Luke understood fish, but even though octopuses were strange creatures that could live in lakes, he couldn't know how they could be found so suddenly.
"Ah, Your Majesty!"
When Luke heard this voice coming from among the elves carrying seafood, he turned his head in that direction and asked, "Yes?" in a normal tone.
One of the elves stepped forward and approached him, saying, "Today's catch was quite abundant, Your Majesty. Thanks to the mermaids and mermen in the lake, we even managed to catch an octopus. I was wondering if you would like some."
Luke shook his head from side to side and then said, "I don't like octopus, but I can accept sea bass. Please bring it to my room," and then entered his mansion.
He would have to wait for a while. Even though the agreement had been made and the signatures had been signed, there were still massive changes needed in the town.
More accurately, preparations needed to be made.
Winter was approaching. In less than half a month, just eight days later, winter would arrive, and the danger Luke should be worried about would begin.
The North…The North never forgave, nor did it never forget. The North never slept and always tried to hunt down anyone within it if it meant danger to the empire.
This region, where miraculous snowstorms formed even in the summer, turned into a white hell when winter arrived, and the cold was the second thing to worry about.
The first thing was very obvious. It was one of the main reasons why the Duchy of Wirgo, the Northern Duchy, was so important.
The Magical Monster Gates.
Every year, in the far north of the Hiera Empire, gates formed within the cold, gates that had existed even before the empire's history, gates that had never ceased to exist. These gates, which released monsters into the outside world just once during the winter season, were the reason why the north was so valuable.
The Northern Duchy, or Esphia, the city of the Wirgos, meant 'Defender of the Walls' in the Ancient Dragon language and had protected the northern part of the empire since its inception.
It was said that the Empress, the founder of the empire and the first Hiera, had taken control of the highest-ranking Ancient Dragons, their ancestors, and was their master. This alone was enough to explain why the Ancient Dragon language was so important for the high-families of the empire.
The main region of the continent owned by the empire, that is, the six main regions of the empire, had city names formed from the Ancient Dragon language.
The Moneta family, consisting of merchants whose surnames meant 'Money' and 'Death' in the Ancient Dragon language, had infinite respect for the empire and protected the South.
The Cestis family, composed of knights whose surnames meant 'Iron' and 'Blood' in the Ancient Dragon language, served as the empire's protectors and included Callum among their members.
The Typhoon family, composed of servants and surprisingly highly successful in producing assassins, whose surnames mean 'Element,' 'Destruction,' and 'Catastrophe' in the Ancient Dragon language, who have served the imperial family since its founding, and whose previous leader was Kevin.
The Freley family, the pure-blooded warriors, unafraid to kill, who had never been involved in any deceit or treachery throughout their lineage, and who were incredibly loyal, were the only family guarding the north, with surnames meaning 'Resistance,' 'Sacrifice,' and 'Loyalty' in the Ancient Dragon language.
The Wirgo family were incredible warriors, with bodies that could withstand extreme cold, brains that never tired, and a family that never stopped protecting their walls. Their surname meant protection, destruction, and endless defence.
These five families served a single family:
[Hiera]
The Hiera family was one of the few true noble families in the world. It was said that their bloodline traced back to the gods and goddesses.
Hiera literally meant 'Holy One,' and this family had protected millions of citizens with their blood and lives for generations. They did not earn their imperial titles through war. Yes, they may have protected all these lands through war, but every kingdom and vassal loyal to them had voluntarily pledged allegiance to the Hiera family.
They were the only families in the world with the ability to rule over Ancient Dragons and, surprisingly, Ancient Phoenixes, as seen in history.
The Hieras possessed such sacred, such holy blood.
The North, or the Wirgo family, had tirelessly protected these northern passages for generations to ensure that no harm came to this family or its people.
Now, however, a Hiera was in a place where this threat could reach swiftly.
That is, in Selene Village… The person here was perhaps the purest Hiera born after the line between the life and death of the Founding Empress—Luke himself. His value was so high that it could spark a war between literal empires such as the Holy Empire.
Now, this person had to stand against the northern passes, just like the Wirgo family.
This provided a reason to begin a deep preparation.
Luke had a very large budget. Even if he ignored the mythril he had obtained from the Mutant Mythril Turtle, he still had a ton of armour, weapons, and even wands that pure mages could use, all of which he could purchase from the shop panel.
He had ballistae powerful enough to bring down even the strongest monsters, capable of breaching a massive wall.
So he only had to protect the area he was in.
To be honest, he didn't care much about what was passing through here. He knew that the Duchy of Wirgo would handle everything clearly and easily. It had always been that way anyway.
That's exactly why he needed to focus on the area he was in.
There were still two hours until bedtime. Even if he hadn't noticed, Kevin, Callum, and the others had already returned to the village and were busy eating and resting.
When Luke's dinner of fish was brought to his room, he was busy refreshing his knowledge of military planning, the development of defence mechanisms, and similar topics, and devising new strategies. It was for survival; it was to make everyone under his care survive.