The Simulacrum

~Chapter 156~ Part 1

"Wooow! Look at the sea!"

"Slow down, you're going to trip!"

Josh rushed after his girlfriend, and the two of them were both jumped back when a wave nearly washed over their ankles. Sharing a chuckle, they moved back a bit and continued to discuss the beach. On my left, my in-laws did the same.

"I have to admit, I've never been to a private beach like this before," Clarke, Judy's dad, mused with a hand shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun.

"Neither have I," Arnwald chimed in thoughtfully. "It's a luxury I could seldom afford due to my… duties."

 Ambram let out a hearty laugh by their side and pointed at the languid shore in front of us.

"I like this one! It's a little under-developed, but it has a natural charm to it!" He paused and made a frame with his extended thumbs and index fingers. "It could use a restaurant there though. Or a bar. Maybe some palm trees too."

While the menfolk were discussing that, the wives were busy sharing gossip, our friend group followed after Josh and Angie, while the Assembly team…

"But I want to go swimming with Paz!"

"Sahi, you volunteered for this mission to guard Amelia. Please conduct yourself accordingly," Lord Barnabas scolded her, and the brown girl responded with a huge pout.

"Aw! This is so bogus!" Then, her eyes suddenly lit up and turned to armband guy. "Wait! Like, if she takes a dip, we can totally follow her in! Come, Paz! Let's throw her in the sea!"

"That is not how bodyguards should act," he said morosely, and…

Yeah, that corner had its own troubles. So did I, though mine were very close by, and could be counted on three fingers.

"You have five minutes to explain what you're doing here."

The three ex-directors shuffled their feet like a group of kids in front of the school principal, but Tsephanyah eventually stepped forth to speak up. For the record, he was still dressed like a stereotypical angler with the bucket cap and the baits and everything, and he was wearing it as proudly as he did his official togas.

"Since Lord Polemos entrusted me with the arrangement of this location, I deemed it necessary to continue the work until the very end and provide the best hospitality possible for our guests."

"So you prepared for a fishing trip in advance, on your own initiative." He nodded without a shred of apprehension. "How did you even know that they wanted to…?" I was half-way through the question when I realized it was a dumb one, so raised a hand to my temple. "Right, Celestial information network. Never mind."

I was still a bit annoyed by this, considering that the topic only came up once, during Christmas dinner, yet it somehow still reached this man's ears. That meant there were moles in the Dracis family, which… wasn't that surprising, to be honest. It was the Celestials we were talking about here, but since it came up, I made a mental note to ask Judy to look into it once we're back home. She had more or less completely taken over the Celestial Hub during the last couple of weeks, so she should've had no trouble with that.

But back to Tsephanyah. It was true that I asked him to coordinate the construction of this makeshift beach resort on short notice, and he went above and beyond my expectations, so I didn't feel right to call him out too hard for the 'extra service' he prepared. In the end, I exhaled a long breath and decided to just let it slide, at least for now. As for our second contestant.

"Lord Archon."

Mensah lightly bowed at me, and after readjusting the thingie in his ear (actually, I never figured out what that was, did I?) he produced a small doohickey from his sleeve. He pulled it apart, and it unfolded like a reverse-origami, forming a kind of frame with streaks of light between them. Soon those light started swirling, and then snapped into an image of numbers, graphs, and an honest-to-goodness pie chart. Was… was that a magitech tablet of some sorts?

The youngest ex-director looked pleased by my intrigued reaction and showed off his toy to me.

"As we have already discussed after the last meeting of the Synderion, our budget is stretched thin at the moment." That part wasn't entirely surprising, considering that the Elysium was effectively an agrarian society holding up a magitech military-industrial complex. I was surprised that their economy even functioned until this point. Meanwhile, Mensah pointed at one of the charts and continued, "We're all expecting this to change once Archonpoint becomes operational, but since it's an untested system, I found it prudent to hedge our bets a little. Since cooperation with the Assembly and the Draconic Federation would result in the development of new sectors of commerce, I've made a humble attempt to kickstart a potential tourism industry within Elysium. As such, I found it rational to use the opportunity a visit from pivotal members of the major factions provided to introduce them to the potential investment prospects this venture would provide."

That… was way more sensible than I thought it would be. Which meant…

"Once we've established this new revenue stream, I believe the main budgetary objection to my last proposal in front of the Synderion should be easily dismissed, and we could continue the seven-step rearmament program outlined in my…"

Yep, there it was. The sky's blue, the sun's bright, and Dolion's prepping for war. Some things were constant in life, no matter the circumstances, I supposed. I waved at him, just as he was about to get into explaining the other charts on his magi-tablet-thing, and he quieted down. At last, I turned to Savir.

"It's your turn, Eris," I told her flatly, and then added. "You have until my aide returns to convince me that I shouldn't bury you. Proceed."

"That's not amusing at all," she fumed with her arms crossed. "I have come here following your instructions." I naturally raised a skeptical brow at that, and she just as naturally doubled down. "I believe your exact words were that whenever you would return to Elysium, as your advisers, we would be required to stay by your side as a show of united support. I was simply doing my part."

"… That's your excuse. What's the real reason?"

Our gazes locked for a while, until she breathed out a vexed sigh and slouched her shoulders.

"As a matter of fact, I have numerous reasons to come before you, but some of those reasons require privacy."

I raised my brow even higher and gestured towards the two men at my side.

"I have information for your ears only," she insisted, and Mensah let out a soft scoff in return. She ignored him and only focused on me. "We should talk in private at your earliest convenience."

"We'll see about that," I concluded with a soft grunt, just in time for Mike to return with other familiar faces in tow.

"I'm back! And I've found help!"

"At your service," Jaakobah addressed me simply, and the only reason why he didn't salute was because he was carrying a shovel. So did the rest of the praetorian guards lined up behind him, holding their tools like weapons. Firm gazes, straight postures, exuding unmatched determination… it was like I was looking at a squad of soldiers in the war against invasive shrubs preparing for battle. It would've been almost impressive, if not for the whole situation being so silly.

Nodding in their direction, I turned my eye back to Savir, and when our gazes met again, she took half a step back.

"Polemos. This isn't funny."

"No, it's not. This is entirely serious," I insisted, doing my best not to ruin the moment with a grin. I let her sweat it out for a bit and only addressed her when she looked like she was about to run away. "You still haven't answered for aggravating my fiancées, but for the time being, I'm putting you on probation. Depending on your behaviour, the degree and orientation of your burial may change. Watch your steps, Eris, for I'll be watching them as well."

"I… erm…"

She clearly wasn't expecting that, but before she could get a proper word in, I turned to the other two ex-directors.

"The same warning applies to you. Sans the burying. That's reserved for Eris, but I'm not tolerating any inconvenience befalling my companions."

"Naturally," Tsephanyah responded glibly and bowed, with Mensah following suit.

"Good. You're dismissed for the time being." I pointedly turned to the gathered Praetorian Guards plus Mike and waited for the trio to retreat before raising my voice again. "Anything to report?"

"We have secured the site of operations, as per the Second True Archon's instructions."

"What… about the shovels?" Michael butted in a touch meekly, and he was visibly self-conscious about the tool in his hands.

"We might need them in the future, but not right now. Store them within arm's reach. Also…" I reached out and took the shovel from his hand, and then handed it over to the nearby facemask fella. "Go to Ammy's side. She's waiting for you."

Surprised, the hapless Celestial glanced over his shoulder, towards the rest of the group. They were idling around on the shore, and right there, the class rep was intently staring at us. She got a large straw hat from somewhere at some point, and her floaty orbs were lazily rolling on top of its rim. More importantly, I could feel her disapproval from over here; she probably didn't like that I was ordering her boyfriend around like that.

"At once!" Mike exclaimed with a grin and skipped away, leaving me with my guards. I could tell that Jaakobah had something to say ever since the moment he arrived here, so I gestured to him to speak his mind.

He stabbed his shovel into the ground and gave me a proper salute first.

"Lord Archon. It came to our attention that you have chosen a pair of heralds."

I… wasn't expecting that to be the first thing he would mention, and my eyes were automatically drawn to the pair of small Celestials, currently under the care of my sisters. The four of them were barefoot on the sand and frolicking in the waves of shallow water.

"'Herald' might not be the right word, but yes, I have appointed them to be my…" What did I name them again? I did it in the heat of the moment, and I didn't give it much thought, so it took a second to recall. "My Chief Reminders, yes. To tell people to behave reasonably around me during our stay."

In retrospect, that did sound like a herald, didn't it? Whatever opinion my Prefect had on the sudden promotion I gave those two, he kept it to himself, remaining sombre and straightforward as ever.

"Understood. I will see to it that they fulfil the duties you entrusted upon them." I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but before I could ask, he moved on. "Staying on the topic of official promotions, I would request the Lord Archon's opinion on a certain matter regarding the expansion of the Praetorian Guards."

"I'm listening."

Jaakobah loosened his posture and gestured for the rest to do the same.

"Since the formation of the Synderion and the arrangements made by Primus Khurshid and Strategos Gideon, we have received thousands of applications from all branches and walks of the Elysian military."

"Sir, to be exact, it's four-thousand, seven-hundred and ninety-seven volunteers, sir!" armour guy called out behind him, and Jaakobah raised two fingers in response and then clenched them into a fist.

Was that telling him to shut up, thanking him for the elaboration, or something in-between? I had no idea, and I couldn't even judge it by armour guy's reaction either, as he was wearing his full helmet.

"Quite. However, before we can proceed with their evaluation, I would like to request the Lord Archon's wisdom on the matter."

He was really dancing around the issue, wasn't he?

"If there's a problem, just say it as it is. Stop beating around the bush."

"It's less of a problem and more of a matter of definitions. Or lack thereof," he told me blandly and put his hands behind his back. "As a freshly established branch of the Elysian military, and one solely under the jurisdiction of the Lord Archon, we're lacking in history and traditions. As of right now, being part of the Praetorian Guards is considered a badge of honor, no small part due to the elite nature of our unit."

Responding to his words, the rest of the group unconsciously puffed up their chests with pride… which made the fact that they were still carrying shovels all the more hilarious. But I digress.

"To put it in plain terms, we are currently being acknowledged as the best Elysium can offer, trusted by the Archons and bearing both great responsibility and respect. Were we to open our ranks wider, it would inevitably lead to the Praetorian Guards as a whole losing some of our prestige, with no history of service to fall back to, but refusing all applicants just to hold onto our status as a unit composed only of elites would just as damaging to our image."

"So you feel like you're trapped between a rock and a hard place," I mused, and some of them nodded in response. Others looked ashamed, as if asking for my advice was already an admission of incompetence. Jaakobah, on the other hand, was as unperturbed as ever. "There's a simple solution to this. You just need to uphold the standards, right?" He raised an intrigued brow at that. "You say that the prestige of the Praetorian Guards is currently coming from being the crème de la crème. If that's the case, just make sure the newcomers are up to par, and only accept those who meet your criteria. You can set the bar as hight as you deem necessary."

It was clear I wasn't the only one who thought this was the obvious solution, since Jaakobah immediately saluted with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

"We will endeavor to follow the Second True Archon's wisdom."

This was getting dangerously close to micromanagement, and that was the last thing I wanted to do on my vacation.

"Return to your duties."

"As the Lord Archon commands!"

They saluted me as one (except for facemask fellow, because he had two shovels) and left the beach in an orderly fashion. I waited for a bit to see if anyone else wanted to approach me with more official business, but thankfully that was the last of them. As such, I made my way over to the girls, who joined my sisters in the shallow water.

I didn't want to take off my shoes, so I only watched them run around the wet sand and the ankle-deep water. It was a nice view, framed by the blue sky and the endless horizon. I rationally knew that it wasn't so, not even as poetically as it was 'outside', but it looked just like the real deal.

Realizing that I was done with the Celestials, Penny was the first to skip over to my side, closely followed by the two kids.

"Look, brother! I'm a big sister now!" she declared proudly and presented the Celestials girls. They froze up for a moment, but then they balled up their little fists and stepped forth.

"Big Sister Penelope!"/"…ter Penelope…"

The two of them spoke with varying levels of passion, and my sister let out a delighted giggle. The next one to come over was Snowy, her lips bent in an odd smile. I knew that they had a 'thing' where they sometimes argued over who was the little sister in the family, so her reaction was most likely related to that. On second thought, it was mostly just Penny who insisted on being the 'big sister', and it appeared that the little ones were also roped into the 'argument'.

"Wouldn't that make Leonard the big brother?" Morgana chimed in from behind, walking towards us arm-in-arm with Arnwald. At one point or another the parent couples rejoined each other and now everyone was wandering the beach.

"I'm not sure our family is ready to grow again," Arnwald responded in a low voice, but she just smiled mysteriously.

"Are you sure?"

"While… it could be fine to welcome little ones into our fold, I'm afraid our duties would interfere with raising young children."

"Duty always calls, but we only have one life," she argued back.

"It's true, but…"

At this point I was pretty sure their discussion wasn't about the two confused Celestial girls, but I decided not to interfere, or even acknowledge their personal affairs. I've been getting involved in those way too many times in the past, and they only gave me headaches. They were adults, so I was sure they would figure it out between each other.

Meanwhile, my girlfriends split up; Judy joined her parents on the shore, while Elly practically dashed over to us and grabbed my hand.

"Come, let's play! The water is really nice!"

"Later, princess. We'll have all the time in the world to play around all week." I gestured towards the pile of luggage in the shade of a nearby tree, and then the freshly constructed beach bungalows. "We should pick our rooms and unpack first."

"And when are we starting the training?" came the next odd question from a certain local protagonist, followed by a soft "Ooof!" when his girlfriend hit him on the back of the head.

"Boo! You see all of this in front of you, and you're only thinking about training again!"

"But… that's the reason we came here. I think. At least part of it." The longer he went on, the more uncertain he sounded, and he turned a pair of questioning eyes at me. "Right?"

"Yeah, we'll get to that too. Again, let's unpack and unwind first, and then we'll get our schedules in order."

"One question!" Angie interrupted me with a hand raised over her head. "We're free to fly around while we're here, right? Nobody will mind, right?"

I levelled a flat stare at the hopeful Celestial, and couldn't decide whether I should laugh or cry.

"Don't be silly. You're Deus reborn. Who do you think would stop you?"

"I-I know, and…" She hissed and glanced at the sky. "Yes, Grandpa, I know, but it's important to ask! Leo knows what's going on here much better than we do, and…" She blinked a few times and shook her head before looking at me again. "Okay, so for the record, we can fly around all we want. Gotcha."

"Did someone mention flying?" Emese chimed in, seemingly listening to the conversation from a distance and coming over as soon as she heard the word. "It's so difficult to find opportunities to fly in peace back home, especially nowadays when everyone has cameras in their phones. Does it mean we can do it in the open here?"

"You hear that, Snowy?" Penny poked my other sister, but she seemed less than enthusiastic.

"I… I think I refrain. I don't want to scare anyone."

"Don't be self-conscious, sis," I told her with a smile I wanted to be reassuring, but in retrospect might've been just a bit aggressive. "The only thing anyone in Elysium should be scared of is me catching them giving you a sideways look. If you want to join the others, feel free to do so."

"I'll… think about it."

By this point, Judy and her family also wandered over to our side, so I said, "All right! Since we're all gathered here, let's…" I stopped and furrowed my brows. "Actually, we're not all here yet. Where's…?"

I wanted to ask 'Where's the class rep and company?', but then we were all startled by a combination of a panicked yelp and a manic laughter coming from our left.

"Aaah! Put me down!"

"Yahahaha! Here we go!" Sahi cackled, holding the class rep in her huge floaty magic hands and dashing towards the sea. Not just that, but she was already in her swim-suit. Was she wearing it under her colourful getup from earlier all this time?

"Sahi, stop this at once!" Barnabas called after her, but he was a bit too vigilant due to being in Celestial territory, so he only speed-walked after them and didn't cast any spells.

"Mike! Leo! Pascal! Somebody, help!" the class rep yelled and flailed in the air, but couldn't do anything to get out of Sahi's grasp. The two of them were followed by a panicked Michael, while armband guy was… already in his swimming trunks and giving a 'Well, here we go again…' kind of look as he morosely walked towards the water.

Unable to figure out whether I should intervene or not, my attention was soon drawn back to the princess, who was still tugging at my hand.

"Come on, Leo! Look, they're already having fun!"

She really wanted to take a dip, didn't she? Meanwhile, the brown ex-arch-mage and the startled class rep both hit the water, with very different levels of enthusiasm, and…

"You know what? Change of plans." I flashed a grin at my draconic girlfriend, much to her mounting excitement. "Let's go for a swim first."

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I had no idea if that applied to beaches as well, but since we were already here, we might as well follow the principle, am I right?