System's POV

“What’s wrong?” Thirteen asked Sherry.

A day had passed since they had left for Casimir City.

Half a day more, and they’d soon reach the headquarters of the Central Government. But considering everyone was still tired from their last battle, Thirteen decided to let everyone rest a bit before continuing the last leg of their journey.

The pair of lovers lay on the bed inside his Humvee. With their close proximity, the young man easily noticed that something seemed to be bothering the young lady in his arms.

“What did you do to Princess Aracelle?” Sherry asked with genuine curiosity. “She suddenly became meek and obedient to you.”

“I just made her understand that she was in no position to act so high and mighty when she’s a prisoner of war,” Thirteen replied. “Don’t worry. I didn’t use force to make her submit. She submitted to me after she had her fill of my… charms.”

Sherry blinked once then twice as she looked at her lover’s face, who was looking back at her with a confident smile.

“So Viola’s guess is right,” Sherry commented after a while. “You made her drink some kind of juice that made her very obedient to you.”

This time, it was Thirteen’s turn to blink.

Seeing his reaction, Sherry giggled before giving him two quick pecks on the lips.

“Viola told me that you made her, Sharon, and Louise obedient by making them drink some kind of juice back in the Rigel Continent,” Sherry said. “They added that it made them very strong. Now I’m curious what kind of juice they are talking about.”

“… That’s a trade secret,” Thirteen replied while mentally taking a note to have a talk with Viola to stop her from filling Sherry’s innocent mind with things she shouldn’t tell her.

“So, you did make them drink some juice?”

“Mmm.”

“Can I drink it too?”

“No.” Thirteen replied. “But I’ll let you drink a different kind of juice.”

And with that, he sealed her lips with a kiss.

When their kiss ended, a gasp escaped Sherry’s lips as Zion’s hands started to caress her body, which was starting to heat up due to his touch.

The teenage boy then made sure that his future wife would momentarily forget about the topic they were talking about by cuddling with her under the sheets.

When morning came, the two teenagers woke up a little later than usual.

Fortunately, the teenage boy had already ordered Cristopher to drive his Humvee back to the city, allowing him and Sherry to sleep a little longer.

As the two ate their breakfast, Thirteen checked his communicator for the recent news being aired in the continent.

So far, it was still about the Hero Party and the Cygni Coalition fighting against the Jinns within the new 200-meter mile safety zone that the Central Government had deemed safe for battle.

After Zion’s surprise attack in Alcove City, Prince Zorren, Prince Xylen, and the other members of the royalty of Gomorra decided to remain inside their respective territories.

When they arrived, they admittedly underestimated the capabilities of the Wanderers of Pangea.

It was only after Princess Aracelle’s capture that they finally understood their opponents weren’t as weak as they originally thought them to be.

What they didn’t know was that they could still give problems for the Central Government and the Cygni Coalition if they unite together.

The only real threat right now was Thirteen, who could sneak within their territories and unleash his monster army to forcefully take over their domains.

This was also the message that Thirteen wanted to pass to the Jinns through the Bee Bee Cee news during his exclusive interview.

“Even if you hide inside your bases, we can still beat the crap out of you, so tone down your arrogance, or you will be the next one to bite the dust.”

Prince Zorren had sent mind-controlled Wanderers to the location of the other Jinn-claimed territories, so the other members of the Royal Families from Gomorra now knew how communicators and TVs work.

Some of them even attempted to make direct contact with the Central Government and the Cygni Coalition, asking their leaders to submit to their rule while promising great rewards once their faction conquered the entire continent.

Douglas Griffin had been personally contacted by Prince Zorren, who wished to strike a deal with the Monarch of the land.

However, Douglas was in no mood to deal with a sh*tty prince who wished to take over his home turf.

Unfortunately, there were some factions who had agreed to cooperate with the Jinns in exchange for some benefits.

One of them was the Church of Destruction, who believed that the Jinns had come to liberate the world from the oppression of the Monarch Clans and the Prestigious Families.

This cult had grown in power as of late, and the number of their members only increased during this time of great strife.

In fact, one of this cult’s high-profile targets was none other than Zion, whom they believed was in the way of the Jinn’s mission to liberate the world from corruption.

They were a crazy bunch and had been giving the Central Government and the Cygni Coalition headaches.

As for Thirteen, he merely found this cult’s existence quite amusing.

In fact, he already had a few spies inside the church, allowing him to monitor their movements at all times.

Several hours later, the 69th Battalion, as well as their allies, had finally reached the gates of Casimir City.

They didn’t make any detours and headed straight to the headquarters of the Central Government.

After thanking everyone for supporting his “field work” and transferring his payment to the Legionnaires as his hired mercenary group, Thirteen was called to the office of the Field Marshal.

Arthur decided to accompany his grandson after learning from Zion that it was not only Tristan who was going to meet with him.

Knowing the hidden implication behind his words, Arthur nodded and simply followed behind Zion.

When they entered the Field Marshal’s Office, they immediately saw Douglas Griffin, as well as the three Patriarchs of the Lotte, Gates, and Bishop Families, who represented the Prestigious Clans of the Cygni Continent.

Thirteen knew that they had arrived a day earlier before him so that they could talk to him personally about the events that happened during his field work.

Of course, he was certain that one of the topics that they would wish to talk about was the reason why he allowed Princess Aracelle to leave his custody.

All of them naturally wanted to take custody of the Princess and interrogate her as well.

“Looks like the busybodies found some time to bully my grandson together,” Arthur said with a smile.

“Calm down, Arthur,” Douglas replied. “We came here for an explanation, and I hope Zion can give us one.”

Thirteen didn’t really mind talking to everyone inside the room, so he walked toward one of the two chairs that was meant for them and sat there with a smile on his face.

“Okay, so, what is the agenda for today’s meeting?” Thirteen asked.

Tristan, seated on his Field Marshal’s seat, didn’t reply. The meeting had just begun, and for now, he wanted to remain an observer.

He was certain that Douglas and the Patriarchs of the Prestigious Families would have plenty of questions to ask. That said, he decided to simply listen to the teenage boy’s explanation of his discoveries during his journey behind enemy lines.