?


    As the team exited the hidden elevator, Kat saw that the other groups had scattered. If Burnice or Blue had been visible, Kat and Lily would''ve gone to chat with them. For Burnice, a chat to ensure there were no hard feelings, and for Blue it would''ve been a discussion about what happened during her mountain climb… s they were missing.


    Stan wasid out seductively on one of the couches in the lounge, making eyes at Kress, while Romilda and Borgick who were also using the room ignored him. The dwarven pair seemed to be debating the merits of tacking Borgick''s cannon to the secret challenge, as they were assuming there would be no time to grab it if it was necessary.


    Borgick seemed to be arguing against bringing it, while Romilda was arguing for its deployment. Though as her team spread out and Kat heard more of the conversation it became clear why. Romilda was arguing that anyone could hold it if Borgick didn''t need it, but his counter argument was that the sand from the beach would get everywhere.


    Romilda said it was a minor concern, Borgick refused to clean it, Romilda offered to do so, which Borgick shut down with vague mentions of st time'' that Kat almost wanted to ask about. s, she didn''t want to get involved with whatever Stan was doing, especially not as Kress seemed to have decided to speak with the incubus.


    Over in the cafeteria Vanya and Marigold were arguing, with Vanya gesticting wildly, and Marigold gazing back calmly. It was unclear what they were talking about, as while they were quite clearly discussing, intensely on Vanya''s part, Kat could hear nothing at all from their table. Not their words, not the movement of air from Vanya''s arms, not their beating hearts.


    Knowing that Marigold was real royalty, Kat felt it safe to assume that Marigold had ess to something that muted sound in a small area for moderately private conversations. Of course, why neither of them returned to their rooms was the real question, yet one Kat still had no answer to. *Why do you think they''re just chatting out in the open when clearly there is at least some need for secrecy?*


    [I wouldn''t be surprised if it''s just a reflex for Vanya. Maybe it''s part of her job? Like, Nixilei is part bodyguard but spy part… etiquette teacher? Thatst one I''m a bit unsure of… but I''m sure if Green was about to do something really stupid Nixilei would stop her, not just for their friendship but also because I''m pretty sure it''s her job. So… maybe it''s Vanya''s?]


    Kat looked over the scene with Lily''s insight and felt there was at least some truth to it. *Yeah… I can see it. Not sure how much authority Vanya actually has to tell Marigold off… because if she''s part of the monarchy Marigold can just sort of do things right? Royal privilege?*


    [Ehh… without knowing exactly how their society functions and just based on Earth? Yes and no. There are some things she can do that normal people or moners and lesser nobility'' but there are also things Marigold probably can''t do because she''s royalty all the same. It might not seem that way, but she likely won''t chose her husband… or well… huh…]


    [Maybe she can? Auctifer has a number of wives… and at least a few husbands as well. Or well Queens? Hang on, are the male lovers still called Queens? How does that work? Nevermind not the point. My point was, she might be forced into political marriage, but it''s looking likely that''s not the case…]


    [So another example then. She''s expected to act with decorum in public. Behind closed doors it''s not an issue, and even at semi-private functions like parties she''d have more leeway… but when acting in public in her official role as princess Marigold she''d like get in quite a deal of trouble for not acting ''nobly'' or at least pretending to.]


    *So she''s might need to… what… make sure she has good PR?*


    [YES! Actually that''s the perfect analogy! Marigold isn''t just Marigold, she''s PRINCESS Marigold, and the ''royal brand'' has certain standards it needs to uphold. There are benefits and expectations, but she''s essentially an employee that''s been forcibly hired but still needs to live up topany standards.]


    [Which, admittedly might not be too bad with Auctifer in charge. He seems to have very much decided that he can just get away with shit, likely because he''s old, powerful, of royal lineage and can have a lot of kids. Though thatst one is more a guess… but just based on how they talk about elves? I''m guessing the fact he can have quite a few kids is considered a massive benefit to running the country. Probably one of the big reasons nobody cares how many people he sleeps with.]


    [He goes from something of a… well I don''t have any better way to describe it then ''manwhore'' which I sort of dislike needing to use, but the word has the right connotations for this and gets the point across easily. Anyway, I don''t want toin, so my point. Instead of being a ''manwhore'' he''s instead ''performing an important public service'' which is really weird to think about in that way. Perhaps ''Public Hero'' would be better instead?]


    [Wait that''s it! He''s an ''Elven Ideal'' the idea that he can have arge family with lots of children. It''s something that Elves likely strive for the same way most humans strive for money and power. Elves live for a long time so they can likely get both of those things casually just as a function over time. They don''t care as much if it takes centuries to be strong because they have the time. What they don''t have isrge families. Normally anyway.]


    [Auctifer is even better then that though… because ideally all of his kids will get whatever it is that allows him to have so many of his own, eventually exponentially increasing the number of elves in the world. It''s probably why Nixilei didn''t mention anyone challenging him despite not talking of his strength all that much. Elves, as a species, probably feel like he NEEDS to stay king.]<novelsnext>I think you should take a look at </novelsnext>


    *That''s a really weird thing to think about Lily.*


    [Sorry… I didn''t mean to make it weird.]


    *No I didn''t mean it like that. There''s nothing wrong with considering it, I mean it''s weird to realise that Auctifer is likely incredibly popr for sleeping around. Something that a human politician couldn''t really get away with. Not on arge scale anyway.*


    [Ah. Yes of course. Sorry for making the wrong assumption]


    With that settled, Kat and Lily wandered over to Mint, only the girl… woman? The tree in question was much more tree-like then normal. She wasn''t moving at all and if Kat didn''t know better, she''d assume it was just a statue of a receptionist instead of a real one. "Uh… Mint?" asked Kat carefully to no response.


    Lily frowned at that and leaned forward, pushing somewhat on Mint''s ''body'' to no avail. The wooden figure didn''t even move with the push. Evidently it was stuck to the ground. Lily frowned again and nocked as if she was knocking on the front door of a house. To Kat''s shock this seemed to work.


    A ripple went across Mint''s ''body'' as if she was shaking off ayer of dust. The whole figure seemed to vibrate slightly as life came back to it. All the little details that made it seem alive starting back up once again. "Oh, hello Lily, hello Kat. Did you need something?" asked Mint.


    "Oh, um… no but we were just going to chat and wondered if you wanted to join us?" offered Lily.


    "Sure," said Mint with a smile, and the three headed upstairs. When they entered Kat''s room, Mint spoke again, "Did you have any questions in particr?"


    Lily shrugged, "Not really… but now that you''ve offered… what''s up with the team names this round?"


    Mint let out a smallugh, "It''s a minor joke on Thyme''s part, and they have a bet going with me in regards to how long it will take someone to ask him what the meaning behind all the names are… hmm… I wonder if that means I''ve lost? Thyme bet less then two days, and I said more. You asked me though… not Thyme… hmm…"


    "So it''s just a joke?" asked Lily.


    Mint nodded, "Indeed. Thyme actually had appropriate names all thought up… or so I was told anyway. In the end, he decided that giving everyone simpler names fit better with the ''keeping it casual'' idea he was going for in regards to this round of the tournament. I''m not sure if it was the right idea, but they seemed proud of it… then again, considering the mastery Thyme has over both their body and mind they can likely give that impression about anything.


    "I suspect if Thyme wished, they could state the sky was pink with what looked likeplete honesty and then argue for their point of view without anyone finding it strange. Considering Thyme developed a lot of the techniques I use to seem more ''normal'' to the other races, it really shouldn''t be a surprise,"


    "So Thyme came up with it all?" asked Lily.


    Mint winced at the question, "Well… no probably not. Or perhaps they did? It''s… a bad assumption me and my ssmates got into. Simply assuming Thyme invented something they handed out to our des. They seem so wise and it''s been confirmed they did invent a bunch of stuff… but it''s a bad assumption, on Thyme would get mad at me for propagating."