Whatever the case may be, I will find out eventually so I try not to worry about it. However, that is not so easy to do when I am stuck at a boring feast, which seems like it will last forever. Even chatting with King Vex doesn’t make the time pass any faster, but it is amusing.

  His mood is much better after dealing with the nobles, but it means he has a lot of work to do. He has to decide if he is going to allow their heirs to inherit the title or revoke it. If he revokes their titles, the rest of the nobles are likely to throw a fit over it.

  Killing them is one thing, but taking away their hereditary titles is another thing altogether. From what Vex is saying, he probably isn’t going to do that, it just isn’t worth the trouble. Right now, the nobles are scared, but not scared enough to do something stupid, hopefully.

  I actually doubt that Vex caught the worst offenders, they are normally much smarter about hiding their crimes. Vex himself seems like a good man, but his nobles seem to be really corrupt. Still, it is not my problem, Vex is going to have to figure out what to do on his own.

  Finally the feast ends and I am able to gather Lin and Mercy to go back to our suite. First I check on the puppy, who is sound asleep along with Asuna who is curled up around him. Next I check on Victoria, who is meditating in her room, so I don’t disturb her.

  With everything seeming to be in order, I take Lin and Mercy to the bedroom. It is still a little early for bed, so we have a few drinks and thanks to the goblet I actually get a little drunk. It is quite fun, I had forgotten how nice it can be to relax and cut loose a little.

  I manage to avoid drinking too much and making a fool of myself, but it is a close thing. Not that Lin and Mercy would hold it against me if I did, but I would prefer not to give them more ammo to tease me with. We have quite a bit of fun and once they are asleep I open the usual soulscapes.

  Luckily, Seronia acts completely normal and doesn’t show any signs of being upset with me or Krenocia. It looks like she didn’t find out about Krenocia hiding things from her and I hope it stays that way. I am very careful not to mention or do anything that might give it away, that would be foolish.

  If I gave it away, that would probably get Krenocia mad at me as well and I certainly don’t want that. While we are having our fun, I give Krenocia the hint that I want to talk to her. After things are done, Krenocia makes it look like she disappears with Seronia, but quickly returns.

  Krenocia says “Did you want something?”

  “Yes, I had a question, but I don’t think Seronia would like it. I want to ask, how much stronger do I need to make you before you could give me a second class?”

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  Krenocia says “Ah, I see. You’re right, Seronia would not like that question. The answer is, one of us would need to go up two ranks.”

  “That would be a lot of power to gather. Why so much?”

  Krenocia says “Because that ability is based on the pantheon’s strength, not individual power. We would be able to do it if we added another god or goddess at our current power. In fact, adding another would be the easier way.”

  “Because a pantheon is meant to be more than two?”

  Krenocia says “That is correct. It is just the way the system works and we won’t be adding any more goddesses anytime soon.”

  “So, just how much power do you gain from souls? Could I get you two ranks that way? How many souls would it take?”

  Krenocia says “Souls being added to my realm only gives a miniscule amount of power. It would take millions of souls just to get me to the next rank.”

  “So I would have to burn most of the world. Something tells me that that wouldn’t go over very well.”

  Krenocia says “No, it wouldn’t. It would start an all out war with the pantheons of the continent! We don’t want that.”

  “Alright, I will need to come up with another plan I guess.”

  Krenocia says “That wouldn’t have been much of a plan anyway.”

  “What if I convinced another goddess to join your pantheon? Would that work? Can gods and goddesses change pantheons?”

  Krenocia says “While it is possible, it is a complicated process and it wouldn’t be that simple. No one can join our pantheon without first knowing it exists. If the one you choose doesn’t agree, then our secret would be out. What goddess did you have in mind?”

  “No one specific. Just trying to figure out the options.”

  Krenocia says “Good! For a second there I was afraid you were going to say Melomarc. Seronia would not have been okay with that.”

  “Does she have a specific problem with Melomarc? Or is it other goddesses in general that she has issues with?”

  Krenocia says “It is other goddesses. I think she is a little insecure. Being in a relationship is new to both of us.”

  “Is she getting jealous of my wives? Are you?”

  Krenocia says “No, I love your wives. I don’t think it was jealousy as much as fear. She was scared that if you found another goddess that you wouldn’t need us anymore. After all, a goddess from a full pantheon could give you a second class.”

  “I am not that fickle and it doesn’t matter if they can offer me a second class. I am loyal to the two of you, I am your champion. That is not going to change, no matter what. Although, I suppose I should be saying that to your sister.”

  Krenocia says “It’s alright, I will share this memory with her. It will be enough to convince her, I think.”

  “Alright. Well, if not, just let me know and I will repeat it to her. Wait, isn’t she going to be upset that we talked without her?”

  Krenocia says “She might be a little upset, but once she knows the contents of our chat I think she will understand. Although, I will keep the first part of our talk from her. No need for her to worry about you trying to burn the entire continent to the ground.”

  “Not the entire continent, just the sinners.”

  Krenocia says “Either way, it is something that would get a reaction out of her, one we don’t want to deal with.”

  “True enough. Alright, let me know how things go.”

  Krenocia gives me a good long kiss before she leaves and I close the soulscape. I should go and continue exploring the hallway, but after everything I am actually feeling tired. So, I cuddle up with Lin and Mercy and let myself drift off to sleep.