After the verbal las.h.i.+ng and physical punishment, Kaiza learned a lesson; talking to Somnus was dangerous. She had to find out the hard way that Somnus was far more intelligent than an ordinary mortal, however the conclusions he drew were vastly different. If Kaiza thought that what Somnus was doing now was a bad idea, for example, she would find out that Somnus was on the opposite end of the spectrum. As Somnus's Lieutenant, incompetence was a death sentence. Unlike the goblins and orcs, of whom Somnus never expected intelligence in the first place, Kaiza had a far more treacherous position.

Still, the curiosity was gnawing away her reason. She could no longer help herself, and had to ask.

"My lord…" Kaiza spoke, tone smooth and even. "If you sent me or s.h.i.+non, you could easily conquer the surrounding countries. I don't understand why you have to go through all this trouble with the humans."

One thing that Kaiza forgot was that Somnus rarely answered stupid questions, or in general for that matter.

s.h.i.+non appeared in the hallway ahead, both arms bloodied to the elbow.

"If he does it himself, my dear Kaiza, then there is no point," s.h.i.+non said as he joined Somnus's entourage.

"There is a point?" Kaiza asked.

"Do you really think Somnus is not capable of giving them weapons so that a meager twenty thousand can defeat the Empire's two-hundred thousand?" s.h.i.+non asked, taking on a superior stance. "Have you not seen Baryon and Photon? Or the Weapon Hadron?"

Somnus glanced to s.h.i.+non with a cold light in his eyes. "Maybe subject s.h.i.+non's talents are wasted on goblin."

"I appreciate your words, your Majesty, but I like the goblins. They can be entertaining," s.h.i.+non said with a smile.

Still, Kaiza could not understand Somnus's motivations.

Emily and Arcadia could determine Somnus's intent, but they couldn't fathom why. They were convinced that Somnus hated Humanity, although, now that they thought about it, they never directly asked Somnus how he felt about the races. Their questions were always about what he would do to Humanity.

Could someone really not hate something, but still want to destroy it? To the two humans, it did not make any sense.

"Did you eliminate messenger?" Somnus asked.

s.h.i.+non shook his head. "He escaped."

Somnus nodded.

The west wing of the Palace was a large structure, just as luxurious as the Great Hall. On the left, the hallway was covered with windows through which the West Garden was visible. On the right, doors led to several chambers.

"Still, I cannot imagine the people will be eager to fight, my Lord," Kaiza said. "There is no righteousness to our cause. At least, not one they could understand."

"Principle of control is might, not right," Somnus simply said.

"You will be a tyrant, then?" Emily asked.

Somnus glanced to Emily. There was a lot of meaning in that look; the most obvious one suggested her question was silly. Of course Somnus would be a tyrant.

"Perhaps, if you allow me to teach the soldiers my skills, your Majesty, that will be enough to project your might and improve their morale," s.h.i.+non said.

Somnus stopped in his tracks and turned to s.h.i.+non.

Unknowingly, or perhaps exactly because he somehow knew, s.h.i.+non touched on a subject that had been on Somnus's mind ever since he left the Arrod Dungeon. To project his might, Somnus always a.s.sumed he would have to summon Hashmal, something he did not want to do. Hashmal was a dangerous creature. Now that it was no longer connected to this world, no one could predict what would happen if Hashmal was allowed into this world.

Somnus understood that the problem with declaring war on all surrounding countries went beyond convincing the generals to fight. If the soldiers did not believe victory was possible, they would not want to fight. An army that did not want to fight was a defeated army before the battle even began.

Still, this offer of teaching them a Herald's skills was the same as giving them weapons. Although Somnus had prepared and figured out how to recreate firearms, and mortars, he did not want to give this to his soldiers until they deserved it.

Perhaps tteaching them skills was not the same as giving them weapons, after all. Skills had to be improved in battle or practice. They were tools that only became more effective through use. More than a weapon, skills were red herrings. In other words, they could distract from the futility of fighting a losing battle, by promising rewards worthy of the risk—the skills were a Herald's, after all.

"Proceed," Somnus said.

s.h.i.+non smiled, "As you command, your Excellency. I shall form an order known as the Ashborn Knights."

Somnus nodded and continued walking down the hallways.

When s.h.i.+non followed, Somnus glanced back to him. "Now. Comply."

s.h.i.+non blinked and then nodded, taking a step back.

Finally, Somnus reached the most ornate and luxuriously decorated door. This was no doubt the Monarch's chamber. Strategically, it was between two armories and guard posts, so it was also the best defended room in the entire Palace. Better defended was only the Royal Estate, which was on the East Garden. That is where the Royal Family lived.

"Will inform you of your new posts and duties," Somnus said as he looked back. "Stand by for orders."

He pushed the door open and went inside, leaving his entourage outside. They all looked at each other, unsure as to what kind of duties they could expect. Most of the positions in the government had been filled already.

Over the next few days, the Gram kingdom changed considerably. After the display in the sky above Insomnia, potential recruits for the Order of the Ashborn Knights created a queue in front of the recruitment office that was long enough to disrupt traffic. The people heard a rumor that a Herald was in the employ of their King, but none of them really believed it, even after seeing that very same Herald fight in the skies above their heads. To the common people, s.h.i.+non was an exceptionally gifted fighter, nothing more.

Kaiza was the head of a newly formed Intelligence Department. The Kingdom had something similar to spies and a.s.sa.s.sins, but they weren't organized. Most of them were individuals in the employ of the n.o.bility; Butlers with additional talents was what people thought of them. However, the newly formed Department of Intelligence took in commoners with jobs that often saw them travel between countries—merchants, mostly.

Emily was made the an advisor on matters of foreign affairs. As a princess, her knowledge on the topic was already vast and she took to the job with a, perhaps mistaken, hope that she could help Somnus reach more peaceful solutions with the neighboring countries.

Arcadia, on the other hand, was made an advisor on matters of history. Her official t.i.tle was "Custos of Knowledge" and she spent most of her time in the library reading books related to this world's ancient history. Somnus had an interest in the silver spires for reasons no one knew.

The Spires of Argentum, as they were called, were made of an alloy that was, without a doubt, delta superalloy, or at least an early form of it. This knowledge made Somnus suspicious as to the nature of this world. Delta superalloy was primarily a substance created by humans in his own world; what was it doing here? Furthermore, Somnus did not understand the purpose of these spires, but they reminded him of one thing he once saw while on t.i.tan. It was a piece of art created by the Autonomous Machine a.r.s.enal with the official designation "Damocles", but the insane machine went to call itself "Shrike". There was no reason to believe that this world had another Autonomous Machine a.r.s.enal, but the thought that this world's humanity could've invented Delta superalloy was simply too unbelievable. If Somnus had his old body, he could no doubt a.n.a.lyze the structure of the spires and realize that it was not Delta superalloy, but something else. That was the only explanation.

The people of the Kingdom, when they learned the name of their King, connected it to the name of the ent.i.ty that killed their King. However, it was their impression that Somnus was a golem, not a human. The topic on whether the two were actually connected was still popular in the taverns and the brothels, even after days of discussion. On one hand was Somnus, the inviolable golem of war, and on the other was Somnus, the king and fleshy human. The two couldn't be more different if they tried.