Finally, it was time to head out to the balcony.
"Well... Let's hope you don't improvise like earlier," Zafira stated, rubbing her temple.
"Come on, you have to admit it was pretty good," Rael chuckled, before approaching her and grabbing her hand. "Let's go out, missus."
Zafira flinched. "Don't call me that... and don't you dare say that during the speech."
"Yes, ma'am." Rael saluted playfully and led her outside.
Come on... Rael held back his annoyance as Zafira confidently approached the edge of the balcony and began her speech.
"Greetings, everyone. I'm sure all of you know who I am by now, so I'll cut straight to the chase," she gestured with a wave.
And the moment she did, the flag of Celestara dropped down like a banner, representing a white star with a blue sky surrounding it.
"I got married, and now, this day will mark a new beginning in Celestara's history!" Zafira stated with a wide smile, earning cheers all around.
She flashed him a small glance, which meant it was his time to go.
Despite the social anxiety he was feeling from being stared at by thousands of people, Rael walked toward Zafira and gently wrapped his hand around her waist.
"I believe introductions are in order," Rael said calmly, before continuing, "My name is Rael Sutekh, and I shall be your king from this day forth."
—Woah! He has a name!
"Of course..." he trailed off. "I vow to forever be faithful to the greatest woman on the continent, Zafira Sutekh, and will carry her burdens as though they were mine."
Rael's palms grew sweaty as nervousness kicked in.
However, Zafira placed her warm hands over his, comforting him.
That was enough to let him continue.
"I vow to remain together with my wife until death do us part," Rael's brows furrowed at the upcoming line.
"And obviously..." Rael leaned in, delivering a kiss on Zafira's cheek before turning toward the crowd below. "May our future children continue our legacies."
As the last of his words fell, silence ensued.
For a moment, he thought he messed something up. However, the ground suddenly shook, as loud cheers resounded.
—Is this the dawn of the golden age!?
—Zafira, can I get your autograph?
He ignored most of the bullshit they were yelling and stepped back, making sure his eardrums didn't burst.
"How was it?" Zafira asked, a warm smile on her face.
"I feel like I never want to do that again..." Rael replied honestly. "But I can't say I hated that feeling."
"It's how I felt too, back when I wasn't the queen yet," Zafira said with a giggle. "But you'll get over it. I for sure did."
Rael shrugged and took a deep breath before waving at the crowd of people once more and going back inside the room.
Zafira followed right behind him, and soon, they were all alone, standing in silence.
But that silence didn't last long as Zafira spoke.
"Can you call that girl you told me about? I want to hear what she has to say."
"Hm? Yeah." Rael nodded and sent a message.
He got a response instantly.
"...She says she's at the door," Rael said with a tinge of disbelief.
However, Zafira's eyes were already narrowed toward it as she walked up to the door and swung it open.
Immediately, Linlin's carefree figure appeared, as she twirled her red hair, almost out of boredom.
Is she trying to act cool or something? he thought, as he noticed something interesting.
Her hands were shaking.
"Linlin Xu?" Zafira asked flatly. "That's your name, yes?"
"Yesh—" Linlin replied, biting her tongue as her cheeks flushed red.
"Pfft..." Rael held back a laugh before heading to the door. "I'll wait outside."
"Very well." Zafira nodded as she gestured for Linlin to come in.
She did just that, and just as Zafira was about to close the door, she stopped.
"Rael?" Zafira called out. "I saw you tinkering around with weird armor, so if you want, you can ask the guards to escort you to the production grounds."
Rael tilted his head slightly. "Production grounds?"
"It's where all production-related stuff is placed. The smithy, alchemy tables, leatherworking. Everything." Zafira explained, making his curiosity pique.
"Are there any private chambers I can take for myself? Storage-wise, I mean."
"Of course. You can do anything you want, up to a certain degree," she replied, as she glanced back inside the room, then at him. "I'm going to talk with her now, Rael. See you later."
"Good luck," he waved her off with a smile before going downstairs.
There were a pair of guards, and he explained where he wanted to go.
Immediately, the pair of guards quickly turned into sixteen guards, who acted like a massive barricade while leading him to the carriage and then driving him to the production grounds.
They were in the inner part of the palace, and aside from a few people, it was empty.
However, his main objective was the private storage rooms.
Rael went through a white archway by the side of the production grounds, and, as though he had been teleported, appeared inside a long, lit up fancy hallway.
"Excuse me, you can't be here," a voice rang out from the side, belonging to a guard.
As Rael turned around and the guard saw his face, the story began unfolding a little differently.
"Y-Your Majesty, Rael Sutekh, my apologies for not recognizing you."
"It's alright," Rael replied with a chuckle, as a small grin tugged at his lips. "Can you show me to the biggest private storage room here?"
"Of course." The guard nodded, and as Rael thought he would be walking somewhere, the guard merely opened the door closest to them.
"...?" Rael stared at the guard in confusion, who soon explained.
"All the storage rooms are the same size, Your Majesty."
"Oh. Fair enough. Let the queen know I will be spending a few days in here, okay?" Rael stated. "Of course, bring me food if you can. In exchange, I'll make you a cool sword. Deal?"
The guard's eyes lit up as he saluted. "Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"
With that, Rael went inside, closing the steel door behind him.
The storage room, despite being empty, was clean, smelled good, and had not even a speck of dust.
Therefore, Rael decided he would do what he had wanted to do in the first place.
Time until V1.0 Release: 144 Days
Four days until beta releases, so technically five days of free time until the players start swarming this city.
Rael grinned at the thought of money flooding his pockets as he bought himself a fishing chair and took out all his Crystallite Set boxes, before placing them on the ground.
It numbered 39 in total.
But by the time the players arrive, he would add at least another zero to that number.
Rael rolled his sleeves back as a determined look appeared on his face.
Let's fucking do this.