This is an author’s note, not a chapter, so it isn’t locked. For those who don’t remember much about roman numerals from school (as I doubt it ever helped you in any way other than trying to puzzle out the copyright date of a movie) ‘D’ is the roman numeral for 500. The real Chapter 500 will post immediately following …

§ Big Brother Rod tried to barge into my bedroom soon after I woke, but Big Sister and a female royal knight kept him in the adjoining salon. They waited while several of Mother’s maids bathed and dressed me. The maids were all exchanging enigmatic glances and not saying much, but the entire time, I was hearing worrisome voices outside …

§ Fan Li remained bowed toward me, while I tried to sort out the situation. Finally, I asked, “I can’t ask to ‘go back to my body’, right? Based upon what you’ve said, I have not left it. This me is simply not me.” That’s a really hard concept to wrap your mind around. She remained bowed. “That is correct, …

Somehow, the previous chapter as initially posted omitted the final paragraph, which contained a huge cliffhanger. I’ve corrected it, but for those premium readers who missed it, the paragraph read “Satisfied that things were, at least for now, under control, I patted Shindzha through her blanket, stood, walked out of the cell… and promptly collapsed.” I copy and paste the …

§ The immobile form of Shindzha sprawled on the holding cell floor with neither heartbeat nor breath might have looked dead to the others, but with fairy sight, but I could clearly see her aura still active. Active, but fading. And while her yellow-green skin never looked healthy, it was taking on a gray pallor now. The others in the …

§ As I witnessed the cascade of Demonic mana pouring into the hapless Shindzha, I have to confess that my first reaction wasn’t to snap instantly into battle mode. No, to be quite honest, I had a moment of other thoughts. Ah. Things are moving at high speed again. I wish my rest could have been a bit longer. I …

§ In the end, I agreed to only monitor the operation from the Castle. In return, he agreed to have Colonel Morgas briefed on the ‘Oto Front’ properly. This isn’t to say I was okay with the plans he had made. I put my foot down about that. At my insistence, he would request additional help from Oberon, and Serera, …

§ Ceria and Chiara stuck close to me after lunch, so I wasn’t able to escape my doom. I had no choice but to return to my room for my appointment with the castle seamstress. I was not thinking about ditching anyway, but they were determined to make good and sure I went. Exclusive stores for nobility, essentially upscale shops …

§ Mireia and Melione missed lunch, due to once again touring the hospitals to treat battle casualties. Mireia had been doing so daily since she arrived in this city, and Melione had begun joining her on the first morning of my extended nap. But I learned from Ceria that today, eleven days after the demonic attack on Narses, would be …

§ Immediately following my last meeting, I stood up from my desk with the intention of finding Rod for an explanation of how, exactly, he planned to invade a mystical kingdom of Dorian legend. That’s as far as I got before Syl, the maid, responded to a quiet knock on the door by opening it slightly to receive a message …