A day passed after William's meeting with Takam.
He went to find answers, and they were indeed answered. However, a new set of questions arose. One of them was how he would deal with the ticking time bomb that was inside his Thousand Beast Domain.
There was no way he could fight off a Pseudo-Demigod, even though it was imprisoned.
(A/N: Just to clarify, Pseudo-Demigods are beings that are only a step away from becoming a Demigod. One good example of this is Jekyll. Although they are only a step away, that final step is a barrier that many are unable to pass. Right now, there are only ten Demigods in existence in the entirety of the World of Hestia.)
Takam said that he should handle the issue with the Undying Lands first, before he dealt with the other problems surrounding the Hellan Kingdom.
'Maybe I should ask Jekyll for help,' William thought. However, by doing so, Jekyll would discover one of his secrets. Although he trusted the Dentist of Lont to a certain extent, he was still wary of sharing any of his secrets with someone who made his instincts scream in warning.
'No, I can't.' William shook his head. 'I need to think of another way.'
William paced around his room as he tried to come up with other alternatives in terms of dealing with the threat that was looming over his head like a guillotine.
Minutes passed.
Hours passed and he was still unable to find a solution to his problem.
While he continued to contemplate the best course of action to take, a loud knock was heard on his door, which brought him out of his trance.
Soon, more knocking sounds were heard and a familiar voice reached his ears.
"Will, are you busy right now?" Ian asked from behind the door. "It's time for dinner."
William raised his head to look at the clock that was hanging on the wall and was surprised to see that it was already seven in the evening.
"Sorry, I didn't notice the time," William replied as he opened the door.
"It's fine," Ian replied. "Do you want me to bring your dinner here?"
William shook his head. He would probably continue his line of thought if he stayed inside his room, so he decided to join everyone for dinner to have a change of pace.
Brianna, Prince Ernest, Princess Sidonie, and Priscilla, were already at the table. Dave, who had accompanied Ian to travel to the Northern Regions, preferred to eat with his Beast Companion, Lionheart.
Also, he felt uncomfortable casually sharing the dining table with members of the Royal Family like Prince Ernest and Princess Sidonie.
Everyone looked at William when he arrived at the dining table. They didn't know why he had met with the Demigod of the Kyrintor Mountains. Although they were curious, none of them asked him any questions.
They just gave him space in order to sort out his thoughts.
"Brianna, after dinner, the two of us need to talk," William said. "His Excellency asked me to pass some words to you."
Brianna nodded. As someone that was born in the Kyrintor Mountains, the word of their God was law. None of the Tribes would defy a decree that had been issued by their Sovereign.
William then shifted his attention to the Princess whose face was covered with a veil. "Princess, I would also like to talk to you in private. Can you spare some time later after I finish my talk with Brianna?"
Princess Sidonie looked back at him before nodding her head in acknowledgement. She also wanted to talk to William in private and this was a perfect opportunity to do so.
Dinner was uneventful because everyone just focused on their food. The atmosphere was very formal, and the only sounds that could be heard were the clinking sounds of cutlery.
Everyone was lost in their own thoughts and no one was in the mood to talk. Half an hour later, William found himself inside Brianna's room.
The little loli insisted that the two of them talked inside her room to give them more privacy. William didn't argue with her because he was also curious about what her room [would look]was like.
"You're room doesn't look like it belongs to a girl," William commented after he sat on the seating mat on the floor.
There were no dolls, or any girly colors that would make anyone think that the room belonged to a girl. Instead, there were bookshelves that lined almost every wall that made up her room and all of them were filled with books.
William finally understood why Brianna was so mature for her age. She was someone who loved to read, and the wisdom she had gained from reading allowed her to understand many things like politics, and how society worked.
"Should I decorate it to make it look like a girl's room?" Brianna asked mischievously. "Big Brother, do you prefer girls that are feminine and delicate?"
William briefly thought about his three lovers--Wendy, Est, and Ian. the three of them were girls, but he couldn't place them in the feminine and delicate category. All of them were warriors in their own right.
Wendy and Ian would only show their soft side when they were with William. As for Est, William still hadn't had the opportunity to spend some quality time with him.
For him, the handsome, brown-haired boy was his best friend. Just like with Ian, he was very surprised when he found out that he was actually a girl.
The image of the silver-haired beauty with stunning red eyes appeared in his mind. William wasn't able to stop himself from thinking about that now that they were miles apart.
"Big Brother, it is very rude to think of other girls when you are with another girl, alone in her room," Brianna said with a pout.
William stared at the adorable loli and pinched her cheeks. "You're so young, and already this cheeky. I wonder how you'll be when you grow up."
"Naturally, I'll grow up to be a beautiful lady that will make your heart skip a beat," Brianna patted her chest with confidence.
"Oh? Just where is this confidence of yours coming from?" William lightly poked Brianna's nose.
He didn't know why, but whenever he was with her, he just wanted to spoil her rotten. The two teased each other for a few minutes, which lightened the atmosphere. Ironically, it was Brianna who took the initiative to break the intimate moment and ask William about the message her Sovereign wanted to tell her.
William nodded his head in understanding. His expression immediately became serious as he relayed Takam's order to the temporary Great Chief of the Northern Tribes.
"Tell the surviving members of the different tribes that all of them should gather on the Third Peak of Chivalry," William said. "You are to stay in the designated lodgings where the Tribes stay during special gatherings. Your food, and other necessities will be provided to you by The Oracle.
"His Excellency also added that none of you are allowed to participate in the war. All of the surviving members are not allowed to step out from the boundaries of the Third Peak of Chivalry."
Brianna sighed after hearing the message of their Sovereign. Actually, she was very worried about how the Tribes would take their stand in the chaos that was currently happening in the continent.
She knew that William would be facing off against The Organization, and perhaps the foreign invaders as well, but she didn't know whether she could order her people to fight by his side, knowing that many of them were going to die.
Although she was mature for her age, the fact still remained that Brianna was still very young. This was the first time that she was given the responsibility to govern thousands of people, and the burden she carried on her small shoulders was immense.
William could sense the complicated emotions that were swirling inside the little girl's head, but he resisted the urge to give her a hug and comfort her. Right now, he was talking to the Great Chieftain of the Tribes.
He would give her the respect she deserved when it came to official matters. William believed that Brianna would become an outstanding lady when she grew up. He hoped more than anything else that Prince Ernest would treat her well. If not, William would definitely beat the little shrimp until he shed bitter tears.
"Big Brother, is it really okay for me to not help you?" Brianna asked after a few minutes of silence.
William smiled as he nodded his head. "You can help me by being safe. That way, I will not have to worry about you when I leave the Kyrintor Mountains."
Brianna bit her lip as she looked down on her hands, "Big Brother, can't you just stay here? You can even bring all the survivors from Lont. I'm sure that the Sovereign will welcome them as well. You don't need to fight. Let's just wait until everything is over."
Brianna reached out her hand to hold William's hand. She grasped it firmly. Although she already knew what answer William would give her, she still said the words that were inside her heart.
"Thank you for worrying about me," William held Brianna's small trembling hand firmly. "However, I need to fight so that everyone important to me, including you, will be safe. This is a battle that I can't run away from."
William then pressed his forehead on Brianna's small head. "Don't worry, if the enemy is too powerful for me to handle, I'll come running back and hide under your skirt. Make sure to take care of me when that happens."
"Pffft!"
Brianna wasn't able to hold back a giggle after hearing William's shameless words. The anxiousness in her heart decreased by a big margin as she listened to her Big Brother's teasing.
It was during these moments, when Brianna felt that her heart was truly at ease.