Gacha Kingdom Building-Chapter 277 - 277: Fine-Tuning

A crowd gathered at the Kingdom's training ground.
Enthralled, they watched a match between two combatants as it heated up.
Whenever their hits connected, regardless of kick or punch, explosive sounds followed.
For an oblivious bystander, their training match could easily be mistaken for a death match.
Still, most of the match's fierceness came from only one side, as they struggled throughout, clearly ignoring the match's intention and focusing only on victory.
The other side, while taking the match seriously, was hardly inconvenienced by their opponent.
Their calm response to every move showcased a stark gap in their abilities.
Soon, the last hit of the match would come, and their opponent would fall to the ground.
That much was clear.
However, before that could happen, I coated my body with a thin layer of [Air Magic].
It made my steps light and hid my scent.
With it, I camouflaged with the crowd, carefully making my way to my target.
When their echoing shouts unanimously turned into surprised gasps as the victor landed their final strike, I took the opportunity and reached for their back.
Miwen: "Good job."
Without turning her head, she caught my hand midair.
But too late.
It had already landed on her head, and I proceeded to give the victor their well-deserved headpats.
Mia: "Haah... Why are you like this?"
Miwen: "Hm? Are we pretending you didn't notice me approaching-"
I pushed my luck too far and earned myself an elbow strike to the stomach.
Still worth it, though.
Eira: "Tch. Pathetic."
Mia's opponent was her second-in-command, Eira.
We found and recruited her to the Kingdom back during our journey to Licerce, when she and her bandit friends ambushed us.
Most of the Snow White Wolves kept a healthy and respectful distance from the girls, but showed me a lot of gratitude for helping them avenge themselves and giving them a new place to live in the Kingdom.
Most, but not Eira.
She was a little more rebellious and strongly opposed the way Mia treated me, believing that I was weaker and thus, Mia should be the leader.
A sentiment that, while suppressed by most of their tribe, still resonated deeply, as it aligned with their traditions.
Since she was the only one who was so publicly and strongly opposed to me, while others avoided meeting my eyes, she glared intensely.
Clearly annoyed by the way I acted, and angry that Mia allowed it.
Miwen: "Pathetic? No way, you did pretty well. I think you deserve some headpats too."
Eira's pupils had turned sharp.
Her fangs appeared, and her nails extended, piercing the ground beneath her.
I felt like if I did one careless move, I'd be jumped.
Eira: "Why do you let him do as he pleases with you? You should-"
Mia: "Shut it. He does as he pleases because he's strong enough to do so. Got a problem with that?"
Though Mia's tone was fierce, the fact that I still kept caressing her hair and her fluffy ears made her way less menacing than she might've thought.
Like a cute, angry puppy, barking loudly at another puppy while their owner plays with them.
Eira: "Strong? Where? You easily outmatch him."
Mia: "Do I? I'm not even the strongest in his court. Why do you think even someone capable of defeating the North Dragon follows him?"
To the Snow White Wolves, the North Dragon that forced their tribe out of their homeland was a terrifying existence.
However, both the dragon and the woman who defeated it, Elizabeth, followed me.
To them, that was enough to make me unimaginably scary.
Eira: "I... I don't know."
Mia: "Let's just say there's more to him than meets the eye. If you become strong enough one day, you might understand."
Clever.
She used their history and how their traditions shaped their perception incredibly well.
By setting the bar at her own power, she made herself a guardian, knowing no one would get past her strength to challenge me.
Mia was keeping her promise well.
She was more than capable of leading her tribe.
Mia: "Let's go, idiot."
Miwen: "Yes, ma'am."
I quite liked Eira.
Her rebellious self was fun to tease, and without realizing it, she played a crucial role: The voice of discontent.
She was too loyal to Mia to rebel or betray her, so anyone who'd rally behind those ideals was limited in what they could do.
That made things more predictable, and with Mia keeping her in line, safe.
Though if I could tame her, I'd have both loyalists and rebels under complete control, and I could ensure-
Mia: "Miwen. Your eyes."
Miwen: "Oh, sorry. I was deep in thought."
After her training session with the other Snow White Wolves, Mia and I headed to the spot Isabella and I shared during the day.
There, our roles were reversed, and she lay with her head on my lap, as I lay on the ground.
Under the night sky, in the silence of the Kingdom, it felt like an eternity could pass, and the peace in my heart wouldn't fade.
So, I calmed myself by squeezing Mia tighter after she changed positions and sat on my lap.
Mia: "Hrn... So? Did I meet your expectations?"
She was splendid.
Aside from everything we did in the morning, before her training, she also helped me assess Reina's combat abilities.
The results were impressive for someone who said they weren't much of a fighter, but at the same time, somewhat expected for someone who considered Elizabeth an enemy.
However, there was still something else I needed from her.
Something I had postponed the entire day.
Miwen: "Of course. Seems like I won't have to worry about your tribe with you around."
Mia: "That's right. But that's not what I was talking about."
Because of her height, it was incredibly comfortable to rest my head on her shoulder.
That meant our faces were close to each other, but to make her point come across, she came even closer.
Eye-to-eye, she ensured I'd know she was annoyed with how I avoided the main thing throughout the day.
Or, more than that, she was mad at me for daring to think I couldn't rely on her for anything.
She knew from the beginning exactly what I wanted.
She was just waiting for me to say it.
Miwen: "...I'm going to join the war on Earth."
There was still one person responsible for hurting Maya for me to deal with.
But if Erik were to achieve his goal...
That would make things even more complicated than they already were.
However, things weren't so clear-cut, with Mom joining their side and Sis starting her own faction.
To join this war meant jumping into chaos.
To win meant making myself known to the rest of the world.
Something I had avoided for a long time.
Mia: "Well, you know I'll help no matter what. So... You want to know if you can have my tribe too?"
I couldn't be sure, but having an army would definitely help, no matter what I decided on.
The only problem was...
Miwen: "The Kingdom is not as safe as it was."
The rewards I got from Isabella's Event were good: ten levels in [Dark Magic], a unique skill that increased my curse resistance and my curse's effectiveness called [Call of Doom], and 20 Rare tickets.
That alone was already satisfying since I only joined the Event because of her and didn't even think about rewards.
However, there was more.
Almost as if to counterbalance [Kingdom Anomalies], I received another function as a reward: [Rate-Up Banners].
These created a selection of rewards from my most used banners, plus a random one from any banner I selected, with an increased chance.
Any ticket used in this banner also had its rarity increased, meaning I was more likely to get what I wanted.
The only problem was that, since it included various banners, even with increased odds, I could end up with something even more random than normal.
So, while interesting, depending on what was on Rate-Up, this function was nowhere strong enough to compensate for the [Kingdom Anomalies].
Nor could it protect us from the Council of Roses that probably wanted my head on a spike for what happened at the Infinite Hotel.
Miwen: "It's a bad time to go after more trouble, I know this, but... I can't afford to wait."
The Snow White Wolves had their own problems, like their demographics.
And yet, I was asking them to join a war they had no stake in.
It was a shameless, selfish act.
But that's why I needed this moment with Mia.
Not only because of her tribe.
Because of who she was.
Miwen: "You always get mad when I underestimate myself, and I've been afraid to be under the spotlight for a while now. So I thought you-"
Mia: "Oh... I was about to get mad, but... I'm glad."
Her eyes sparkled a little.
More than surprise, her face was filled with relief.
I wasn't asking her for help; I knew I could count on her.
I wasn't asking for her tribe; I knew she'd lead them for me.
Miwen: "You should be the first to know."
Mia: "Good. I'm assuming we start tomorrow?"
Miwen: "Yes. Get them ready for me. We might need to battle as soon as we step back on Earth."
Mia: "Roger!"
There was too much I could lose this time.
So, from the start, I tried to do things right.
So that I'd have no regrets.