My Kingdom Building Done Right!

When the obsidian crystal fully activated, a smile inevitably appeared on the faces of Yuni and Aria, charmed by the adorable little girl who appeared in front of them.

"Brotheeeeeeeeeeer!"

Leone’s five-year-old sister, Elizabeth, immediately called out as soon as the connection was established.

"Hello, Elizabeth," Leone said in a gentle tone. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Brother!" Elizabeth replied. "I missed you very much!"

The little girl looked like she was about to cry at any moment but was adorably holding it in. The last time, she hadn’t been able to stop crying after seeing Leone, who had played with her a lot when they were still together.

"It’s good to see that you are well, Leone." Leone’s mother, Helen, appeared behind her daughter and greeted her son. "I see you’re not alone this time around."

A faint smile appeared on her face when she saw the people around Leone. Her gaze lingered on the two young ladies, and the smile on her face widened by a tiny bit.

"Mother, let me introduce them to you," Leone stated. "These two are my vassals, Ulric and Kael. They are both very capable individuals and have helped me greatly during my stay here in the Borderlands."

"Thank you for taking care of my son," Helen greeted Ulric and Kael. "I am truly grateful that he has both of you to keep him safe."

"It is an honor to meet you, My Lady," Ulric replied. "Although it is a bit shameful of me to say this, the one who does the protecting is not us, but actually Leone. Without him, we wouldn’t be here right now."

"What Ulric said is true, Lady Helen," Kael stated. "Not only is our Great Chieftain handsome, dependable, kind, wise, generous, magnanimous, courageous, compassionate, and unbelievably talented, but he is also the greatest leader the Borderlands has ever seen.

"Every decision he makes leaves us in awe, and every plan he devises succeeds beyond our expectations. He is a beacon of hope to everyone under his banner."

Leone felt a little embarrassed when he heard Kael’s long praise, not expecting his vassal to remain a bootlicker in front of his mother. Yet, just as he thought that the sly fox had finally finished what he had to say, Kael continued as if he simply allowed Lady Helen to digest his words for a bit.

"His wisdom shines brighter than the morning sun. His courage rivals that of ancient heroes. His generosity knows no bounds. His charisma has united tribes that had been enemies for generations," Kael added. "He has fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless, healed the wounded, inspired the hopeless, and accomplished feats most people would deem impossible."

"To be honest, if I were to list all of his virtues, we would still be standing here by tomorrow. Words are simply insufficient to describe the greatness of our esteemed Great Chieftain, Leone Frontera. Future generations will undoubtedly compose songs and legends in his honor."

Leone covered his face with one hand, while Lady Helen couldn’t help but giggle in return.

"Oh my! Such an eloquent vassal you have, Leone!" Helen said with a sweet smile. "However, I do agree with him. Words are not enough to list all of your good points, my son. Kael, please continue to support my son from now on."

"It will be my honor, Lady Helen." Kael bowed respectfully.

Leone’s mother then glanced at the two ladies and asked Leone to introduce them as well.

"Mother, this is Yuni," Leone said. "She is Ulric’s daughter. The one beside her is Aria. She is Kael’s granddaughter."

Helen nodded. "Are they your girlfriends?"

"Um..." Leone hesitated. He would have said yes if it was only Yuni. However, since Aria was also there, he couldn’t help but hold back his words a little, just so he wouldn’t hurt the feelings of the timid and shy girl whom he treated as a little sister.

Perhaps his mother managed to pick up that small detail, so she decided to talk to the girls instead.

"I’m happy to meet you, Yuni and Aria." Helen looked at the two ladies in a positive light. "Can you introduce yourselves to me?"

"My name is Yuni, Lady Helen," Yuni replied in a calm tone. "It is an honor to meet you. I can finally see where Leone inherited his good looks from. He resembles you very much."

"Of course he resembles me." Helen nodded in satisfaction. "His father is a rough man, so Leone better be thankful that he was lucky enough to get the good genes from my side of the family."

Marco was about to greet Yuni and Aria, but he almost choked on his saliva after hearing his wife’s comment about him.

With his momentum gone, he wasn’t able to find the right time to interject in the discussion.

"I-I am Aria, My Lady," Aria said timidly. "Leone is someone I look up to because he cares about our tribe very much."

"...Is Leone treating you well?" Helen asked, her tone filled with genuine curiosity.

"He does." Aria nodded like a hen pecking rice. "Whenever he sees me, Leone always asks if I have eaten or if my grandfather is bullying me. He is a very kind and affectionate person. Sometimes, I feel like he is the older brother that I’ve never had."

Helen nodded in understanding. "I’m sure he dotes on you a lot. You see, my son has a weak spot for timid and shy girls. He treats them like his little sister. You wouldn’t believe how many ladies have fallen in love with him because of his character."

"I’m sure you’re right, Lady Helen." Aria agreed. "Leone is a very kind person. Even the kids love him."

The three ladies continued to chat for a bit more, ignoring the men in their surroundings. Because of this, Leone’s mother also began to tell them her son’s preference for girls.

"You know, when I asked my son what he is looking for in a lover, he said that he likes strong, bold, and brave women," Helen said with a smile.

"Well, I can understand why he thinks that way. I don’t want to say this, but my son is incredibly weak. He would need really strong women to protect him, or else, he would probably get beaten up by a squirrel or something.

Yuni and Aria giggled at the same time, while Leone covered his face with both hands.

He strongly wanted to protest that this wasn’t the case. Yet, when he first learned about his Status Page, he found out that he was indeed weaker than Blitz when they first met.

"Still, although Leone is incredibly weak, he is still incredibly reckless and daring," Helen added. "If anyone important to him is in danger, he would not hesitate to throw himself in harm’s way in order to save them. That’s why I also hope that he gets married to strong women, so they would be the ones to protect him instead."

Hassan, Ulric, Kael, and Daedalus all nodded in agreement. During the battle against the Orcs, Leone had chosen to put himself in a state of self-hypnosis in order to save everyone.

It was a very dangerous move that could have pushed him to the point of no return. And yet, he still didn’t hesitate to do it.

If Leone didn’t make this choice back then, Brann and Boris might have already died after sacrificing themselves to buy Leone enough time to escape.

"Mother, sorry to interrupt, but there is an important matter that I must tell you right now," Leone interjected before his mother could continue talking about his embarrassing past. "A monster stampede is on its way to the Borderlands. According to our estimates, it will arrive here at Grimjaw Mountain in two days."

The smile on Helen’s face disappeared at those words, replaced by a solemn expression. A monster stampede wasn’t a joking matter, so she took her son’s warning seriously.

"Are you sure about that, Leone?" Marco asked.

"Yes," Leone replied. "The previous monster stampedes had headed toward the Kingdom of Britannia. But this time, I have a feeling that it will sweep across the Borderlands instead. We are currently making our preparations to defend against this calamity."

"Leone, have you found a place to hide during the monster stampede?" Helen asked. "I know you have a fortress, but even a fortress could not easily hold up against tens of thousands of monsters."

"Don’t worry, Mother, Father," Leone replied. "We have a place where we can safely hide if we are truly unable to defend against it. So, do not worry about me."

"Are you telling us the truth?" Marco asked. "Or are you just telling us something that we want to hear?"

"Leone, please be honest," Helen stated. Her gaze was locked onto Hassan, who should know if her son was lying or not.

"It’s true, My Lady," Hassan replied on Leone’s behalf. "The Young Master has made sure that we will have an escape route just in case the worst case scenario happens. However, I believe that with his wisdom and the bravery of the Aslan Tribe, they will be able to overcome this tragedy.

"The Young Master has also allied himself with the Ravage Tribe, which boasts a thousand strong warriors. He has also made a pact of brotherhood with their chieftain, so they will never betray him.

"And last but not least, there are other tribes who will face this calamity alongside them. Right now, their combined armies are over twenty-thousand strong. I believe they have what it takes to emerge victorious."

Helen and Marco didn’t reply right away. Both of them trusted Hassan, so they were sure that he wasn’t just giving them some lip service.

"Understood." Helen sighed. "Are there other things that I need to know?"

"Yes, Mistress." Hassan smiled wryly. "Actually, I told the Young Master that I can summon helpers to protect him in the upcoming monster stampede. However, he refused because he believed that it would weaken the defenses of the Frontera Viscounty if I summoned 6, 7, and 8."

"Leone, you’re so silly." Helen sighed. "But that is also why I love you very much. Very well. How about this, then? Hassan, rather than summoning 6,7, and 8, how about you summon your three subordinates instead?"

Hassan blinked once, then twice before looking back at his Mistress in disbelief.

"M-Mistress, those three girls are troublemakers," Hassan replied. "Rather than helping out, they might make things worse if they come here."

"Well, they said they miss you so much that if they don’t see you soon, they will start breaking things here in the viscounty." Helen shook her head helplessly. "Come on. Just take them off my hands, will you?"

"F-Fine," Hassan said reluctantly. "I’ll summon them tomorrow. Please tell them to behave when they get here."

"Good." Helen smirked. "Although they are rowdy, having them there will put our viscounty at ease."

For some reason, Leone felt like he was about to have some problem children causing a ruckus on his home turf.

But since they were Hassan’s subordinates, they couldn’t be that bad, right?