[National Rank: Second-Class Country (Half-step Medium Second-Class Country)]
[Leader's Gender: Female (Status of superiority not yet determined)]
[National System: Centralized Power, Nine-division System]
[Military Strength: Second-Class Country (Top-tier power within the early stage)]
[Economic Strength: Second-Class Country (Already reached the strength of a medium second-class country)]
[Population: Second-Class Country (Already reached the strength of a medium second-class country)]
[Territory Size: About 2.184 million square kilometers (Already at medium second-class country level)]
[Territory Location: Entirely located in the western region of the continent, with a wide area stretching directly from the central-southern part of the western region to the Northern Frontier]
[National Status: Thriving and prosperous, rapid growth, strong development momentum. Centralized power with stable governance below. National development speed is extremely fast]
Overall national power has entered the upper-middle level of the entire continent, domestic conditions are full of vitality, the people's morale is stable, with great potential and a promising future.
[Important Leaders and Personnel: Emperor of Plumera Kingdom, Elara, Commander Shu, Francis, Damon and other important ministers in the court]
[Important Powers: Plumera Royal Family, Valley of Divine Healers, noble families in the court, etc.]
[Affiliated Nations: None]
[Suzerain Nation: None]
[More Information: Yet to be discovered]
[Ding~ Congratulations, you have completed the task "Make Plumera Kingdom a Second-Class Country" and obtained "Basic Maritime Construction and Warship Building Technology"]
[Ding~ Congratulations, because you led the development of Plumera Kingdom much faster than the System expected, reaching second-class status several years ahead of schedule, the task was completed with extra time, which significantly improved the kingdom's fate. The fate value reward factor will now be doubled based on how early you completed it]
[Ding~ Congratulations, you have successfully changed Plumera Kingdom's fate path significantly ahead of time, and received 30,000 national fate points as a reward]
[Current Total National Fate Points: 55,588]
By now, it had been six full months since Elara returned from Dahlia Kingdom after attending Prince Yu's coronation.
It was also the fourth month of her second year in this world.
During these six months, besides focusing on the development of various industries in Plumera Kingdom, Elara had not neglected her own training.
Her Divine Spirit Mystic Arts had already reached the seventh level, stage three, during the Mirror Battle in Salvia Kingdom.
Over the past six months, under Uno's guidance, and with Elara occasionally using national fortune points to activate buffs like "accelerated learning" and "double learning," she had successfully broken through to the eighth level on the very last day of the sixth month.
Once the Divine Spirit Mystic Arts reached the seventh level, she could dominate this world.
Now, after reaching the eighth level, Elara's power had reached an almost untouchable level. Even among the top fighters across the continent, she would rank in the top ten.
That meant, in this entire world, only about ten people could possibly match her strength.
The feeling of reaching the eighth level of Divine Spirit Mystic Arts was quite incredible. Before, whenever she touched the vast energy inside Uno, she felt awe, like staring at a boundless ocean.
But now that she had reached the eighth level, she could clearly sense the edge of Uno's immense energy.
Her own energy seemed to have deepened to the point where it could nearly catch up with his.
Uno's body was different from hers. Elara had the Holy Spirit Blood Soul, and her body had been nourished with all sorts of sacred medicines by Oswyn. Her natural condition was far better than others.
Plus, the Divine Spirit Mystic Arts was specially recommended by the System based on her condition, so it was extremely suitable for her. That was why her cultivation speed was so fast.
Uno, as one of the Blood Puppets formed by her Holy Spirit Blood Soul, was also a martial arts genius. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become the top member of the Wei Clan.
But the Divine Spirit Mystic Arts wasn't made specifically for him. Although his deep contract with her allowed him to cultivate it, the higher the level, the more the mismatch began to slow him down.
Even though Uno had also broken through to the eighth level, he had spent much more time and energy than Elara.
And while his strength had increased after the breakthrough, the rate of improvement was still much slower than Elara's. That was why she could now touch the boundary of his internal energy.
In other words, Elara's martial strength and internal power had nearly caught up with Uno.
Soon, as she trained the Divine Spirit Mystic Arts to even higher levels, her power would surpass his and continue to pull further ahead.
At that point, she would be the one protecting Uno instead, at least in terms of martial power.
When Uno realized this, Elara saw, for the first time, a hint of relief on his face.
He was relieved that she now had a stronger ability to protect herself.
But soon after, Elara also faintly sensed a hidden feeling of disappointment and unease from Uno.
At the time, Elara was training her increasingly vast internal power after the breakthrough. One misstep in controlling her strength pushed Uno, who was training with her, onto a thick patch of grass.
She ended up completely on top of him, firmly pressing him to the ground, a full-on "ground pin."
Noticing Uno's emotion, Elara didn't rush to get up. She stayed on top of him and lowered her gaze to look at him. "What's wrong, Uno?"
She was very close to him. Her warm breath brushed his face softly, their bodies nearly touching.
Uno's usually cold face turned slightly red. Pinned down, he didn't dare move at all, but every muscle in his body tensed up slightly without him being able to control it.
After a long while, seeing that Elara had no intention of getting up unless he answered, Uno finally lowered his eyes. His breath was slightly shaky as he spoke in a low voice,
"Your Majesty... Uno... Am I useless now..."
Very soon, Her Majesty would surpass him even in the one thing he was best at, which was combat. From then on, he might even become a burden to her, a shadow guard who was no longer useful didn't deserve to stay by the master's side. This was the rule carved into his bones from the very first day he became a shadow guard.
But now, whenever he thought of that rule, a deep and uncontrollable pain would rise through him...
His only purpose was the master. If he left her, where else could he go. Without the master, what meaning would his existence still hold...
According to the rules, he wasn't even supposed to have these emotions and thoughts. But he couldn't control them...
A soft chuckle suddenly came from above him. Uno hid the pain in his eyes and looked up, only to meet Elara's beautiful eyes with a gentle smile.
"How could you be useless, Uno?" Looking at the repressed emotions on his face, Elara couldn't help leaning in a little closer. Her voice softened, "Just staying by my side is already something very important, and absolutely irreplaceable."
Seeing Uno's eyes widen slightly in surprise, his cold and expressionless face, always shut tight like a closed clam, finally cracked open a little, revealing deep and intense emotions hidden within.
Elara was briefly caught by the rare expression barely showing on his face, and images flashed through her mind of all the times Uno had silently stayed by her side since she arrived in this world.
Protecting her, shielding her, taking injuries for her, even risking his life without blinking an eye...
This man who always stayed quietly behind her seemed to be willing to go through anything just because of a single word from her...
Elara lowered her gaze and looked at Uno's handsome face, her eyes slightly darkening. Under his still slightly widened gaze, she slowly leaned down...
"Mmm... M-master? Mmm..."
Elara swallowed his moan, holding his body still so he couldn't move.
"This is the time to close your eyes and relax... Uno..."
According to the customs of this world, a Grand Divine Vein Ceremony is held at the end of each year together with the New Year celebration. Usually, every three to four months, a smaller ceremony is also held.
In the first year that Elara came here, the year-end ceremony and New Year banquet were rushed and perfunctory due to the country's overly busy internal development matters.
The old officials in the Ministry of Rites were either killed or replaced by her. The newly appointed top official of the Ministry, Esmira, was mainly responsible for related matters and also for diplomatic affairs.
Because no one reminded her, the year-end ceremony and New Year banquet of the previous year in Plumera Kingdom passed by quietly and unnoticed.
Until April this year, Plumera Kingdom's overall strength had finally stepped firmly into the level of a second-class country, even nearing the power of a medium second-class nation. Elara herself had already reached the eighth level of the Divine Spiritual Technique.
She finally had time to relax, setting aside two days to use this small ceremony as an opportunity to make up for the missed national banquet, giving most court officials a chance to rest and unwind.
However, before the grand national banquet, Elara planned to first enjoy a small palace feast.
To make the most of this small palace feast, she brought out iron pots, iron spatulas, and iron spoons specially forged by the Ministry of Works, along with various newly made porcelain serving utensils from the porcelain kilns.
The high-yield alien grains, chili peppers, black pepper, and other spices Kristof brought back from Belladonna last year had now been cultivated successfully by the Ministry of Agriculture and Labor. Elara ordered all available spices and cooking tools to be delivered to the imperial kitchen.
She then went to the Ministry of Commerce and called in Mr. Gong, asking him to bring all kinds of specialty ingredients and other spices that had been imported from abroad.
Once everything was ready, Elara changed her clothes, rolled up her sleeves, and walked into the imperial kitchen under the curious gazes of the palace servants and the men who had followed.
She began personally picking, chopping, peeling, roasting, and cooking!
"Ah! So you really do know how to cook, Elara! Let me help! I want to help you!"
After hearing that Elara was going to cook herself, Oswyn was the first to squeeze into the imperial kitchen. Seeing her already working with the ingredients and spices, he expressed amazement while pushing aside the other men.
He rolled up his sleeves and got close to Elara, ready to lend a hand.
Although Elara had sold many dishes at Lian Yi Tower and had also cooked personally at the Bai Family's Business, those occasions were always tied to business deals.
Other than Damon and Uno, most of the men had never seen her cook in person. So even though they knew many of the newly popular dishes in Plumera Kingdom were sold through Bai Family's Business and created by her, Oswyn and the others were seeing it firsthand for the first time.
Seeing him crowding over, Elara simply tossed him the Chinese cabbage and celtuce in her hands, "Wash them properly, just like how seriously you treat washing medicinal herbs."
Hearing that, Oswyn's expression turned serious. He rolled up his sleeves, took the vegetables she handed him, and went off to wash them, "Hmph, easy task."
Kristof arrived a bit later. Seeing what was going on in the kitchen, he also pushed past the other men at the door and strode in, rolling up his sleeves and coming to Elara's side.
"So lively, Your Majesty. Let me see if there's anything I can do."
Hearing the noise, Oswyn looked back and glanced sideways at Kristof, "Do something? You're always looking to butt in. Aren't there enough cases in the Ministry of Justice for you to meddle in all day?"