"Karl, can we talk a bit?" Kanako requested just a few hours in the kitchen after we returned from the Meretrix Mansion.
"Sure."
"I'll be blunt. You've been very good to me, but ... I think it's not working out. This kind of relationship is just not for me."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that I'm uncomfortable with the sex between us," Kanako said. "Can we ... have a platonic relationship instead?"
I smiled. "Of course, Kanako. I'm glad to have you as a friend."
"Me too."
"Karl, I- KANAKO?"
"Rosie?"
"You two know each other?"
Rosie lunged forward, hugging Kanako. "Yeah, good friends!" Kanako said. "Uh, could you leave us some privacy? We have much to catch up on."
"Of course."
We all rested comfortably for a few hours. For the following week, we began a series of preparation to wage war against Cawl. The goblins were trained intensively, with Rosie and Kanako, both experienced mercenaries, as their officers. I sent a message to Gira to pressure them into aiding, though I suspected it wouldn't have come to much. Ivala returned to the demonic realm to gather her forces, while Magna ramped up improvements to her war machines. We communicated with the Neumanns, too. Ivala hastily taught me a new spell; the Flames of Lust, a combination of lust and arcane magic that erodes one's sanity.
After one week, Malkith sent a messenger to me. "Human come to forest! We try help, but human afraid!"
"Humans? Are they armed?"
"No. Malkith says Malkith thinks they refugees."
"Refugees? Very well, you can return now."
"This war has claimed its first victims," Kanako remarked.
"I think we have to speak with them. Caitlyn, with me."
Caitlyn and I flew across the forest's sky. We located a large refugee camp, enough to perhaps accommodate several thousand people. It was protected by very few guards. We landed on the outskirts.
"V-vampires! Call-"
"Wait!" I barked. "We do not intend to cause you harm."
The two old guards, barely holding their long spears, looked at each other. "Wait ... you are Lord Autumn!"
"Lord Autumn? Is that what they're calling me nowadays?"
"What is going on here?"
An experienced knight marched forward with a few guards. "Do you lead this camp?"
"Yes. I am called Devon. Are you Lord Autumn?"
"I go by the name Karl Autumn, so if there is a Lord Autumn in these woods, it's likely to be me."
He suddenly knelt. "My lord! I implore you to help us! These people are mere innocents, yet they are ravaged by war! So I beseech you to provide upon us foodstuffs and shelter and protection, and we will swear fealty upon you!"
"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Rise up, please." I was genuinely startled. "Don't worry. I will assist you. But I am not the only power in this forest. I am sure they will-"
A flash of light disrupted us. Magna and Viscount Terry had arrived. "And this must be the Masked Witch and Lord Neumann?"
"Yes. Uh, I didn't think you knew about this."
"A wise teacher does not reveal all of her secrets hastily ... Lord Autumn."
"So you came from Acacia?" Viscount Terry asked.
"Yes, Lord Neumann. Our local lords had been overthrown by enemy Church militants, and we are being picked off both by enemies and marauding Acacian soldiers."
"In that case, I move that we aid them," Magna said. We all nodded. "I can help build tunnels and clear caves for you to live in, and clear caves. I will teach you how to grow food inside tunnels, too."
"I can contribute temporary food aids and healers," Viscount Terry said.
"Then I'll have my liutenants and my forces protect you."
"Thank you! Thank you very much! This kindness will not go unpaid!"
I moved some of my goblin troops to the surrounding woods. It took a bit of convincing the refugees, though, since they were rather scared of them. Caitlyn, Andrea, Rosie, Kanako, and I would rotate shifts around.
It took two more weeks, but Magna managed to single-handedly clear enough caves and dig enough tunnels for most of the refugees. I toured the camp once in a while to raise morale and calm people down.
"Hey! Karl! Is that really you?"
I turned my head, and lo and behold I saw Jason and Angel in one of the few tents left. "Jason! Angel!" I rushed.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"What, you think the academy's open now?" Angel asked with a dry laugh. "We're one of the few people who can do combat magic, so we are following along with our parents."
"And protecting everyone in the camp. Thank you."
"Well, we're lucky."
"Anyway, so the academy's closed. What of its students?"
"We're scattered," Angel said. "Well, and I heard Princess Anna went renegade."
"The what?"
"Yeah, apparently she is leading a rebel army in Acacia right now," Jason said. "Oh, uh-maybe we shouldn't have said that in front of you."
"No, that's fine. I'll leave you both for now."
Well, that was weird. In the past even the slight mention of Anna's name would send me into a rage. But now it was not so. Perhaps, that was because I no longer had to seek; now my duty was to protect all that was dear to me.