That was easier than I remember it being and I still have mana left, but I feel Brightfire starting to stir. So I end my meditation and move to join her in the bed as she fully wakes up. We play around for a bit, but we keep it mellow because she is still worn out from last night.

  When we head out for breakfast, Asuna, Kirito, and Grimgar are already waiting for us. As soon as I sit down, Kirito jumps out of Asuna’s lap and runs across the table to me. I pet him with one hand while taking out breakfast dishes from the pouch with the other.

  Kirito is content getting petted, right up until I put his bowl of milk down, then I cease to exist. However, that allows the rest of us to eat without being bothered until he is done eating. By then, Asuna is already done and lures him back to her lap for some attention.

  As soon as Brightfire is done eating, she starts trying to lure Kirito away from Asuna. I can already see that this is going to be an issue, but I’m not sure what to do about it. I guess I will just wait and let the two of them figure it out without my interference.

  Asuna solves the problem by moving next to Brightfire so that they can both pet Kirito. The added benefit is that Brightfire also gives Asuna some affection and with that the problem passes. As usual, I was worrying about nothing and underestimating both of them.

  We finish breakfast and head outside, but only Lizzy is ready, the rest of the carriages are still getting ready. Since we have a few minutes, I tell Asuna to put Kirito down and let him explore a little. He hasn’t had much chance to stretch his legs and I want to see if his coordination has improved.

  As soon as she sets him down, he immediately starts running around sniffing everything. He is obviously having a blast, but now I feel guilty for not letting him out sooner. Seeing how much energy he has, I suggest to Asuna that she take on her beast form and shrink to play with him.

  She does the instant I suggest it and Kirito eagerly starts playing with her, he has a blast. He is at a disadvantage since he doesn’t have much experience moving around, but he doesn’t seem to mind. The rest of us just stand there watching them play until the caravan is ready to set out.

  When everything is ready, we board the carriage where the play continues, but only for about five minutes. Kirito goes from playing at full speed to collapsed and exhausted like someone flipped a switch. I manage to get him to drink some water before he completely falls asleep.

  Asuna returns to human form, sets up his nest, and moves Kirito into it so he can sleep. Once he is settled, I ask Brightfire to tell me how her projects with Albion have been going. She instantly brightens up and starts talking about everything they have accomplished.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “I am sorry that you being here means you will miss Leafa’s summoning. I am sure that she will have a lot of knowledge to share with the two of you.”

  Brightfire says “It’s alright, I will catch up later. Besides, Albion is far more into plants than I am, I’m sure he will have hundreds of questions to ask. I’d rather be here with you than have to listen to all of that!”

  “I will be interested to see what Albion is like after learning from her for a while.”

  Brightfire says “He will probably be a true druid by the time he is done learning. I feel that I will be able to leave all plant matters to him and focus more on my knights.”

  “How has that been going?”

  Brightfire says “It is pretty much running itself at this point. I have some good subordinates that handle most of it for me. It helped that a few of those that have become Knight-mages have joined us. Thank you for that.”

  “No problem. I didn’t want them to have their only choice to be to join the army. Not everyone is cut out to be a soldier.”

  Brightfire says “That’s true. Them joining us has inspired some of my people to try out for the Knight-mage training. Unfortunately, there is a long waiting list for it.”

  “Yeah, we just don’t have enough people who can train them. I will ask Myria to look into finding some more people capable of becoming trainers.”

  Brightfire says “That would be good. The whole training feels like it was made for beastmen. It also works for elves, but not as well.”

  “Remind me when I get back, I will look at the training. With my current knowledge I should be able to optimize it for the different races and maybe even improve it some.”

  Brightfire says “Alright! Thank you!”

  Grimgar says “Sorry to interrupt, but what is this Knight-mage training you speak of? I’ve never heard of it before.”

  In order to properly explain it, I start with the history of the three empires and the summoning of the demons. By the time I am done telling Grimgar how I found the tower, we are stopping for lunch. I finish telling him about the training over lunch and finish just as we are getting moving again.

  Grimgar says “If the beast clans do move to the peninsula, would this training be open to us as well?”

  “Of course. I will even allow humans who join us to go through it. I am not biased against anyone. The laws also apply equally to everyone. In order for this to work, I have to be absolutely fair. Otherwise things will eventually fall apart.”

  Grimgar says “That makes sense and is also reassuring. If you can give me a list of the laws, I will make sure all the clans are aware of them before they decide if they are going to move with us.”

  Brightfire says “You sound like you have already decided?”

  Grimgar says “I have. Unless Lenora comes back with a bad report, which I doubt, we will be moving. I understand that even though my clan is in a good place right now, it won’t last. We may have gotten stronger, but our numbers were already dangerously low. While we can hold our own for now, that doesn’t mean that we will prosper. I also have to think of the bigger picture. What good is it if we survive while the other clans get wiped out?”

  Brightfire says “That is very wise! You are a good leader. I will write out the current laws for you right now.”

  Grimgar says “You say that Like Ash can’t?”

  Brightfire says “Nope! Like everything else, he left that for us to figure out!”