Anthony was given a bill of clean health by the doctor who’d overseen his recovery. The woman had wanted him to stay another day, but with the situation being what it was, Anthony had forced the issue.
They made their way back to the Academy Island Embassy, where Anthony and the others immediately began packing. They stored everything they had brought into suitcases and prepared to head back to Academy Island. The only one who was not doing anything was Sasha. She stood in the living space with her arms akimbo.
“Can I, um, help with anything?” she asked.
Anthony could tell she wanted to do something. She felt restless. Unfortunately, there really wasn’t much for her to do.
“Why don’t you help Marianne do a last minute--”
“I’m good!” Marianne said quickly--too quickly. He’d never heard this girl speak like that before. He looked up from what he was doing to stare at Marianne, who turned her head.
“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked.
“No…?” Marianne said uncertainty.
But Sasha crossed her arms. “I think there is. Do you have something you want to tell me, Comrade Mary.”
Marianne shifted uneasily. “I-I really don’t have anything. Sorry.”
“I think you do.” Sasha narrowed her eyes. “Do you think I don’t know how to clean?”
Marianne’s eyes darted to and fro like she was searching for an escape route, but Sasha closed in quickly and stared her down. The vampire wilted under her friends glare.
“I think you try very hard,” Marianne said.
“But…” Sasha pressed.
“The last time you tried to clean up after yourself, you somehow exploded the toilet.”
“It was one time!” Sasha threw her hands into the air. “And that only happened because I got the cleaning agent mixed up with a reactive solvent! The bottles were unlabeled!”
“You also destroyed my vacuum,” Marianne said.
“The vacuum was weak! It could not stand up to my strength!”
“When you tried to clean the glass--”
“Okay! Okay! I get it! I’ll just… sit here and be good.”
Anthony raised an eyebrow as Sasha plopped herself onto the couch with a huff. This was the first time he’d seen the woman cowed. She had crossed her arms and her legs. Even her tail looked like it was crossing as it curled around her. Her sulking was cute, but he didn’t think saying that would go over well.
“You’re adorable when you pout. Did you know that?”
So of course he said it anyway.
“That is not the kind of compliment I want to hear,” Sasha grumbled. “You should say I am fierce.”
“Fiercely adorable,” Anthony countered. When Sasha just glared at him, he switched topics. “So… not very good at cleaning?”
Sasha harumphed. “I am a warrior, not a house cleaner. That is not to say I don’t think being able to take care of the home is not a respectable talent.” She looked at Marianne, who simply smiled kindly at her, then back at him. “But I have never had to clean my own homes ever. I always had someone else doing them.”
“But you tried with Marianne?” he asked.
Sasha shrugged. “I wanted to be helpful to my friend.”
“And I appreciate the sentiment… but please let me do all the cleaning,” Marianne said.
Sasha merely agreed silently, and Anthony went back to packing. They didn’t have a lot. Secilia had the most stuff to pack, but that was because she carried an entire armories worth of technical equipment… which she never used. He was tempted to get on her case about that.
Before his thoughts could proceed further, his IDBand notified him of a call. It was Naomi. He put it on.
“Anthony, there’s been a change of plans,” the woman did not even give him a chance to greet her as she began speaking. “A summit of the United Earth’s Nation Order. You are being… asked… to attend.”
The way she said “asked” made it clear that he had no choice in the matter, but if a meeting was being held, then he would of course attend.
The United Earth’s Nation Order was also known as UENO. They had been created after the last major war and were the ones who first signed the Demonic Covenant. The entire goal of UENO was the preservation of peace and the prevention of strife. Some nations did not like them because they involved themselves in many affairs around the world, and a lot of those nations felt like their autonomy was under threat. Most of those nations were also terrorist hotbeds, however.
“Where is the meeting taking place?” asked Anthony.
“In Angrat Bat Mahlat’s nation.”
“So we’re going to Babylon,” Anthony muttered.
“Did you just say we’re going to Babylon?” Secilia walked out of a room with several large suitcases in hand.
“That’s right.”
Her eyes lit up. “I’ve heard so much about that! It may not have the same technological advancements in medicine and magic that Academy Island does, but it’s still considered one of the greatest technological wonders of the world.”
“It is very… flashy,” Anthony said with a grimace.
The Kingdom of New Babylon, or just New Babylon for short, had become well-known after the war. Angrat Bat Mahlat had begun a massive recruiting campaign. “Every great accomplishment begins with desire,” had been her national slogan and how she drew so many people to her. Scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, artists… anyone with ambition was welcomed. In exchange for their becoming a citizen of her nation, she offered them funding, resources, and complete freedom.
However, it was that very level of freedom she offered that made New Babylon so dangerous.
“Unlike Academy Island, with its strict regulations, New Babylon has no regulations. The city might seem extravagant and beautiful on the outside, but it’s a den of monsters. The people who live there are more than willing to perform heinous war crimes if it gets them results,” Anthony said.
Sasha raised an eyebrow. “It sounds like you don’t approve of how they do things.”
He shrugged. “I don’t. Freedom without responsibility creates monsters. If we don’t hold people accountable when they do something horrible because they get results, it sets the precedence that anything is permissible, no matter how evil, so long as you achieve your goals.”
Lilith and Angrat Bat Mahlat had argued over this many times and never once reached a solid agreement. Anthony’s thoughts were more in-line with Lilith’s. He was not looking forward to traveling to New Babylon.
***
Since they were all going to the same place, it was decided that Ivan and Elizabeth would join them in their journey to New Babylon, which meant the two nation leaders boarded the Aetherwing. It was fortunate the plane was big enough to accommodate all of them. The only real issue was the matter of privacy. This vehicle had been built specifically for Anthony’s use with his harem. Adding two who were not part of his harem to the mix made things awkward for all involved.
The biggest issue for Anthony was the lack of sex. He was an incubus, but he wasn’t shameless. He didn’t feel comfortable having sex when there were three people who were not in his harem present.
Technically, Sasha wasn’t part of his harem yet since they hadn’t bonded, but he had beaten her and the agreement was that she would join if he defeated her and her father in combat.
In either event, the trip to New Babylon felt stifling, and Anthony was definitely experiencing some sexual frustration.
“Bro, you need to take a chillpill,” Secilia teased. “You’re tenser than a metal rod.”
“I can’t chill, and I’m not your bro,” Anthony glared at her from where he sat. “Why would you even call me that?”
“Bro, I’m just worried, bro. You are so tense, bro. You need to relax, bro. Want me to help, bro?”
“I am going to get back at you for being so annoying,” Anthony grumbled under his breath, but then he sighed when a pair of soft hands landed on his shoulders and started messaging his neck. Whoever was behind him had begun working out the tense knots that had formed around the sides of his neck. Their hands were soft but firm, and they pressed down on each individual knot, slowly massaging it until the tension completely faded.
“Trinity?” he asked.
“You could tell it was me?” asked Trinity.
“Mmm. Through the bond.”
“That’s cheating,” sighed Trinity. She frowned. “You really are stressed. Are you that opposed to going to New Babylon.”
“I just do not like Angrat Bat Mahlat that much,” he confessed.
“I would have never guessed from how courteous you were during the gala," Brianna said.
They had met Angrat Bat Mahlat at the gala during the peace conference on Academy Island. Anthony could only shrug.
“Of course, I'd be polite during a political function. Namma also knows how to be polite when the situation calls for it. However, our personal philosophies on ambition are so completely at odds that with each other that we can never see eye-to-eye.”
“You’ve argued with her before?” asked Svetlanna.
She was sitting on a couch with Ivan. The couch was quite massive, but even it had trouble containing the two of them. Ivan took up most of the space with his bulky frame. The couch looked like it might fold in two.
“Not me personally, but Lilith has argued with her many times,” Anthony said. “And I agree with Lilith’s point of view. Hopefully, she won’t say anything about our differing ideologies, but if she does…”
“You should just ignore her,” Sasha said, arms crossed.
He moaned as Trinity found one particular knot along his scalene muscles. They were responsible for stabilizing the neck. The moment she pushed down, he felt an intense pressure and even a short burst of pain. She dug deeper and he grunted. However, the tension slowly began to ease, and after another minute, she was rubbing the area with a tenderness that made him want to melt. Her ministrations were almost enough to make him forget to answer Sasha.
“If only things were that simple. Angrat Bat Mahlat has a way of getting under your skin. You’ll understand if we have a chance to speak with her more, though I hope for all our sakes that we don’t,” Anthony said the last bit under his breath.
He really wasn’t looking forward to meeting her again.
***
The Kingdom of New Babylon was a nation composed of a single city that spanned the entire country. All 438,000 square kilometers of it was towering skyscrapers, golden spires, and hanging gardens. New Babylon was a kingdom of extravagance.
Everyone except for Anthony, Svetlanna, and Ivan were by the windows, looking out at the city in awe. He didn’t blame them. New Babylon was aesthetically pleasing in ways no other nation was. As they lowered into the city, even more of it came into view. They flew by several holographic waterfalls and floating platforms with everything from paid advertisements to live streams from famous influencers. Even further down below was a hub of activity. Flying vehicles of all kinds from hoverboards and motorcycles to limos flew through the airspace.
“This is your favorite AI speaking,” Alice Synthesis’ voice said. “We are coming up on the private landing strip. You don’t need to buckle your seatbelt since the pilots are quite good at landing so smoothly you won’t even notice. However, I do suggest you at least sit back down.”
“Did you get more sarcastic?” asked Anthony with a frown.
“It’s just your imagination,” Alice said plainly.
Anthony glared at Secilia, who chuckled.
“I didn’t change any of her programming. I just helped teach her some things,” she said.
He sighed but didn’t say anything. A sarcastic AI was not a serious enough issue for him to bother with.