As Karl had suspected, their night of relaxation was doomed from the very start. They had just finished the first movie when a knock at the door pulled Tessa away from her reading to let in their guest.
"General, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Tessa asked as she looked up at the unfamiliar man.
"High Priestess. I have come looking for Monarch Karl. There is an urgent matter that we require his assistance with." The General replied.
Karl sighed, realizing that his night was definitely not going to involve enough cuddling on the couch. But he stood up anyhow and headed for the door.
"General. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Is this a confidential matter, or can you speak in front of the other Elites and High Priestesses here?" Karl asked.
The General shrugged. "It’s not secret enough to keep it from the other Elites, as long as you don’t mind them knowing your personal business."
Karl laughed and gestured to the table. "Come have a seat. The people here will all know in the next few minutes anyhow."
The General took a seat across from Karl, then cast a strange look towards the bath, where Karl could hear Lotus laughing at one of Ophelia’s jokes and splashing in the tub.
"I will get right to it, as I can tell that everyone has better things to do. The Royal Family has requested your presence at Wenmouth Castle. They have received the news from the Blue Dragon Clerics about the new advancements in Runecrafting that you have made, and as such you have been officially reassigned to Wenmouth University."
The Royal Family had technical leadership of all things secular in the Golden Dragon Nation, but their actual power was extremely limited these days. The President was chosen from among the Royal Princes, but that was about as far as their actual power went.
Karl strongly suspected that they hadn’t had control of the military in generations, and most of the nation turned to the church to get things done before the Elites existed.
"Do you know how long they expect me to be there? As I recall, it’s only a little over a hundred kilometres down the shore to Wenmouth." Karl asked.
"Indefinite deployment. I believe that they want you to work with the weapons teams after you speak with the King. Your ability to use Runecrafting has been deemed essential to the Overlord Rank Special Forces teams." The General explained.
"Oh, if that’s the case, they could have just brought me stuff."
The General shook his head. "The University is trying to develop better equipment for them. They have also called in foreign experts with skill books that we are hoping you can use.
I didn’t get all the details, but apparently it relates to one of your skills, even if the skill isn’t relevant to you personally."
Karl nodded. "I think I see where this is going. Well, that’s a bit of a commute, but it’s manageable if I travel with Hawk."
The General stared at Karl for a few seconds, hoping for an explanation. Then he realized that Karl was planning to come home to the Capital at the end of the workdays, and his pet was faster than a bus or car.
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