Sovereign of the Ashes

After wandering around the alliance's star domain for decades, Sein and his crew finally made it back to Magus World.

As the high-performance, boat shuttle-like space fortress docked at a starport outside Magus World, Sein felt a twinge of reluctance to leave. The trip had only deepened his desire to have his own space fortress.

He wondered how Aurelia had managed his fortune over the years. Ideally, he wanted to secure a war fortress before the Clash of Civilizations broke out.

If Aurelia could not provide the funds, Sein figured he would just have to take out a loan from the Capiche Business Alliance or Steel City to place an order.

But since Aurelia had made a solemn promise to him, he should start seeing some returns in another few hundred years.

Sein did not need to worry about the Capiche Business Alliance or Steel City running out of space fortresses.

As long as he could provide enough magicoins, they could arrange delivery in as little as a month.

The Magus Civilization had been preparing for the war tens of thousands of years ago, possibly even earlier.

Even if this Clash of Civilizations dragged on for tens of thousands of years, the Magus Civilization would be ready to endure!

Countless secret warehouses had already been filled with space fortresses and other war platforms.

As long as Sein had money, there was nothing else to stress over. Some things were just not his problem.

Outside the starport, Mayne personally came to meet him.

He had already received word of Sein's return date and had just dropped by to check in before moving on to other business.

Unlike Sein, who had the luxury of touring countless allied planes in recent decades, Mayne had been extremely busy.

That was the difference between a divine tower master and someone like Mayne, who came from a powerful background.

Sometimes, Mayne envied Sein.

"You can head for the venue two hundred years before the conference starts," Mayne suggested.

"Also, be sure to prepare your speech in advance and send us a copy as backup. We'll give you some room to speak your mind, but don't say anything too outrageous. Remember, nearly all the overlords and allied deities will be at this conference!" he reminded.

Sein might have bent the rules at times, like with those covert dealings back in Ashenreach, but in most cases, he was a mage who played by them.

He had no intention of speaking recklessly at the Magus Alliance Conference. He knew he was not at that level yet and had always known how to carry himself in important situations.

"Got it. See you at the venue," Sein replied.

Mayne nodded and watched as Sein left the starport.

***

Upon returning to Magus World, the first news Sein received was that his mentor had already returned from Grand Amethyst World.

"Those elemental kings insisted on inviting me to travel with them to the alliance conference's venue, but I still have unfinished business here at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, so I came back first."

Lorianne spoke to Sein through the elemental light screen, sounding pleased with herself.

Sein was in his divine tower laboratory. Since there was no need for formality with his mentor, he leaned back in his chair and made himself comfortable.

"So, did everything go well in Grand Amethyst World?" he asked.

The resources and wealth of a large-sized world often far exceeded those of a medium-sized world, sometimes by a hundredfold or more!

The Amethyst World was known for its abundance, and from the delighted look on Lorianne's face, it was clear she had done very well.

"Of course. With your mentor personally taking charge this time, good things came easily!" Lorianne chuckled, making a grabbing motion with her hand.

Her gains in the Amethyst World were indeed substantial. Not only did she befriend several Rank Four and Rank Five elemental kings, but she also secured their goodwill.

She also walked away with nearly ten million magicoins and a promise from those elemental kings—rewards well worth the years she had invested in this matter.

This also showed how wealthy those elemental kings were. Ordinary allied deities would never offer such a high reward just for a few potions.

But beyond the magicoins, the most valuable prize Lorianne brought back was the promise she secured.

The elemental kings who had become friendly with her pledged that they would prioritize resource trade with the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, especially when it came to energy crystals and rare metal ores.

In war, what could be more important than resources?

Their promise was easily worth far more than a few million magicoins.

At least now, Sein would not need to worry too much about supplies for his legions when the war began.

And it seemed the energy crystals Lorianne obtained from Amethyst World were even a little cheaper than the market average.

"I'll share the profit with you later," Lorianne added.

"I never expected that the White Sand World War alone would bring us so many benefits. With the compensation the Magus Alliance handed over to you earlier, you should be able to afford a space fortress now with your savings, right?" she asked.

She had watched Sein build his divine tower and grow into who he was today, so she had a rough idea of his net worth.

Sein was actually far luckier than Lorianne.

Lorianne had to fight several interplanar wars before she could afford a space fortress, but Sein managed it all at once.

"That should be enough. I plan to handle it soon, since the new standard model is already out. I'll make the purchase before the Magus Alliance Conference begins," Sein replied.

"I recently visited Phantom Crow World and brought back some local specialties as gifts. I'll send them to you soon," he added with a smile.

"Oh? You went to Phantom Crow World?" Lorianne asked in surprise.

But her attention quickly shifted to the latter part. She covered her lips and chuckled. "I'm glad you didn't forget about me!"

***

The gifts Sein sent to Lorianne included not only souvenirs from Phantom Crow World but also some trinkets he had picked up during his travels across the Magus Alliance's territory.

Tourmaline had already woken from hershortnap, unaware that Sein had even been away on a long journey.

As the Magus Alliance's conference drew closer, Sein found himself uninterested in diving back into his research.

Aside from listening to Aurelia's reports on recent commercial ventures and the development of Ashenreach, he focused more of his energy on his family.

During this time, Sia raised a matter that caught Sein's attention.

Maybe it really was time for him to leave behind an heir.