Humanity's Hero Of Despair

The imperial guards rush us into the palace as quickly as they can.

My friends and I run to the Imperial Courtroom, where the Emperor is waiting for us. We burst into the room, and the doors shut quickly behind us. All of us kneel down in front of the throne until we hear the Emperor say it's okay for all of us to stand up.

We stand up together as we look at the Emperor with worried expressions on our faces.

"Please step forward, Nico and Quillen,"

the Emperor says calmly. His face betrays his voice as he looks visibly annoyed. My guess is he is annoyed at the Grand Duke for betraying him, which I can't blame him for. Having one of the major territories under you still turn on you behind your back isn't a happy feeling.

Quillen and I step forward as my friends stay standing in their positions nervously.

"My imperial agents have filled me in on all the information. I am genuinely glad all of you made it back safely to the Imperial Palace. Even though I am enraged at Grand Duke Pedgas, we must make the right intelligent decisions, as we are talking about decisions that may affect millions of people."

The Emperor shifts his body in the throne, his fingers slowly tapping the arm of the throne.

"Both the Ryndoria President and Vice President cannot be trusted. I have written to both King Grey and President Hector about this news. We have to be careful with how we deal with Grand Duke Pedgas as well as the Ryndoria Republic as a whole. We cannot afford an international war with them, as the dragons and goblins will take that opportunity in our weakened state to destroy all of us."

We all passionately agree with the Emperor. We cannot afford a large-scale war.

"Quillen, do you have any other information?"

Quillen steps forward and hands the Elemental Sphere of Earth over to the Emperor while saying, "We have this for you, Your Imperial Highness. It was hard to steal from him, but we managed to without too many casualties. Hopefully, this can help enhance your magic enough to help deal with the incoming threat.

"The Grand Duke knows you have the sphere now, meaning he will be a lot more cautious given his nature."

The Emperor thanks Quillen, and Quillen then steps down from the throne's steps.

"Good news, everyone! King Grey and his travel party should be arriving at the Imperial Palace in a couple of days or so, maybe even sooner. We will be able to discuss better what to do next when he is here with all of us."

I can't believe it. King Grey is finally going to arrive here soon. His presence will help boost morale around all of us, and he probably brought a good chunk of troops as well in case we need them if the Grand Duchy of Pedgas attacks us or if the Ryndoria Republic does.

We all talk happily among each other, which the Emperor doesn't stop us from doing.

We talk for a bit until the Emperor says one final thing.

"Please get some rest in your bedrooms, the ones you were in before. My staff has already prepared them all for you for the same reasons. We wanted to make the return back to the Imperial Palace as easy as we could make it. All of us will talk more on this in the morning. For now, please rest."

We all thank the Emperor and head to our old bedrooms, which already have our suitcases in them. I unpack, amazed at the speed of the staff here. It is nice to feel valued, I think to myself as I hang my clothes in the ridiculously large closet and chuckle to myself for a bit.

I head into the huge bathroom with my travel bag and get to work on unpacking my toiletries.

Once I finish brushing my teeth, I take a quick shower and throw on my sleep clothes. My bed feels like it is absorbing me as I close my eyes and fall asleep.

The next morning, I feel more refreshed than ever.

I do my usual morning routine, the one I used to do before we arrived in Pedgas. I may have lost my balcony, but I gained so much more. At least I am in ally territory and not dangerous enemy territory. Who knows? I may have been assassinated if we continued to stay there too long.

I try not to think about it too much as I straighten my hair out and finish brushing my teeth. After brushing my teeth, I head to my closet and put on some comfortable clothes. I grab my wands and head downstairs for breakfast as usual in the dining hall with my friends.

My friends are all gathered at the entrance of the dining hall with the door closed. Ivy tells me the guards won't let them in until everyone is there. We are confused, but once we all are there, they let us into the room.

"Surprise!"

We hear lots of clapping around us as it appears the Emperor has thrown us a surprise welcome-back party. People rush up to us to greet us. Many familiar faces smile at us and are happy that we are back. The Emperor sits at the table in the center and gestures for us to join him. Once we are all at the table, the Emperor raises his glass.

"This is to celebrate the return of Grand Duke Lotus and company! Enjoy a wonderful breakfast and feast, everyone."

All of us start digging into the delicious food. I haven't had food that tasted this good in a while. I don't know if it is just because of the taste of the food itself or if it is because I am eating it in the Imperial Palace again, but perhaps, perhaps it is both.

It is probably also because the Emperor is eating at our table personally. We all laugh and talk with each other, just enjoying the present. Once the breakfast celebration is over, the Emperor has my friends and me follow him to his private office to discuss some things.

Some things related to the Elemental Sphere of Earth and what it all means.

Time to get back to business.