System's POV

After a few days of forced rest, Thirteen recovered enough, and he was now able to stand and even walk for some time.

Sherry and Princess Aracelle accompanied him every time he left his room.

However, to keep the Princess’ identity safe, Thirteen had her wear a yellow biker’s helmet, which covered her entire head.

He also made her wear a black military uniform.

While her identity was safe with it, the striking color combination made her stand out instead of helping her keep a low profile.

“Why yellow?” Sherry asked, pointing at Princess Aracelle’s helmet.

“There’s this show about a Durahan who lost her head. I watched it some time ago with Rhia and Remi,” Thirteen replied. “Since she couldn’t possibly wander around the city without a head, she wore a yellow biker’s helmet so she wouldn’t scare people.”

“Aracelle cannot show her face in public, so I thought, why not let her wear a helmet instead? She looks nice, right?”

Sherry blinked before shifting her gaze to the princess, who was giving off an aura of elegance, which was dampened by the cute yellow helmet on her head.

“… I guess she does look good in it,” Sherry replied.

She was already used to Zion doing things that couldn’t be explained by common sense.

Also, while she didn’t want to admit it, Princess Aracelle did look good in a military uniform that seemed to be custom-made for cosplayers.

“Let’s go,” Thirteen said. “Erica and Shana will be here soon.”

The two ladies had informed him that they would soon return to Casimir City by helicopter, so he ordered Rocky to secretly escort them from underground.

Although the chances of them getting ambushed like last time was low, Thirteen thought it would be best that he sent his Monster Army to beat the crap out of anyone who would dare to harm his lovers a second time.

“Aracelle, I placed a voice changer in that helmet, so feel free to speak, okay?” Thirteen said.

“Understood, Zion,” Princess Aracelle said.

A day ago, she would have referred to Thirteen as Master, but she asked the teenage boy if it was possible for her to call her Zion, like how Sherry addressed him.

When Thirteen said he didn’t mind, Princess Aracelle felt very happy.

As they walked, a thought popped into Sherry’s head. She was about to see Erica and Shana again, and she was very curious about how the two of them would react to the Princess, who seemed to be trying to win their lover’s affection.

Since they were currently in the Headquarters of the Central Government, the two ladies made sure they were a meter behind the Commander of the 69th Battalion, showing that they were his subordinates in public.

The three walked for a few minutes until they arrived in the area where the helicopter Erica and Shana took would land.

Tristan was already there, waiting for his daughter to arrive.

When he saw Thirteen, he didn’t hesitate and walked in his direction.

“Are you sure you’ve recovered enough to walk around the base?” Tristan asked, glancing at the young lady wearing a yellow helmet and black military uniform.

He didn’t even need to guess who she was. There was only one person inside the base who needed to hide their identity.

“I haven’t recovered fully, but Erica might complain if I don’t go to welcome her back,” Thirteen replied. “The last time I ignored her, my hips ached for half a day.”

Sherry’s face immediately reddened, while Tristan didn’t understand what the boy was talking about.

He only thought that the Sorceress might have kicked the teenage boy’s waist in a fit of anger.

Erica had a fiery personality, so Tristan could see that happening.

“I’ll talk to her later and make sure she doesn’t hurt your hips again,” Tristan commented.

“Please do, Sir,” Thirteen replied. “Sometimes, it hurts so much, walking becomes a monumental task.”

“Well, if that happens, you can ask Shana to heal it. My daughter is very good at doing those things, you know?” Tristan smiled and lightly patted the young man’s shoulder.

Thirteen was very tempted to tell him that 90% of the reason why his hips ached from time to time was Shana.

However, he only nodded and agreed with the Field Marshal because he had a feeling that if Tristan discovered that his pure and innocent daughter was actually a seductive succubus in bed, an aching hip would be the least of his worries.

Suddenly, the sound of helicopter rotors reached their ears.

Thirteen glanced at the helicopter slowly descending from the sky, accompanied by six giant eagles.

Within a minute, it had landed safely on the field, sending gusts of wind blowing outward as the rotors continued to spin.

The door of the helicopter opened, and from it emerged two beautiful ladies.

Both of them looked tired from their trip, but the moment they saw Zion waiting for them, a look of satisfaction and happiness appeared in their eyes.

Not having to worry about her public image, Erica happily ran in Thirteen’s direction with her arms wide open.

Shana was tempted to follow suit and do something similar, but since they were out in public, she decided to restrain herself from doing so.

“Welcome back, Erica,” Thirteen said as he opened his arms to hug his lover. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” Erica then leaned in and whispered something in Zion’s ear, “Have you been reading the notebook Vincent gave you recently?”

“I am reading it,” Thirteen replied.

“Good. Let’s review some of them later.”

“Okay.”

The Sorceress planted a kiss on Thirteen’s forehead before resting her head on his shoulder.

She was acting like a lovestruck maiden who had finally reunited with her lover whom she hadn’t seen in years.

This sweet moment was interrupted when Erica heard a light cough from behind her.

Shana had finally arrived and was giving the Sorceress the “control yourself” gaze.

Erica reluctantly parted with Zion before she and Shana both gave Tristan a salute.

“Welcome back,” Tristan reciprocated their salute. “Will you really only stay for two days before the two of you return to Livia City?”

Livia City was the City where the Hero Party was currently staying. It was the third nearest city to the front lines in battle.

This also gave the Hero Party the ability to mobilize and reinforce the cities at the frontlines if an emergency were to happen.

“Yes,” Shana replied. “The morale is low, and we need to do everything we can to raise it before the war starts in full.”

The Field Marshal nodded in agreement because he had heard similar reports from his subordinates at the front lines.

“Very well, I will make preparations for your departure,” Tristan said.

“Sir, please allow the 69th Battalion to personally escort the Sorceress and the Saintess back to their unit,” Thirteen proposed.

Hearing his words, Erica and Shana give their lover a thumbs up in their heart.

“You’re a genius!” Erica said with a smile.

“That I am,” Thirteen replied matter-of-factly.

“Good.” Tristan nodded. “I will allow it.”

If Zion were to escort the two back to Livia City, Tristan wouldn’t need to worry about their safety.

The Legionnaires and the Valkyries were now temporary members of the 69th Battalion, so they could be considered an elite army that could fend off most threats.

“The two of you can relax for now,” Tristan said to Erica and Shana. “Tonight, we’ll all have dinner together to celebrate your safe return.”

The Field Marshal could tell that his daughter wanted to spend time with Zion in private, so he decided to reschedule their talk at a later time.

Also, he didn’t want Princess Aracelle’s identity to be discovered, so letting her return to Zion’s room was also ideal.

Tristan watched as the teenage boy walked away, accompanied by his fiancées.

‘For this reason, you should always pay attention to your safety,’ Tristan thought. ‘Because if something happens to you, the smiles of those girls will probably be gone for a very long time if not forever.’

The Field Marshal sighed internally because he had seen it happen many times to his subordinates over the years.

He wanted Zion to act as a strategist and stay at the rear, while giving orders.

That way, his safety would be secured, which would put his heart and mind at ease.

‘The Monarchs will also be arriving soon,’ Tristan thought. ‘I’m sure they will not be sitting like good kids once they arrive here on the continent.’

The arrival of the strongest fighters of humanity also signaled that the true battle would be happening soon.

Tristan hoped beyond hope that this time, they would win and prevent another continent from falling into the hands of the invaders from another world.

Humanity couldn’t afford to lose another continent. If that were to happen, only the Sirius and Aldebaran Continents would be left as the last bastions of Pangea.

The Central Government’s mission was to keep the world safe, unlike the Monarchs and their clans, who were more driven by their self-interest.

He had no doubt in his mind that if the situation spiralled out of control, the Monarchs, with the exception of Douglas Griffin, would not hesitate to be the first ones to retreat.

If that were to happen, the allied armies would fall into chaos, which would ultimately lead to their timely defeat.

‘This time, we will win,’ Tristan clenched his fists so hard that cracking sounds reached his ears. ‘We must win!’

——–

A/N: Only one chapter tonight. I’m not really feeling well right now.