Transmigrated as a Ghost

"Okay, you've told us what you want us to do, but not the reason for why? Wars don't just start simply because two different nations exist. There has to be some sort of impetus." Lyra said.

She knew all too well about how a war could come about.

The breaking point for the civil war in her own country had been the execution of her parents.

"Yes, we didn't just start fighting each other for the fun of it." The empress said sardonically.

"I'm sure you've noticed during your trip down here that the Darklands is not the most peaceful place in the world. There are countless violent and dangerous monsters, and the environment itself can be immensely hostile. Good areas to set up the foundations for civilization are few and far between. And the best are hotly contested."

"That makes sense. So, what you're saying is that these Umbrashnuls want the chamber where your city is." Marcus said, believing that he understood the reason.

"Ah, I can see how my words would lead you to that conclusion, but no. That is not what started this war. Our nations aren't that close to each other. Umbrashnuls reproduce very rarely, and their numbers are fairly limited. There's only a couple hundred thousand of them in total. And unlike my city, they don't welcome people of other races. They don't have the forces to control this chamber and their current territory even if they somehow managed to kick us out."

After hearing this, both Marcus and Lyra tilted their heads and had the same baffled expression on their faces.

They had thought that this was going to be some simple territorial dispute, but apparently that was not correct.

"Haha. You two really are in sync. From the information that Relia gathered, I know that you two are from Earth and knew each other there. You both must have been quite close." The Draayer Empress said, her lips turned up in a teasing smile.

"Yeah, we we're neighbors. But that's hardly relevant and I don't see why you would care?" Lyra replied.

"Well, that's simple. I have some connection to Earth myself."

This caused everyone present, even Relia, to perk up with interest.

'So, she hasn't even told one of her closest retainers about this.' Marcus surmised.

"Does that mean you're also a reincarnation like I am?" Lyra asked.

Considering that the Draayer Empress was a vampire progenitor, it seemed unlikely she was a transmigration.

They usually arrived with new bodies that were exact replicas of their old ones. Meaning that they would almost always be humans.

Marcus was an exception only because the Administrator decided to pull a prank on him and make him a ghost when he asked for a power that would make him untouchable.

"No, I was born and raised on Mirrion. But both of my parents were from Earth. My father was a reincarnation, and my mother was a transmigration."

Naturally, learning this information came as a shock to present, save for Roxene. Again, she really did not care.

The one that was the most gobsmacked though was undoubtably Relia.

She had just learned secret information about the master she had served for over a hundred years. Details that were perhaps unknown even to the empress' closest retainers.

"This is all very interesting, but it has nothing to do with why we're here. You've gone off topic again." Quillon pointed out.

Relia fixed him with a glare for disrespecting her master and trying to change the topic of conversation. She desperately wanted to hear more about her master's past. Beyond the around three hundred years of Draayer empire history, the was nothing else known about the empress.

At least not to any of the people that were her subordinates and subjects.

"I suppose that I did steer the conversation to something unrelated to my main objective. However, I'd say around a third of the reason I wanted to meet Marcus and Lyra is because of their origins. Both of my parents transferred some of their memories to me, so I do have some attachment to the place despite never having been there myself."

She looked eager to keep talking with Marcus and Lyra about her parents' home world, but she collected herself and got back to business.

There would hopefully be time for more frivolous discussion later. She rarely had a chance to speak with those that would treat her as an equal.

Obviously, none of the vampires she had given her blood to would be able to see her as anything other than their sire.

It was instinctual for them to put her above themselves.

As for her subjects that were not vampires, she was still their empress. The one who ruled them and stood at the top of the entire nation.

The difference in status was simply not something that could be overcome easily.

"Back to what caused this war then." The empress said with a shrug.

"It all started years ago when one of my empire's resource search parties dug into a previously sealed chamber. The place only had low light akin to twilight on the surface from a few weak light producing crystals. Making it a suitable environment for vampires.

"More importantly though, there were many natural treasures growing in abundance due to a large lake in the center filled with water enriched with mana. We found unique darkness and shadow aligned beasts that have not been found to live anywhere else inhabiting the chamber as well. Some of them were identified as having suitable characteristics for becoming beast companions, while others had useful parts that could be harvested."

On top of all of that, the Draayer Empress explained that there were a few veins of mithril ore that had already been saturated with the darkness element and there was a single deposit of adamantine ore as well.

The chamber was basically one big treasure trove, and the vampires that had found it thought that they had hit the jackpot.

"Regrettably, before the party that located the chamber could return with their findings and have the place secured, an Umbrashnul excavation team located it as well. Apparently, they had found one of the mithril veins and been mining it from the other side until they reached the chamber. And dispute over the area has been the cause of conflict between us for over seven years now."