Later, inside the throne room of the elven royal palace...
Elira sits on her throne, back straight, expression the epitome of regal authority, as her gaze sweeps commandingly across the hundred or more palace guards and maids kneeling below her. Behind her, Dargo, Alara, Alyse, Cara, and Percivil stand, wearing bewildered expressions over Mizuki's sudden abduction of them. Then, of course, there's Ciri...standing less than a meter from her shoulder...glaring at anyone who comes too close.
She sighs internally, throwing a frustrated glance at the serious-looking blue-haired bombshell.
'I know that Mizuki was in a rush, and trying to help, but...couldn't he have at least ordered her to follow my commands? She basically ignores anything I say, and won't let anyone near me. Not even my own husband!'
Pushing the mounting annoyance from her mind, and steadying her outward demeanor, she rises from the throne. Her voice booms through the chamber.
"Loyal elves of the palace...I know that, for those who beared witness to today's events, you've realized several things, and questioned many more. So, I'll be blunt...Lord Mizuki is far more powerful than you've been led to believe, and Princess Ilina is indeed engaged to him. Furthermore, this has the unanimous support of our royal and noble families." (Elira)
Shocked whispers immediately ripple out through the crowd, but Elira raises her hands, and they fall silent.
"Your judgements are misguided. To begin with, contrary to what you may have heard, Mizuki is not human. In fact, he was not even born on Azura, and his ancestors hail from our very own elven home world. His kind are known as the Nephilim..." (Elira)
She goes on to explain the mythology of the Nephilim, including the reputation they had for helping the elves civilize, their power, and how the First Queen and ancestor of all high elves was actually a Nephilim-elf hybrid. Then, she explains how Mizuki is the true leader of Nedonera's party, the architect of the Kingdom's new trains, and more.
Finally, she gestures to Ciri at her side.
"As for this woman, who you may have encountered during that...misunderstanding earlier, she is in fact the Elder Dragon of ice, Cerilia. So, I trust that having seen Mizuki subdue her is evidence enough of both his abilities and his intentions towards our people. With that said, are there any questions?" (Elira)
Stunned silence descends on the room for what feels like entire minutes. Eventually, one of the maids raises her hand hesitantly.
"My Queen, if what you say is true...how are we expected to address Lord Mizuki and behave around him now?" (maid 1)
Elira nods, happy to see an obvious sign of compliance among the staff.
"At least within the palace, you should treat him with at least as much respect as if he were a noble elf engaged to the Princess. You can all address him as Prince Consort, Prince Mizuki, or simply Prince." (Elira)
As if emboldened by the maid, a guard raises his hand, a concerned expression on his face.
"My Queen, what does this mean for the Kingdom? Will he truly become King? If he doesn't age, will he be the last King? What about their heirs? Will the next Princess be immortal like her father?" (guard 1)
Elira purses her lips, partially unprepared for such profound questions. Some, she's not sure she has the answers for. Alas, "I don't know" is not an acceptable answer as Queen.
"Yes, so long as our people are wise enough to welcome him, Prince Mizuki will be King. As for how long, I can only tell you that he does not covet the throne.
"While there's never been a Nephilim and high elf pairing before, we think there's a chance their children could be ageless like him, since high elves are, in a sense, part Nephilim. However, at the very least, their children will probably live for dozens of high elf lifetimes.
"Regardless of any of these details, I am confident that the Kingdom will only prosper more as a result of his marriage to my daughter." (Elira)
The guard falls silent, seemingly contemplating her words deeply. After a few more moments without more questions, she nods approvingly.
"Now that your questions have been answered, know that you are all under strict orders of secrecy. No exceptions, and especially no leaking news of the Prince's and Princess's engagement. If such rumors spread outside the palace, Lady Nedonera will use her lie-detecting abilities to interrogate every single palace employee here. Those of you found guilty of disobeying my orders will be sentenced to a century of imprisonment." (Elira)
Immediately, the fear in the room becomes stifling, every pair of eyes transfixed on her, wide in shock.
'Good...that should keep this under wraps until we can announce everything formally.'
Ciri's voice echoes in her head, amused.
[Fufufu...leveraging Sister's capabilities was clever, elf. They look entirely too terrified to contemplate disobedience now.] (Ciri)
Elira grits her teeth, finding the praise inexplicably annoying. Before she decides if and how to deal with it, though, Mizuki suddenly appears on the dais behind her, along with Ilina, Nina, and Alto. His arrival causes several gasps to run through the crowd.
Mizuki raises his eyebrows, glancing between Elira and the palace staff, before smiling at the crowd with a casual wave.
"Hello everyone! I assume that Queen Elira has told you about me by now. I'm sure that whatever she told you is true, but please allow me to say myself that you have nothing to fear from me. I look forward to finally getting to be myself in this Kingdom, and thank you all for keeping my secrets in the meantime." (Mizuki)
Those in the crowd stare at him in abject shock, speechless. Seeing an opportunity, Elira nods at them, then gracefully lowers herself into the throne and speaks.
"Dismissed!" (Elira)
The command snaps the staff from their stupors, and words of respectful affirmation echo in the chamber, before they begin filing out. Once they have departed, she glances at Mizuki, noting the serious expression on his face. As her curiosity mounts, she nods, rising from the throne again.
"Follow me...I'm sure we have much to discuss." (Elira)
¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬
A short time later...
I sit in a massive meeting room elsewhere in the palace. To either of my sides on the couch, Nina and Ilina sit with uncharacteristically serious expressions. Alto stands just behind me, and I could almost swear she looks even less happy than normal, her eyes occasionally drifting to my lap. On the opposing couch, there's Elira, Dargo, and Ciri, with the first two looking wary of the latter. On other couches nearby, Cara, Alara, Alyse, and Percivil are spread out, watching me expectantly.
I sweep my gaze over everyone, offering a friendly smile.
"Alright everyone, thank you for coming. I'm sure you all have questions about why you're here, which I will endeavor to answer soon, but first..." (Mizuki)
I moves my gaze to Ciri, offering her an appreciative nod.
"Ciri, thank you for looking after Elira while I was away. As I promised, once I finish telling everyone else what I need to, we can talk as you wish. However, I strongly suggest you not trespass like that again within the Kingdom, or I'll be forced to take more drastic measures, regardless of your intentions. Stripping you of your magic is not out of the question." (Mizuki)
Though I once told Ilina's family I can't do so permanently, I now think I can do it indefinitely. All it requires is using magic drain, followed by casting a barrier around Ciri's body that repels atmospheric magic. As long as I maintain the barrier, she can't reabsorb any magic.
Of course, that wouldn't render her as helpless as a normal human, and she could potentially still access her dragon form for all I know. Nonetheless, it would be a devastating blow to her strength.
Hearing the threat, Ciri shows genuine fear for the first time, instead of her typical horny, deranged response to threats from me.
"H-Husband...you can truly do that?" (Ciri)
Her particular form of address causes a number of...resistant, reactions among those present.
"Ciri...quit calling him your husband before I give you one of the beatings you crave." (Nina)
"I'm starting to reconsider asking Mizuki to kill you..." (Ilina)
Cara gives me a strained smile.
"Mizuki...I thought you were rebuffing the advances of any other woman?" (Cara)
To my great surprise, even Alto has something to say.
"Mizuki, it is unwise to allow others to...mischaracterize, your fondness of them." (Alto)
I blink, taken aback by the overwhelming discontent. Can't say I disagree, though...
I raise my hands placatingly.
"Okay, let's all...take a breath." (Mizuki)
I glance at Ciri.
"Ciri, they are correct...I'm going to have to insist you stop calling me Husband. It's insulting to my wives, and to be blunt, delusional. We're not a couple, and I have no interest in you romantically...we're not even friends. Please call me by my name instead. Also, to answer your question...yes. If needed, I can strip you of your magic, then send you back to the northern ice continent." (Mizuki)
A number of eyebrows in the room are raised by my uncharacteristically harsh comment. Ciri pales, and inexplicably, something close to pain flickers in her eyes. She's silent for a moment before responding, her voice notably quieter, less vibrant.
"I understand, Hu-...Mizuki." (Ciri)
I feel a pang of guilt at her surprisingly dejected attitude, but quickly suppress it, nodding my acknowledgement.
"Good. Now, about why you're all here..." (Mizuki)
I return my attention to the crowd at large and...proceed to tell them about the threat who I've decided to call the Author. The Note and its contents, how I received a second MMC message today, and the implications of these interactions.
While I avoid details of the discussion that the second message referenced (i.e., my new experiment), I share pretty much everything else. This includes my suspicions of the Author's power and how they probably sent the message intending for me to notice Ciri's presence at the royal palace. The timing of the latter especially was just too perfect.
Finally, I explain how I think the Author's primarily interested in me and Alto, which is why I sent her away with Nina for protection while I dealt with Ciri, rather than potentially leave her in the presence of the Author. Nevertheless, I warn everyone that I can't be certain the rest of them aren't also in some level of danger. When I finish, the room is full of silence and troubled expressions.
Elira is the first to speak.
"You truly have no idea who this person could be, or even what race they are?" (Elira)
I shake my head.
"None. With this fresh implication of their abilities, I can no longer make any inferences about their origins or race. I was once fairly confident they're not an Otherworlder like they claim, but recent...realizations, have left me uncertain of that fact." (Mizuki)
By which, I mean that I no longer trust that Azazel hasn't obscured the existence of such a person on Azura. After all, I've never point-blank asked the guy for a comprehensive list or anything.
Alyse gives me a concerned look.
"If even you can't seem to track them with all your abilities, could this be...another Nephilim? Or at least, something as powerful as you?" (Alyse)
I purse my lips thoughtfully.
"I...can't rule out that possibility, I'm afraid. However, it's unlikely that they're another Nephilim, or even a race that could match me in a direct confrontation. Their behavior doesn't make sense for one of my kind, and if they were confident in overpowering me, I see no need for such secrecy." (Mizuki)
Regarding the former point, I specifically mean that I can't imagine an Earthling contacting me this way. If they knew the full truth of where I was from, wouldn't they reveal more than they did? Wouldn't they want to reach out to a fellow Earthling more personally? Furthermore, I can't imagine them flying under the radar so much with that kind of power. Even while I've been hiding my abilities, I made quite a reputation as an adventurer. It was just too much bait for a fantasy-lover.
I notice Alara staring at me with a serious expression.
"Okay, so...what do the rest of us need to be doing? What do we look out for? How do we mitigate whatever danger you think we may be in?" (Alara)
I avert my eyes, feeling a bit of guilt over the question. That only makes telling them the truth more important, though. I clench my jaw, looking at her with an apologetic expression.
"Honestly, there's nothing more to be done. Not right now, at least. If the Author really attacked one of you, you'd have to just survive long enough to contact me by MMC. Although, I'm not sure if that's even possible, depending on their strength.
"Other than Nina, who has a telepathic connection with me and could probably endure any surprise attacks until I arrive...I can't truly ensure any of your safety unless you're with me. I'm sorry..." (Mizuki)