(Heartfelt thanks to 'Yume no Shouyou', 'Panda Ah!', 'Kaede no Chōrei', 'Lei Xiang', and 'Icebound Thunder Dragon' for their rewards!)
Phil Empire, Royal City...
This was a city surrounded by towering walls, with a magnificent golden palace standing at its center. It was extremely similar to the Royal City of the Ai Lu Empire.
The difference was that the Royal City of the Ai Lu Empire lay amid a chain of mountains on all sides, completely encircled by them like a basin, while the Royal City of the Phil Empire was situated within half a forest.
Why half a forest?...
Because the front of the Royal City of the Phil Empire faced a vast plain extending in all directions, while its left, right, and rear were filled with towering ancient trees. It was as though the front portion of an O-shaped forest had been leveled, with the Royal City of the Phil Empire built upon that cleared front section.
Thus, the Royal City of the Phil Empire was located within half a forest.
At that moment, in one of the palace halls of the Royal City of the Phil Empire, Via, wearing a golden crown, stood at the front and stared at the wall before him, his back turned to everyone in the hall.
Hinagiku, Mikoto, Ikaros, Yekusaya, Yuzuru, and the other girls stood off to one side, looking as though they were merely watching the show, wearing expressions of complete indifference.
Kaya stood in the middle of the hall. Beside him knelt the black-robed old man, whose hands and battle aura had been shackled, facing Via, who had his back to everyone present.
Besides the girls, Via, Kaya, and the black-robed old man, there were two other people in the hall.
One was a man about Via's age, seemingly