"Alright, I believe I''ve understood everything that happened while we were frozen. Hopefully, despite Freja''s betrayal, Fyxe will still be okay. Still, I can''t imagine what the people are thinking after a couple years of silence." My fathermented once I was done recounting the events which transpired while he was frozen.


    Now, he could properlypile his thoughts and decide on the next step for the fox realm.


    "With that said, Shaman, I need you toe with me and your mother to Fyxe to announce our return. We can also announce your partnership with Elysia and ra while we''re at it." Making an official announcement made sense, but suddenly suggesting that their unknown daughter had two brides seemed a little rash.


    "Woah, do the people even know of my existence? As far as I''m aware, it wasn''t known whether you guys had a daughter."


    I nced at Elysia, who was smiling at the idea, while ra seemed shy about it but clearly still liked the idea of announcing it to the kingdom.


    "Ah, that doesn''t matter, plus it will just be more exciting if it is like that. However, the one issue I see is that people might not receive Elysia too kindly. Few people will recognise her, but I know many older folks will realise her identity." My father was quite nonchnt about an event I felt would garner a lot of attention.


    "A-are you sure? I don''t want Elysia to be discriminated against, nor do I want to ruin the fami-." I tried to bring up the many factors that I felt needed to be considered.


    "Trust your father, Shaman. I know you''ve been taking the lead for a while, but he is more than capable of handling everything." My mother interrupted by hugging me from behind. It certainly felt weird to leave it to someone else, as one way or another I was at the centre of these decisions.


    "I guess I can rx a bit." Even though training had been rather calm, I still felt an insurmountable pressure resting on me. So many things could have gone wrong with this rescue operation, yet by some miracle they didn''t. I couldn''t imagine where I would be now if my parents were dead, or if Elysia had nevere back.


    "You deserve some rest foring this far. Now put on your best princess face. We got a city to greet." My father pped his hands together and, surprisingly, he managed to use some magic. Just like the blood portals Elysia can use, he conjured up one made from water.


    "Don''t go deceiving everyone. That''s just the regr portal we use that requires a magic crystal, like the one you conveniently crushed in your palm." My mother pointed to the dust that piled on the ground below, which had mana residue lingering around it.


    "Come on! Don''t go ruining the illusion!" It was akin to just a party trick, and knowing the secret took all the wonder out of it.


    "Nice try, Dad." With the excitement gone, I walked through the portal with Elysia and ra right behind me. My mother also followed, giving a teasing smile to my father. nor, Silver and Himeko all chuckled to themselves as they walked by him, only adding to the shame.


    With a deep sigh, my father trudged through the portal himself, which shut itself behind us.


    *


    Appearing at the other end of the portal, we were teleported to an office with a window that looked out to the entire city. The view was amazing! I couldn''t believe that such a ce truly existed inside the massive forest that epassed the fox realm.


    In general, the building architecture conformed to traditional Japanese design. Lanterns lined the streets, illuminating their surroundings with their blue mes. Hell, since the sun couldn''t shine through the surrounding massive trees, even their branches were used for hanging lights. They burned not only blue mes, but purple and red ones as well. Even leaves reflected the light, creating a sort of pseudo-sky above us.


    Looking into the streets, I could see mainly kitsune with varying hair colours. There was a mix of other races as well, like dwarves, elves and other cross-animal species. The main thing though was that not a single human was in sight, which made sense. Thetter have been notorious for enving other races, and as a result a natural divide has been created.


    "Wee to Fyxe. Currently, we are in my 2nd office, which I use to get away from Cec- Ahem when I have city matters to attend to."


    My mother''s gaze turned cold quickly, and so my father changed his words quickly before he got a smack in the back of the head.


    "Good to see it hasn''t been burned down to the ground." Himeko walked up to the window to admire the city with a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.


    "Luckily, we don''t run the ce like a dictatorship like us, so as long as no one needed business with us, everything would run fine." My mother headed to the door, where there was a pull-out box seemingly full of letters.


    "However, we are about 2 years behind on business…" The more they looked around, the more piles of untended paperwork they found.


    "We have to start somewhere. If you don''t mind Cecilia, can you handle the matters here while I get the pce in order?"


    A part of me wanted to offer my help to my father, but I had no idea whether I could even be of assistance. Without any context of how the city runs, I feel like I''d be messing up more than helping.


    "That I can. Now let''s get that announcement over with. Not every issue can be dealt with through paperwork alone, and there will certainly be many waiting to speak with us." I could see the dread on both my mother and father''s faces.


    "Alright, everyone, brace yourselves!." My father leant down behind his desk before a loud click sound echoed through the room. Then the sound of gears spinning vibrated the entire building until suddenly the roof opened up. The flooring below us rose into the air, causing some of us to lose our bnce for a moment.


    My father pulled out some kind of magic crystal and tapped, which created a mic-tapping sound.


    "Testing. For anyone that cares, there is a very important announcement so if you could all gather please!" From every direction in Fyxe, my father''s voice boomed, instantly grabbing the attention of everyone in the city.


    "Have some professionalism!" This time my father didn''t avoid the smack in the back of the head. My mother came up behind him, giving him the backhand while snatching the magic stone that broadcasted his voice.


    "This is your queen speaking and we have urgent matters to address, so I kindly ask you all to pay attention." As my mother utilised her more formal approach, droves of people began to fill the streets, all looking up at the tform we were on.


    It had transformed into a much more proper stage with a podium and everything. Out in the distance I could even see some projections, which I assumed were this world''s version of broadcasting on a TV.


    *


    5 minutes had gone by and now every single street visible was filled with people eagerly awaiting the announcement. Seeing all these people, I suddenly felt my nerves kick in. I thought my social anxiety would have been long gone by now, but nope, it is very much still there.


    "I hope everything will be okay." I looked at Elysia and ra, who were also looking nervous. Now that they see the kind of audience they are getting, their confidence seems to be slipping through their fingers.


    "Maybe it''s best I don''t show myself." After my father''s warning, I don''t me Elysia for being worried about what people might think. I doubt my father will make any note of it, but rumours can easily spread.


    "Can demons even be royalty in the fox realm? Feels kind of wrong with so many kitsune here." ra was worried about the clear disparity between the different races as well as whether people would judge her by her race, since it seems unlikely for mixed marriages to bemon here. Although, she didn''t know of any real reason it wouldn''t be allowed, especially since my parents approve of the rtionship.


    "What''s with the long faces? There is nothing to be worried about. Just let us do the talking and everything will be okay." My father wrapped his arms around me, Elysia and ra, pulling all of us in close. It felt reassuring, but I don''t know if it was a good idea to be letting my father do all the talking.


    "Alright everyone, there are a few things that we need to go through. We know that we have been gone for about 2 years. In fact, it was only just yesterday that we have been able to return. We will address any concerns that may have risen in the meanwhile, but for now, let''s start with some exciting news." My mother finally kicked off the speech.


    "Some of you may know this already, but let us officially introduce the royal heir to the Shiroi family. Our beautiful daughter Shaman, as well as her two future wives." The crowd was absolutely silent, which only added to my nerves, but hearing our names, we had no choice but to step forward.


    Approaching the end of the tform, the three of us finally revealed ourselves to the crowd. The response however, was way beyond anything I could have imagined.