The Viola family estate was impossibly large. One might think that this meant a few hundred acres, or maybe they owned a small forest to themselves, but even this wasn't thinking nearly large enough.
The estate of this family wasn't limited to such a small range. In fact, even a large city wasn't enough to cover it all. Instead, it was constructed by a network of ten large cities that encompassed an area equivalent to a small state—about 30 000 square kilometers.
Despite the impossibly large region for just a single estate, it was difficult to find even a single blade of grass that was out of place. And, this was despite the fact that much of the region between the ten cities were used as tempering grounds for the younger generation. One would think that it was nothing but an enormous and well kempt garden.
This estate was, of course, just private property. Only the members of the Viola family and their vassals were allowed to step foot in the region. The only exception was when the family hosted some competitions in their tempering regions, but even then, it would mostly be youths from comparatively powerful families participating.
Rarely, the Viola family would hold such competitions to find new Vassals like Aina's father. But, this had many hoops to jump through to even be considered, the least of which were exorbitant fees, not to mention many rounds of screening.
It could be said that not only were Vassals extremely rare in comparison to the number of the Viola family members, each one was a talent that could even match up to the Heirs of the family, not that they would ever have a chance at succession.
As the only daughter of a Viola family Vassal, Aina had certain privileges as well. Due to the rarity of Vassals and given the size of the estate, it wasn't surprising that the father-daughter pair would have a large mansion and room all to their own. In fact, their living abode could be considered to be an estate as well—just that it was more normal in size.
The accommodations left by the Viola family for their subordinates were quite excellent. Most Vassals who managed to succeed would move their entire families over to subordinate themselves to the Viola family, so Miel had enough room to accommodate thousands of people… But, there was usually no one but himself.
Now, though, he had gained three young women in his daughter, his adoptive daughter, and their friend.
It didn't take the girls very long to settle into their new lives.
They had endless space to train. All the sparring partners they could ever want or need at their finger tips. Their meals were handled by elite Force Pill Crafters far beyond Aina in skill. The precious resources that made up their meals were so rare and nutrient rich that single bites for Fourth Dimensional existences like themselves made them feel as though they wouldn't have to train another day in their lives in order to reach the top of the universe.
Of course, this was all nothing but an illusion. Very soon, as the impurities of their bodies were flushed out and they became accustomed to such treatment, their rapid progress would slow… That is if they didn't know how to take advantage.
But, were they like this?
Let alone resting on her laurels, Aina seemed to become a madwoman. She ate more meals in a given day than words she might speak in the same time frame.
She blazed through the elite sparring partners of the Viola family as though they were canon fodder, ate enough food for ten grown men in the Fifth Dimension, and honed her skill to a mind numbing degree.
Everyone knew that the Vassal title wasn't hereditary… There might be less hoops to jump through for someone with a connection to a Vassal, but there would be hoops nonetheless.
However, with the way Aina was going, it might not be long before she gained such a right herself.
It was just unfortunate for the Viola family that something that would start off so innocent, would ultimately end in their prestige built over tens of thousands of years being plundered and their estate being razed to the ground.
**
In a familiar land several Folds of Reality away, a young man who was just as familiar pinched down on one of his nostrils with a thumb before blowing hard.
A jet of blood sprayed out along with not nearly enough snot. However you looked at it, this young man's nose was a mangled mess. And yet, it didn't do much to detract from his handsome features.
This young man was none other than Elthor, the Oryx Prince Leonel had sent to handle affairs on Planet Valiant. But, clearly, he wasn't having as good a time as one might hope he would. In fact, he was having a hard time not pulling out his blade to deal with every situation.
Of course, as an Oryx, this was the preferred method. But, the issue was that he wasn't strong enough to simply rule with an iron fist just yet.
One might think that that the Oryx might be like beasts, just submitting to those with the greatest bloodline—or in their case, the strongest pheromones—but this was far from the case. They were a race that relied on their minds just as much as humans would.
Elthor's appearance had definitely been seen as a great sign by the members of the Oryx, but this didn't simultaneously mean that they would just hand over all the reins to him. There were simply too many questions.
Where was he from? What was his purpose? What right did he have to take command of all of them?
Leonel had definitely prepped Elthor to handle all of these questions far in advance after thoroughly studying Oryx culture. But, this didn't mean that the plan would be without its bumps and bruises…
It also didn't help that practically every Oryx female was in love with Elthor and there wasn't a single male Oryx who was a fan of this at all.