“Another Summoner?”

Chapter 46: SDF-One... Really?

The rhythmic clatter of carriage wheels echoed through the crisp morning air as our convoy surged eastward toward the royal airship fields. Today was the day. We were finally setting off for the entrance site of the legendary "Royal" Secret Realm. It was a massive journey—roughly forty thousand miles of continuous flight that would take us a full week to cross.

To my left, Ayala sat quietly by the window, her sharp green eyes tracing the bustling human crowds waking up in the lower districts. To my right, Lisa leaned in close, eagerly pointing out landmarks and teaching me the history of the passing city streets. Even though Lisa had spent most of her recent years in the harsh North Duchy, she was originally born and educated here in the capital. Her accent carried the distinct, elegant lilt of the central royal lands—strikingly similar to the Old English style back on Earth.

Ayala had finally dialed back her relentless bedroom marathons, a sudden bout of mercy entirely brought on by her recent pregnancy. She was perfectly content with settling for about two sessions a week now, a shift for which my lower back was profoundly grateful.

Lisa, on the other hand, was still securely trapped in her honeymoon phase. She wasn’t nearly as physically demanding, genuinely thriving in these quiet moments where we could just talk, share knowledge, or quietly hold hands. It felt remarkably like a normal, comfortable dating relationship back on Earth.

As for the rest of my party? Shehuang, Yin Meng, and Taki Tsuki were currently resting inside their respective Summons realms. We would bring them out in private once the voyage was underway, but keeping them hidden from the initial boarding gates was a necessary precaution. Servants and personal entourages weren't permitted on this military excursion, forcing me to smuggle my lovely summoned companions along for the ride.

The official traveling accommodations left a lot to be desired. Originally, I had been assigned to a cramped, general two-person room shared with some random student. I passed on that absolute nightmare immediately. Instead, I pulled a few strings to join Ayala and Lisa in a joint, two-bedroom VIP cabin on the second deck.

Meanwhile, Thorin and Princess Lana were given the absolute royal treatment. They were staying directly in the King's private, three-bedroom Captain's Quarters. It was a permanent suite reserved exclusively for the monarch, and the fact that Thorin was rooming there only fueled his grand delusions of becoming the future son-in-law.

The thought of the royal family instantly reminded me of the insane task the Queen had dumped on my lap. I shook my head violently, trying to clear the memory. The sheer odds of that stunt getting me thrown into a dungeon, executed, or both were astronomical.

What exactly did she say right before she kicked me out with that spell?

"Get my daughter pregnant, and all of your worries are gone. That is it," Queen Angelica had stated with terrifying casualness.

"Are you nuts?!" I had barked back, completely losing my filter. "No, I am so sorry... What I meant to say was... Are you completely insane?!"

"Haha~! It took me over a thousand years just to have a daughter. How long do you think I'll have to wait to see a grandchild?"

"I won't do it."

"Ah~" She had let out a theatrical, sniffle. "You killed my grandchild!"

"No! Not just 'I won't do it,' but if I did, Thorin and I would completely fracture. Queen Angelica would hate me even more than she already does... and I'm pretty damn sure King Owen isn't on board with putting a baby in his baby!"

"Oh~ my Loki-kun," she had giggled, her eyes lighting up. "'Baby-in-his-baby' must be something from Owen's past! I absolutely love the sound of it."

"Can I please just go now?"

"For now, haha~!"

Recalling the exchange made my blood boil all over again. I had been so thoroughly pissed off at that crackpot Elf that I completely forgot how breathtakingly beautiful she was. She was just entirely unhinged.

"Loki, look!" Lisa suddenly pulled me out of my trance, leaning across my lap to point out her side of the carriage window. "Those are the Royal airships in the distance. They're just like the Sky Fortresses of the North Duchy."

I looked out toward the horizon. Three massive, imposing silhouettes dominated the skyline, their hulls painted a striking matte black and crimson, lined with brilliant gold trimmings.

Ayala slithered her arm around my neck from behind, leaning down to blow a teasing breath directly into my ear. "Want to fuck up in the clouds? I bet the view will make it unforgettable."

I decided to play it cool, nodding along like any smart man with a perfectly functioning brain and a working dick.

Lisa blushed furiously at her friend—and now fellow sister-wife sharing the exact same man—and quickly intervened. "Hey, remember that Loki still needs to cultivate. He has to prepare for his breakthroughs inside the Secret Realm sooner rather than later. At least let the poor man breathe a little."

Ayala reluctantly let go of my neck, offering a sharp retort. "Loki is going to be completely separated from us for an entire month once he steps inside that realm."

Lisa froze, visibly stunned. Having only recently tasted the physical pleasures of being with her lover, the sudden realization that he would be entirely gone for four straight weeks hit her with a wave of melancholy.

"Okay," Lisa murmured, quickly calculating a compromise. "We each get two nights with Loki during the week-long flight. That leaves three full days entirely dedicated to his focused training. How does that sound?"

I just smiled to myself, keeping my mouth shut. I knew my girls far too well by now. There was absolutely no way it was only going to be two nights each.

"Holy what the fuuuuck~!"

The moment we stepped onto the boarding docks, my jaw hit the floor.

"The SDF-One? The Macross? The Enterprise?! Did the King seriously name these three ships?!"

Ayala blinked, nodding casually at my outburst. "Yeah, they sound completely ridiculous. They said his flagship, the SDF-One, officially stands for... Self Defense Fortress Number One."

I covered my face with a hand. Owen really was an absolute otaku nerd. He had to be from my exact generation back on Earth, or at the very least, the generation directly preceding mine.

"Well... I suppose it could have been worse," I muttered under my breath. "He could've named them the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María... or worse, the Titanic, the Hindenburg, and the USS Akron!"

Ahead of us, the first-year students were all lugging their own heavy baggage up the ramps. Servants were strictly banned from the voyage, which only made me feel better about keeping my lovely Summons ladies tucked away out of sight. Lisa clung tightly to my left arm, while Ayala trailed just a half-step behind us as our trio made our way up the massive wooden walkways toward the top deck.

Upon reaching the main deck, uniform-clad ship staff were busy cross-referencing identities and handing out heavy brass room keys. Before we could slip down the stairwell leading to the VIP cabins on the second deck, I felt the unmistakable weight of staring eyes.

Thorin was standing rigidly beside Princess Lana right outside the entrance to the King's cabin. Both of them were silently watching our arrival.

I gave them a casual, polite nod. "Greetings, Princess Lana. Sir Sky. Have a safe voyage, and best of luck in the upcoming Secret Realm trials."

Ayala glanced at Thorin, a subtle flash of disdain crossing her features. It was painfully obvious to her that Thorin had been severely slacking on his actual combat training, choosing instead to spend every waking hour hovering around the Princess like a lost puppy. To Ayala, that kind of wasted potential was pathetic. It was the exact reason she had dropped him in the past.

Click. Creak~!

The heavy cabin door swung open, and King Owen stepped out onto the deck.

Instantly, every student and staff member who hadn't already greeted the monarch today dropped to one knee. We followed suit, lowering ourselves onto the wooden deck.

The King was clad in a sharp, villainous ensemble of black and crimson leather. With his messy, short grey hair and an eerie, pitch-black eyepatch cutting across his face, he looked entirely like a final boss. He stood easily as tall as me. His exposed blue eye swept across the kneeling crowd before he spoke in a deep, booming, intensely dramatic baritone.

"This eyepatch is no mere blindfold," Owen declared, his voice dripping with theatrical gravity. "It is a sacred 'seal' designed to suppress my cataclysmic power... However, an incredibly malevolent presence has recently caused this seal to loosen."

He raised a leather-gloved hand, gripping his eyepatch with absolute, deadpan seriousness, glaring into the crowd as if searching for a phantom foe.

It was too much. Someone in the crowd broke.

"Pfft~! Hahaha... Oh, sorry..."

King Owen’s sharp gaze instantly snapped directly to me. I was desperately burying my face in my hands, my shoulders trembling violently as I tried to suffocate my own laughter.

Outwardly, the King's expression remained stern, dark, and terrifyingly serious. But inside? The old man was absolutely thrilled.

He had tried pulling this exact same chuunibyou roleplay act on Thorin earlier, only to realize the dense knight had absolutely no clue what he was talking about. Discovering that Thorin was a reincarnate from the World War II era had instantly slashed Owen's joy of finding a fellow Earthling in half. But the moment I had gifted him that bottle of premium, modern Alchemist Sake, Owen had prayed I was from his timeline. Watching me break character just now confirmed it. We shared the exact same anime eras. The old man was grinning like a maniac on the inside.

"The dark power has fled," Owen proclaimed smoothly, dropping his hand. "Everyone, rise."

I kept my face buried in my palms for a few seconds longer, my core aching from the sheer effort of not laughing out loud at a literal king roleplaying anime tropes in broad daylight. Seeing Thorin nervously drawing his sword and scanning the skies for the "danger" to the Princess made it ten times funnier. I realized the old guy had deliberately tested me.

Standing up, I looked straight at the King. We didn't exchange a single spoken word, but our expressions spoke volumes. With a subtle, knowing smirk and a slight tilt of my head, I raised my right hand, separated my middle and ring fingers, and gave him a flawless Vulcan salute.

Without waiting for a reaction, I spun on my heel and led Lisa and Ayala down the stairs.

The VIP cabin wasn't massive, but it was perfectly laid out for the three of us. The main living space was roughly twenty by twenty feet, featuring a pair of small tables with a heavy coffee table bolted securely between them—ideal for card games, drinks, or private meals. The shared washroom was located directly across from the entrance, flanked on either side by two private bedrooms, each hosting a comfortable queen-sized bed. Every single piece of furniture was heavily reinforced and bolted to the floorboards to account for sudden aerodynamic turbulence.

Later that evening, after a quiet dinner in the cabin, Ayala and I moved toward the observation deck seating benches.

The world below was nothing more than a spectacular, blurred tapestry of greens and browns rushing past as the sun began its slow, golden descent over the horizon. I sat with my left arm wrapped tightly around Ayala's waist, pulling her flush against my side. Even through her clothes, I could feel the incredibly toned, athletic muscle of her figure. I secretly loved the fact that she stubbornly insisted on wearing nothing but her Amazonian bikini armor; it meant her smooth, warm skin was always right there for me to caress.

"Loki, you really can't help yourself, can you?" she murmured, a playful smirk playing on her lips.

"If rubbing your belly is bothering you, I can stop," I offered smoothly, not moving my hand an inch.

She swung her right arm around my neck, holding a bottle of fine whisky dangling from her left hand. Her piercing green eyes locked directly onto mine in the twilight. "Are you afraid of our child?"

"The only thing I'm afraid of is you being unhappy if the other Amazons don't accept our baby," I answered softly, kissing her forehead. "You and our child are already completely perfect in my heart."

"If Ambassador Ayala faces complications within the Amazon Nation, she could simply marry you, Count Loki," a wise, ancient, yet distinctly youthful voice cut through the quiet air. "That would immediately grant her full citizenship within our Balder Kingdom. Problem solved."

I looked up to see King Owen standing about ten feet away. Princess Lana was walking quietly at his side. It looked like the pair had stepped out onto the observation deck to catch the final rays of the sunset. Out here, away from the formal confines of the castle, court protocol dictated that we only needed to kneel upon our very first encounter of the day. Subsequent casual run-ins were exempt to prevent things from becoming overly tedious.

"Good evening, Aunt Ayala. Count Loki," Princess Lana greeted us warmly. With her father present and Thorin temporarily out of sight, she finally seemed relaxed enough to speak to me directly.

Ayala offered a respectful nod to the royals, while I leaned back against the bench. "Good evening, Your Majesty, Princess. And yeah, I'll probably end up marrying her anyway. I've never been a fan of political red tape or hating someone just because of their birthright."

Owen smiled warmly at the uncharacteristically docile Ayala, letting out a robust chuckle. "You must have truly gotten your absolute ass handed to you in that duel to be acting this tame, Ambassador."

To the King's visible surprise, Ayala didn't get angry. She simply passed the whisky bottle over to me to take a swig, letting out a soft sigh. "Pretty much. I literally stood no chance against him, and since killing him wasn't an option, I was entirely outmatched. Fighting Loki is like trying to fight both Gondul and Skogul at the same time."

I winced slightly. Those two legendary Valkyries were an absolute nightmare to deal with—Full Knights with advanced Healer subclasses who could infinitely chain-cast on one another. Fighting them was a grueling exercise in pure frustration.

Owen nodded sagely. "If I were forced to fight young Loki at the exact same Circle level, I am certain I would struggle immensely as well, let alone someone relying purely on Amazonian brute strength. Work hard, Loki."

Turning my attention to the young princess, I asked a question I hadn't found the right moment to bring up back at the capital. "Princess Lana, are you close to reaching the 3rd Circle yet?"

Her mood instantly brightened, and a brilliant smile lit up her face as she tucked a stray lock of golden hair behind her ear. "Yes! I should be breaking through right as we arrive at the gates, or shortly after we step inside. I've already memorized my spell pathways early, just like you did."

Buzz~!

With a subtle surge of mana, I reached into my storage ring and retrieved three glowing paper slips, extending them toward her. "If you ever find yourself in mortal danger inside the Secret Realm and your Protector Knight is somehow unable to reach you, channel your magic directly into these. They're called Escape Talismans."

Lana cautiously took the slips, examining the intricate characters written on them.

"They will randomly teleport you to a safe, open location within a hundred-mile radius," I explained. "Because the destination is entirely random, they're completely useless for standard travel, but they are absolute lifesavers in a pinch. Cultivators from the Eastern Continent use these constantly. It makes killing them a massive pain because these take a mere three seconds to trigger, unlike a standard ten-second teleportation spell."

King Owen watched the exchange silently, clearly assuming I had used these exact trick talismans to defeat Ayala in our duel. It was a completely wrong assumption, but an entirely reasonable one given the circumstances.

Before he could comment, I pulled out one final, distinct talisman and handed it over. "And take this one, too. It’s a specialized location and communication talisman. If you find yourself completely stranded, isolated, or surrounded by enemies, this is your last resort. It has a strict one-hundred-mile range. If both of our talismans are within that distance, yours will begin to vibrate. If you inject your mana into it, you can transmit a single-sentence voice message directly to me before the paper burns to ash."

I leaned in slightly, lowering my voice. "I had to draw this specific one using my own blood, otherwise it wouldn't be able to track my unique mana signature. The Secret Realm is incredibly vast, so please don't rely on it as a guarantee. Oh, and whatever you do, do not tell Thorin about it. If he knows it exists, it could easily be manipulated to lure me into a trap."

Lana looked absolutely thrilled, clutching the magical artifacts to her chest like treasures. However, King Owen's expression darkened slightly, his tone shifting to one of absolute imperial gravity. "Is there an underlying issue with your brother, Count Loki? Or perhaps an issue between the two of you?"

I immediately realized the King's mind was drifting toward political assassinations and blood feuds. I quickly waved my hand to dismiss the tension.

"Not at all, Your Majesty. Thorin is entirely trustworthy when it comes to protecting your daughter. But a Protector Knight who actively knows he can be tracked has a nasty habit of making incredibly stupid, reckless decisions out of sheer paranoia. I'd hate to think I tracked Princess Lana's location only to find my talisman sitting inside the stomach of a dragon."

Ayala burst into a sudden, clear laugh. "Honestly, I'd worry a lot more for the dragon if it managed to piss you off like that, haha."

Step. Step. Step.

The heavy, hurried thud of boots echoed down the deck. Thorin, still sporting damp hair fresh from the showers, rushed over to our section of the deck.

His eyes scanned the group nervously, clearly terrified that I was getting a little too chummy with Lana and making too good of an impression on his intended father-in-law.

"My apologies, Lana," Thorin panted slightly, quickly taking his position by her side. "Had I known you wished to come out to the deck, I would have hurried through my evening routine."

Ayala smoothly stood up from the bench, wrapping her arm tightly around mine and tugging me away before the knight could launch into a full speech.

"Let's head back inside, Loki. The air out here is getting chilly... Let's go wrestle instead."

I didn't argue. Turning my back to the royals, I gave a lazy wave over my shoulder with my free hand, casually slipping my hands into Ayala's pockets as we walked away.

Well, her bikini pockets, anyway.

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