Second World

Talia agreed with Jack's proposal to rebuild her faction inside one of the cities in Themisphere. She would move to Themisphere with her members while Jack started working on the construction of their new base. Jack promised that their base would be waiting for them once they arrived.

As Talia was still talking with Jack about the arrangement, a group of natives approached.

"Eyrene…," Talia called the leader of the group.

"Lady Talia. I'm sorry. We will be leaving the faction. I believe you understand why," Eyrene said with a deep bow.

"You are not at fault…"

"I am! We are!" Eyrene exclaimed. She then turned to Jack and said, "Mister Storm Wind, I am sorry for our outburst. Me and my sisters here, we are Euphosine's followers… Or at least used to be."

"Euphosine's followers? But… You were also imprisoned inside the happy dolls?" Jack asked.

"We are. When Euphosine promised us that she would bring glory back to our faction, we believed her. We followed her instructions. She asked us to go bring outsiders into our faction. We didn't know what her intention was, but we did what she asked because we believed in her."

"Then we saw her force these people to play her game," A woman beside Eyrene, whose name was Dicce, said. "Not the kind of game we usually play to honor our Goddess, but a twisted kind where people are sacrificed."

"She said they were sacrifices for our Goddess," Eyrene continued. "But we all know our Goddess will never want this kind of cruel game. So… we protested."

"… And she punished you for that," Jack said.

Eyrene and Dicce nodded.

"Talia is right. You are not at fault," Jack said to them. "You don't know what Euphosine was planning."

Eyrene shook her head. "We should have known ever since she asked us to go kidnap the first group of participants for her game. This is a shame we won't be able to undo for the rest of our lives. That's why we can no longer be part of the Council of Charites. Even if we manage to bring our Goddess back, we are too ashamed to kneel before her. That's why we have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor…?" Jack was unsure what he could help them with.

"Let us join the army of your kingdom," Eyrene said. "We might not be able to be a part of the Council of Charites anymore, but we can protect the country our faction is in. By keeping your country safe, we can keep our faction safe."

"Eyrene…," Talia uttered.

"Please, Mister Storm Wind, Your Majesty!" Eyrene declared. She knelt before Jack. Dicce and the others with Eyrene also followed her into kneeling.

"This…," Jack turned to Talia, unsure of what to do.

Talia sighed. She then said to Jack, "If you don't mind, please accept their wishes."

Of course, Jack didn't mind. The group that Eyrene brought were all elite ones. Most of them were rare elites with levels around 65 to 80. The weakest ones were special elites. While Eyrene and Dicce were the strongest of the bunch. Dicce was level 81 Mythical while Eyrene was level 84 mythical. Eyrene was almost as powerful as Talia. This group numbered roughly a thousand. If they joined his army, they would be one of the elites.

So, Jack said, "Of course, I won't mind. I will be relying on you all then."

"I don't want to burst your bubble, but you cannot just induct them all into your country's army," Peniel said.

"I can't?" Jack asked.

"The ones with the human race have no problem, but you can't accept other races into your formal army," Peniel replied.

"I can't? Isn't that racist?" Jack protested.

Peniel shrugged, "It's the world system rule."

"But.. Aren't there other races' outworlders who joined Themisphere's kingdom faction?" Grace asked.

"Outworlders aren't bound by this rule," Peniel answered. "you won't be able to do it with the natives from the other races."

"But, why?" Jack protested again.

Again, Peniel shrugged.

Eyrene and Dicce looked at one another. Eyrene was a human, so she had no problem joining Themisphere's army. But it was a different case for Dicce, she was an elf. Within the group led by the two, plenty were also non-humans. These non-human ones looked down with sad faces. They were too shameful to remain in their faction, now they also were not allowed to defend the country their faction was in.

Jack thought for a bit about the matter. He then said, "Aside from being the king of Themisphere, I'm also a leader of a guild in Themisphere. What if you whose races are not human join my guild? Are you interested?"

"We don't have a problem with that, right?" Jack asked Peniel. The Everlasting Heavenly Legends had hired plenty of natives as of now. Mostly those that helped with the auxiliary jobs, like Kirsi, who had been helping in the blacksmith workshop. However, all those hires were humans.

"Guild is okay. You can take in any race you want," Peniel said. "But they are not part of your guild army. So, don't expect to be able to summon them for war."

"Well, but you can help defend the guild and the nearby capital if the enemy comes attacking," Jack said to Dicce and the others. "So, what do you think?"

Dicce turned to her sisters. They didn't say anything but their eyes were in agreement. Dicce turned back to Jack and said, "We would be honored to join your guild."

"Perfect!" Jack exclaimed. "Then I guess everyone will be leaving for Themisphere. Do you need to pack before we start going?"

"Give us a few hours," Talia said. "Everyone has just recovered their forms. They may still have some possessions inside the manor."

"Take your time. We can stay one day here and depart tomorrow if you like," Jack said.

"That will not be necessary. We will only need a few hours," Talia replied.

Many of the natives then started going into the mansion to pack their things. When Eyrene was going to go as well, Jack called her.

"Yes, Your Majesty?" Eyrene asked.

"Say, are you interested in being my royal agent?" Jack asked.