"Whew. Lloyd Frontera. Is it true that we could meet creatures that are as strong as us here?"
The fearsome grin that showed amidst the dust storm reminded Lloyd how much of a killer smile the mermaid queen possessed; it was literally terrifying.
Look at all those muscles. Even her cheeks are so big.
Lloyd inadvertently flinched at the thought of intense exercise that would have made even the cheek muscles bulge out. But on the outside, he maintained a welcoming smile nonetheless.
"Haha. Ha. Thank you so much for agreeing to help us."
"No need. I kind of wanted to see if the Jewel of Truth had been constructed to perfection, anyways." "I see."
"That's why I brought my best warriors with me."
The mermaid queen glanced behind her quickly, pointing at the front yard of the lord's mansion. It was like a bodybuilding contest, full of half-fish warriors that seemed powerful. And that wasn't all; more warriors fell from the sky even as Lloyd stared at flexing muscles. Some fell on the front yard, some in the backyard, and others in the entrance to the property. It was like a trebuchet bombardment.
"Uh, well, I didn't expect these many warriors to help me out."
"Quite the contrary. I hand-picked only a thousand."
"I see... But how did you... come all the way here?"
"You saw it. We jumped."
"Jumped...?"
"Yeah," replied the mermaid queen, with an even deadlier smile on her muscular face. "We are a people that swim through the oceans and seas, from the depths to crashing waves during tornadoes, with powerful kicks alone. We take pride in our raw strength to push and stomp on things with our tailfin. We found the lack of water pressure a bit strange in the beginning when we got out, but soon realized stomping on the ground made it much easier for us to move a longer distance each time."
"O-oh. That's amazing."
"It is indeed. A refreshingly new experience, it was. Ascending by about a thousand feet in the air with one stomp on the ground made me feel so good."
"Wh-what about landing?"
"You saw it with your eyes," said the mermaid queen, shrugging her broad shoulders. "We land with our upper body because it's more convenient that way. We apply an immense amount of pressure on our upper body muscles from the wrist and forearms to the biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, and abs. It was a whole-body workout because we would go back to our lower body to jump up again."
"So you basically exercised your way here."
"Of course we did. We got out of the water on the nearest beach around here and passed by a few human settlements. The villagers were fortunately extremely kind. They rushed to our aid when we asked in which direction the Frontera Estate was."
"...The roughest criminals would become nice and kind in your mighty, muscular presence."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"N-never mind. I am truly grateful that you came. Everyone, please come this way so I can show you to your rooms,"
Lloyd barely managed to contain his bitter chuckle, as he could see what kind of events would have transpired as the mermaids and men found their way to Frontera Estate. The fear innocent villagers would have felt was obvious.
I would have seen the doctor after this from the shock if I was one of them. Whew.
Lloyd guided one thousand mermaid warriors to the honeybee apartment complex, shortly before escorting the mermaid queen and introduced her to Count Frontera. To the estate developer's relief, the count did not faint upon the sight.
Other reinforcements followed. Next to show up was the orc tribe alliance.
Shriek! "Frontera Estate is a brother of Sand and Steel Tribe! Sand and Steel Tribe is a member of the orc alliance! Brother of a member is out brother! Help we, our friend!" Shriek!
"Help we, our friend!" Shriek!
"Help we, our brother!" Shriek!
"Help we, our girlfriend!" Shriek!
"...There's a spy among us!" Shriek!
Thirty thousand orc warriors rushed to the estate, flexing their muscles as they filled the wide, paved road. Grand chieftain Krash of the orc alliance visited the mansion on behalf of all orcs, and Arosh was excited to see him.
"Uncle Krash!" Shriek!
"My nephew!" Shriek!
Bam! The high-five between two muscular and strong orcs made a sound so explosive that people thought someone was playing the drums. But nothing out of the ordinary took place as the grand chieftain was straightforward and genuinely polite, despite the rough nature. However, flares sparked between the two as soon as the grand chieftain saw the mermaid queen.
Her back muscles are no joke. Shriek!
Look at the sheer size of the torso. He definitely has amazing core muscles.
They exchanged looks that suggested how eager they were to face one another in completion of strengths like arm-wrestling or dead-lifting should they have an opportunity.
Other reinforcements included 300 elf archers from the Everglow Woods, and they were extremely quiet and subtle as they arrived unlike the previous two. Next were 500 sprinters from the centauri tribe in the Great Plains, followed by one battalion of artillerymen from the Cremo Estate, two companies of mountain pikemen from the Namaran Estate, a company of high-tier Mamluk cavalry deployed by the Sultan from the east, and lastly, 10,000 royal soldiers under the direct command of Queen Alicia Termina Magentano from the west.
"...Huh?"
Lloyd rubbed his eyes in disbelief at the sight of an unexpected individual at the head of the royal army.
What the... Why is Her Majesty here...?
It was absolutely unexpected and astonishing, and the queen perhaps read Lloyd's thoughts; she was giving a blatant look of contempt to Lloyd.
"It's been a while, Lloyd Frontera."
"I, Lloyd Frontera, the servant of the rightful ruler of these lands, am honored to see you again, Your Majesty."
"Really?"
"I am truly awe-struck."
"Hmm. You seem rather perplexed instead."
"Not at all, Your Majesty."
"And you'd dare to speak a blatant lie now?"
"Not at all, Your Majesty. I would never."
"Then why did you look so surprised the moment you saw me?"
"Out of my audacious concerns and worries about you, Your Majesty."
"Concerns and worries? About me? From you?"
"That is correct," said Lloyd with buttery lips, surprising the queen in return. "As I have stated in the missive to humbly request reinforcements, the invasion by the hell's army isn't going to be an easy battle."
"I suppose so. It will most likely be a gruesome one."
"That is why I was worried and concerned."
"No way."
"Yes way, Your Majesty."
"How dare you worry about my safety."
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"Tsk, tsk," said the queen, empathetically staring at the estate developer. "Worries and concerns by someone that cannot even hold his own in a sparring match against me. I don't know what I'm supposed to make of that."
"Please consider this to have stemmed from my unending loyalty towards my only liege, Your Majesty."
"Loyalty? Is that really it?"
"Huh?"
"Hmm."
Gulp. Lloyd made eye contact with the queen and saw the element of dissatisfaction in her eyes. He began to sweat uncomfortably.
Why are you looking at me like the predator trying to hunt down the prey...?
It sent unexpected chills down his spine, but the estate developer quickly shook the fear off and added.
"It will be an unprecedentedly tough battle. Should any harm befall you, Your Majesty, I'm just afraid of the repercussions that would follow--"
"You're afraid of the consequences and the responsibilities you'd have to bear."
"I am, Your Majesty."
Lloyd was being honest. Even as he was requesting aid from the royal court, he really did not wish to see the queen lead the army herself to show up here.
I'll be toast if something terrible happens to the queen. I don't want that.
Of course, the queen was a mighty warrior herself, and far superior in might to Lloyd. But the enemy army consisted of 500 hell's knights, each of whom was more powerful than the swordmaster queen herself. Despite Lloyd's concerns about her safety, however, the queen seemed to think differently.
"Lloyd Frontera. This estate is a part of the territories I rightfully own."
"That is true, and I am aware, Your Majesty."
"Are you telling me to sit back and watch from the side, when my territory is being invaded?"
“...”
"If you honestly thought I would have, I am truly disappointed."
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty."
"That sounds like a more genuine apology."
"It is, Your Majesty."
Lloyd internally felt awkward as he bowed. He understood that he couldn't oppose the queen's wish if she wanted to partake in the battle.
It's not like I could tell her to return to the royal capital without her army. I'll just have to make sure she doesn't get hurt.
While her presence was definitely going to help in terms of slaying enemies, Lloyd had to ensure her safety during battle. As Lloyd tried to incorporate this factor into his strategy, he heard the footsteps of two people running towards the scene. It was Count and Countess Frontera, rushing to greet Her Majesty at the head of the royal army.
"Marbella Frontera, wife of Arcos Frontera, at your service, Your Majesty."
They had obviously sprinted here immediately upon hearing the news, evidenced by the urgency in their movement as they prostrated without trying to fix their unkempt hair or outfit, not to mention the unexpected surprise and tension from the shock.
Come to think of it, it's their first time seeing the queen.
Lloyd realized how astonished they must have been by the visit of the queen, who graciously greeted them with à satisfactory smile on her face.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you two. I've heard so many good things about you from your son, Lloyd Frontera."
"...Huh?"
"He was so proud of you two for being the best lords and parents in the entire world."
"Oh..."
"And I think he had a reason to be, now that I see you with my own eyes. That is why I consider this meeting to be a delightful one."
"Y-you have our sincerest gratitude, Your Majesty!"
The count and the countess appeared genuinely touched as they prostrated again to pay respect to their liege. The queen's smile became more apparent, as she took a quick glance at Lloyd.
Wait. That's the look of someone asking me if she did a good job.
Lloyd gulped nervously, contemplating whether he was supposed to nod in agreement. But the look in the queen's sparkly eyes was so inviting, that Lloyd couldn't help but acknowledge it anxiously. It seemed that Queen Magentano was truly delighted by the good first impression she gave and received in this encounter. Lloyd subtly nodded, making the queen even more satisfied.
It somehow felt like that awkward moment when a man would introduce his girlfriend to his parents for the first time. Lloyd was convinced that he wasn't just having outrageous thoughts.
This is bad. Really bad.
Terrible feelings struck his gut. Lloyd's lifelong wish was to find a rather ordinary woman to fall in love with, before getting married and having kids with her to lead an unremarkable family life. This was the extent of the luxury he had always dreamed of, not the frantic romance with the mightiest queen in the entire continent.
I can see and feel it. I can sense it. This isn't good.
Lloyd could see himself in the queen's pockets, like a scaredy cat in the presence of a ferocious lioness. But the queen and Lloyd's parents were engaging in pleasant conversations despite what Lloyd was feeling. They appeared genuinely delighted; Lloyd wondered if he had ever seen that side of the queen, and the smile on her face somehow made the intense heat of the mid-summer day feel absolutely refreshing...
...Snap out of it, dude!
Lloyd shook his head fiercely, suppressing the strange feeling that was trying to overtake him. He convinced himself that this wasn't the time to embrace anything mellow, as the huge obstacle was literally right around the corner. He cooled himself down with such thoughts and made the final preparation before the battle kicked off; it was to evacuate the citizens of Frontera Estate and Lacona Barony. Thanks to the cooperative dragon Solitas! help, all regular citizens were mass-teleported into his lair.
Five more days passed, and the sun rose to embark on the morning of the fateful day. Lloyd stepped outside and embraced the sunlight, heading towards the Jewel of Truth located in the northern part of the estate but making it seem like a normal hike. The purpose was clear.
Let's verify what outcome all the efforts I made thus far would bring about.
He wanted to see if the preparations were adequate if he was going to survive, or if there was something else he needed to do. He had wished to confirm it again prior to the battle, but couldn't use the ending spoiler.
I don't have enough CP.
Lloyd had resorted to ending spoilers several times leading up to this point to prepare for the grand fight and was actually running low. He thought he had accumulated enough, but failed to spend it wisely out of anxiety.
But I still have the Jewel of Truth. I must not lose focus.
Lloyd dived into the water, brushing unnecessary thoughts aside. He placed his hands on the altar, activated the mana heart, and operated the circle to trigger the glow more than 200 feet underwater.
Zing! The Jewel of Truth approached Lloyd's consciousness, through every sense he possessed.
[You, who wish to obtain a truthful answer from the Jewel of Truth. You must reveal a secret about yourself, that only you are aware of, to this world in exchange for the truth you seek.]
The voice and the process were as expected. Lloyd already knew what response he was going to give.
The truth about me that I'm going to reveal this time is…
