Tyranny Of Steel

While Berengar was spending nearly every waking hour of his weekend away getting reacquainted with the mature valkyrie, and her platinum haired daughter. Itami was hard at work. In the city of Kufstein, the albino beauty had been taking time out of her day to visit Little Kyoto and speak to its residents, while offering help wherever she could manage.

After a hard day of charitable service, Itami found herself back in the Kufstein palace, taking a much needed bath. She soaked her aching bones in the large pool of steaming water for nearly thirty minutes before finally climbing out. Where she proceeded to dress in the attire she had been given by her hosts before exiting the facility. 

It was only after Itami had exited the bath, did she feel the need for a stiff drink thus she managed to make her way to the Palace's bar, where several members of Berengar's family, as well as his staff had gathered to enjoy themselves after a hard day's work. 

Among the many women at the bar was one that Itami immediately recognized. The woman had long wavy brown hair and mint green eyes, along with a face so beautiful that Itami believed perhaps she had been sculpted from marble.

Honoria had just gotten back from her trip to Constantinople, and had decided to seek out her mommy at the bar, where Linde frequently spent her nights off from work. Unfortunately, with the war going on, the redheaded beauty's schedule was quite full, and as a result, Honoria was left to drink by her lonesome. 

Itami had not forgotten the scene she had witnessed in the bath where the two women had become quite intimate with one another, and thus blushed as she sat down next to the Byzantine Princess, who had a glum expression on her face. 

The Bartender noticed the arrival of the Japanese Empress and handed her a menu which contained a list of food and drinks she could order. Since this bar was exclusive to the Kaiser's palace, everything was paid for out of Berengar's own pocket, and thus many of those who were fortunate enough to spend their nights here in this place, could drink and eat to their heart's content. 

Itami saw the menu and felt her mouth watering. This place did not serve the fine german cuisine she often ate alongside Berengar's family, but rather your typical bar food. Buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, pizzas, chicken tenders, you name it. Something she had been severely craving after being reincarnated into this medieval world. 

Upon seeing such a large list of food, Itami did not even know what to order. It was only after Honoria saw the woman struggling with her options did she give her advice.

"If I were you, I would order some hot wings and mozzarella sticks. Trust me, you won't regret it... If you're still not sure what you want, we can always split an order." 

Itami gazed over at the roman beauty and smiled before agreeing to her suggestion. 

"That sounds fine to me, what she said, and bring me a nice cold lager while you're at it!" 

The bartender wrote down Itami's order and began to pour two beers, one for Honoria, and one for Itami. After handing over the drinks, she entered the small Kitchen and began to prepare the food that had been ordered. 

Honoria glanced over at Itami and noticed the woman was quite anxious. Thus, she was quick to introduce herself with a bit of a snide remark. 

"Glad to see you have recovered..."

This remark caught Itami completely off guard, and thus she choked on her beer for a second before asking just what Honoria had meant by that.

"What do you mean by that?" 

A slight giggle escaped from Honoria's lips as she took a sip of her beer before explaining the taunt she had just now made.

"Well, I heard that Linde gave you a pretty hard smack after you yelled at Berengar. In case you haven't realized it yet, the entire palace is talking about it. I have been back in Kufstein for no more than two hours, and I already know the gist of what happened between the two of you. I hate to say it, but Linde let you off easy, considering how protective she is of the ones she loves." 

Itami's face immediately turned red after hearing this, causing her to cool herself down with another sip of her beer. After wiping the foam off her mouth, Itami said something that Honoria took personally. 

"Yeah... Well, I will get her back for that. That bitch has no idea who she is messing with..."

Contrary to what Itami was expecting, Honoria just laughed at the woman's response before saying something which completely shocked her. 

"No offense sweety, but I think you're the one who hasn't a got a clue about who you are messing with. I mean, before I retired, I was a privateer, licensed by the crown, to attack enemy shipping and explore the uncharted regions of this world.

I don't mean to brag, but I have fought against men twice my size on nearly every continent and every ocean that this world has to offer. Despite this, even I would not dare dream of getting back at Linde. They call her the spider queen for a reason..." 

Itami stared at Honoria in complete disbelief for several seconds. It was enough to get Honoria laughing once more. The look on the Japanese Empress' face was priceless, and Honoria was quick to comment on it. 

"If you don't believe me, just ask around. Everyone here will vouch for me, especially the navy officers. Though I was never an official part of Berengar's navy, I am a bit of an icon among sailors within the Reich. You would be surprised by how many posters of me are hanging in the bunks of every naval vessel."

Itami looked briefly over at the bartender, who was carrying two baskets of food in her hands, and without even saying anything the woman nodded her head in silence before handing off the buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks to the women who had ordered them.  An even greater look of disbelief appeared on Itami's face before she finally asked the question on her mind. 

"You were actually a pirate?"

Honoria giggled once more while she took another sip from her beer before responding with a playful smile on her face.

"I prefer the term privateer, but essentially, yes. I was pretty wild when I was younger. You see, I was born and raised exclusively within the Byzantine Palace. It was a cage I thought I would never be able to escape from. Eventually one day I managed just that and ran away from my home after being offered as a political marriage to the French Prince, who, erm... how do I say this politely? Enjoyed the company of other men.

Through the help of some friends I made along the way, I eventually managed to find myself in Kufstein, where Berengar and I hit it off pretty quickly. After getting to know one another, I promised to marry him under one condition. He must give me my freedom. He did this by signing a letter of mark and reprisal for me, as well as giving me a ship, and all the tools that I needed to sail the world's oceans.

It wasn't long before I put together a crew and we sailed across the Mediterranean, to the New world, and back past the southern tip of Africa. I even made my way to Australia towards the end of my career. After a decade of this adventurous lifestyle, I decided to hang up my guns so that I could focus on what really matters: my children, who I had been neglecting for years. 

Anyway, my point is that even after living such a life, there are two people in this world who I never want to get on the bad side of. One of them is obviously Berengar. I probably know better than most, just what he is capable of when he is thoroughly provoked... And the other is Linde. I swear those two are perfect for one another.

In another world where Berengar chose to live a monogamous lifestyle, I have no doubt that she would have been his only bride. Luckily for me, neither of them actually care about such a thing, and I was able to find myself in a loving relationship with both Berengar and Linde. 

You should know that with the snap of her fingers, Linde can condemn just about anybody on this planet to death, and has done so on more occasions than I can count. So I warn you for your own good, do not try to get even with Linde, it will only end badly for you."

After saying this, Honoria dipped a buffalo wing into the ranch dressing which the bartender had provided her, before taking a bite out of it. Itami stared in silence towards Honoria for some time. After hearing everything the pirate queen had to say, Itami suddenly realized that she was not the baddest bitch in this house. In fact, there appeared to be at least two women by Berengar's side who had a more frightening past than she did.

Thus, at that moment, Itami decided to never again get on Linde's bad side, for the consequences would be horrific. Once she came to this epiphany, the albino beauty began to share the two plates of food with Honoria, who was watching the latest fight on one of the tv screens, which was sitting in another corner of the room. 

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