Devouring Monarch: Rebirth of the Profane Phoenix - Chapter 391

Chapter 391: Solving The Issues at hand!
Mu Xue, who sat with a cup of milk tea, handing one to Asura with a gentle smile, joined the conversation. “So, does it smell sweet to Asura because, in your tradition, she would build a nest full of her thread and then lure him inside to copulate?”

“Yes, that’s right. But my sister is way past the age for this behaviour, so it was a little shocking for me to see up close for the first time.” Yufa nodded, causing Valerie, Lorem and Lucia to look at Asura while holding the thread and smelling it again.

“I see, so he did it again…”

“Our darling is just an unstoppable Casanova. Even monsters can’t resist him…”

“Well, he is a wonderful man; maybe we should cover his face so women don’t approach him anymore?” Lorem finished this time, while Lucia seemed to lose hope of stopping these things from happening in the future.

Rasha looked towards Asura with a blush while whispering, “Does my thread really smell sweet to him? How embarrassing at my age… desiring such a young boy.”

Then the other women turned to Yufa and asked the same question, worried she might also become his target.

“What about you? Does he think your thread smells sweet?” Mu Xue asked with a gentle smile, her cool and calm attitude completely different from the other women, which made Asura feel a little at ease. Xavida still didn’t return.

“Eh? M-Me? I don’t have thread; I’m not a small type Arachne, like my sister!”

“You are not?”

“N-No, I’m… Well, large type Arachne rarely use traps or tricks like the smaller breeds…. we will hunt the male we choose and normally, mother said when she found our father that she pounced him in the fields and didn’t let him go until all her eggs were fertilised…”

“Ahem… what an erotic and violent species of women…” Lorem coughed, her cheeks a little pink.

“So, if you wanted to, you would have attacked him by now… Good, one less rival.” Lucia leaned back and seemed to relax finally.

“Since we’ve sorted that… Why are there two Arachne here in Silvara in the first place and your mother? Who is she?”

Rash then took over and stepped in front of the women, her atmosphere no longer arrogant and stuck-up; instead, she seemed more elegant as she flicked her soft white hair over her shoulders and gave a light bow.

“Forgive us for intruding—We are Yufa and Rasha, daughters of the Queen of Arachne and former rulers of the Monster Kingdoms.”

“Q-Queen?!”

“Former rulers?”

“How come you didn’t tell us, dear?”

The women spoke up at once, and Asura’s palm touched his face as he sighed. “Did you give me time to tell you? They are here to meet Vela and the Queen to seek aid in retaking their kingdom? The cultists and Emerald Empire are likely involved.”

‘Luckily, Mu Yue isn’t here today, or it would be extra complicated.’

“So that’s why…”

Lorem’s atmosphere changed once she knew the truth and stopped showing any signs of jealousy and hostility.

Instead, she took out a magical tool and placed it on her ear; the small earpiece with a black bar across her mouth started to buzz for a few moments before she spoke to herself.

“Morning Vela, it’s Lorem. I was wondering if you could come to the mansion rather than the academy after you finish breakfast?”

“Mm, yes, Asura misses you and is waiting too.”

Everyone just watched while she seemed to speak to herself, yet the soft tone of Vela’s voice slightly echoed from the earpiece, stopping her from looking stupid.

“Excellent, see you soon then.”

“Vela will be here in an hour; she’s with Amalia and Ignis at the moment, eating breakfast with the queen.”

“I see; good work, Lorem.” Asura nodded his head, impressed at Lorem’s efficiency, causing his childhood friend to lift her nose with pride, happy at the praise.

“So, what will you do, Asura?” Mu Xue spoke while eating some sweets and her milk tea finished.

“What do you mean? I intend to help them. Even if it’s impossible for the kingdom, I will use my forces and ask Alan and Gaius for a little help.”

“I thought so—our darling is too kind.” Valerie chuckled, looking towards the two sisters before she nodded. “Although Drakkur cannot help as much as last time, I will let you borrow Verana and Verena. That girl has worked hard over the past month applying your theories and agricultural plans to the poorer places of our land. She is nothing like the spoilt brat I knew a few months ago.”

Lorem then coughed, “Why does it feel Drakkur serves Asura and not the Queen these days…”

“Huh? Well, I guess that’s true; it’s not my fault the man who will marry and unite our two territories is also the prince and future king of Silvara, right?” Valerie snorted while shrugging her shoulders, causing Asura to raise an eyebrow, not sure whether he should laugh or cry.

‘These women, it’s like they are gathering together and slowly forming a containment field for me…’ Asura sighed, not sure whether to thank them or be concerned.

He felt these problems kept interrupting his studies, and it made him feel insecure. His previous self didn’t miss a single lesson; now, he missed close to two months, almost more!

Mu Xue giggled softly at the scene and looked towards Asura while placing a hand on his shoulder. “Asura, although the academy is important, it’s not the world if you don’t complete its lessons. Why not study at the new academy formed by Sigurd? I thought that might be more efficient for you.”

Asura’s eyes lit up at her suggestion: a private academy for him, and the place was his territory; not only that, he could come and go as he pleased, studying at his own pace. He could leave his lovers in a group able to train and improve together instead of leaving anyone alone. It felt like an excellent idea.

Since it meant he could use it not only to train the kingdom’s future troops but also to bolster his forces and teach the new students about his ideals and technology to improve the lives of the common person.

‘Could I also open an exchange program for orcs like the Grom clan and the Arachne to increase tolerance of other races? I mean, even elves used to be prominent in Silvara in the distant past… I could even bring those two to play sometimes.’

“Look, darling is plotting something again…” Lucia whispered, her hands holding up her chin as she gazed at him with an affectionate look.

“True, I bet our beloved is thinking far ahead of today, considering things months ahead and struggling to solve those issues in his mind,” Valerie added, her hand reaching out to stroke his cheek.

***

While Asura lost himself in his thoughts, planning the various paths he could take, the women began to speak amongst themselves. Yufa and Rasha soon became a part of the group like they were there for years.

Xavida joined the group and noticed the two new women, but unlike the older women, she just shrugged and sat on Asura’s lap while he was out of it before the maids started serving breakfast.

Vela, Amalia and Ignis arrived before breakfast ended, causing the group to end the feast.
When Asura finally snapped out of his thoughts and wolfed down a few cold bites to eat. Then they moved to the study with more seats and a huge board to write things down.

“Sigh… he’s a little too kind-hearted and focused and forgets to eat.”

“That’s why he needs us to remind him to eat, bathe, and rest.”

“Indeed, our darling needs his wives to support him, or he will try to save everyone and run himself ragged.”

“No joke… But isn’t that why we all love him?” Mu Xue added, responding to Lorem, Valerie and Lucia’s comments.

“That’s why we exist, to support and perform the tasks he doesn’t wish to or because he is too kind to do them. I will take the role of bad guy happily if he can continue being himself.” Vela said while looking at her fellow rivals and friends with a soft but powerful smile, showing her growth as a princess and future ruler.

Asura just cleared his throat as his cheeks turned red, causing the women to giggle, and the atmosphere became warm and affectionate. Much to the power of Mu Xue and Vela’s ability and complete trust and faith in him.

“So, Princess Vela, are you really willing to help?” Yufa asked with a curious tone. She wasn’t very diplomatic and spoke more like a friend would speak to another.

Vela touched her chin while looking at Asura and the others as she approached the board, writing several points that needed answering.

“Enemy forces, total amount, expected outcome.”

“Emerald Empire involvement.”

“Cultist influence.”

“Strength and estimated losses.”

“Silvara’s involvement, Drakkur, Arachne, Grom Clan.”

“How much assistance will the Monster Kingdoms be after retaking? Trade, alliances, a Vassal?”

Asura couldn’t help but admire his wife. ‘She’s so amazing. When did she grow to be such a wonderful ruler?’

She wasn’t like him, who would bend over backwards just because their enemies were the same people. Instead, she wrote the facts, negatives, positives and realistic goals for Silvara to aim for while helping.

If the Monster Kingdoms were retaken, Silvara’s strength would increase, trade would open up, and they would have allies to trade and form an alliance with. But, of course, there was the potential of losing their citizens and soldiers.

This could lead to the North and the Emerald Empire attacking, or rather the fact their territory increased along with alliances encroaching the border of the empire. Vela wouldn’t bet anything but war from two fronts if they helped.

That’s why she became serious and used all the knowledge her mother gave to her.

“War on two fronts, the fear of a powerful Silvara isn’t what the Emerald or Demon Empire desire. Which might result in war or sanctions towards us; maybe they will cease all trading of exotic goods used in several important magical artefacts and items we use daily…” Mu Xue, as if in sync with Vela, began explaining the points the princess left while using a pointer and hitting the map on the board.

“But if we can avoid the war and increase our trade with the monster kingdoms, we could import their unique products, increasing our economy and lowering prices to the common person. Which is the ideal, but let’s not deal with ideals for war, battle and uncertain things.”

“True, I doubt the Emerald Empire will declare war and risk losing the people’s support. However, we have a long-standing feud, but neither side is ready to attack.” Valerie’s hand tapped the bored as she chewed the pen before continuing her explanation. “Instead, they would probably pressure the Monster Kingdoms to cut ties and trade with Silvara or invade them for real instead of using proxy forces this time, drawing out a long and arduous war that would weaken Silvara, leaving our borders open to the north.” Valerie continued, her slender finger pointing to the Emerald Empire.

“They are our biggest threat, and we cannot trust them due to past events. Remember, during the fall of Lindwyrm it was their troops that destroyed the walls!”

Now, three of his beloved women were in sync, describing the points alternating between each other.

“Which is why we need to prepare and bolster our army and defences. Drakkur is our main buffer to the north, so we cannot use their forces to attack, or the kingdom will lose their protection from the northern threat, and a lot of the kingdom’s infrastructure relies on Drakkur’s support.”

“Therefore, the ideal path is for Silvara itself to retake the Monster Kingdoms and annex them as our own. Not only would we increase our defence and bolster our army, but we could also gain new trade and allies, helping if the war did expand across the entire north and east.”

Now, Lorem started to add her thoughts while noting down that keeping Drakkur strong and keeping a large force in Wolfsheim would stop the North from taking advantage.

‘Wow…’ Asura felt overwhelmed at how talented and amazing his future wives were.

His thoughts were too one-directional, compared to their minds put together, thinking from several directions and theories while forming a solid and structured plan.

“Then, the question is different. Princess Yufa, Princess Rasha, what are you willing to sacrifice to save your people?” Mu Xue asked her voice ice cold yet straight to the point.