Chapter 3238 Royal Tantrum

Shadow remained silent for a long while, considering the Jade Queen's words. Nothing of what she had said made his unease lessen.

Pretty much the only Supremes left in the mortal realms who had not been dealt with by the Empire?

That wasn't entirely true... at the very least because Shadow had not even dwelled in a mortal realm for many centuries. The Oracle of Thetis had gone to all the trouble of sending an emissary into a Divine Realm instead — there might be few independent Supremes left in the mortal realms, but there were enough of them living in the embrace of the gods.

And yet, he was the only one whom she had deemed necessary to invite.

Even disregarding that, why did the Oracle need to gather Supremes who had no connection to the War God's empire?

None of it sounded good, let alone explained everything.

Looking at the Jade Queen, though, Shadow was not sure if she was the right person to ask all these questions.

After lingering for a moment, he asked:

"So where is this Oracle of Thetis? Why isn't she welcoming her guests herself?"

The Jade Queen scratched the tip of her nose awkwardly.

"Oh, that... well, she's just delegating! Delegating is the foundation of rulership, you know. Even if, technically, she has no right or status to order me around. I am the Jade Queen, after all! Actually, come to think of it... you are right. Why isn't she welcoming her guests personally?!"

Feeling uncomfortable under Shadow's scrutinizing gaze, she coughed.

"To be honest, I might have an idea. The thing is... although she sent out three invitations, she also sent a message to someone else. I am not sure what she wrote, but it seems that the recipient was quite displeased by the contents. The messenger never returned, and since the recipient is a Spirit, our dear Oracle received some backlash too. A piece of advice — don't go around pissing off Spirits, shadow. Or, if you do, make sure that they vent their anger on someone else."

She giggled.

“That is a form of delegation, too — the best kind! In any case, she has been recuperating for a few days here in my palace."

Shadow frowned faintly, then nodded.

‘The Oracle has sent a message to a Spirit, which seemed to have angered them greatly?'

Considering what they had been talking about before, it must have been one of the four remaining Sacred rulers of the Empire. Each of them was a powerhouse even among lesser deities... so, angering even just one was a supremely unwise decision.

But was the Oracle someone who would make such a mistake? Shadow doubted it. That meant that she had started a conflict with a Spirit on purpose.

‘Things are looking worse and worse.'

He sighed.

“Regardless of whether she is recuperating or not, I still need to see her. It would be strange to never meet the person who had sent a Corrupted Titan to... politely invite me to visit her, wouldn't it?"

The Jade Queen stared at him with a pleasant smile.

Then, she stared at him some more.

And finally, she said:

"Don't want to!"

Shadow blinked.

"Sorry?"

Her pleasant smile widened, becoming a little eerie.

"I said I don't want to! Let you two meet."

Shadow studied her for a moment, then grimaced, feeling an incoming headache.

"Why?"

The Jade Queen scoffed, then pouted.

"Because! I've waited for so long for that heartless woman to come visit. And now, she wants to play with her other friends? I don't like it!"

She gave Shadow a hostile glare, then smiled charmingly.

“Welcome to the Jade Court! There are countless things and pleasures for a person — or a shadow — to enjoy here. Take a nice bath; have a feast. I have plenty of beautiful attendants who can entertain you — musicians, dancers, thespians, artists, philosophers... or, if not, there are plenty of powerful warriors to engage in martial competition, as well! Test your mettle against storied swordsmen if that is more up your alley, wrestle mighty beasts and monsters. Whatever you wish — have at it! Then, in a week or two, come find me again. Then I'll take you to the Oracle!"

Shadow just stared at her incredulously, straining to understand what was happening.

Was the Jade Queen... jealous?

No, it couldn't be. And yet, it truly seemed like she wanted to monopolize the Oracle of Thetis all for herself.

Like a kid throwing a tantrum because their friend wanted to play with someone else.

‘Can she really be this childish?'

Was she actually crazy?

Shadow let out a frustrated sigh. He definitely did not want to wait weeks before meeting the Oracle... but what could he do if the Jade Queen was determined to keep them apart?

After hesitating for a few seconds, he carefully pulled a little doll out of his pocket and presented it to the ancient monarch of the Jade Palace.

“Here. This is Snuggle. You can play with her while I converse with the Oracle."

The Jade Queen regarded the doll for a few seconds, then gave Shadow an odd look. She tilted her head and frowned faintly. Then, she asked in an incredulous tone:

“Hey, shadow, are you... actually crazy?"

Shadow blinked.

The Jade Queen, meanwhile, scoffed.

“That's a child's doll. Why would I want to play with it? Also, that doll is ugly! Even if I wanted to play with dolls — which I definitely don't! — I wouldn't choose this one!"

Shadow frowned.

"It's actually not that ug... n—not that... Snuggle has her charm, alright?"

Then, his frown deepened.

“As for whether I am insane, that depends on your definition of insanity."

The Jade Queen gave him a dubious glance.

“Uh-huh. A better question is: why are you carrying around a doll, anyway? What's that about? Quite a strange thing to have in your pocket, don't you think?"

Shadow pursed his lips.

“She's a memento. Why do you have a creepy room full of toys, then? For an ancient monster, your toy collection is quite large!"

The Jade Queen's eyes widened.

“H—how do you know that?! No, I mean... it's not creepy! It's fun and lovely! Take that back!"

Shadow stared at her for a moment, then sighed again.

In the end, it did not take him a couple of weeks to gain an audience with the Oracle of Thetis.

It did take him almost an hour to convince the Jade Queen to let him meet her.

And when he did...

Soon enough, he regretted not taking the Jade Queen's offer to postpone the meeting.