The animalkin girl had suddenly changed her mind, but not before resisting my spin on the narrative. Even I had to admit that our story sounded suspicious. The leader of the rabbitkin soldiers would have had to be an idiot not to at least doubt my story. He looked back and forth between us cautiously, as if he was trying to decide what he was going to do to us. Before he could say anything though, several portals started to open all around us.

The girls I had left behind on the ship all started to emerge from the portals. While many of them could reach the ship with a bit of assistance, most of them weren’t so bold in their abilities as to jump off as Celeste or I had done. That meant that they had to wait for the ship to come to a complete stop before they could join us. To the best of my knowledge, portals were bound to the location, so if you were on a moving ship, then the portal would stay put and the ship would leave it behind in an instant.

Looking up into the sky, I could see that the airship had bridged the distance between us and stopped directly overhead. The sudden appearance of all of these people had caused the soldiers to panic. They let out cries while drawing their weapons hastily. The leader earned his name though, and rather than panicked, he quickly recognized certain women, the most hostile of the group, which made an immediate protective circle around me, and by extension the animalkin girl too.

“Stand down!” He quickly ordered.

Thankfully, although his men were jumping like rabbits, the mounts they were riding, those weird lizard creatures, weren’t nearly as skittish as a horse might be. They hadn’t reared up their heads or fled an inch. As a result, the leader was able to quickly reestablish order.

“What is the meaning of holding up my lord?” First bellowed across the group.

“Th-that’s Roth’s lionesses!” One of the soldiers cried out in alarm.

The leader shot the man who spoke out of turn a rebuking look, but when he turned back to me, his expression had a defeated look. The presence of that girl didn’t matter anymore. Before, they had outnumbered me, and thus even if they respected me a bit, they still had the upper hand in the conversation. In an instant, that had flipped. They were completely outnumbered, and those on the other side were many times more powerful too.

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It was clear by their expression that while these men might not recognize any of my girls, they recognized First and the lionesses. They were Roth’s secret service. They didn’t just protect him, but they carried out any major order he needed. They led armies, threatened tribal leaders, and suppressed the country for untold years. Now, they were serving a new master, but their presence still left a stain on the hearts of the rabbitkin who were never that peaceful with the catkin tribe.

It was one thing hearing about a person’s power, but to see that power was something else entirely. The leader of the soldiers could only let out a sigh. There was nothing he could do in this position.

“We made a mistake. It seems like Lord Deekson has all of this covered. We’ll be taking our leave.” He declared before ordering his men away.

Just like that, the conflict ended. Absolute power truly was the way to obtain peace and avoid trouble. That sounded like really dangerous thinking. Had I been influenced too much by absorbing what I did of the Champion’s Gauntlet? I hoped not.

“What’s going on down here then?” Miki asked, looking between e and the cloaked girl suspiciously.

“Master is picking up another girl for his harem.” Celeste declared from my shoulder.

“Eh? Another? Already? This is getting excessive!” Shao cried out.

“You’re not wrong,” Terra added with a pout.

Mary elbowed Anne, whispering in her ear. “If sister wants her chance, she definitely must move more quickly.”

“W-what are you saying?” Anne’s face turned red. “I’m not interested in anything! I just came down because I was curious.”

She turned around and fled back through the portal with a huff. Meanwhile, the stares of all of the girls had caused the animalkin girl to pull on her hood, covering her face further. When she looked up, she nearly jumped as Lydia had appeared right in front of her, giving her typical smile, which was equal parts welcoming and the look of a predatory ready to pounce.

“Hi! I’m Lydia. I want to welcome you on board. What’s your name?”

The girl hesitated for a second before speaking very quietly. “Rea.”