Chapter 38

Five days have passed since they managed to defeat Baronnt. Within those five days, a lot of things had happened. For one, the descendants of the old Elesia Royal Family had returned to the nation, and along with the rebels, had formed a temporary government to replace Baronnt's old government.

There was chaos within the city for a bit following the takeover. Some imperial soldiers ran away, retreating back into imperial territory. Not a small number pledged their loyalty to Neila, though, following her as the new empress.

The empire didn't remain silent. They sent a large group of soldiers to the borders near Elesia, hoping to retake the country. That said, the rebels and the royal family had a lot of support from the neighboring kingdoms, who sent in support troops wearing rebel outfits into Elesia. Secret agents around the country had also stirred chaos in the other regions, and rebel groups from all over the empire began standing up.

With other rebellions that needed to be quelled and the large number of soldiers gathering in Loria, the empire had no choice but to momentarily pull back. There was no knowing what would happen next, though.

After everyone got back to full health, they began going around, doing whatever they could to help the new country. Today, there was a banquet held at the palace, as celebrations for the country's freedom. Other than celebrations, it also acted as a way to calm down the population while showing the power of the new government. Everyone was invited, hence the palace was crowded to the brim.

The party was treated as heroes during the party, including Neila. Thus, many gathered around them to shake hands and say their thanks. After a while, it became exhausting. Thus, after getting their fill of food, they retreated to their room.

They chose Syorin's room as their meeting space. Their rooms were no longer in an inn, though. They now use guest rooms provided within the palace complex.

“Ah, that was another contact…”

After hearing what had happened to Neila and realizing that she was very much a threat, agents from the empire had been threatening her, asking for a surrender. If she refused, they threatened to destroy the entire place.

“... Did you say you're going to get drunk again?” Syorin asked.

“That's the only threat they're afraid of for some reason…”

The stories about drunken Neila had spread far and wide, in all sorts of different versions. Some told the original story, others told of her as someone who would torture anyone who stood in her way. Others told of her as someone who would suddenly appear and kill you.

Of course, Neila didn't kill anyone, and both sides suffered few casualties as their fight was cut short when Neila rampaged, but it didn't help her reputation. She was called the rampaging princess, much to her dismay.

She tried to stop it, of course, but they're rumors. There was simply no way to stop.

Apparently, the rumors in the empire were so overblown that any imperial leader would fear that threat; hence, that threat was the only thing keeping them away.

“Now you understand why we won't let you drink alcohol, right?”

Neila nodded to Astill's words.

“... You're still going to drink it, aren't you?” Kakashi shot her a questioning look. She scratched her cheek in response.

“I mean, I drank vodka. Beer isn’t that bad…”

“Neila!” Everyone, except for Five, shouted at the same time.

“...”

Neila said nothing. Kakashi sighed. He knew they all still needed to watch over her, or else she would somehow get her hands on alcohol, one way or the other.

Her alcohol problem was so bad that the sentence ‘do not give Shimau, Neila’s real name, of the Ametai empire any alcohol’ was written into Elesia’s temporary emergency constitution. Of course, it's temporary, but that wasn't guaranteed. That constitution may be written into the official new constitution, and future generations would remember the story of the rampaging princess.

Not everyone understood the story behind that nickname, though. Some children would literally run up to her and affectionately call her the rampaging princess, which made her cry.

Outside of that, her help in releasing the nation from her own country's control had earned her favorable opinions from the average citizen. Some still looked at her with contempt, though. Meanwhile, people's opinion of her in the empire hadn't dropped drastically, mainly because the people there thought of her as a troublemaker in the first place.

There's a reason why they didn't care for her when she disappeared.

“Weren't you called the benevolent thief as well?” Syorin asked.

“Why are all my nicknames like that…”

Neila looked like she was on the verge of tears, so everyone unanimously decided to stop bullying her.

“Oh, I just remembered something.” Kakashi turned to Five. Things had been so chaotic these last few days that they had completely forgotten the fact that they hadn't introduced themselves to Five. Five also remained silent so far, saying nothing more than necessary.

Thus, everyone introduced themselves to Five.

“I'll be in your care…” he whispered.

“Will you be staying with the name ‘Five’?” Four asked.

“...” Five fell silent. “I want a new name… but I don't know what.”

“How about Atsune?” Kakashi suggested. “It's a name similar to a famous singer in my world. Well, not exactly a singer in the traditional sense, but she’s pretty famous.”

Five pondered the name for a few moments.

“... I like it.”

“Alright, you will be Atsune Erelight, then.”

Atsune nodded. With that out of the way, they needed to talk about their strategy going forward.

“I think everyone should rethink the role they want to play.”

When they first met, all three of them played the role of DPS, albeit with varying degrees. Neila's explosives, effective against lightly armored targets. Astill's magic spells, effective against magic armor. And Syorin's punches, great against heavy armor. So far, they hadn’t really considered that during battles, as they were strong enough to fight against any enemy thrown into their way. That said, fighting the empire would be more difficult. They would need to work together to fight different kinds of difficult enemies, each using their own strengths while covering for each other’s weaknesses.

“I'll keep on supporting,” Neila said, touching the hilt of her sword. “It’s the one thing I could do.”

“Alright.”

Four gave her a side eye. “I wanted to joke about giving her alcohol, but I realize even the mere idea is not to be entertained.”

“Come on…” Neila groaned.

Four promptly ignored her. “I and Astill will keep dealing damage.”

“I can only sing…”

“I shall teach you more skills later.”

“Alright.”

Kakashi turned to the Syorin. She had three different skills. Her damaging ability, her shield, and her healing. He kept her secret, as she wasn't ready to talk about it, so all the others knew was her powerful physical ability.

Syorin shrugged. “I'll do whatever, I guess.”

That answer was good enough for Kakashi. “That's all, I think.”

They would continue working together for a better future. A world where they could live in peace. A world where pain didn't need to exist. A world where they could live happily ever after.

“Let's raise a toast to our success.” Kakashi raised a glass filled with milk. The group had varying opinions about toasting with milk, but they didn't want to accidentally let Neila drink any alcohol, the memory of her rampage fresh in their mind.

“Cheers!” everyone said at the same time. They drank from their own cups.

“Ah, this is delicious.”

“It is quite enjoyable.”

“Yeah… nothing defeats a good drink… hic.”

Everyone turned toward Neila. She tilted her head.

“This one is very deli… hic… cious…”

Astill stood up, kneeled behind Neila, and looked into her cup.

“... Want some?”

“...”

The group exchanged glances, set aside their cups, and surrounded Neila.

“... What?”

“Everyone, hold her down!”

That night, yet another room fell victim to Neila's drunkenness.