cooperated with the incumbent Highlander Emperor.

After a bit more chitchat, I decided to dive into the next major question I had in mind. It was about the fairy tale told by the parrots.

"Last night, the bards told a very interesting story."

"Oh? They usually tell the same stories. Occasionally, they'd add a new one from recent eras to change things up. So, which one fascinated you?"

"The one about the fairy queen and the elf king. How much of it is true? I'm quite ignorant on historical subjects so..."

The answer came quite unexpectedly.

"All of it is true." After stating that, he paused for a moment before adding, "At least according to ancient documents written before my time. Of course, those documents no longer exists because of countless wars in the past."

"Then, there's no way to verify its authenticity?"

"That's what I'm getting at. War is unpredictable and maps have to be constantly redrawn. I find that it's best to think of that story as a fantasy. That is also my suggestion to you."

"I see..."

"Though, if it troubles your mind, perhaps you have a way to travel to the past to witness history as the world presents it." He chuckled jokingly but his eyes were not. It almost seemed as if he had an inkling of my power. Frankly, I had no power to travel to the past, at least not that far back.

"As enticing as it may be, I have a policy not to interfere with the flow of history. Anyway, it's getting late, and I'm sure you have duties to attend to. Let me consult you with one more thing. What would it take for the Federation to stop its war?"

"Honestly, I don't believe our two nations could get along. They have a different set of ideology. The only way to stop their invasion is to send them all into the heavens. That is the only way."

"That's going a bit far, isn't it?"

"Their end goal is to reach for the stars. They are a fallen race. They will continue to pursue that goal even if it meant falling the world in ruins. I'm sure you have seen their magitech fleets already. It is only a matter of time they would take over the planet and drain all its resources to fulfill their long ambition." He said while stroking his mane.

"That would mean even if I cleansed their land, it would only be a matter of time..."

"Their ambitions are endless. Not only that, when they collaborate with demons, we are literally at their mercy. They would cause endless strife, break the hearts of our faithful and loyal warriors, and slowly convert them into their underlings. We are always fighting with a disadvantage. Fey beings no matter how powerful, are minorities in a war of numbers and technology. They have ways to directly harm us."

"Wait, what? Direct way to harm fey beings? Don't tell me the volatile mana is that dangerous?"

"They've since synthesized even more dangerous weapons against us. They've been doing experiments on fey beings longer than the humans have. Perhaps given the opportunity, they'll eventually surpass even the demons and guardians."

"That's some serious ambitions... I'll watch out for that when I request a meeting with their leader."

Crap... I really have to do something about the reptilian race. Mass brainwashing is out of the equation. What do I do with them!? One problem after another... Please stop. Can I just hand this job to someone else?

"I'm always willing to have a chat with you. Feel free to drop by any time, my friend."

"I enjoyed the chat very much. Before I take my leave, please accept this parting gift."

I kind of felt bad that I had bestowed so many weapons to the humans. To balance that, I decided to gift one such weapon to the leader of this nation as well. It was a magical sword that could be used to altered an object's weight. I thought this property from |force| was quite nice for aerial combat.

To my relief, he gracious accepted the gift. Not only that, he seemed to have prepared something for me as well. As a sign of friendship, I was entrusted with a golden seal in the shape of a lion. With this, my privileges within the country was that one below the Highlander Emperor or basically the highest honor granted to an individual.

I guess he really wants me to back him. I can't read his true intentions but the gesture is what matters I suppose.

As for the matter with setting up a shop to sell my specialty products, I decided to postpone it, same with vitamin pills and whatever military supplies the country of Teir had requested from me. There simply wasn't any rush for me to generate revenue.