Fate I

LXXXV

Having rested well for the night, the soldiers and generals had begun packing up their tent and by dawn, they were ready to depart and return back to the Empire. Since Lucy was still out cold, they had no other choice than to return back by horse and by walking. Kouen led the army with Kouha, Kougyoku right behind him and Hakuei and Hakuryuu bringing up the rear with Hakuei's household members following closely by. The Empire's flag waved proudly as they traveled through the mountains and narrow roads before finally arriving upon the first province situated near the border to which the Magistrate eagerly greeted them.

"It is an honor to receive Your Majesty the Emperor, Her Majesty the Imperial Noble Consort, and the revered Supreme Commander and Generals of the Kou Empire," the Magistrate bowed with the citizens of the Empire following suit as they knelt down and kowtowed before them.

"You guys have magic tools here, correct?" Kouen narrowed his eyes.

"Of course," the Magistrate bowed. "They're ready to be used anytime."

"Good," Kouen said. "We'll be immediately departing for the Capital once everything has been set. I expect you to take good care of my army until then, Magistrate," he narrowed his eyes as a chill swept through the air, sending shivers down their spines as their faces paled in fear.

"O-Of course," they bowed lower.

"And one more thing," Kouen said before letting Masaharu — his horse which had always accompanied him on the battlefield — trot on. "Announce this to all the people of the Empire and spread it far and wide. The Heavens have looked upon us in favor and have exacted divine punishment on the ones who dared to harm our Empire. The Supreme Commander, Ren Kouha, and his army persevered until the very end, allowing our Imperial Noble Consort, Lucy Heartfilia, to arrive in time and turn the tide of war, bringing our Empire to victory."

The people widened their eyes as they stared up at them. "T-Then the war is..."

"The war has ended," Kouen declared. "The five long years of warring have ended! Rejoice, my people, and boast the military might of the Empire for we have emerged victorious!"

The sun shone brilliantly down upon them as they each wore grins upon their faces and the people looked upon them in reverence, tears filling their eyes, as they placed their hands before them and bowed even lower. The war that had ravaged the borders for years on without end was finally over and no more did they need to send their sons and nephews out onto the frontiers with the resolve of never meeting them again.

"Blessings upon the Kou Empire," they said, tears running down their face. "May His Majesty's reign last for tens of thousands of years and may Her Majesty's reign last for thousands of years! Glory upon the Imperial family! Glory upon the Kou Empire!"

The rukh fluttered around in joy and as if to congratulate them and announce their victory, the sun shone brightly down as the skies above were a clear, bright blue. The spring breeze blew gently by, swaying the veil that covered Lucy which Kouen had placed upon her for it was common for a consort of the Emperor, especially one with such high-ranking as Lucy, to cover their faces for as a woman of the Emperor, they could only show themselves to him. Moreover, there was no way Kouen would allow her to be seen by the eyes of others. Holding her close to him, he gave a jolt of the rein and Masaharu whinnied before trotting on, Kouha and the others following closely behind him.

Arriving at the large military base in the center of the province, they immediately unloaded their equipment and the soldiers quickly organized it with some beginning to prepare the magic transfer circle to send it all back. With the development of technology — with much being due to the Heartfilia Conglomerate, Koumei, Yamraiha, and several other talented people — they were able to make it largely accessible to use for each country. What would've taken large amounts of magoi to cast, they condensed it all into one magic circle and though it was a rather complex and detailed magic circle, as long as one was able to set it up, they could easily use it until the magoi it stored ran out. The magic transfer circle was always running, gathering the magoi in the air into it and each time it was used, it would eat away at the magoi it had stored. Though there was a limit as to how much it could transfer and what could be transferred. Nevertheless, a large project was made and in each province, a large military base capable of housing two hundred thousand soldiers was built and in each base, a magic transfer circle was set up. Since they hardly visited the provinces, the magic transfer circle had a large amount of magoi stored up and so, multiple transfers were possible.