My last thought before the darkness overtakes me is that maybe I absorbed too many fish. Oh well, it’s not like I can go back and change things now, I’ll just see what happens. As usual there is no sense of time passing, just darkness for what feels like a few seconds and then I wake up.

  Stage 3 Evolution Completed! HP +5,000, DP +3,000, MP +3,000, All Stats +100!

  New Abilities Gained: Waterbreathing, Pressure Adaptation, Underwater Movement!

  ‘While it will be nice to not worry about the bends anymore, I definitely absorbed too many fish. Wait, waterbreathing? Did I grow gills?!?!’

  Having that thought, I open my eyes and start checking myself over looking for gills. I don’t find any, but I stop my search when I hear feminine laughter from close by. When I look over, I find that Bella is standing just outside the bath laughing at me.

  “What??”

  Bella says “You look a little crazy! Did you lose something?”

  “No. I gained the ability to breathe underwater and wanted to make sure that I didn’t grow gills.”

  Bella says “Oh! I guess that makes sense. I don’t see any gills, or really any place for them. You have changed quite a bit though.”

  Hearing that I quickly climb out of the bath to take a look at myself in the mirror. Bella is right, I have changed noticeably, I look a lot more like a proper drake now. Well, except for the feathered wings, those don’t look to have changed at all.

  My face has lost the last of its cat-like shape and now looks completely draconic. I now have a pair of horns, above where my eyebrows would have been, that sweep back in a V shape. My ears are now a lot like a horse’s ears, except they are covered in tiny scales.

  The rest of my body looks pretty much the same, but it was already mostly draconic. Although, as I look at myself I notice a line of ridges along my spine that is new. They aren’t very noticeable, they are only about an inch taller than the scales around them.

  My wings haven’t changed at all and I still have a fin of feathers at the very tip of my tail. I am actually really glad to see that they haven’t changed, they are super useful when flying. I don’t notice any other changes and I am glad to see that I didn’t gain anything fish-like.

  Bella says “Are you done admiring yourself?”

  “For now. You have to admit, I am pretty awesome looking!”

  Bella says “Yeah, you are. Just don’t go getting arrogant about your looks.”

  “I am about to marry four insanely hot women, no promises!”

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  Bella laughs and says “Fair enough!”

  “So, what are you doing here?”

  Bella says “I was left here to attempt to wake you up if you didn’t wake up on your own in time.”

  “Oh, right! How long have I been asleep?!”

  Bella says “Seven days. The wedding is tomorrow!”

  “Crap! I had better head to Illium right away!”

  Bella says “We are already there. Lin moved the castle a couple of days ago.”

  “Oh, good! Then, what do I need to do?”

  Bella says “For now, just don’t run off anywhere. There is a dinner tonight that you should attend. Other than that, Lin has taken care of pretty much everything. Your part in the wedding isn’t too complex. You do know how to dance, right?”

  “Yes, I can get by.”

  Bella says “Good, because you will need to dance with each of your wives tomorrow.”

  “Alright. So, who is going to be at this dinner tonight?”

  Bella says “It is for the rulers. I’m not sure of the specifics, but the family from the southern empire will be there.”

  “Okay, how long do I have?”

  Bella says “Unless you leave the castle, you have plenty of time.”

  “I guess I need to talk to Lin, let’s go.”

  Bella leads me out of the castle, which is set up outside the city’s walls right outside the gate. As we walk Bella explains that there wasn’t an empty lot in the city big enough for the castle. Apparently Lin didn’t want to just leave it floating above another building, which I can understand.

  Not only does that draw a lot of attention, but not everyone can fly down on their own. I don’t say anything about it and just follow Bella into Illium, where I draw the eyes of everyone. Some people panic and start running, but others notice the guards not moving and just watch.

  It has been a while since I was stared at like this, I had forgotten how uncomfortable it is. However, it is already too late to shapeshift into a less conspicuous form. Besides, there are a lot of people, mainly beastmen, who recognize me and bow.

  I make sure to wave to those who bow and I ignore everyone who is just staring at me. Luckily, we don’t have too far to go, Bella leads me to a restaurant across from the cathedral. I have no idea if it is new or if I just never noticed it, but when we walk in it looks good.

  Unfortunately, the entire place is empty, there are no customers to be found, but Lin is here. She is talking to someone who I am guessing either owns or runs the place, but they stop when we enter. I am just glad that the double doors at the entrance are big enough for me to fit through.

  Lin says “Ash! You finally woke up!!”

  “Yes. Just in time too, from what Bella tells me.”

  Lin says “At least you woke up before the wedding. That’s all that really matters!”

  “So I don’t need to go to this dinner tonight?”

  Lin says “Oh, no. You are not getting out of it that easily!”

  “I was just teasing. Bella said it is for the leaders? What’s going on?”

  Lin says “Politics of course. The leaders of multiple nations can’t possibly gather in the same city without politics getting involved.”

  “Bella mentioned that Amn is here, but who else is here?”

  Lin says “Oh, right, you’ve slept through everything. Well, there is Ambrose for Illium, Mercy for her kingdom, you for the beastmen, and Ambassador Undeen for the Free Union. We also have Imperial Princess Rayleen from what’s left of the Empire of Gundar.”

  “Wait, wasn’t she being held prisoner by the eastern duke? What happened?!”

  Lin says “Um, the wedding was rescheduled and we had to make a move to prevent it, so we rescued her.”

  “Okay, I guess. So, is she here willingly or are we holding her prisoner now?”

  Lin says “She is here willingly, but we haven’t mentioned anything about her marrying you yet.”

  “Good! Don’t! I’m not even sure I want her knowing I plan to conquer the empire.”

  Lin says “Well, that is a little too late.”

  “Figures. How did she take it?”

  Lin says “Surprisingly well actually. She seems to have had quite a few issues with her father and the dukes. However, there is one fairly serious problem with her.”