Lord of The Red Planet

"Right, that really was intense." Velusia let out a sigh of relief, her previously tense shoulders beginning to relax. She hadn't expected Lord Arthur to do something like that at the end of the meeting.

The Floor Guardians began to rise from their kneeling positions. Belial could only feel a sense of awe toward his Master.

"That was Lord Arthur's way of answering our oath," Belial said, his voice serious as he looked at his colleagues. "Therefore, we must not disappoint him."

"You're right, Belial. We can't let Lord Arthur down." Emma Wiliams's soft voice sounded, before her gaze shifted to Asuka Morgan, who was standing not far from her.

The aura around Emma instantly turned cold. "You bitch. How dare you speak to Lord Arthur like that." She had been holding back her anger because of Lord Arthur's presence. Now that her master was gone, she had to teach this slut that the position of Lord Arthur's future wife belonged to her alone.

Hearing this, Asuka was not the least bit intimidated. In fact, she challenged her right back. "Huh? What do you mean, you flying lizard?! What right do you have to forbid me from being Lord Arthur's wife?!" Her face turned red, her gaze blazing with fury.

Emma felt as if her tail had just been stepped on. "You slut! How dare you call me that, you piece of firewood!"

"You—!" Asuka's face was now completely crimson. Until now, no one had ever dared to say that to her.

"You flying lizard!!"

"Firewood!!"

Watching Asuka and Emma trade insults, Lily couldn't help but ask Velusia beside her.

"Should we try to break them up?" Lily asked, her cute face filled with worry as she tugged on the hem of Velusia's clothes.

Seeing Lily's expression, Velusia smiled. "Don't worry, little Lily. They're not really fighting." She gestured with her chin toward Asuka and Emma, who were now exuding hostile auras. "Look there."

"I think… it looks like they're fighting," Lily mumbled softly, staring in horror at the two women who were ready for war.

"Relax, Lily. Besides, the Supreme Beings set clear rules for us. Have you forgotten?" Velusia asked with a reassuring smile.

Lily tried to recall what rule she was talking about. Then, she remembered her Creator's words: "The First Rule of Avanheim: Guild members shall not attack one another except in training. If this rule is violated, both members will be expelled from the Guild, and this applies to all inhabitants of Avanheim."

"Yes, I remember now." Lily's worries slowly faded after remembering that rule.

Merlin Pendragon just smiled faintly, observing Asuka and Emma's argument over the position of his Creator's wife. To him, their behavior was quite amusing.

Felix Aurelius stepped closer to Merlin, his eyes on the two women who were still arguing fiercely. "Brother, aren't you going to stop them?"

Hearing his brother's question, Merlin answered with a calm gaze. "No, let them be. They won't actually fight each other anyway. If that happens, then I'll step in." He paused for a moment, a mysterious smile on his lips. "And besides… isn't this a good thing?"

Seeing his brother's expression, Felix had a bad feeling. This guy is definitely about to say something dangerous. "Good in what way?"

"Don't you want to see Lord Arthur have descendants?" Merlin posed the question to Felix, then to Belial, who had just approached.

"Guardian of the Seventh Floor, Merlin Pendragon." Belial tapped the silver pocket watch on his wrist, which showed 7:02 a.m., before looking sharply at Merlin. "I believe your statement just now was highly disrespectful."

Merlin narrowed his eyes in return. "I don't believe there was anything disrespectful about what I said."

"Matters concerning descendants are Lord Arthur's own choice. As his subordinates, we need only support his decisions," Belial said firmly. In his opinion, as subordinates, they should only support whatever Lord Arthur decided, whether it was disappointing or not. He understood the principle that no one likes having their privacy and personal relationships dictated by others, and that applied to Lord Arthur as well.

"Then how will you take responsibility if one day Lord Arthur leaves like the other Supreme Beings?" Merlin retorted with a sharp, cutting remark. "As the head of intelligence, you must know that possibility is not small. And if that happens, a succession crisis will erupt in Avanheim." It wasn't that Merlin didn't understand that meddling in personal affairs could make someone resent him. But if that resentment was a worthy price to pay to prevent chaos in his home, he would accept it wholeheartedly.

THUMP! Belial was suddenly struck by a realization. He's right… that possibility isn't small, and what Merlin said makes perfect sense. But that didn't mean they had the right to decide whether Lord Arthur should have children or not, without considering his feelings. And this topic is far too removed from Avanheim's current situation. "I know. I understand your point," Belial admitted his mistake, bowing his head slightly. "We'll discuss this later. Besides, there are still Lord Arthur's orders to be carried out." He then turned and walked toward Emma and Asuka, who were still arguing.

Watching Belial leave, Felix hurriedly asked his brother, "Brother, why did you say that to Belial? I don't think you're the type to meddle in things like this." Felix was curious about his brother's uncharacteristic behavior. Usually, Merlin only talked about magic tricks and how to put on the best show.

Merlin looked at his brother and smiled. "Well, it's because this concerns the future of Father and Avanheim. As children, we must do our best for our parents, shouldn't we?"

Felix nodded, taken aback. Brother has already thought that far ahead. And me? As Father's son too, I've never thought about such things? All I ever think about is magic.

He felt like a failure of a son. "I… I will help Father too."

"That's good," Merlin patted his brother on the shoulder. "But your talent lies in magic, not politics or administration. I think Father would be happier to receive a useful gift from your magical research." Merlin offered his brother some advice. Honestly, his impression of Felix was that of a loner who only cared about magic. As a Floor Guardian, that kind of personality was fine. The problem was that Felix was Lord Arthur's creation. The expectations of the other residents of Avanheim for Lord Arthur were very high, and he didn't want Felix's existence to be seen as a stain on his master's reputation.

Merlin had read stories like this in the history books in his personal library: a wise king who built a great empire, only for his son to ruin all the achievements his father had built in a lifetime.

That was something he did not want to see happen.

"Hey, you two! Are you done yet?" Belial looked at the two women, who were still gripping each other's hands and glaring, their hostile auras enveloping the area.

"We're almost finished," Emma replied, breathing heavily, sweat dampening her temples. "We were just fighting over the position of Lord Arthur's first wife. As the Ruler of Felius Castle, wouldn't it be strange if he only had one wife? Isn't that right, Asuka?"

"Yeah…" Asuka answered with an equally exhausted expression, sweat covering her face. Damn, the strength of this flying lizard in front of me is incredible. As expected of an ancient dragon race.

"Actually, I'm very interested in this conversation," Belial grinned, his tone joking, before his expression turned serious. His eyes flashed with a sharp glint. "But, don't you have orders for us, Secretary-General Emma?"

Hearing that, Emma abruptly released her grip on Asuka's hand, causing the woman to stumble to the ground. Seeing her, Emma almost laughed.

"Emma, you bastard!" Asuka felt deeply embarrassed. She quickly got up and was about to lunge at Emma, but suddenly she felt her body freeze.

This…! Asuka realized she couldn't move her body at all. I'm a Level 100 Floor Guardian, among the strongest of us all. And someone can make it so I can't even move a finger?

Asuka's gaze turned toward Merlin, who was standing not far away with a friendly smile on his face.

Emma, of course, noticed Asuka suddenly stop moving. The only person who could do something like this to a Floor Guardian…Emma shifted her gaze to Merlin.

"Good job, Merlin. You've stopped this piece of firewood," Emma praised. To her, Merlin wasn't just her subordinate, but also… her future son? I don't think Merlin would like that title, but he'd be okay with 'brother,' right?

"I just didn't want to see you two fight anymore." Merlin shrugged casually in response.

Emma turned to look at Asuka, then smiled warmly. "Asuka, I think we should discuss this matter later."

Feeling her body able to move again, Asuka quickly brushed the dust from her clothes, then responded to Emma's words with a flushed face. "Y-yes… I think we should prioritize Lord Arthur's orders first," she stammered.

Damn it, that was so embarrassing! Asuka screamed internally.

"I suppose that's settled. In that case, give us our orders, Secretary-General." Belial spoke with a respectful tone, a stark contrast to his earlier casualness.

The other Floor Guardians began to gather in front of Emma Wiliams.

"Lord Arthur has already given his orders. Now, I will give you more detailed instructions about your duties, what you need to do as Floor Guardians and residents of Avanheim." Emma spoke with a very serious tone and expression.

The Floor Guardians put on similar expressions. No one showed any sign of playfulness, not even Lily Loriart.

"First and foremost, we must prioritize the security of Avanheim. Therefore, I want you, Belial, to create the most efficient information exchange system possible. Then, Felix and Monica, create some sort of magic items to strengthen Felius Castle's defense system. I know you two are talented in magic." Emma looked at Belial, then turned to Felix and Monica.

"I'd like to know what type of magic items the Secretary-General desires?" Monica asked in her flat, expressionless voice.

"Illusion and surveillance types. I want items like that," Emma explained. "Avanheim currently has no defenses for monitoring what is outside Felius Castle." She had actually been thinking about this ever since Lord Arthur gave her the order to improve security.

Monica looked at Felix beside her. "What do you think?" she asked curiously.

"I believe we can create an item with those effects," Felix answered confidently.

"Good. In that case, on to the next topic." Emma paused for a moment, giving the Floor Guardians time to process her words. "About what Avanheim should do next."

As soon as those words were spoken, everyone immediately focused their sight and hearing. This topic concerned all of their fates.

"Currently, Avanheim is in an unknown place, with unknown dangers. Therefore, I want all of you not to have any strange ideas in an emergency situation like this. Otherwise, I will enforce it according to Avanheim law." Emma Wiliams's eyes flashed with the sharp gaze a general should have.

"Secretary-General, rest assured. We are loyal and will not take any actions detrimental to Avanheim," Belial said seriously, speaking for the other Floor Guardians.

"I hope so." Emma sighed, then continued. "Right now, Avanheim truly does not know what this place is. Therefore, I will form reconnaissance teams…."

Before Emma could finish, Velusia cut in. "Didn't Lord Arthur already form a reconnaissance team with Natasha as its leader?"

Emma shot a sharp look at Velusia. "Velusia, I am very displeased that you cut me off. As for your question, I will explain now." She looked back at the Floor Guardians. "Lord Arthur did not give specific orders as to whether the reconnaissance team should be divided into several squads or just one full team."

The Floor Guardians nodded, understanding Emma's point.

"So, I will give a more specific command. I will form four squads. One will be led by Natasha and Epsilon, and the other three will be led by the best among them. Each squad will head east, west, north, and south. The squad led by Natasha will go west," Emma explained. "Do you have any objections, Natasha?"

The woman in the full-plate armor answered, "I have no objections. But, how will we communicate with each other? We have the Message spell, but the other squad members do not."

"Let the magic department provide them. If I remember correctly, they have magic items that can be used for long-distance communication." Emma then turned to look at Merlin. "Merlin, can you use your Miracle Magic to make the area around Avanheim fertile?"

Merlin knew this question was coming. "I think that will be very difficult," he answered helplessly. "Even if I succeed in making the surrounding environment fertile, it will soon return to its original state. You see, this place doesn't even have an atmosphere, which is a crucial factor for life to emerge. And also, my power hasn't reached the level of world-altering. So… it's impossible."

"I see… Thank you for explaining, Merlin." Emma sounded slightly disappointed.

"I suppose the only thing that could make this place fertile is a World Class Item." Suddenly, Belial brought up the subject, reminding everyone that they still possessed one.

"You mean… the Holy Grail?" Felix asked. As a wizard, he of course knew about World Class Items, especially one that could turn this hellish place into a paradise. Besides the Holy Grail, there was no other.

Belial rolled his eyes. Actually, he had been waiting for this question to come up. With this, he could push the Floor Guardians to agree to use the item. Lord Arthur couldn't have moved the castle to this godforsaken place just to test our loyalty. I misjudged the Master's question at the end of the meeting, so my guess about his grand plan was also wrong! This just further proves Lord Arthur's wisdom, truly befitting the word 'unpredictable'.

So, I predict, Lord Arthur wants to use this most powerful item in the world of Monia. And at the same time, if my prediction that this entire place is the same as the environment around Avanheim is correct, it means Lord Arthur wants to build a nation! The remote island in the Atlantic Ocean was nice, but that place wasn't suitable for establishing a great nation. This place, though barren, could easily be transformed into a habitable world if we use the Holy Grail.

"The Holy Grail, you say? I think that suggestion can be brought to Lord Arthur." Emma nodded, weighing the feasibility of the idea.

Meanwhile, Lily didn't know what the Holy Grail was, but if it was a World Class Item, it must be very powerful. She also had one that her creator had given her.

Emma and the others continued their discussion, planning the best course of action for Avanheim and assigning tasks to those who had not yet received them.