Though there was waiting, everyone was chatting.
So the time slipped by without their noticing.
Suddenly the scenery all around changed.
All around were no longer the towering red walls,
but they were above the clouds.
Everyone knew it was the effect of holograms.
And at this moment, beneath the clouds all around, floating 'islands' appeared one after another,
tier upon tier from top to bottom, like a World Tree hung with ornaments.
How many floating islands there were in all, no one could count.
And at the very top there was only one island.
The people on the other islands all raised their heads to look at that highest island.
They all knew the man standing at the summit of the Owl Dragon Empire's power was there.
It was not only they who were watching this scene.
At this moment the people of every kingdom, race, star region and star system of the whole Owl Dragon Empire were watching it.
In a great many places it had now grown quiet and solemn.
Clack clack clack
It was the sound of boots striking the ground.
In the picture a figure appeared, with a mighty presence and an easy stride; beneath his deep gaze there seemed to lie hidden a great dragon.
The clothing he wore was somewhat special:
a dress uniform, one might say, but more like a military uniform,
and yet not the Owl Dragon Legion's regular uniform.
Some guessed it was likely a special dress uniform made expressly for the Emperor's attendance at this New Year's banquet.
For who, in regular dress clothes, would wear a pair of military boots?
Dressed so,
on the contrary, no one thought it out of place.
For this man had come up from the military himself: from the earliest Owl Dragon Fleet to the Owl Dragon Empire of now,
from a small Imperial lord to the founder of the Owl Dragon Empire that united the whole universe, and its supreme Emperor.
What he had relied on was battle after interstellar battle, walking up out of the fires of war.
Zhao Chen stood atop the highest steps of the square and swept his gaze around.
The feeling it gave, even through a hologram, even through a video picture,
made everyone within the Empire shudder from head to foot, as though His Majesty the Emperor were looking at them.
This was the majesty of an Emperor!
Close at Zhao Chen's sides came Charlotte and Lilith, each in her own formal dress, both looking dignified and gracious.
And each carried her own children.
Charlotte's elder daughter Zhao Baier and Zhao Hu were over a year old now; they could both stand on the ground by themselves, holding their mother's hands,
blinking their curious little eyes at the occasion before them, and at their mighty, handsome father before them.
Lilith's child, Zhao Liler, was not yet half a year old, and was still held in Lilith's arms.
It made Lilith seem all the more a loving mother, quite out of keeping with her standing as a succubus.
And with that, the Owl Dragon Empire's Zhao royal house could be counted formally all present.
It was also the first time Zhao Chen's three children had appeared before the people of the Owl Dragon Empire.
No few people looked these three golden children over closely,
with words of praise on their lips, and in their hearts thoughts of how to get closer to them; they marveled too at what great good luck the White Tiger tribe and the succubus race had had.
In the Owl Dragon Empire of the future, they were bound to have a firm foothold.
The White Tiger tribe, naturally, needed no telling; in the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom it already stood on an equal footing with the dragon-folk tribe.
The only thing it lacked was the dragon-folk tribe's depth of heritage.
But with the backing of Charlotte, the Emperor's wife, its surpassing the dragon-folk tribe was only a question of time.
Princess Blanche of the dragon-folk tribe had in truth tacitly accepted it,
and was drawing as close to the White Tiger tribe as she could within the Warhammer Interstellar Federal Kingdom.
As for the succubus clan, because of the succubus race's special nature, apart from the Succubus Kingdom of long ago, no united clan had ever appeared again.
And the race was few in number besides.
Even now, no clan had formed on any great scale.
But these succubi, because of their racial gifts, and under Lilith's arrangement, had nearly all joined the Owl Dragon Legion,
serving in civil posts such as secretary-officers and staff officers,
appearing in every post of the Owl Dragon Empire.
They formed a force not to be made light of!
At this point Zhao Chen spoke, and everyone's thoughts were drawn back.
"It is now the end of December, Owl Dragon Star Calendar Year Two. In three hours it will be Owl Dragon Star Calendar Year Three. In the past year a great many things have happened in our Empire, so that the New Year's banquet for the Empire's first year was never held. But no matter; that all of you can sit here shows our Empire has ridden out the wind and waves and seen the clouds part and the sun come out! Today I am glad. I have arranged this Imperial New Year's banquet specially, for all the people to rejoice together. I believe that in two years, five years, ten years, through all your efforts, our Owl Dragon Empire will be another sight entirely. By then no one will dare provoke our Owl Dragon Empire. Our Owl Dragon Empire will become the most prosperous, the most supreme interstellar civilization." Zhao Chen raised his hand high and called out, "Here, raise your glasses. To our Owl Dragon Empire: ten thousand years of prosperity!"
Everyone present, every guest in every banquet hall, everyone on the other planets
raised the five-colored glasses in their hands.
Almost as one they shouted:
"The Owl Dragon Empire: ten thousand years of prosperity!"
"The Owl Dragon Empire: ten thousand years of prosperity!"
"The Owl Dragon Empire: ten thousand years of prosperity!"
A roar like mountains calling and seas surging rose on every piece of the Owl Dragon Empire's land.
Whether by day or by night, whether in gale or in downpour, whether among mountains or on the ocean,
in this moment this one cry resounded.
After that, ceremonial music struck up everywhere.
In some star regions, the Owl Dragon interstellar fleets touring there aimed their secondary guns, loaded with salute rounds, at the starry sky, and fired together.
Countless brilliant light-effect fireworks burst in the sky,
drawing cry after cry from the residents of planets everywhere.
On his side, Zhao Chen finished his short speech and declared the banquet begun.
Everyone knew their Emperor had never been a man of many words; on every important occasion like this he said only a few words and was done.
Zhao Chen too came down from the high dais, leading his wives and children.
Naturally, they sat at the table of Zhao Ruyue and Zhao Waner.
The baby chairs made ready long before came into use now.
"Hee hee hee, little cuties. Let Auntie give you a proper kiss. There's one for everybody!" Zhao Waner looked at the three little ones and pounced on them at once, planting several kisses on each of the three little pink cheeks.
Zhao Baier and Zhao Hu, a little older, were only somewhat shy, and did nothing else.
Little Zhao Liler, though, used her little hands to scrub hard at the drool on her cheek, looking quite disgusted.
But that, if anything, drew Zhao Waner's notice all the more, and she took up a contest with this cute little one.
Zhao Ruyue looked at Charlotte and Lilith and said softly, "Charlotte, Lilith. You must both have it very hard now. Not only looking after the children, but helping His Majesty deal with the Empire's affairs too."
"It's nothing. Looking after children: I'm only looking after two, and my mother looked after a dozen or more." Charlotte shook her head, as though it were nothing.
She looked at her son and daughter, easy and careless. "Whatever you want to eat, grab it yourselves."
Charlotte, born of the White Tiger tribe, naturally raised her own children the way she herself had grown up.
Spoiling simply did not exist.
At just one year old she had even been able to eat raw meat.
Before six, she had been thrown out into the wild by her parents to learn the most primitive hunting.
At ten, she could fight powerful wild beasts.
Though this was the interstellar age now, among the beast-folk races such strength was still greatly worshiped.
Naturally Charlotte had kept up these habits too; not so extreme, but she still let her children go their own way a great deal.
At this point Zhao Hu had already reached out his hand, grabbed a chicken drumstick outright, and begun stuffing it into his mouth.
A child of a year and a half gnawing a chicken drumstick:
in human society it would likely have been a wonder.
Zhao Baier was somewhat quieter; she did not grab with her bare hands.
Instead she pressed something at the waist of her clothes, and two gloves appeared.
Zhao Baier slowly put the gloves on herself, then ran her gaze round the table, like a hunter seeking her prey.
Then she found a beef shank bone, almost as long as Zhao Baier was tall just then.
But once Zhao Baier had hold of it, she dragged it straight in front of herself.
Then with both hands she began to tear chunks of meat from it; there was something quite particular in the manner of it: a child of a year and a half tearing at beef, and yet with a kind of graceful beauty.
Jiang Hong, beside them, was stunned at the sight.
Was this still a child of a year and a half?
But when one thought of the White Tiger tribe's blood in her, it could still be accounted for.
By comparison, Lilith's daughter Zhao Liler seemed more like a human child; she lay there quietly.
Somehow, the more Jiang Hong looked at her, the more she liked this baby girl, and even wanted to go and give her a kiss like Zhao Waner.
But the reserved Jiang Hong held back the impulse.
"Waner, stop teasing the baby. Look at yourself; you're nothing like an aunt at all." Seeing her sister acting like a child herself, Zhao Ruyue could not help reminding her.
At this point Lilith said softly, "I'm sorry; that must be Liler being unable to control her racial ability yet."
Zhao Ruyue looked at Lilith in surprise.
"I've tested Liler's racial gifts; her racial gifts far exceed mine. So at this stage she can't control her succubus gift; anyone who comes near her can't help liking her. Waner has likely been affected by it."
"Huh? That can happen?" Zhao Waner could hardly believe it.
But very soon she said, not caring, "So I'm charmed; so what. I'm happy to be charmed by our little treasure, aren't I?"
Because Zhao Liler was covering her face and would not let Zhao Waner kiss it,
Zhao Waner simply kissed Zhao Liler's little feet instead.
"These three babies are lovely. Zhao lad. You promised me before you'd marry my Xuaner. We old Chus have good genes. My granddaughter has good wide hips too. She's bound to give you ten or eight." Who knew how Old Master Chu Changhe had popped up, but he put his arm straight round Zhao Chen's shoulders, breathing wine as he said it.
By the look of it, he had drunk no small amount.
Chu Xuan came darting over at once, red in the face, wishing she could find a crack in the floor and crawl into it.
The moment she took her eye off him, this old master of hers made a spectacle of her.
At once she pulled her grandfather off toward her own table,
apologizing over and over to Charlotte and Lilith as she went.
Charlotte and Lilith, for their part, did not blame Chu Xuan for this,
but looked at Zhao Chen teasingly; the meaning hidden in it was plain enough already.
"I'll go and look in on the other tables; they're all old friends. I ought to get around a bit." Zhao Chen's eyes darted, and he rose and left on the spot.
By rights, Zhao Chen was the Emperor,
and ought to sit there without moving.
But here they were all old acquaintances, and Zhao Chen paid it no mind.
He began to go round, table by table.
At each table that followed, the guests in the main rose to meet Zhao Chen the moment they saw him come over.
The family members seemed rather stiff; if anything, it was the Owl Dragon Empire's old acquaintances who did not treat Zhao Chen as an outsider.
This was their Emperor, and at the same time a comrade who had fought shoulder to shoulder with them!
Annie, who had been eating her fill, was truly eating with no holding back now.
At long last His Majesty had declared the banquet begun, and her father had not stopped her again.
Naturally she had begun to let herself go!
But before she had eaten much, her father rapped her on the head again.
That all but choked Annie on the beef in her mouth.
It was Sister Bull at the next table who saw it, came over and pressed a big hand straight on Annie's belly, so that the piece of beef shank flew out onto the floor,
and only then could Annie catch her breath.
"Dad, are you trying to kill me off so you can inherit my estate?"
Hearing his daughter say this, Chief Bajin, had he not seen His Majesty already at his side, would have wanted to string Annie up and give her a beating on the spot.
"Didn't you see His Majesty was here? Look at your total lack of manners." Chief Bajin finished scolding his daughter and looked at His Majesty the Emperor reverently. "Your Majesty, forgive our rudeness; you must think us ridiculous. When we get home I'll teach this girl a proper lesson. She knows nothing of manners at all. Who knows how many times she's talked back to Your Majesty!"
"No matter, no matter. Annie has a great many achievements at the Imperial Military Industry Research Academy; don't mind these little details." Zhao Chen's words let Annie breathe easier.
She quietly gave Zhao Chen a thumbs-up.
Had His Majesty not said so, once they got home her father really would have strung her up and whipped her.
"Ha ha ha, Your Majesty is too kind in your praise. It's all owing to Your Majesty's leadership," Chief Bajin said, but the corners of his mouth could not help lifting.
After a few drinks, Zhao Chen went on to the next table.
In the main he talked a little at every table.
When he came to the table of Chitong, Leona and the wolf-girl Baixue, it was already covered in wine bottles.
Blanche, Medusa and the others beside them all looked helpless.
"Your Majesty, you're here. Have a drink with us." The wolf-girl Baixue, seeing Zhao Chen come, pushed a wine bottle straight into Zhao Chen's hand, and took Zhao Chen by the hand, ready to chug the whole bottle together.
The wolf-girl Baiyue, beside her, all but turned to stone from head to foot.
Oh well: let the world end!