Civilization Chronicles: Rise of the Divine Creator

"Well, it’s getting late," Celestina mused as she peeked out the window and saw the sky was now completely dark, "I suppose we should start preparing for the welcoming banquet."

"Ahem," a light cough abruptly came from the side, catching the Marquess’ attention.

"Something wrong, Lucas?" Celestina tilted her head curiously.

"Royal Ancestor Ariana seemed uncomfortable with large gatherings, so I had the staff prepare a smaller, more private dinner for tonight," the young boy replied.

""Oh?"" Both Celestina and Ariana raised their brows, curious just when Lucas had made such arrangements.

Still, neither of them was very fond of overly formal banquets, so no objections were raised, the former queen even praising, "You really did take a good Disciple, Little Tina."

Scratching her cheek somewhat awkwardly, Celestina requested, "Lady Ariana, could you please stop referring to me by that nickname, it will get confusing once my Third Disciple joins us."

"Third Disciple?" Ariana was taken aback, "You mean, you took more than one True Disciple?"

While others in the Kore Sovereignty might not pay much attention to current events in the South-Central Region, Ariana Rockwell made sure to keep abreast of what was happening in her homeland.

That was how she knew that a great disaster had struck the Rockwell Kingdom, and that Celestina had taken on a Disciple, but it now seemed the information she received through various second-hand sources wasn’t quite comprehensive.

Celestina was also somewhat surprised by the Royal Ancestor’s lack of awareness in this regard and immediately shot Lucas a questioning look.

Blushing visibly, the young boy averted his gaze.

Rolling her eyes, figuring her First Disciple had gotten caught up in whatever he was discussing with the former queen and neglected to mention his two Junior Sisters, Celestina explained, "I officially took 3 Disciples a few days ago on New Years Eve. Lucas, who you’ve already met, Eris Newton, one of my great granddaughters, and Christina Rockwell, Nathanial’s youngest daughter."

"I see," Ariana nodded in approval, "You’ve always been good at teaching and training others, Celestina, so I’m looking forward to how you raise your Disciples, especially if they’re all as outstanding as this little boy here."

Laughing lightly, Celestina waved her hand casually, "Each of them is quite unique, but they’re all good children at heart with strong wills and unyielding determination. They’re honestly more than I deserve."

"Doting on them already? That’s not a good sign," the former queen quipped, also having a light laugh.

"Ahem," Lucas, now feeling thoroughly embarrassed, coughed again to get the two women’s attention, "Would you like to freshen up before dinner, Master? Your Majesty?"

"Ah, good idea," Celestina’s eyes brightened slightly, turning to the former queen and grinning, feeling the urge to show off the most recent addition to her home, "Would you care to join me for a quick shower?"

"A shower? What’s that?" Lady Ariana tilted her head curiously.

Standing up enthusiastically, Celestina simply answered, "I think it’s best you experience it for yourself."

"Alright, then," the former queen nodded and also got to her feet.

Eagerly leading the way, Celestina turned to Lucas briefly and ordered, "See to the preparations. We’ll join you in the main dining hall in an hour."

"Yes, Master," Lucas saluted, glad that he could finally escape to a slightly less intimidating environment.

He might have projected an air of calm and composure, but it truly wasn’t easy for him to sit and chat with a Mid-Rank Spirit Elite he only just met, even if she was technically Christina’s great great grandaunt.

.....

Using the showers was a novel experience for Ariana.

Although much more luxurious bathing facilities existed in the Kore Sovereignty, all of those were either the result of Spirit Engineering, using expensive Spirit Arrays to heat and move water, or were a gift from nature, like open-air hot springs or mountain waterfalls.

The idea that, using purely mortal means, a similar effect could be created was eye-opening to the Rockwell Kingdom Royal Ancestor, as was the notion that this facility was designed and built by Celestina’s genius First Disciple.

Ariana had naturally noticed the anomaly with Lucas’ condition, but he was not the first person she had encountered who had prematurely opened their Soul Sea. She had met several others over the course of her life who had managed to achieve this, and while none of them had been as young as Lucas, it wasn’t like he was totally unique, so she hadn’t thought too much of it.

Now, however, it seemed there was more to this young boy’s story than he had been letting on, which was really saying something as Lucas hadn’t exactly been hiding his intelligence or maturity very well.

That being said, it wasn’t like the Mid-Rank Spirit Elite was blown away by this new method of bathing. The design and the technology involved in making it work was interesting, no doubt, but Ariana could tell that trying to implement such a system on a large-scale would probably not be feasible or profitable.

After changing into some fresh clothes from her Peak-Rank Grade 2 Space Bag, a more advanced version of the Spirit Tool commonly used by Cultivators in the Rockwell Kingdom, capable of holding 10 times more while also reducing its contents weight by 90%, Ariana made her way to the dining hall.

Immediately upon arriving under the guidance of an assigned maid, the former queen noted that there were no heralds to announce the arrival of guests, no extraneous nobles trying to curry favour, and no wealthy opportunistic merchants looking to strike side-deals with her.

Clearly, Lucas had done his best to keep things casual, something Ariana greatly appreciated.

Of course, that didn’t mean there weren’t still a number of important people gathered here tonight, it just meant there were far fewer than one would expect for a Royal Ancestor’s welcome dinner.

Sweeping her eyes around, Ariana Rockwell saw several people she had met earlier in the day, like Vanessa Clark, Allina Crest, Samuel Balfour, and Gavin Faller.

She also saw that her subordinate and royal niece had returned.

Sonia Bennett and Natasha Summers were clearly still at odds, the two of them occasionally shooting each other unfriendly glares, but Ariana hadn’t really expected anything to have changed in the past 3 or 4 hours.

There were also several individuals who weren’t at the docks earlier today, only a select few of whom Ariana recognized; it had, after all, been nearly 100 years since she last visited the Rockwell Kingdom.

Without counting the former queen herself, there were 57 people in total present for tonight’s dinner, 39 from the Rockwell Kingdom’s side, 18 from the Vast Ocean Trading Company.

Most of those gathered in the hall were Spirit Realm Cultivators, while the few who were in the Mortal Realm were from the younger generation; Disciples or apprentices of the masters present.

Still, only 3 individuals were younger than 16, a single boy and two girls, so it was fairly obvious who Celestina’s new Disciples were.

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