Divine Luck: SSS-Rank Battle Maid Harem

In the same dark room as before, a group of figures hidden in darkness sat around a table.

"By now, it's safe to assume that neither of those two youngsters is to be underestimated," one voice said.

"Have they proven themselves now?" Another asked.

"They did beat your Coalition, after all," a third voice said to a fourth person.

"That was…a little unexpected. I thought Kadricke would handle that," the fourth person, a woman, answered.

"Are you satisfied with their performance?" The third person asked.

"Eh." The woman answered with a shrug. It didn't matter much to her.

"What about all of you?" The third voice asked again.

"I don't want to continue bullying kids," the first voice said.

"I think they have proven themselves," the second voice said.

"Of course, you two don't mind. You guys aren't losing business to them," the fifth voice said before continuing,

"I say we get rid of them. They will only continue causing trouble. We don't need that in the current market."

"He's right. The future is already looking troubled. We don't need another source of turbulence," a sixth voice added.

Two votes against, two for, and two neutral. All six of them turned to the seventh person at the table. Last time, his voice had settled the meeting. This time, he hadn't said a word. They waited patiently for his opinion to decide this matter.

"A final test, then. If they pass it, they will be allowed into the capital. I disagree with your thoughts that we don't need another source of trouble. Have you seen their products? If this current turbulence leads to something, they will become an important piece in the future. But like this, everyone will be satisfied. All in agreement?"

One by one, the others expressed their agreement.

Now, they just had to decide what this test would be.

***

Derot took a quick nap to recover. After that, he finally looked up and at Zach.

"Yep. We're about halfway there," Derot answered Zach's earlier question about whether they were done yet.

"Oh…" Zach sighed in disappointment. He had hoped this ordeal would be over now that Kadricke was defeated.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Zach asked.

"Structure first, and then we'll see what they throw at us next."

"Got it. Any clues about that thing?"

"Sorry, I've been a bit busy."

"No problem. I'll just ask around myself then. Any ideas where I might find information?"

"Honestly? The Imperial Palace will probably have any kind of information you might be interested in. Don't know how easy to access it will be, but I would say it's your best bet."

"Got it. Speaking of which…What do you think about introducing our guild to the palace? Maybe establish a cooperative partnership or something."

"It's a good idea. But you're forgetting something."

"What?"

"The Imperial Palace is the physical body of the imperial family, you know, the ones who rule this Empire. They are at the top of the Empire, regardless of their capabilities or how many monsters each member can kill personally or whatever."

"..." Zach already understood where Derot was going with this, but Derot continued anyway.

"You're a member of the Evandiel Ducal family. You as an individual will be granted entry, maybe even an audience with someone very important depending on what you want to talk about. As a representative of our guild, which we have confidently declared is separate from your family, you will be lucky if they don't stab you."

"Really?"

"Okay, they probably won't use force, but they won't entertain any talks of trade deals, much less partnerships. Only the most reputable and renowned merchants, chefs, tailors, and the like receive such a privilege. If you use your family's name to try and talk about it, your bid for independence with this guild will be rendered moot. All our hard work will have been practically four nothing." With 'our' hard work, Derot naturally meant his hard work. Zach hadn't done that much, after all.

"...Got it." Zach could go to the Imperial Palace for personal matters but not business matters. He should also make sure to give Derot a vacation or a fat raise as soon as possible.

"Then, is there anything I should do now?" Zach asked.

"Nope," Derot answered as he closed his eyes and lay down on the couch again.

Zach looked at Nora. She went to fetch a pillow and a blanket. Derot was spending the night. He couldn't be bothered to go back, and he needed a sense of security after what he had gone through. Zach couldn't blame him, nor could he kick him out, especially when Derot was paying for it.

Zach was still taking the bed, though.

The next morning, Derot returned to the guild's headquarters to start structuring up the guild and the business after the firesale.

Zach took a shower, shaved, and dressed up. He needed to look like a proper noble if he wanted to visit the Imperial Palace. He wasn't sure about the procedures necessary, but he knew that much at least. He couldn't show up to the most prestigious place in the Empire looking like a bum or a sweaty maniac.

His familiars and Nora helped him look proper before arranging a carriage. Now that the Coalition was beaten, there was no need to think about keeping a low profile. Whoever would stand in their way next would be smart enough to realize that Zach wasn't just a useless guy taking it easy with his maids in his hotel room. Find more to read at empire

Zach was free to do what he wanted until Derot told him otherwise.

"Should I send a letter in advance?" He asked his servants.

Yanael, Alzara, and Soara blanked. They were not familiar with imperial etiquette.

"It should be fine. Let's just visit the Imperial Library for now. It's not like you need to schedule an audience or anything, Young Master."

"Sounds good."

A short carriage ride later that brought them through a fancy part of the city to one side of the capital with a lush forest and scenic mountain, Zach and his servants were in front of a palace almost as big as the mountain.