Queen Bethsha looked Gina over like she was trying to figure out whether or not she was a good fit for her son, and after a few seconds, she finally reached over and pinched Gina’s cheek softly.
"You have quite a temper on you, young lady, but make sure you don’t direct it towards the wrong person next time. Many of my sister-wives are not so kind toward those who disrespect them. Especially Fiona. Make sure you do everything to get on Fiona’s good side. Haha. But I am far kinder, so all is forgiven. And I’d like to extend a proper thank you to you both for helping my son. I heard that you saved him even before you knew who he was, and that shows just how virtuous you are. I am very proud to call you family. Come, you have to stay for dinner. We’ll kill a thousand-year-old shark in celebration of your arrival."
"Yay, shark!"
Kai immediately exclaimed in excitement when he heard what they would be eating later, but Jason grimaced slightly. Queen Bethsha raised a brow when she saw Jason’s reaction, and she asked him what was wrong. In truth, Jason wanted to stay here more than anything and get to know his family better, but he knew that staying in this world would put them in trouble. Queen Bethsha still didn’t know what sort of situation Jason and Gina were in, so she might change her mind about them staying once she learns about it. Jason decided to just bite the bullet and tell them, and once Queen Bethsha saw the expression on his face, she realised that this was something serious, and she turned to the side and spoke to General Zod.
"Take all the guards away and block any visitors until I’m finished talking with my family."
General Zod bowed to Queen Bethsha before he turned and began to usher the rest of the guards away, and Queen Bethsha couldn’t help but notice how Jason watched General Zod with narrowed eyes. Bethsha patted Jason’s shoulder and told him that it was fine. General Zod was her most trusted soldier, so she knew he could handle clearing out the guards himself. Queen Bethsha waved Jason and Gina over to another room that was adjacent to the throne room, and they followed after her. There was a low circular table with various pillows arranged around it inside the room, and Queen Bethsha sat cross-legged on one of the pillows with Kai sitting beside her before she directed Gina and Jason to sit as well. Once they were all seated, Queen Bethsha asked Jason to explain what was wrong.
"What happened to you both, and why are you so far away from home?"
Jason almost chuckled when he heard her question, and he had to take in a breath and release a calm sigh to try to gather his thoughts properly before he finally began to talk.
"Well, it all began after an attack on Earth from one of our neighbouring worlds called Radagan..."
And that was how Jason began to narrate the entire situation to Queen Bethsha. Jason told her about the Sovereign and how he destroyed an entire city, and then he told her about how he had gone to Radagan to kill the Sovereign in retaliation. Queen Bethsha had a proud smile on her face when she learned that Jason was the sort of man to go and deal with problems himself, and she patted her son’s head while hoping that Kai would grow up to be just as ruthless as his half-brother.
But Bethsha’s brow furrowed when Jason told her about the Overlord and the penalty that was put on both Earth and Radagan for what happened.
"Ten billion gold coins? That’s absurd. And why would he do something like that when all you did was retaliate against an attack? If anything, Radagan should be the ones paying reparations to Earth."
Jason shook his head when he heard Queen Bethsha say this.
"No, even Radagan wasn’t at fault. My other partner is the current ruler of Radagan, and she was just as much of a victim as Earth was. If anyone is to blame, then it’s the Sovereign. The Overlord had no right to fine either of us."
Queen Bethsha frowned when she heard this, and she finally just sighed and motioned for Jason to continue. Jason then went on to tell her about the trial and all the problems that came with it, and finally, he told her about how he was branded as an Enigma and how he had to run away from that region of the Primordial Domain to avoid capture.
"So right now, I’m a fugitive on the run from the Machina. I appreciate your concern and your offer for us to stay, but I don’t know when or how the Machina will arrive, so there is every chance that I will drag you into an unnecessary battle if that happens. Your world is beautiful, and I could see the happiness and satisfaction on the faces of your people even when I was flying above them. I don’t want to destroy any part of this world with a pointless battle."
Queen Bethsha couldn’t help but smile when she heard what Jason had to say about her world. Any ruler would feel proud if they heard others praising their people like that, and Bethsha reached over and motioned for Jason to bring his head down. Jason blinked as he lowered his head, and he was surprised when Bethsha ruffled his hair playfully like she had done for her son many times. Bethsha smiled at Jason and thanked him for the compliment, and Jason chuckled softly as Gina tried to help him fix his hair again.
But then Queen Bethsha got serious as she spoke.
"I’ve heard everything you have to say, and I understand your troubles, but I still haven’t changed my mind about you staying the night. It is true that we might enter an altercation with the Machina if they find you here, but I can assure you that you’ll be safe within this castle. We have the highest level runes protecting this castle from any form of Dimensional Travel, and your magic signatures cannot be felt from outside, so you’ll be safe as long as you remain inside. And even if you were to be found out, then what of it? You are family, and family is more important than anything else. If it is for my family, I would gather all my men and go to war against the Machina this instant."
Jason couldn’t respond for a good long minute as he just sat and stared at Queen Bethsha in surprise. The absolute certainty and resolve that he could see on Queen Bethsha’s face showed him that she meant every single word that she had said, and Jason didn’t really know how to react to this. They literally just met for the first time ever today, and Queen Bethsha was already willing to go to war for him if she needed to. Were all of his other stepmothers like this as well? If that was the case, then Jason couldn’t help but feel an even greater respect for his father. His father had chosen some of the most amazing women to be his wives.
Jason put his hands on his lap and bowed his head to Bethsha before speaking respectfully.
"I can now see why your world is thriving so much. With a ruler like you, it’s obvious that any world would prosper. Thank you, mother."
Bethsha smiled proudly when she heard Jason’s words, and she couldn’t help herself from reaching over and ruffling Jason’s hair all over again!
"Oh, my son is so cute."