《Assassinated King》


 Assassinated King, Volume 1 is live on Amazon

    I''ve released Volume 1 to Amazon, so I had to take down the entire first volume. Sorry to any who were interested in reading this story!


    I''m going to keep releasing chapters for volume 2 and beyond for anyone who''s already invested in the story, even though there likely won''t be any new readers from here on.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Thanks to everyone who left comments and has been enjoying the series! I had a lot of fun reading them, and I''ll be putting my next series up on Royal Road when I write it.

 Volume 4, Chapter 1 and 2

    Chapter 1


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± A plump man gestures with one hand to emphasize his sincere tone. ¡°It¡¯s great that we won the war, but giving up such a large portion of our land will not be a popular decision. Please, reconsider this decision before word spreads amongst the populace.¡±


    Lucian sat back in his chair at the head of the table. ¡°You are the Minister of Production, Walther. Perhaps you should leave internal matters to the Minister of Domestic Affairs.¡±


    ¡°While it''s true it''s not my expertise, one doesn''t have to be an expert to understand how people will react to the news. And if it''s matters of production, the loss of farmland and mines will certainly have to be considered.¡±


    ¡°You and I both know that corner of the kingdom was sparsely populated. The impact on our production and finances will be negligible. In fact, the dark elves are far more suited to mining operations in such isolated areas. Perhaps soon, we will find ourselves with an abundance of natural materials that we''ve been letting sit ungathered.¡±


    Walther didn''t look convinced, but the man had been rebutted at every turn. Soon, he had nothing left to argue, letting Lucian move on without worrying about being interrupted again.


    ¡°Now then.¡± Lucian visibly changed gears, looking at the Minister of Domestic Affairs. ¡°Dimitri, prepare an official announcement on the transfer of our land to the dark elves. I''ll provide a detailed map of the new boundaries for you to have duplicated and sent to all major cities.¡±


    ¡°It''s a simple task.¡± Dimitri accepted it without question.


    ¡°You can''t be serious.¡± Walther complained about how quickly his fellow minister had given in, but Lucian ignored the man.


    Dimitri was a far cry from the outspoken Minister of Production. The man would blend right in with a crowd of average citizens, both in looks and demeanor.


    ¡°Now, Dimitri,¡± Lucian continued. ¡°Tell me the state of the public opinion while I''ve been at war.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Dimitri¡¯s casual tone hadn''t changed. ¡°After we lost two battles against the Esgares Empire, there was little hope that a young king such as yourself could change our apparent destiny. As such, opinion was shifting away from you, despite the goodwill you built up before leaving for war.


    ¡°However,¡± the minister continued. ¡°When news of our victory against the Esgares Empire reached their ears, the people¡¯s attitudes turned once more. Even the bards singing for coin in the taverns have begun playing more optimistic songs than before.¡±


    Lucian nodded at Dimitri''s words. His sister, Princess Mia, had already filled in the major details, but he wanted to give the Minister of Domestic Affairs his chance to voice it here to ensure everyone was on the same page.


    Although the Almekian Kingdom Lucian ruled was in bad shape, it was far from broken. With a few policy changes and some personal projects taking down criminal organisations, he had managed to stop the leaks that were draining the kingdom''s resources and future.


    But those were emergency measures. Lucian needed more time and focus to fully repair the cracks in his kingdom. And with civil wars and the invading Esgares Empire requiring his near full attention, he had yet to find the right moment.


    But now it was time.


    I wasn''t only summoned to do battle. I was called here to fix this kingdom and set the world back on track to prosperity.


    Six months. I''ve got six months to do everything I need to do.


    The Esgares Empire had invaded even before the start of the warring season. And it was only a few weeks later when the final battle with Death Knight Flora had taken place.


    That meant it was still relatively early in the warring season, with spring having officially begun two weeks ago. And yet, the war was over.


    For a short while, at least.


    No doubt Emperor Marek will make a move against me, now that he knows who I am.


    Will he even wait until the next warring season? Or will he just show up one day to finish everything?


    Lucian knew far too little about Emperor Marek. He had documents from when the emperor was a young prince, filled with what the kingdom''s spies could gather about the royal family.


    But those were useless. Because like Lucian, Emperor Marek was not from the world that they were fighting over.


    The God''s Apostle. A summoned hero, like me.


    And he had one hell of a head start¡­


    Lucian once again felt like he started the match with his back to the wall, but no matter how much he complained about it internally, it wouldn''t solve any of his problems.


    ¡°Any recommendations on how to capitalize on my recent rise in popularity?¡± Lucian asked Dimitri.


    ¡°Yes. Would you like me to go over each one or simply tell you my personal recommendation?¡±


    Lucian turned to Mia, who sat beside him. ¡°The two of you have already spoken on this subject, haven''t you?¡±


    Mia nodded. ¡°The day after news of your victory arrived.¡±


    ¡°And what was your recommendation then?¡±


    ¡°The same as now. Hold a festival to celebrate our victory in the war. The only difference is now, I believe we should make Aelia a central figure in the festival.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Get the people to acknowledge her before news spreads that she''s been gifted land from the kingdom. Turning the tide of public opinion is important, and the festival would be the perfect opportunity.¡± Lucian turned back to Dimitri. ¡°It''s settled. Prepare the festivities, and know that Aelia and I will both be taking center stage.¡±


    The Minister nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    Without even a shred of resistance, the Minister of Domestic Affairs went along with the plan to get ahead of public opinion.


    Although there was no particular hatred of dark elves, nor was there any goodwill toward them. And the biggest problem was the world Lucian now lived in was far less accepting of outside cultures.


    The saving grace is that she led our army to victory over the Esgares Empire.


    If I share the spotlight with her during the festival, maybe the people will be more accepting.


    Besides, I''ve already brought a fairy and an oni back from their mysterious land. What''s a dark elf, at this point?


    ¡°And what of the economy?¡± Lucian asked, changing gears. ¡°Any unexpected incidents or reports?¡±


    ¡°There is ¡­ none.¡± The Minister of Finance speaks with his usual, tired voice.


    The man''s sunken eyes made Lucian want to tell him to sleep more, but his apparent drowsiness didn''t seem to impact his work. If Lucian felt it had been, then he''d be more inclined to push the issue.


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    In truth, Lucian wanted to replace him. But the man''s family had been a long-time supporter of the throne, so he couldn''t strip him of his position without causing a stir. At least, not unless he had a reason for such an action.


    But until the moment came when the Minister of Finance made a mistake, Lucian held his tongue.


    ¡°If there are no issues¡­¡± Lucian stood from his chair at the table. ¡°Then let''s get to work.¡±


    The room of ministers and insiders began to thin out, with the usual ones rushing out the door first. The Minister of Production, Walther, was a prime example.


    That man really doesn''t like me, does he?


    Is he trying to make it obvious, or is he just that bad at hiding it?


    Ah well, I''ve got bigger issues to deal with right now.


    Since Lucian had a few things to discuss with his closest companions, he waited until the others left the room and vicinity before speaking up.


    ¡°We''ve also got an important task to complete before the festival.¡± Lucian looked to the girls. ¡°Finding appropriate outfits.¡±


    Emilia tilted her head to the side just a bit, her fox ears twitching ever so slightly. ¡°Do you mean buying a whole new set of clothes?¡±


    ¡°Yep. It''s a special occasion, so it¡¯s expected that we''d wear something new. And while we''re out in the city, we''ll let them see Aelia to prime the people for the festival. The more rumors that a dark elf has joined my kingdom, the easier it will be during the festival.¡±


    ¡°Ah, so that''s the real reason.¡±


    ¡°But we still get to do something!¡± Teflyn showed a bit of excitement at the idea of walking around the city.¡±


    ¡°Just remember,¡± Aelia said. ¡°I''m not your little pet to show off, so don''t expect me to act like one.¡±


    Lucian nodded. ¡°It''s probably best if you act how you normally do. For some reason, people seem to like personalities like yours.¡±


    ¡°I really don''t like how you put that sentence.¡±


    Lucian ignored Aelia¡¯s complaint and turned to Minerva. ¡°Your wings will be coming out again, so let''s get you an outfit that matches them.¡±


    ¡°My usual outfit is perfect for them.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but you can''t be the only one wearing her usual clothes while we all dress up. You''re suffering with me.¡±


    ¡°I don''t particularly think I''ll be doing any suffering, though.¡±


    After a long day of meetings to catch up on various aspects of his kingdom, Lucian was more than ready to call it a night. As king, nobody could order him. If he wanted to rest, then he would rest.


    But the kingdom''s problems wouldn''t rest alongside him.


    A small knock filled the room.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± A servant bowed. ¡°Duke Bardheim has arrived.¡±


    ¡°He''s a bit early, but the sooner we start the meeting, the sooner we finish.¡± Lucian waved the girls to follow. ¡°Let''s change rooms. This one''s too large for such a personal visit.¡±


    As king, Lucian''s tasks never ended. He could only hope that he could complete the problems faster than new ones showed up.


    Chapter 2


    ¡°This one''s yours, Prince Lucian.¡± Emilia handed Lucian a cup filled with ice cream. ¡°Strawberry sundae, just like you wanted.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Emilia.¡± The cup was cool to the touch, and the frozen treat looked perfectly made. ¡°Maybe I should make you my official attendant, if you''re going to keep bringing me my food and snacks like this.¡±


    Emilia looked to Lucian''s empty plate of food. ¡°Ah, let me get that for you.¡±


    Although she was originally planning on a sly reply to his remark, the empty plate was in his way, so she had to take care of that first.


    With a quick hand, Emilia snatched up the dishes around Lucian, taking them to the restaurant¡¯s staff.


    Lucian shook his head at her straightforward and dedicated personality. He thought it''d be fine if she acted more selfishly, but the white hair fox girl didn''t seem capable of that.


    ¡°How come you don''t have an attendant?¡± Teflyn asked. ¡°All the other important people in your kingdom have them.¡±


    ¡°Having someone always shadowing me and taking care of the small tasks is a bit much. The maids already do my laundry, clean my room, make my food, and do pretty much all the other housekeeping tasks that I''d normally do. At the very least, I want to be responsible for taking care of things in my own immediate surroundings.¡±


    ¡°But you didn''t seem to mind when Emilia did it instead?¡±


    ¡°Ah, well¡­¡± Lucian stole a peek at Emilia, who had just finished handing off the dishes to the staff. ¡°That''s different.¡±


    ¡°Hehe.¡± A smile appeared that didn''t quite fit Teflyn¡¯s childish face. ¡°You really like it when Emilia does things for you. Are you going to make her your queen?¡±


    Lucian¡¯s hand froze as he reached toward his coat pocket. As a former politician on Earth, he was normally able to keep surprising questions from affecting his mannerisms.


    But for some reason, he has failed to do so when faced with Teflyn''s straightforward question.


    ¡°Hey, hey,¡± Teflyn continued. ¡°You going to answer?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say I''ve given much thought to who will become queen.¡±


    ¡°But you gave it some thought, right? Then who''d you come up with?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Lucian consciously stopped himself from looking back to Emilia. ¡°I''m still thinking about it.¡±


    ¡°Boo. Just tell me already.¡±


    ¡°Picking a queen,¡± Aelia said, ¡°is as much a diplomatic choice as it is a personal one. Depending on who he picks, it could have a lot of benefits. Or if he picks wrong, a lot of consequences.¡±


    ¡°Who cares about something like that, though?¡±


    ¡°Most rulers. For example, if Lucian wanted to more closely ally with the Trade Kingdom of Villnore, he could marry one of their princesses. Or even the daughter of a powerful noble with close ties to the crown. Perhaps under the right circumstances, even the leader of one of their major trade guilds would suffice.¡±


    During her last remark, Aelia looked at Lucian with a smirk. The implication was obvious to him.


    Alma Vastelle, the effective leader of The Golden Coast, one of Villnore¡¯s most powerful trade guilds. For a kingdom that relied on its commerce, the leader of a large guild could be considered nobility in all but name.


    Although Aelia didn''t meet Alma when the guild leader paid Lucian a visit, she had studied recent events to catch up on the state of Lucian''s affairs.


    He didn''t expect Aelia to bring that particular girl up as a part of his options when taking a queen, though.


    ¡°Alma is one of the most capable people I''ve met in this world. She''d be an asset to my kingdom, were she to join me. But I don''t think she showed any particular interest in me.¡±


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Aelia shrugged. ¡°As a masterful negotiator, being bested by you in her field of expertise could have secured you a permanent place in her thoughts.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think that?¡±


    ¡°Just a hunch, is all.¡±


    Emilia had returned halfway through the conversation. Fortunately for Lucian, she didn''t hear Teflyn ask about making her a queen.


    Though she did pick up on the topic they were discussing, her fox ears focused toward the conversation instead of scanning for possible dangers.


    It took a lot for Emilia to let her guard down, even slightly. But one of those ways was to discuss the very subject Teflyn had brought up.


    A queen, huh? Lucian finally reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a piece of paper.


    I suppose I really do need to consider it.


    After taking a bite of his sundae, Lucian unfolded the paper and began to look it over. It was filled with columns of numbers and names, a list that would mostly look like nonsense to an outside observer.


    But in truth, it was one of the most important documents in the entire kingdom, a list of loans that Almekia had taken from various sources. Though the one in Lucian''s hand was just a quick copy he made.


    Or rather, he made it with his unique [Command Magic].


    ¡°Still worried about the debt?¡± Minerva watched on as Lucian looked over the figures.


    ¡°Other than the Esgares Empire, our national debt is the most dangerous enemy we have. So while we''ve got a reprieve from the war, I need to work on clawing our way out of the debt spiral we''re in.¡±


    ¡°Humans sure do have strange economies. Going into such debt only gives control to those who loan the money, yet it''s so common to do just that.¡±


    ¡°It''s complicated. Debt can definitely be malicious, and it''s a weapon that those with nefarious intentions can leverage to their advantage. However, coins sitting in a vault produce no value. Those same coins in the hands of a man with talent and vision can help build a productive business that adds value to the kingdom.¡±


    Lucian took another small bite of his strawberry sundae. ¡°The biggest problem is that national debt doesn''t add the same value as debt going into the hands of entrepreneurs. When the kingdom itself borrows coin, it goes into nonproductive ventures, like funding the army, lavish parties for those with power, and virtually anything that the ruler thinks would help them keep the crown.¡±


    Lucian put his spoon down and held the document with both hands. ¡°And since governments get their money by taxing the people, more debt means they have to take more from the people in order to keep up with payments. That''s exactly where Almekia is right now. The ministers, nobles, and bureaucrats have been taking more and more from the people, each in their own ways. And slowly, that has begun to hollow out the core of what makes a nation great¨Ca flourishing population.¡±


    Minerva took a moment to take a bite of her pastry. ¡°And you believe you can repair the missteps of the previous kings?¡±


    ¡°I have to. And I''ve got a few ideas on how to do it. I did graduate at the top of my economics course in college, after all.¡±


    Teflyn wrinkled her nose. ¡°You really think about all that kind of stuff while eating dessert?¡±


    ¡°It''s because I''m in such a relaxed environment that I can really work through some ideas. I''ve been stuck taking care of so many other things, and from how it looks, that won''t be changing any time soon.¡±


    ¡°Well before you think about that, how about you give a real answer to my question.¡±


    ¡°Which question?¡±


    ¡°Are you going to make Emilia into your queen?¡±


    ¡°Eh!?¡± The fox girl in question went red in the face.


    ¡°That''s¡­¡± Lucian considered the oni girl''s words for a second time. ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°There''s a chance!?¡±


    Lucian picked up his spoon again and took a bite of his strawberry sundae. Although the girls were still waiting on him to continue, he simply ate his dessert and stared at the loan document in his hand.


    But despite his efforts, he found that he couldn''t quite focus on Almekia¡¯s crushing debt problem.


    Really, now. A queen, is it¡­


    I should at least prepare for an announcement, just in case.

 Volume 4, Chapter 3

    Chapter 3


    ¡°Thank you, Prince Lucian.¡± Emilia took the hand Lucian was offering and used it to keep her balance as she exited the carriage.


    A soldier like her didn''t need help with such a simple task, but she still smiled as she laid her hand in his.


    ¡°It''s my pleasure, Emilia.¡± Lucian held on a bit longer than usual.


    After a brief moment, he turned back to the carriage door, where Minerva was standing. He offered his hand like before, which the fairy princess took without reserve.


    ¡°Your help is appreciated.¡± Minerva spoke in her usual voice, sounding disinterested.


    ¡°I''ll offer it anytime.¡±


    Lucian knew the tone of her voice didn''t usually convey her thoughts or feelings, so there was no disrespect intended or received. Minerva was simply detached from most of the emotions that humans have, with a few exceptions.


    ¡°Me next!¡± Teflyn held her hand out, even before Lucian could offer his.


    ¡°As eager as ever, I see.¡± He reached out, and the oni girl''s hand slammed into his before he could even get it into position. ¡°And as impatient as ever too.¡±


    With Teflyn on the ground, Lucian reached up again, offering to help Aelia out of the carriage.


    The dark elf girl eyed his hand with a slight frown. ¡°This ridiculous custom again? Why would a warrior need help getting out of a carriage?¡±


    Aelia walked down the single step on her own, ignoring Lucian''s offer.


    ¡°It may seem ridiculous to a dark elf, but I''m still going to offer each time. Maybe one day, you''ll take my hand.¡±


    ¡°I doubt it.¡±


    With the four girls out, that left just one more in the carriage.


    Lucian''s little sister, Princess Mia, was more accustomed to proper etiquette than any of the others, Lucian included. She even delayed walking up to the carriage door simply because it wouldn''t be a good look to stand there waiting for her brother to finish speaking to Aelia.


    Even if she''s only known Aelia for a couple days, she already understands the dark elf well enough that she anticipated their little back and forth. It''s thanks to Mia''s quick understanding that she was able to time her arrival at the door just as Lucian was raising his hand to support her.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Mia gave the bare minimum etiquette-approved response.


    ¡°You''re welcome.¡±


    With that, all of the passengers were out of the carriage, standing in a well-kept courtyard. Just a short walk away was their home, the castle.


    Lucian led them toward the doors, one step at a time. Perhaps one day, we¡¯ll be able to come home to a more relaxing house. Somewhere a little more secluded would be nice.


    Rulers often live in palaces instead of castles. But right now, I need the appearance of strength that living in this towering castle gives me.


    But when the day comes that I can leave it, Emilia would definitely come with me. It feels so natural having her by my side now.


    And I wonder how long Minerva plans to stay with me. She rarely gives us a glimpse into her thoughts, so it''s hard to say.


    Teflyn would probably get bored if we didn''t fight a lot of monsters. But she''s too young to send on adventures without me being there to watch over her, so I''ll have to find a way to keep her entertained.


    By that time, I wonder if Aelia would be living in her new territory and starting her life as a Dark Elf Lord. It''s quite far from here, so I''d have to make a long journey to see her.


    As Lucian pondered upon the possibilities that lay in his future, he reached the large double doors that led into the castle. They were already open, as the guards would never force their king to wait.


    After stepping into the interior lit by magitech lamps, his eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light. His body wasn''t just tougher and stronger from all the levels he had gained, it even performed better to changes in the environment, such as sudden changes in light levels, temperature, and even atmospheric pressure.


    Though he had yet to truly experience that last one.


    With his eyes adjusted, Lucian noticed some unusual activity in the castle foyer. As the first room all arrivals step into, it''s not uncommon for there to be people moving around there.


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    But a crowd had gathered around someone that drew their interest, with some recognizable nobles among the ones grouped up. Whoever was at the center of that crowd was important enough to capture the attention of some of the most influential people in the Almekian Kingdom.


    Can''t see them through the crowd. Guess I should get closer.


    Lucian had a hard time figuring out who he was about to meet. A foreign dignitary was his first guess, but if someone of such high stature were going to visit, they would have sent several messengers to ensure they would be welcomed properly.


    Could it be a messenger from the Esgares Empire? That would definitely attract the attention of the nobles.


    When Lucian approached the crowd, the ones gathered parted, having seen him coming. That gave him a clear view of the person at the center of the gathering. And what he saw was¡­


    A strangely dressed woman? That style is definitely foreign, but I don''t recognize it.


    Having been recently summoned to the world, Lucian was still missing a lot of crucial information on topics outside his focus. And his focus had been war nearly since his arrival, having only recently been given a break from battle.


    Fortunately, there was someone he trusted who had a much better grasp of the world than him.


    Lucian subtly turned his head and looked to his sister, Mia. She was still watching the mysterious woman in the strange dress, but after a few seconds, she also turned to meet his eyes.


    ¡°Danao Dynasty outfit. But¡­¡± Mia took another peek at the woman. ¡°She''s not a native to their nation.¡±


    ¡°Someone from the Danao Dynasty. But not born there? And she''s this popular? Hmm¡­¡±


    Lucian was far from finding the answer to who the woman was, but at least he had some information. Even though it just ended up raising more questions.


    The Danao Dynasty was another of Almekia¡¯s largest rivals. But while the Esgares Empire lay to the north, the Danao Dynasty was to the southwest.


    The people there were known for their darker complexion, as if they had a constant tan from the sun. But the woman wearing their fashion was as pale as anyone else in Lucian''s kingdom.


    Having reached the mysterious woman, Lucian had no time left to ponder the many questions that still lingered in his mind. Instead, he could get them from the mouth of the woman herself.


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± She gave a rather shallow bow. ¡°Congratulations on your sudden rise to the throne.¡±


    ¡°Thank you. I didn''t obtain it in the circumstances that I would have liked, though.¡±


    ¡°Of course not. The death of nearly your entire family is certainly not something that the Lucian I knew would enjoy.¡± The mysterious woman looks to Mia. ¡°It''s good that you escaped the disease, little Mia. Though I guess you''re not so little anymore.¡±


    Just who is this woman? She speaks like she knows us, but I studied everyone close to the royal family who would have such obvious authority.


    If this woman last saw Mia when she was too little for her to remember, then that had to have been 7 or 8 years ago.


    Mia was 11, with a birthday coming up soon. If she were only four years old when this woman was around, then even the studious princess would have a hard time recalling her.


    Was there anyone? Anyone among the people I studied who left around that time?


    The many late night study sessions flashed in Lucian''s mind. He had crammed so much knowledge into his head after his summoning that he felt like he should have earned an entire college degree.


    Among that information, something pulled at his mind. Or rather, someone.


    Could it be her? But this woman looks too young. If it really is her, then it''s almost as if she hasn''t aged a day since she left.


    His instincts were telling him that he was right. But the age discrepancy was difficult to explain.


    Let''s just go with it. If I''m wrong, I''ll deal with it afterwards.


    ¡°It¡¯s been 7 years, Archmage Vera. What brought you back to the Almekian Kingdom after abandoning us to go on your journey?¡±


    ¡°I happened to be in the area when I heard about all the troubles your kingdom was in. Thought I''d drop in and see it for myself.¡±


    ¡°See it? Not help dig us out?¡±


    ¡°You know I don''t stick around for long. The world''s too big to sit around a castle all day.¡±


    ¡°Understandable. But then why did you take the title of Archmage at all? That position comes with a few responsibilities, you know.¡±


    Vera waved her hand. ¡°I told your dad I''d disappear one day, but he said he wanted me as an Archmage for as long as I was in his kingdom. Never really cared for the title, but I got what I wanted out of it.¡±


    Archmage Vera, the most powerful spellcaster in the Almekian Kingdom. The title of Archmage is only given to those who stand head and shoulders above even the best casters, making it quite a rare and coveted title.


    It was supposed to tie the Archmage to the kingdom, giving them authority and wealth in the process. But Archmage Vera managed to obtain the title without many of the strings that would have bound others.


    Lucian didn''t study much on her, since she had disappeared 7 years before his summoning. But now, he really wished he had spent at least a little more time reading about her.


    ¡°The coin and prestige of being an Archmage would help in preparing for a 7-year journey,¡± Lucian said. ¡°But now that you''re back, I wouldn''t mind having a long discussion about recent events, if you''d like the details. I''ve also got some questions for you, so prepare to do some talking, too.¡±


    ¡°Sure, I''ll join you. But I just got back, so let''s meet up later. I need to change clothes, at least.¡±


    Lucian once again noted her Danao Dynasty style outfit. She didn''t have to wear it into the castle, but she did anyway. Whether she was making a statement or was simply eccentric, Lucian had yet to decide.


    With yet another meeting on his schedule, Lucian bid Archmage Vera farewell until both of them were ready. This time though, he was a bit excited about what she would have to say.


    Like Vera, Lucian had to freshen up after his trip out to the city. So, he led the girls to the royal quarters without a single detour. There, they could change clothes, drink refreshments, and take care of any other personal tasks.


    It was a well-guarded section of the castle, as one would expect for the place the king sleeps.


    That was why when Lucian saw a mysterious man standing in the middle of the hall, he stopped his steps. The man''s back was turned, making it difficult to identify him.


    However, even with so little to go on, Lucian knew who he was looking at.


    That unruly, brown hair. It has to belong to¡­


    ¡°If you''re here,¡± Lucian said. ¡°Then there must be something important happening.¡±


    The mysterious man turns, revealing a youthful face a couple years younger than Lucian''s. ¡°Hey. Been a while, huh?¡±


    ¡°This voice¡­¡± Aelia relaxed her guard a bit. ¡°You''re¡­¡±


    ¡°Bingo.¡± He used a phrase that Lucian understood well. ¡°The ¡®young immortal¡¯ here in the flesh.¡±


    The immortal that often stayed in the Divine Realm gave Lucian and his group a casual wave.


    What an eventful day.

 Volume 4, Chapter 4

    Chapter 4


    ¡°First off,¡± Lucian said, ¡°let''s go to my room. These hallways don''t lend themselves to privacy.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± The immortal turned toward the proper direction. ¡°I mean, there''s a zero percent chance we''ll be overheard since I have so much experience sneaking around a castle meeting with royals. But it would be nice to relax somewhere while we talk.¡±


    ¡°Have you met with the royal families of other kingdoms?¡± Lucian began walking as he asked.


    ¡°No, you''re the only people in this world that I''ve talked to.¡±


    ¡°In this world¡­?¡± Lucian''s suspicions on a few matters became certainties. ¡°Just how many worlds are there?¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± The young immortal stopped in front of a fancy door. ¡°...is something that you''ll have to keep wondering.¡±


    ¡°Can''t say, huh?¡± Lucian opened the door to his room. ¡°I''ve gotten accustomed to being left in the dark, which is not something I''m proud to admit.¡±


    ¡°Dealing with gods is annoying, something I know very well. But you''re a smart man, which is half the reason you were chosen. I''m sure you''ll figure the important stuff out on your own.¡±


    Lucian and the young immortal stepped aside, letting the girls go first. Emilia, Minerva, Aelia, Teflyn, and Mia all enter the royal bedchamber, followed by the two guys who shut the door behind them.


    Although the king''s room was large, it wasn''t made to accommodate seven guests on a whim. The three chairs and two-man sofa were all very comfortable, but it would leave two people standing or sitting on the edge of the massive bed.


    Rather than deal with that, the young immortal raised a hand toward an empty section of the room, near the sofa. In a blink, two more chairs appeared, looking just as comfortable as the royal accommodations.


    At the center of the lounging area was a table. It was empty, save for a vase of flowers that acted as both decoration and a natural aroma. But as Lucian and the others watched on, a variety of items appeared around the vase.


    A pitcher of steaming tea, surrounded by enough cups for everyone present. A large plate of bite-size snacks, filled with a variety of options to choose from. And a bottle of green wine that seemed to glow with a magical light.


    ¡°I know all of you ate recently,¡± the young immortal said, ¡°but I''d still suggest trying a snack or two. They''re out of this world.¡±


    The smirk on the immortal¡¯s face made it clear what he meant with his joke.


    ¡°This magic.¡± Minerva eyed the immortal. ¡°Mother has it, as well. It''s similar to our [Materialize], yet different.¡±


    ¡°The Fairy Queen is immortal, too. For people like us, storing items in a time-compressed space is one of our core abilities.¡± He held up his hand, a ring between two fingers. ¡°With your power, Minerva, you could probably learn it.¡±


    ¡°I can? Mother said I still had much growing to do before I could learn her advanced techniques. It''s one of the reasons she sent me out into the world.¡±


    ¡°It''s true you don''t have the full strength of a true immortal, but you''ve got the seed of power growing inside of you.¡± The ring in his hand disappeared. ¡°Perhaps one day, you''ll be able to use it to its full potential.¡±


    The young immortal reached out to the plate of snacks. ¡°Deviled eggs always were one of my favorites.¡±


    Lucian watched on with a curious eye. He recognized that food, as many on Earth would. Whether the immortal had chosen it for that reason, he didn''t know. And he understood that he wouldn''t receive the answer, even if he asked.


    ¡°I suppose it''d be rude to refuse¡­¡± Emilia gave an excuse as to why her hand was reaching for a sweet snack.


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    Others followed the foxgirl¡¯s lead, picking at least one item from the plate, along with a drink to go with it.


    For most, that drink was steaming tea. But a couple of them decided to go for the wine, instead.


    Aelia swished the glass beneath her nose. ¡°This stuff sure smells different from anything else I''ve had.¡±


    ¡°Fairy Wine. No relation to Minerva or her mother, though. In fact, it''s far more closely related to you, Aelia.¡±


    The dark elf girl gave the drink a taste test. ¡°Now this is wine. Strong, but the flavor doesn''t leave a bad aftertaste. Not sure how it relates to me at all, though.¡±


    ¡°Well, the race who makes this wine could be considered a cousin of your own. Maybe you''ll meet one of them someday.¡±


    Teflyn was too busy stuffing her face to join the conversation. She was a growing girl, and her appetite reflected that.


    There was another young girl who was even younger than Teflyn. But that young girl was only nibbling on her snack, her attention far more focused than her oni companion.


    ¡°Why the visit?¡± Mia asked.


    ¡°Straight to the point, huh? Reminds me of someone I know. She''s about your age too. Going by looks, anyway.¡± He shrugged. ¡°But as for why I''m here, there are a couple reasons. You see, I was recently invited to a meeting between gods. Many of them. And they came to an interesting decision.¡±


    The young immortal nodded at Lucian. ¡°It seems your brother is a bit popular among the gods. The females, especially. I can definitely see why.¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± Emilia¡¯s hand stopped just before the pastry reached her mouth. ¡°Prince Lucian is popular?¡±


    ¡°That''s the only reasonable conclusion, considering their decision.¡±


    ¡°What did they decide?¡±


    ¡°To allow a little outside help.¡± The young immortal pointed to himself. ¡°In other words, me.¡±


    ¡°You''re going to help us?¡± Emilia scanned him for a weapon but saw none. ¡°How strong are you?¡±


    ¡°Strong. But at the same time, not strong enough.¡± He waved his hand dismissively. ¡°But I didn''t come here to fight anyone. I''m just here to provide a bit of assistance for what''s to come.¡±


    ¡°And what is coming?¡± Lucian asked. ¡°A battle against the god''s acolyte?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Emperor Marek. Or at least, that¡¯s the name he goes by in this world. It¡¯s not much different from you, Lucian. But unlike you, that man isn''t known for his patience, so those of us watching from above knew exactly what was coming. Or should I say, we knew that he was coming. To battle you.¡±


    ¡°He''s on the way here? How long do we have until he arrives? Days? Weeks?¡±


    ¡°That''s the thing. With his power, he could arrive in a couple days if he left his castle right now. And that''s exactly what he was going to do.¡±


    ¡°Flora gave her word that the empire would retreat for the rest of the warring season. But I suppose Emperor Marek can override such promises.¡±


    The young immortal nodded. ¡°Exactly. And he wanted to, knowing he could defeat you easily because of the difference in your strength.¡±


    ¡°Is he really that strong?¡±


    ¡°Death Knight Flora was almost a match for your whole party. And she''s far weaker than Emperor Marek. If he showed up right now, you''d be screwed. Well, I could beat him again, but I''m not allowed to fight your battles for you.¡±


    ¡°Again?¡±


    ¡°Oops~¡± The young immortal smirked, showing that his comment wasn''t actually a slip up. ¡°Anyway, the gods came to a decision. Since Flora promised to stay away until next warring season, they''ve extended that restriction to Emperor Marek. That gives you about 10 months to get stronger. And you''ll need every one of them if you want to win.¡±


    ¡°Ten months. I''ve been here four months and have gotten far stronger than I could have imagined before my reincarnation. With ten more, I''m sure I can gain the strength I need.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. But he''s not going to sit idle, either. He gets stronger every single day, just like you. Actually, you spend so much time doing administrative work that there are days you don''t really grow at all.¡±


    Lucian nodded. ¡°Yes, but I can''t leave the people of my kingdom to suffer. I need to fix this country, even as I get stronger.¡±


    ¡°That''s why the Goddess gave you a leveling system that incorporates helping your kingdom as a way for you to grow. Actually, Emperor Marek is the same. You¡¯re both playing by the same rules, after all.¡±


    Lucian had a distant look in his eyes. ¡°So that''s why the Esgares Empire has been expanding so aggressively. He''s gaining his own levels by completing quests, just like me.¡±


    ¡°Bingo. He also had a six-month head start on you, hence why he''s so much stronger. That was the reason the gods had for this ceasefire, to even the playing field. Though in truth, they really just want to watch an interesting battle for control of this world. Nobody would have any fun if they knew you''d just get stomped, right?¡±


    ¡°I suppose¡­¡± Lucian was a bit mystified that the gods were treating the struggle for his world like it were a television show.


    It makes sense, Lucian thought. Considering the Goddess'' personality, it''s not surprising that the others would be just as whimsical.


    ¡°But why did you come here?¡± Mia asked, getting even closer to the main subject. ¡°You could have told us all of this telepathically.¡±


    ¡°Because it''s way more fun to be here in person.¡± He smiled. ¡°Now, how about that empty room down the hall? I think it''d be a comfy place to stay while I''m here.¡±


    ¡°You''re staying? For how long?¡±


    ¡°Not sure. But long enough to need a room.¡±


    Lucian looked between his companions. Each of them had become important to him in his new life, so any help that would ensure their survival in the battle against the god''s acolyte was a welcome gift.


    ¡°Alright. I''ll order the maids to prepare it.¡±


    ¡°Awesome. This sidequest is going to be really interesting.¡±


    And so, the young immortal joined Lucian''s entourage. For how long, only he and the gods knew.

 Volume 4, Chapter 4 pt2

    ¡°If you''re going to be staying at the castle,¡± Lucian said, ¡°then we''ll need an appropriate backstory for your presence. It would be beyond strange to have an unknown man suddenly join my entourage.¡±


    ¡°You''re right about that. I don''t particularly care what history you give me, so feel free to go with whatever is most convenient.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Only another royal would be afforded the privileges you''re asking for. That limits us dramatically. Of course, you can''t be from the Almekian Kingdom¡¯s bloodline, as the nobles would sniff out the lie in an instant.¡±


    The young immortal picked up another deviled egg. ¡°So a foreign royal? Sounds good to me. Maybe I''ll even act a bit dignified to play the part. Well, probably not, but it''s a nice thought, isn''t it?¡±


    ¡°A lot of discrepancies in your etiquette can be explained away by your foreign nationality. But at least pretend to be of high status, even if it''s just a little.¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright. I''ll do my best. I''m just not good with stuff like that, which is why I stay out of center stage on my own world.¡±


    ¡°I have a lot of questions about what you just said, but I already know you won''t provide the answers.¡± Lucian poured a glass of fairy wine. ¡°But at the very least, I''ll need your name. I can''t exactly tell my citizens that you''re an immortal from a different world.¡±


    ¡°True. And I don''t mind giving you my real name.¡± The young immortal reached a hand across the table. ¡°I''m Lutz de Locke, an immortal from another world. And also, a former Earthling like you.¡±


    ¡°What!? You''re from Earth!?¡± Lucian took Lutz''s hand despite his surprise, giving it a firm shake.


    ¡°Yep. That''s why I argued with the gods to be able to come down here. I''m really interested in your story, Thomas George Hamilton.¡±


    ¡°Lutz isn''t a name that I can ever recall seeing on Earth. Does that mean you adopted a different identity in your new world, as I have?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I was once known as John Lawrence Locke. But like you, I''m no longer the same person I was before my summoning, so I''ve gone all-in on my new identity. I did reuse my last name, though.¡±


    Lucian shook his head. ¡°Just what kind of mess are the other worlds getting into?¡±


    ¡°It was definitely messy, but I''ll leave the details for another time. Right now, we''ve got a few other topics to discuss.¡±


    ¡°What did you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°You.¡± Lutz looked at the girls gathered at the table. ¡°And your party. All of you are too weak.¡±


    ¡°You already said that!¡± Teflyn raised her arms to express her dissatisfaction at being called weak multiple times.


    ¡°Well it''s true, so it bears repeating.¡±


    ¡°So what? I''m going to beat a lot of people up and become kishin! Just you wait!¡±


    ¡°That''s great. But until then, you''re still too weak.¡±


    ¡°Stop saying it!¡±


    ¡°Then would you rather I tell you how to get stronger?¡±


    Teflyn¡¯s pouting face slowly faded to neutral. ¡°I just need to fight. Then I''ll get stronger.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but there are other ways. Each one of you could be growing, even without stepping onto the battlefield. You just need a little guidance on how to go about it.¡±


    ¡°Then how? I want to get a lot stronger.¡±


    ¡°Ask Minerva.¡± Lutz turned to the fairy princess.


    ¡°Why me?¡±


    ¡°Because you have access to ancient magic.¡±


    ¡°You mean my fairy magic? It''s true that it''s of a whole different class than the spells used by humans and the other races, but I don''t see how it will help anyone when only fairies can use it.¡±


    ¡°Sure, they can''t use your unique spells, like terrain manipulation. But you''re already aware that humans can learn forgotten magic, aren''t you?¡±


    Minerva looks thoughtful. ¡°It was strange, but I wasn''t entirely sure what she had learned during her travels.¡±


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    ¡°She?¡± Lucian asked. ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Archmage Vera.¡±


    ¡°Her? Are you saying she managed to learn this ancient magic?¡±


    ¡°In some form, I believe so. Her aura is ¡­ different. And her appearance doesn''t match her age. She must have learned something that gives her access to magic beyond that of normal mages.¡±


    ¡°That''s a little concerning, considering she''s staying here at the castle.¡±


    ¡°I planned on watching her closely until I could figure out how much she knows. But it seems our new companion here has the answers already.¡±


    Lutz took a sip of his tea. ¡°I do know all about it, but it would be great if you went to the source to get your answers.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Lucian rubbed his chin. ¡°Is she an ally or an enemy? To be honest, I have my reservations about meeting with her too often. She strikes me as someone who''s dangerously intelligent.¡±


    ¡°So you noticed, huh? Well, even an enemy can be a resource, if you play your hand right.¡±


    ¡°So she is an enemy?¡±


    Lutz shrugged. ¡°Who knows. Unlike the Goddess, I can''t read minds. But what makes you think she''d be against you?¡±


    ¡°The timing of her return. She leaves for 7 years, then comes back shortly after the recent upheavals in my kingdom. And her gaze ¡­ she knows something.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡±


    ¡°Like ¡­ me. Or rather, the Lucian who existed before I reincarnated into his body. And the prince wasn''t exactly a saint, despite his good reputation.¡±


    ¡°So you think when Vera heard that the Prince Lucian she knew had taken the throne, she came back to stop you from descending into madness and ruining what''s left of the Almekian Kingdom?¡±


    Lucian nodded. ¡°It''s the most likely possibility. And that would make her my enemy. At least, that''s how she would see it. My only question is whether or not she knew Lucian¡¯s true personality. But if she really managed to unlock the secrets of ancient magic as you''re claiming, then she''d be intelligent enough to see through the prince''s noble act.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Lutz took a bite of a muffin. ¡°Sounds like you''re going to have a fun time figuring all that out on your own.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you came here to help us with these sorts of problems?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I''m not allowed to hold your hand with every little thing. They''re watching, you know.¡±


    ¡°The gods?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, they''ve become very interested in your battle. If I step out of line, they''ll probably drag me back to the Divine Realm so I don''t mess with their fun.¡±


    ¡°And part of that fun is watching us struggle through such hardships?¡±


    ¡°Don''t try to understand the gods. You won''t get anywhere. Trust me, I''ve tried.¡± Lutz finished off his muffin, washing it down with his tea. ¡°But even if I can''t lead you to victory, I can at least help steer you in the right direction. That''s what they want, after all. A showdown between two forces where the winner isn''t determined because one of them has such a huge advantage over the other.¡±


    Lucian sighed. ¡°So we''re chess pieces on a board to them. It''s a little frustrating, to be honest.¡±


    ¡°It may seem that way to you. Actually, some of them do see you as nothing but entertainment, so you''re not wrong. But there are those who care, those who want to see you win. Don''t forget that.¡±


    Lutz finished his cup of tea and set it down. ¡°And this goes without saying, but everything being discussed here is for you six only. Not that anyone would believe you if you tried to spread this information. But the point is that I''ve been allowed to tell all of you this because the god''s acolyte you''re fighting already knows everything I''ve been saying. So it''s just another way to level the playing field.¡±


    ¡°Information is one of the most important forms of power,¡± Aelia said. ¡°And we''ve been operating at such a disadvantage this whole time?¡±


    ¡°Yep. But don''t think you''re equal to the god''s acolyte just because you know a little more than you used to. Invaders always get certain advantages over the home world''s champion in these conflicts. You''ll have to live with the fact that you''re the underdogs in this fight.¡±


    ¡°What sense does that make? Why would they stack the deck like that?¡±


    ¡°It''s simple. They want to encourage more conflicts. And the simplest way to do that is to give an edge to the attacker.¡±


    ¡°So they can watch,¡± Lucian said.


    ¡°Basically. Though some of this is just my own opinion, as I''ve only recently been able to learn about the gods myself. But from what I''ve seen of them, this sort of reasoning is right up their alley.¡±


    Everyone seemed to have their fill of snacks and tea, so Lutz began retrieving all the items, putting them back into his [Inventory].


    Though the fairy wine was another matter. Minerva and Lucian both had a glass, but the one who grabbed the bottle when everything else started disappearing was none other than the dark elf, Aelia.


    ¡°Just keep it,¡± Lutz said to her. ¡°I have a lot more.¡±


    ¡°In that case¡­¡± Aelia out the cork back in. ¡°I''ll save some for later.¡±


    ¡°Quite a thirsty one, huh? I already knew that, though.¡±


    ¡°Stop watching us from the Divine Realm. It''s disturbing.¡±


    ¡°No way. If there''s one thing I understand about the gods, it''s their interest in this battle. It''s far too entertaining to stop watching.¡±


    Lucian shook his head. ¡°Not you, too.¡±


    ¡°Heh. That''s just how it is.¡± Lutz stood from his chair. ¡°How about we take care of a few things? You''re meeting with Archmage Vera soon, and I don''t want to be late because of me.¡±


    Lucian stood, as well. ¡°Are you coming to the meeting?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I''d just get in the way. Plus, I''m not a fan of meetings. I''d rather go do something.¡±


    ¡°What did you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. A stroll out in the city, perhaps?¡±


    ¡°A ¡­ stroll? Don''t you have important tasks to complete?¡±


    ¡°Me? Nah, not really. I''ve got plenty of time to get all of you ready. Ten months, remember? And it''s my first time being able to actually enjoy this world, so I want to take advantage of that while I can.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you have a point. But where do you intend to go?¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should be asking your little sister that question, instead?¡±


    Princess Mia showed a rare expression of surprise. ¡°Why me?¡±


    ¡°Because you haven''t gone out in a while since you''ve been burdened with taking care of the whole kingdom during Lucian''s absence. So why not take this chance to go there?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Where is ¡®there¡¯?¡± Lucian asked.


    ¡°The orphanage.¡± Mia spilled the answer herself.


    ¡°Ah, so that''s it. Sorry for making you work so hard that you haven''t had time to visit them. By all means, feel free to go any time you wish.¡±


    ¡°I suppose it''s fine to go today. But when I get back, I want to know how the meeting went. Every detail.¡±


    ¡°Sure thing. I''ll relay everything to you when you return.¡±


    ¡°Alright!¡± Lutz suddenly got energetic. ¡°Let''s go see this new world!¡±

 Volume 4, Chapter 5 pt 1

    Chapter 5


    ¡°Just one more block, and we''ll be arriving.¡± Lutz¡¯s eyes moved from the corner of his vision, back to the two girls sitting across from him. ¡°I wonder what kind of gift I should give them.¡±


    ¡°How do you know where we are?¡± Teflyn asked. ¡°You haven''t even looked out the window since we got in the carriage.¡±


    ¡°I have my ways. Lucian''s guardians can do something similar, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that map thingy. You have that, too?¡±


    ¡°Basically.¡± Lutz left out the fact that his was many times more versatile. ¡°But what about the gift? Any suggestions?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Mia said.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, at least give me a single idea. You brought some toys for them, right? I don''t really have anything like that, though. Maybe I should go shopping for some. I''m sure Alisha would be able to tell me what''s fun for kids.¡±


    ¡°Alisha?¡±


    ¡°A companion of mine. She''d probably get along really well with Teflyn.¡±


    ¡°Does she have horns, too?¡± Teflyn went straight to a mostly irrelevant point.


    ¡°No horns. Cat ears.¡±


    ¡°So she''s a beastfolk!¡±


    ¡°We call them beastkin. But yes.¡±


    Teflyn sat forward in her seat. ¡°Is she strong? I want to fight her!¡±


    ¡°You should focus on learning ancient magic and evolving into a kishin before thinking about fighting her. Though she definitely wouldn''t turn down a duel.¡±


    Teflyn pouted. ¡°Boo. How am I going to evolve if I don''t fight strong people?¡±


    ¡°I already told you, didn''t I? Ancient magic holds a lot of potential to give not just you a boost, but everyone in Lucian''s entourage.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you say it''d be useless for me to go to the meeting with Vera? She''s the one who knows about ancient magic right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like Archmage Vera will be spilling her secrets at that meeting. I figured you''d just be bored sitting there listening to her and Lucian go back and forth.¡±


    ¡°Well ¡­ if they''d stop talking so much and actually do something, I wouldn''t get bored so easily!¡±


    Lutz nodded slowly. ¡°So you do understand.¡±


    ¡°Hmph.¡±


    The carriage began to slow as it prepared to make a sharp turn into the orphanage.


    Mia, Teflyn, and Lutz were the only passengers aboard, the rest having opted to meet with Vera and help Lucian dig for the truth on why she had returned to Almekia after a seven year absence.


    That meeting was taking place at the very moment the carriage came to a stop in the orphanage¡¯s front yard, though even Lutz couldn''t listen in when he wasn''t in the Divine Realm.


    After the carriage stopped, Lutz stood, eager to make his first real outing in Lucian''s world.


    Another of the passengers stood at the same time. It was Teflyn, of course. The oni girl was always the first to act amongst her group, mainly because she got bored sitting around.


    The two of them bumped elbows on the way to the exit, each trying to be the first out the door.


    ¡°Me first!¡± The oni girl sped up.


    ¡°Not so fast!¡± Lutz matched her speed.


    ¡°Stop being annoying!¡±


    ¡°Are you talking into a mirror?¡±


    The two of them leapt out of the carriage at the same time, completely bypassing the single step that normally helped people exit safely.


    Four feet hit the packed dirt that acts as the orphanage''s driveway, the two people they belong to not stumbling even in the slightest, despite their chaotic jump.


    ¡°I won.¡± Teflyn stood proud.


    ¡°Are you blind? My feet obviously hit the ground first.¡±


    ¡°No way! I angled my feet so my toes would touch before yours!¡±


    ¡°I did that too, plus I learned to the side so my right foot would be lower than my left.¡±


    ¡°I saw that and did the same, except my shoes are thicker, so they give me extra reach!¡±


    Lutz looked at her shoes, which looked like fancy sandals with extra thick soles. ¡°That''s true, but my feet are bigger and longer, making up for the difference between our shoes.¡±


    The orphanage caretaker stood just in front of the two, watching their exchange with a stiff smile.


    A group of children surrounded her, ranging from barely old enough to begin formal education to nearly old enough to finish said education. The wide gap couldn''t be helped, as kids of various ages could easily become orphans in such a dangerous world.


    The guards sent to protect the princess had similar thoughts, but they were much better at keeping them from showing in their faces.


    Ignoring the others, Lutz turned back to the carriage. Unlike him and Teflyn, Mia had taken her time reaching the door. As a princess, she had a reputation to manage, and leaping out the carriage in a rush would do nothing to help her keep it.


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    ¡°Here.¡± Lutz held a hand out toward the carriage door.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Mia used it to steady herself on the way down.


    ¡°No problem. I do the same for my companions. Guess Lucian and I have a few things in common.¡±


    ¡°Not seeing much else that you two share.¡±


    ¡°True, he takes things a lot more seriously than I do, huh? He kinda reminds me of a noble friend of mine, Julius. Well, even Lucian isn''t as stiff as him, though he has loosened up a bit lately.¡±


    Mia stood just in front of the carriage door, looking toward the orphans. ¡°My brother is focused, as he should be.¡±


    ¡°I''ll definitely give him that. No way I could sit in a stuffy room doing administrative work all day like him. I barely finished a bachelor''s degree in college, whereas he got a master''s and still didn''t stop studying after graduation. The dude''s a freak.¡±


    ¡°You said that was part of the reason he was chosen, didn''t you? Then why were you picked?¡±


    Lutz shrugged. ¡°The summoning spell thought I was a seasoned warrior with all kinds of specific characteristics that it was looking for. I wasn''t, which made my life a bit difficult early on after the summoning.¡±


    Princess Mia walked forward, not wanting to keep everyone waiting any longer. The kids were already starting to fidget from being forced to stand there and watch, so she wanted to release them from their mostly self-imposed bondage.


    ¡°I''m back.¡± She spoke with her usual monotone voice.


    The caretaker bowed. ¡°It''s good to see you, Princess. We''re honored that you''d come to visit us again.¡±


    ¡°Mmm. It''s been too long.¡±


    ¡°Yes. The children were beginning to wonder if they''d get a chance to see you again soon.¡±


    ¡°H-hey,¡± one of the older kids said. ¡°It''s not like we asked every day, or anything¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Only every other day.¡±


    ¡°That''s not true, either¡­¡± He looked away as he spoke.


    ¡°Bahaha!¡± Teflyn laughed without a hint of consideration. ¡°You''re not very good at lying!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­!¡± His face went a little red.


    ¡°Seems you brought along someone new,¡± the caretaker said. ¡°And he''s quite a lively one, too.¡±


    ¡°Hey.¡± Lutz waved at them, stepping up beside Mia. ¡°I¡¯m Lutz, the nephew of a king from a faraway land. King Lucian was kind enough to let me stay at the castle, so I decided to help him out in a few ways.¡±


    ¡°Dear me.¡± The caretaker bowed to him. ¡°Pardon my rudeness. I didn''t know you were from a royal family.¡±


    ¡°Don''t worry about it. I don''t like all the stuffy etiquette, so just treat me like anyone else.¡±


    ¡°If you say so. Though that may be hard for me to do.¡±


    While they were talking, two of the guards arrived, carrying one box each. They both had lids, so it was still a mystery to the orphans as to what was inside.


    But Mia had visited enough times for them to at least have an idea. After all, the princess always brought small gifts with her.


    Though this was the first time the gifts required two men to transport them.


    ¡°Ohhh!¡± A younger girl got excited at the sight. ¡°More toys!?¡±


    ¡°I hope there¡¯s something fun!¡±


    ¡°And maybe some candy again!¡±


    The orphans didn''t get many luxuries. They were lucky to get a single sweet in an entire year, considering how little money the orphanage had to spare.


    With the king himself sponsoring them, times had gotten better for the kids, but it was still difficult to spend coin on such luxuries when there were so many orphans.


    ¡°Extra gifts,¡± Mia said. ¡°For my absence.¡±


    The guards set the boxes down on a nearby outdoor table that had seen much better days. Enticed by the thought of toys and candy, the children rushed over as the men pulled the lids off, exposing the contents for all to see.


    ¡°Woah! There is candy!¡±


    ¡°And toys! So many of them!¡±


    ¡°I wanna play, I wanna play!¡±


    ¡°Now children,¡± the caretaker said as she made her way to the table. ¡°Before we receive them, what do you say?¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Princess Mia!¡± A chorus of voices responded to the caretaker''s gentle rebuke.


    ¡°It''s nothing.¡± Mia said in a small voice. ¡°They''re yours.¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡±


    In order to ensure that every kid got something, the caretaker began to distribute the toys and candy herself. The sudden appearance of many small, grabby hands was a sight that had become common when Mia brought gifts, so she just watched on with her usual expression.


    Despite being much older than Mia because of how slowly oni age, Teflyn was far more like the children than the princess. As such, the excitement in the air only fueled her desire to spring into action, which was why she ran over to the kids as soon as they began spreading through the yard to test their new toys.


    ¡°Throw it to me! Throw it to me!¡± Teflyn waved her arms at a boy with a rubbery ball.


    ¡°Okay!¡± He tossed it, rather poorly.


    ¡°Woah!¡± Teflyn dove for it, catching it despite it having gone wildly off course. ¡°Nice! Now it''s my turn!¡±


    Despite her absurd strength and skill, Teflyn returned the throw with a soft lob that made the kid reach just a bit to catch it. It was on purpose, as it was more fun than simply tossing it perfectly at him.


    ¡°Not going to play?¡± Lutz asked Mia.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°The responsibilities of a princess can be quite burdensome, huh? I know another one who often has to temper her enthusiasm for the same reason. Though in your case, being passive seems to match your personal desires better.¡±


    ¡°What about you? Weren''t you excited to come here?¡±


    ¡°Of course I plan to make the most of it. Though I''ll leave the playing to Teflyn. I''ve got something for the more sedentary kids.¡±


    After the distribution of all the toys and candy, it became obvious which children were energetically burning off their youthful energy and which were less inclined to do so.


    Most notably, the less social kids were enjoying their candy, rather than toys. That gave Lutz the perfect chance.


    ¡°Gather ¡®round, those of you who want to hear an exciting tale!¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­!¡± A young boy showed immediate interest. ¡°Are there monsters?¡±


    ¡°You bet there are. Big, strong, and fearsome ones.¡±


    ¡°Then I wanna hear!¡±


    ¡°Me too!¡± another boy said.


    ¡°Monsters are scary¡­¡± A girl looked at him with a hint of fear, but she couldn''t hide the excitement in her eyes.


    ¡°Then prepare to be scared!¡± Lutz waited for the kids to clump up around him. ¡°When I was just a weakling, I stumbled upon a cave filled with lizards that walked on two legs, with sharp claws and deadly fangs. Those monsters were tough and scary to me, but with my trusty spear, I managed to fight my way through them as I explored deeper into the darkness.¡±


    He picked up a stick and began swinging it like a spear. ¡°One after another, they came at me. It was dangerous, and I nearly got overwhelmed many times. But I had a goal, and I wasn''t going to give up just because things were difficult! So I fought and fought, leaving a trail of defeated monsters behind me.¡±


    Lutz poked his stick into the ground, as if he were finishing off a downed monster. ¡°Then I ran into it. This lizard wasn''t like the others. It walked on four legs, and its body was nearly large enough to cover the entire cave tunnel. Covered in red scales, the huge salamander opened its mouth wide enough to swallow me whole. But it didn''t plan on eating me. Not yet. First, it wanted to cook me with its flaming breath, which was hot enough to boil water in seconds!¡±


    The kids were all completely focused on Lutz¡¯s every word, even the young girl who claimed to be scared of monsters.


    Meanwhile, Teflyn ran around in the background, sometimes followed by children, other times doing the following.


    The scene was far different from when Mia visited by herself, as she didn''t have the outgoing personality as the other two. But she enjoyed watching them, even if she didn''t feel any particular urge to join.


    However, not all the kids were gathered around Teflyn and Lutz.


    ¡°Princess?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Mia focused on the girl who was on the older side of the orphans.


    ¡°Do you have any more stories about life in the castle? Um, maybe there is a nobleman that''s become popular recently¡­?¡±


    ¡°A popular nobleman?¡± Mia thought about the men who frequented the courts. ¡°There are a few who gained popularity from performing well during the war. Would you like to hear about them?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please!¡±


    The older girl was accompanied by several others who seemed to share the same interest.


    While Mia herself couldn''t claim to care much for those noblemen, she understood exactly why the orphan girls would show interest.


    After all, girls dream of romance just as much as boys dream of adventure.


    And so, the three of them continued to entertain the children during their visit to the orphanage. Of course, they also enjoyed it themselves, just as much as the kids.

 Volume 4, Chapter 5, pt 2

    Chapter 5, part 2


    ¡°That was fun.¡± Lutz sat down in the plush carriage seat. ¡°Well worth the trip, both for the kids and for us.¡±


    ¡°I had the most fun!¡± Teflyn plopped down across from him.


    ¡°I didn''t know we were competing to see who could enjoy themselves more.¡±


    ¡°Now you know. But it''s too late because I won.¡±


    ¡°Hmph.¡± Lutz took on a wise expression. ¡°As an adult, I have to temper myself a bit so that children like you can have more fun.¡±


    ¡°What!? I''m not a child! I''m an adult, too!¡±


    ¡°I''ll believe that when you act like one.¡±


    ¡°Grrr! I''ll show you next time!¡±


    Mia fixed the slight wrinkles in her dress from sitting down. ¡°You didn''t seem like much of an adult when competing against Teflyn to be the first out of the carriage.¡±


    Lutz¡¯s wise expression faded. ¡°To think my own actions would come back to bite me¡­¡±


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Teflyn pointed as she laughed. ¡°Got you, got you~¡±


    ¡°Fight your own battles next time, you useless oni.¡±


    ¡°I''m not useless! Especially in battle!¡± Teflyn looked around. ¡°And I wanna fight! I''m bored!¡±


    ¡°You just got through playing. Didn''t you burn off your excess energy already?¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Lutz sighed. ¡°This is why kids are¡­¡±


    ¡°Duel!¡± Teflyn was looking right at Lutz this time. ¡°Battle! Kishin!¡±


    ¡°You wanna duel me? Well, I don''t mind. I could use the exercise, too.¡±


    ¡°When we get back to the castle, we''re fighting!¡±


    ¡°Hold on a minute. We''ve got to talk with Lucian and the others first to see how the meeting with Archmage Vera went.¡±


    ¡°Ehhhh¡­¡± Teflyn made a pouting face. ¡°That sounds boring.¡±


    ¡°It''s the slow moments in life that make the fun ones stand out even more. And it certainly won''t be boring for everyone.¡± Lutz eyed the young princess.


    Mia nodded at the implication. ¡°I''m very interested to hear about it.¡±


    Teflyn leaned back into her seat cushion. ¡°Okaaaaay. But after that!¡±


    The carriage rolled onwards, taking the same route it used when heading toward the orphanage.


    As one would expect for a princess who was out in the city, there were many guards protecting her on the trip. Lucian would spare no expense when it came to keeping her safe.


    Even if the royal guardsmen weren''t enough of a hint as to who was inside, the royal heraldry would certainly fill in the blanks for the more oblivious citizens. That made travel through the city a quick endeavor, as even noble carriages would give way to Mia''s.


    Although clearly announcing the presence of a royal was convenient in many ways, it also came with a few downsides. Nefarious groups of criminals or spies would be just as aware, allowing them to target the carriage and capture a member of the royal family.


    However, even if such a group were to successfully kidnap her and ransom her back to Lucian, such an action would be equivalent to suicide. There was no way any royal family would let such an offense slide, after all.


    Since Lucian and Mia had cleaned the city of the most powerful criminal organizations, the chances of any of them being bold enough to target the carriage had dropped dramatically. It was a nice side benefit for their tough on crime policies.


    But there was another threat, even more dangerous than a greedy criminal. Some people didn''t care about coin, or even their own life.


    Some people just wanted revenge.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Lutz checked the [Minimap] in the corner of his vision.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Mia picked up on his subtle change of demeanor.


    ¡°Nothing major. Just a suspicious group gathering on the road ahead, probably getting ready to ambush us.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Mia¡¯s eyes widened just a bit, a rare display of emotion for her. ¡°How is that not major?¡±


    ¡°Because even if they outnumber your guards, they''re not as well equipped or as experienced in combat. Plus, Lucian sent several white hairs with us, so our combat power is far higher, no matter how you look at it.¡±


    ¡°And me!¡± Teflyn stood. ¡°The Goddess answered my prayer for battle!¡±


    ¡°And you, of course. But wouldn''t it be best to stay and guard Mia instead of rushing off to battle?¡±


    ¡°They can''t threaten her if they''re dead!¡±


    ¡°Well, you have a point.¡± Lutz relaxed back into his seat. ¡°Have fun.¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡±


    ¡°Divine power, grant Teflyn a kishin¡¯s strength.¡± Mia chanted a spell, which flowed into the oni.


    ¡°Thanks, Mia! I''m going to go beat them up now!¡±


    Teflyn dashed out the carriage door even faster than when she and Lutz were competing to be the first out at the orphanage. Battle always excited her, even more so than a chance to play.


    Mia watched her go but didn''t make any other moves besides sliding over to the far edge of the seat, away from the window.


    She knew that Teflyn would inform the guards of the approaching danger, so there wasn''t anything for the young princess to do but wait.


    ¡°Nervous?¡± Lutz asked.


    ¡°It''s not my first time being in danger.¡±


    ¡°True, there was that time soldiers attacked the castle to free your uncle. Though back then, you weren''t the target. This time, you are.¡±


    Mia looked to the window. ¡°I''m sure the guards can handle them, especially with Teflyn''s help.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. I can judge a person''s strength pretty accurately, though the way people in this world acquire power is different, making it a bit harder when using my usual techniques. Still, it''s obvious that the criminals don''t stand a chance in a frontal assault.¡±


    ¡°Then why are they attacking? Do they have a death wish?¡±


    ¡°I doubt they plan to die a useless death, which is exactly why you should be careful. When the enemy''s plan seems illogical, it''s usually because there''s missing information. In those cases, it''s best to have countermeasures.¡±


    Mia turned to the door, as if planning an escape route in case of an emergency. ¡°I''m not trained for battle, so if it comes down to it, all I can do is flee.¡±


    ¡°That''s certainly a valid option. The best option, I''d say. Though it''d be nice if you had at least some combat training. There''s no guarantee you''ll be able to run if you get attacked, so being able to fend off an assailant, even for a few seconds, could be the difference between life and death.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± She looked back to Lutz. ¡°Perhaps I''ll speak to Lucian about it when we get back.¡±


    A horn bellowed through the street, followed by the shouting of men and the clashing of steel. The battle with the band of criminals had begun.


    But despite the fighting, the inside of the carriage was still rather peaceful. The only signs of distress were Mia''s frequent glances to the window. She desired to look outside to see how the battle was going, but she knew it would be useless.


    The window faced the buildings on the side of the road, while the fighting was taking place ahead of them. She wouldn''t have line of sight.


    Plus, exposing her face would be dangerous, as it could draw the attention of any potential threats that may have been lurking nearby.


    So, she simply waited. That was all she could do.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Lutz made a small noise.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I just had my suspicions confirmed.¡± He also took a glance at the window. ¡°They weren''t random citizens, after all.¡±


    ¡°Who are you talkin¨C¡±


    Mia''s words were interrupted by another round of shouting. But unlike the distant sounds of battle ahead of the carriage, the new yells were closer.


    Much closer.


    ¡°O-outside the window!?¡± Mia stood from her seat.


    The shrill noise of metal on metal grated on her ears, loud enough to send a wave of fear coursing through her. Guards and criminals both fought, the thin carriage wall being the only thing that separated her from the deadly battle.


    But that wall had an obvious weakness.


    The shouting and clanking of metal were drowned out by an ear-shattering crash as something big and heavy smashed through the window. Shards of glass sprayed inward, covering the ornate interior with their sharp, glittering edges.


    The man who burst through was already injured, his face covered in blood from more than just the glass he broke through.


    ¡°You damn king¡­!¡± His eyes fell on Lutz.


    In a flash, the assassin realized that the young man with brown hair and a neutral expression wasn''t the king he expected to find. So, he turned his attention towards the other occupant, Mia.


    The glass wasn''t the only thing reflecting the light that spilled in from outside. The dagger in the man''s hand did so too, with much more dramatic effect.


    ¡°I''ll kill you, too!¡± His hand blurred.


    ¡°A-ah¡­!¡± Mia stood frozen, unable to catch up to the series of sudden events.


    The tip of the dagger closed in on Mia, aimed right at her throat.


    It struck flesh, as it was designed to do. With the force of the man''s leap and the sharpness of the tip, even an enhanced warrior wouldn''t be able to shrug off such an attack, much less a young and inexperienced princess.


    Yet despite hitting flesh, the dagger couldn''t even leave a scratch.


    ¡°You forgot to knock.¡± Lutz kept his arm outstretched, the back of his hand blocking the dagger. ¡°That''s rude, you know.¡±


    ¡°W-what is¡­!¡±


    The man''s momentum has been halted. In fact, he wasn''t moving at all, despite still being in mid-air from his leap through the window.


    ¡°How about going back outside and trying again. And this time, don''t forget to knock.¡±


    ¡°Gah!?¡±


    His momentum suddenly began again. But now, it was reversed.


    He flew back out the window he came in, disappearing from view once the curtain settled back into place.


    Lutz lowered his arm without even checking to see if he was bleeding. Because he knew without a doubt that such a weak attack couldn''t even slice a single hair from his body.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Mia finally caught up to what happened, looking at Lutz with a strange gaze.


    He shrugged. ¡°People these days just don''t have any manners.¡±


    ¡°I ¡­ I guess not?¡±


    ¡°Then you guess correctly. But forget about that rude man. You can take a seat again, if you want.¡±


    Mia looked at the carriage seat. Only then did she realize that not a single shard of glass had landed on it, nor on her.


    Finally regaining her composure, she sat back down. ¡°I thought you said you couldn''t fight our battles.¡±


    ¡°I can''t. But if it''s just teaching a rude person a lesson, then it''s fine.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± A hint of a smile reached Mia''s lips, despite the sounds of battle still raging outside. ¡°And thank you.¡±


    As expected, the ambush was easily dealt with by Teflyn and the guards.


    As for Mia¡­


    He''s even stronger than I thought. Just what kind of magic did he use? And he didn''t even chant.


    I should speak to my brother about getting some basic combat training.


    Or maybe¡­


    ¡­Lutz would be willing to teach me.

 Assassinated King, Volume 4, Chapter 6

    Chapter 6


    ¡°Welcome, Archmage Vera.¡± Lucian turned toward the door just as his guest entered. ¡°I was beginning to wonder if you would be late to the meeting, but it seems you simply have a penchant for arriving precisely on time.¡±


    The grandfather clock had let out a small chime indicating the turn of the hour, just as the door had opened for Vera.


    ¡°I''m a busy woman.¡± Vera sat down in the chair obviously provided for her without waiting for permission. ¡°And I''ve spent enough of my time waiting for others already.¡±


    ¡°That''s certainly something we can agree on.¡± Lucian stepped toward the table and took his own seat. ¡°Which is why I plan to get right down to business.¡±


    The meeting room was one he often used when speaking to important guests. It was smaller, making it less suitable for a large strategy meeting, but the size made it a more personal affair, which was why he had picked it for the meeting.


    Although it saw less use than other meeting rooms, when he did choose it, that often meant his goal was substantially more important than usual.


    It was the very same meeting room where he first met the leader of The Golden Coast trading Guild, Alma Vastelle. She had become somewhat of an ally after their trade deal, though the distance to her home kingdom made keeping in touch a difficult prospect.


    Still, Lucian felt it was only fitting that he use the room for his first real discussion with Archmage Vera, as she held the potential to become a powerful force in the Almekian Kingdom.


    But whether that force would be for or against him was still undetermined.


    ¡°I must say.¡± Lucian moved a piece of parchment, placing it just in front of himself. ¡°I was shocked to see you return after so many years.¡±


    ¡°Not as shocked as I was that you recognized me. You know how many nobles I had to meet to find one that remembered me?¡±


    ¡°Can you blame them?¡± Lucian made a show of checking the page in front of him. ¡°According to the records, it was said that you were 34 years old when you left. That was 7 years ago, yet you don''t look to have aged a day.¡±


    Lucian didn''t need to verify such simple information with the paper. Nearly everything he needed was already stored in his memory.


    However, making a show of having someone''s personal information on hand could have some beneficial effects. It could make others feel as if they''re being judged, like a job applicant when the interviewer was inspecting their resume right in front of them.


    Depending on the person, it could be a good way to find cracks in their story or personality. Lucian often used a similar tactic on his ministers, to varying degrees of success. Some cracked, others didn''t.


    And clearly Vera fell into one of those categories.


    The Archmage shrugged. ¡°Guess I''ve been blessed to age more gracefully than most.¡±


    ¡°Blessed? Maybe you''re right about that.¡±


    That immortal, Lutz, Lucian thought. He didn''t say what Vera¡¯s ancient magic can do, but it''s obvious her body doesn''t match her age.


    I really need to get her on my side. Whatever power she found could be instrumental to closing the gap between me and the God''s Acolyte.


    Vera moved her gaze from Lucian before he could continue with the next line of questions. She was staring over his right shoulder, where a certain girl was standing.


    ¡°Didn''t think you cared much for white hairs. Did you change your mind about them?¡± Her tone contained just a hint of edge.


    ¡°I was only ten years old when you left. Maybe I''ve changed in more ways than you realize.¡±


    ¡°Your looks certainly haven''t, even if you have grown up.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much. Perhaps I have also been blessed in the same way as you.¡±


    Even when he was a child, it was obvious that Lucian was destined to draw the eye. With his long, golden hair, sculpted face, and tall body, he was everything a girl imagined when thinking of her prince.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    And Lucian was precisely that, a prince. But even if he weren''t royalty, he would have no problems with women. He was just that out of the ordinary when it came to his appearance.


    But those who truly knew the young prince understood that looks were only skin deep. Because beneath that thin veil of beauty, he was ugly to the core.


    I''m not the same prince she remembers from seven years ago.


    If she knew the prince''s true personality, then she no doubt hates me. Perhaps enough to try and get rid of me.


    No, there''s no ¡®if¡¯ to it. A world-class mage who sought and found ancient magic would not be fooled so easily.


    She knows. Vera definitely knows the brutal nature of the former prince.


    But she doesn''t know that I''m not that man, and I can''t tell her. Not that she would believe me, considering what she must think of me.


    ¡°What about you?¡± Vera asked, looking at Emilia. ¡°What do you think of him now?¡±


    ¡°He is everything that I imagined.¡± Emilia shook her head. ¡°No, that''s not true. He''s even more than I could have dreamed, which is why I decided to give my all for him.¡±


    Vera narrowed her eyes. ¡°A white hair guard answering before even receiving permission?¡±


    ¡°Not long ago, I would have asked for it. But I''ve grown, too. Prince Lucian trusts me to answer, so it would be rude of me to ask him to verify that trust each time.¡±


    ¡°That''s a weakness that can be targeted by someone devious enough to exploit it. If you said the wrong thing, it could throw a sensitive meeting completely out of order.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for the warning. I will be sure to not cause him any problems.¡±


    Vera turned back to Lucian. ¡°When I heard you made a special division of royal guards consisting of only white hairs, I didn''t expect that you would give them so much autonomy. Did your opinion of them change so drastically?¡±


    ¡°It''s no secret that I don''t like how white hairs are treated,¡± Lucian said. ¡°Even if they can be dangerous when enhanced, that doesn''t mean they should be considered outcasts.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Vera turned to another girl, one who sat in a chair just to Lucian''s right. ¡°You even recruited a dark elf. Aelia, wasn''t it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that''s right.¡± She responded with her usual, curt tone.


    ¡°Don''t see many of your kind this far from the caves. In fact, you''re only the second one I''ve seen since I left the castle seven years ago.¡±


    ¡°What? You want an autograph, or something?¡±


    ¡°An autograph¡­¡± Vera lowered her face to hide her expression. ¡°...hahaha¡­¡±


    Aelia gave her a strange look. ¡°What''s gotten into you?¡±


    Vera¡¯s laugh fades, her face rising to meet the dark elf. ¡°Sorry, it just reminded me of something. You dark elves are a strange bunch.¡±


    ¡°Yeah? Well I gotta say you''re outdoing me a bit here with that poorly hidden laugh. You trying to start a competition with me?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no. I''ve learned my lesson already.¡± Her playful demeanor fades. ¡°But it''s strange enough for you to have so much power in a human kingdom, don''t you think? To me, it seems another weakness ripe for attack.¡±


    ¡°They''re welcome to try. But I wouldn''t recommend it.¡±


    Vera looked back to Lucian. ¡°The nobles I remember from seven years ago would hate to be spoken down to by a dark elf. You must be building up quite a lot of resentment, no?¡±


    Lucian shrugged. ¡°I don''t mind being disliked because Aelia says the truth about someone. It¡¯s an easy way to filter out those who are already looking for a reason to hate me.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you keep her around? Even going so far as to give her some of your territory?¡±


    ¡°No, I keep her around for many reasons, the most obvious being her strategic and tactical genius on the battlefield. But as for the land I gave her, that was simply me fulfilling the agreement we had with the dark elves centuries ago.¡±


    ¡°After the war? I don''t remember the history books saying anything about giving them land.¡±


    Lucian raised his right hand, and Emilia placed two documents into it.


    Without even looking at them, he slid them across the table, toward Archmage Vera.


    She picked them up, her eyes scanning their contents. ¡°A signed agreement for a land transfer as a reward for fighting alongside us in that war? It''s just a copy, but¡­¡±


    Vera focused on the other document. ¡°A page from Earl Folmarv¡¯s diary, claiming to have borne witness to the agreement with his own eyes. If that''s true, then the dark elves were denied the spoils of war that they fought for long ago.¡±


    Vera looked back up to Lucian. ¡°I assume you have the originals?¡±


    ¡°The dark elves have the original signed agreement. But Earl Islude does have his ancestor''s diary. I''ve seen it myself, and I can confirm its authenticity.¡±


    ¡°Now isn''t that something?¡± Vera smiled. ¡°The nobles conveniently left that part out.¡±


    ¡°People often carefully pick out the details they like when spreading rumors.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of rumors.¡± Vera''s gaze fell on the most exotic girl in the room. ¡°I heard something about one of your new friends. Something about being the daughter of the Fairy Queen.¡±


    ¡°You were correctly informed.¡± Minerva answered with no change to her expression.


    ¡°From what the books say, the fairies have some unknown magic. As a mage, I''d be really interested to see it in action.¡±


    ¡°Harboring doubts about my origin?¡±


    ¡°Most people can be easily fooled.¡± Vera smiled again. ¡°But I''m not most people.¡±


    Just in front of Minerva, the wooden table began to move. It wasn''t the planks that had suddenly come to life. Rather, it was something growing from them.


    Minerva reached out and plucked the small vine that had grown from the wood. It continued to wiggle slightly between her two fingers, as if it were alive.


    For the first time, Vera showed clear surprise. ¡°That was no normal use of magic. You manipulated the mana inside the¨C¡±


    She cut off her words.


    ¡°Inside the wood? Yes, I did.¡±


    Vera''s smile returned. ¡°Now this is getting interesting.¡±


    Although Lucian still hadn''t got a full grasp on what Vera knew about him or what she ultimately wanted, he had built the groundwork he needed to dig the truth out of her.


    Now, Vera. Let''s find out why you really came back to my kingdom.

 Volume 4, Chapter 6, pt 2

    ¡°Archmage Vera.¡± Lucian began by simply stating her name.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°The title you hold can only be given by the king himself. In the roughly seven years since your departure, only one other has achieved the rank.¡± Lucian held his hand out. ¡°Emilia. Archmage Keld¡¯s file, please.¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡± Emilia handed him the paperwork without delay.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He set the stack down on the table. ¡°Let¡¯s be honest, Vera. The Archmage title exists for two reasons. First, it¡¯s to tie powerful magic users to the kingdom. The title comes with a sizable salary for you, along with access to noble and royal gatherings that would be off-limits to most others. As a result, the Archmage often remains loyal as long as those benefits persist.¡±


    Lucian thumbed through the first few pages. ¡°The second reason is to boost morale for the soldiers and citizens. Only the most powerful magic users can obtain the rank of Archmage, so simply the act of choosing one gives the people someone to rely on during dangerous times.¡±


    He stopped on a particular page. ¡°Archmage Keld served that purpose a few years after you left. Only a few weeks ago, I fought alongside him during the battles against the Esgares Empire. He has more than proven himself, and his loyalty to the crown hasn¡¯t changed, despite the recent turmoil in my kingdom.¡±


    Lucian held the well-drawn portrait of Archmage Keld so that Vera could see him. ¡°The Almekian Kingdom already has its Archmage. I don¡¯t see why we would need another, especially one that may disappear at any moment, carrying many secrets and details of our kingdom to distant lands, like the Danao Dynasty.¡±


    Vera sat through his long opening arguments in complete silence, her eyes ending up on the artistic depiction of the man who held the same title as her.


    When she became an Archmage, she agreed to be paraded around from time to time for the very reasons Lucian had mentioned. It was good for morale and signaled that she was still loyal to the crown.


    While Vera was never pleased to be an ornament, she did dress and act her part. So when she looked at the man in the portrait, she understood why he was chosen as an Archmage.


    The chiseled face and confident expression staring at her was an exceptionally rare sight, even for someone as well-traveled as Vera. She had met several royal families and countless nobles, yet none could exude the same aura that the man in the portrait was giving off.


    Lucian could see her mind making all of those connections. It was why he absolutely had to show her that well-painted portrait of Archmage Keld. Even if the artist took some liberties to enhance the aura, Keld was no fraud. He truly was a powerful wizard with a charismatic personality.


    Facing such an opponent, he was sure Vera would be on the defensive. She¡¯d have to argue why she should be allowed to keep her title, despite providing no value to the kingdom.


    And it would be during her most desperate moments that the truth would emerge. The truth about why she returned soon after Lucian took the throne.


    I¡¯m getting the truth out of you here and now, Vera. Lucian continued staring at her without backing down.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Archmage Vera began, still looking at the portrait.


    ¡°You?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± She finally met Lucian¡¯s eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t lose my title! Archmages are elevated for life, right!? None of the others have had their titles taken, right!?¡±


    Lucian faltered a bit at the sudden outburst. Even if he wanted to push her into a desperate spot, he imagined it would take some cornering as he slowly destroyed one argument after another.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°No,¡± Lucian said a heartbeat later than usual. ¡°There are no records of Archmages having their titles taken. But what the king gives, the king can take away.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t be the first, then! Especially not now!¡±


    ¡°Why now?¡±


    ¡°Because do you know how much coin it takes to travel all over the world!? On my trip back here, I spent more than one night sleeping in a farmer¡¯s barn, you know! I¡¯m broke! Flat broke!¡±


    Lucian finally understood a few pieces that had seemed off to him when preparing for the meeting. ¡°You sold all your belongings before you left, including your estate. Are you telling me you spent all that money on traveling and never reinvested it into property or valuables?¡±


    ¡°How could I? I never stayed anywhere long enough to buy anything! And I had to impress all the royals and nobles I met along the way! That¡¯s not a cheap task, you know!¡±


    Lucian almost didn¡¯t know how to respond. He wanted her desperate, but he didn¡¯t expect her to crumble at the first sign of resistance.


    Since he was the one who had drawn a hard line in the sand to begin the discussion, it would be strange for him to give in and allow her to keep the title of Archmage. However, he never actually intended to take her title. He only wanted to use the threat as a way to attack what he thought could be a weakness for her.


    It seemed to him that he was correct.


    ¡°Can you fight?¡± Aelia came to Lucian¡¯s rescue while he was considering where to go next in the conversation.


    Vera turned to the dark elf. ¡°I¡¯m more of a ¡­ theoretical mage. I¡¯d rather spend my days researching my theories than training for battle. But I can hold my own.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very promising. But I¡¯d have to see for myself before I really know how useful you¡¯d be.¡± Aelia¡¯s eyes flicked to Lucian¡¯s.


    He understood her intent, as her discussion could lead directly into the true desire Lucian had when he entered the meeting.


    ¡°Archmage Vera,¡± Lucian said with confidence. ¡°From what I remember, you can do more than ¡®hold your own¡¯ in battle. Yet despite being one of the best mages in our kingdom, you never tutored anyone. Why is that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m too busy studying magic to spend any time teaching it.¡±


    ¡°We have Archmage Keld to fight and stand as a beacon for our kingdom. We don¡¯t need another competing with him for that role. However, the kingdom is always in need of magic teachers to help foster the next generation. If you wish to keep your title, and the salary that comes with it, then you can give up some of your studies to teach.¡±


    Vera openly groans. ¡°I have to deal with some runts? Don¡¯t tell me you have an annoying cousin or needy noble who¡¯s been begging for tutoring. I¡¯m not good at dealing with people like that.¡±


    ¡°The ones I have in mind won¡¯t be difficult to deal with.¡± Lucian thought about a certain, horned oni. ¡°Well, not in the way you¡¯re likely imagining.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that mean?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯ll understand quickly, if you accept the offer.¡±


    Vera sighed. ¡°An hour a day.¡±


    ¡°Make it two. Every morning.¡±


    ¡°Argh.¡± She rubbed her head. ¡°Okay, okay. Two hours in the morning. But I get to stay in the castle! I can¡¯t afford anything else¡­¡±


    Lucian nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll make accommodations for you. It¡¯s been quite busy here lately, so I¡¯ll provide a room somewhere a bit quieter. The back rooms on the third floor would likely be a good place for you.¡±


    ¡°Sure, as long as I don¡¯t get disturbed while I¡¯m doing my research.¡±


    ¡°If I need you for any other purpose, I¡¯ll be sure to inform you well in advance, if possible.¡±


    Vera frowned. ¡°Other purposes?¡±


    ¡°If I¡¯m going to announce your return, then of course people are going to want to see you. Expect to be called upon to show your face a few times.¡±


    ¡°Not that again¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, that again. It comes with the title, like it or not.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll do it. But that¡¯s it, right!? There¡¯s nothing else!?¡±


    Lucian stood from his chair. ¡°No, there¡¯s nothing else. As long as you perform those two functions, I will pay your salary.¡±


    Vera stood, as well. ¡°So, about the first payment¡­¡±


    ¡°Emilia, would you?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, Prince Lucian.¡±


    The fox-eared white hair pulled a pouch from a pocket. Within, the jingle of coins could be heard as she set it down on the table, just in front of Archmage Vera.


    ¡°That¡¯s about half your monthly salary. The rest I will have for you tomorrow morning, when you show up to the training arena for your first session.¡±


    Vera scooped up the pouch. ¡°Great! Sure, yeah, I¡¯ll be there!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have the students there an hour after sunrise. Don¡¯t be late.¡±


    The meeting complete, Lucian, Vera, and the girls filed through the only exit and back into the hallway outside.


    He was met with a soldier at the far end, his armor looking to have been recently bloodied from battle.


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Lucian asked before the soldier could even get a word out.


    ¡°Your Majesty, Princess Mia¡¯s carriage was attacked on our way back from the orphanage.¡±


    ¡°What!? Where¡¯s Mia!? Is she hurt!?¡± Lucian rushed forward, forcefully turning the soldier and pulling him into lockstep. ¡°Give me all the details!¡±


    ¡°Princess Mia was unhurt.¡± The soldier spoke as he kept pace. ¡°Lady Teflyn fought in the battle, but she wasn¡¯t injured.¡±


    Hearing that his sister was okay lifted a huge weight in him. But he didn¡¯t slow his steps. He wouldn¡¯t, not until he could verify that fact with his own eyes.

 Volume 4, Chapter 7

    Chapter 7


    ¡°Mia!¡± Lucian called out to his sister, who was only now stepping into the castle.


    ¡°Greetings, Brothe¨C¡±


    ¡°Are you alright!?¡± Lucian held her by the shoulders, looking for wounds. ¡°What happened? Did anything hit you? Are you injured? Maybe we should go see a healer, just in case.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Mia fell silent after an uncharacteristic stutter. ¡°I¡¯m fine. A healer isn¡¯t necessary for me. But some of the soldiers were wounded.¡±


    Lucian raised his head and looked around at the rest of the group who entered alongside Mia. There was Teflyn and Lutz, along with the captain of the guard whose job it was to ensure her safety during the trip out to the city.


    However, not a single one of them were injured, nor were any of the other guards who entered the castle. No doubt the bloodied men were redirected to the healer¡¯s quarters, which was built outside the castle and meant specifically to treat the guards and soldiers.


    There was another healer within the castle, one whose abilities surpassed that of those who operated the healing quarter the soldiers used. That man was Lucian¡¯s personal doctor, who not only healed his injuries when needed but also looked after his general health.


    Lucian waved his hand at a nearby soldier. ¡°Get my healer.¡±


    The soldier saluted and disappeared down a hall.


    Turning back to Mia, Lucian once again confirmed that she had no visible injuries. Though he knew that being the target of an attack can leave more scars than just visible ones.


    Still, he was at least relieved that she had no physical wounds.


    I made quite a scene.


    Lucian often acted with poise to ensure that he would be able to fulfill the expectations people had for their king. Though some of those expectations were only in his mind.


    Being from Earth, he still had sizable gaps in his knowledge, hence why he often played it safe by keeping control of his reputation as a level-headed ruler, no matter the situation.


    Yet he had shown a weakness, one that others could exploit. Any who bore witness to his reaction just now would know that they could force his hand by targeting his little sister.


    Could it be that was the attacker¡¯s goal? To abduct Mia and force me to do as they wish?


    There were still many questions. But fortunately, he was sure he would get most of the answers he wanted from Mia and the others who were with her.


    ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this in private.¡± Lucian cut his losses and moved on, motioning for a few people to follow him.


    Mia, Emilia, Teflyn, Minerva, Aelia, and Lutz all fell in step with Almekia¡¯s king, heading down a particular hallway.


    At first, Lucian said nothing, only leading the way out of the castle¡¯s entrance room and into the depths. Soon, however, the time came to talk. But the person he needed to speak to wasn¡¯t one of the people he had following him.


    No, it was someone who was coming from the opposite direction, heading toward the castle¡¯s entrance room.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Thanks for arriving so quickly.¡± Lucian nodded to an aged man wearing a robe.


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡± His personal healer was already looking over Mia and the others, having heard the basic details from the soldier who fetched him. ¡°Are there any injuries in need of healing?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but not for us. Some of the guards who protected Mia were injured, and I wanted to ensure they got the best possible treatment.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I can certainly see to them, if you wish it.¡±


    ¡°I do. And tell the men that I will be coming to visit them soon.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get on it right away, Your Majesty.¡±


    The healer continued down the hall, alongside the soldier sent to retrieve him.


    With the relative privacy that came with walking the castle corridors, Lucian began asking the questions he had on his mind.


    ¡°What happened?¡± He started with a general inquiry to allow for a full explanation to clear the air.


    ¡°Criminals from the gangs we¡¯ve destroyed tried to take revenge on us.¡± Mia gave him the quick version.


    ¡°Were they targeting you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The one who broke into the carriage seemed surprised to see me instead of you.¡±


    ¡°Hold on.¡± Lucian resisted the urge to stop and face his sister. ¡°One of them broke into the carriage?¡±


    ¡°Through the window.¡±


    ¡°Did Teflyn take care of him?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± The oni made a small sound.


    ¡°What?¡± Lucian eyed the young girl.


    ¡°I was outside. Fighting.¡±


    Lucian understood with just that. There was no way Teflyn could resist a fight, so he envisioned her bouncing out the door and toward the thickest part of the battle.


    That must mean¡­


    Lucian¡¯s eyes fell on a certain immortal next. ¡°And you?¡±


    Lutz shrugged. ¡°I only dealt with a rude intruder.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Lucian gave him a nod. ¡°Thanks for your help.¡±


    The two weren¡¯t being vague just because they were walking the castle halls. No, there was another reason why certain information couldn¡¯t be said so casually at the moment.


    And that reason was¡­


    ¡°Hey.¡± Archmage Vera interjected into the conversation, her eyes on a certain man. ¡°I don¡¯t remember you from the last time I was in this kingdom.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I wasn¡¯t here seven years ago,¡± Lutz said.


    ¡°Right. I heard about some distant royal who came to Almekia. That¡¯s you, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Guilty as charged.¡±


    Vera¡¯s eyes sharpened. ¡°I¡¯ve seen quite a bit of this world recently. Perhaps I know the kingdom you hail from, even if it¡¯s distant. And if so, I likely met its king if I happened to stop by it.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. Where was I born¡­?¡± Lutz made a thoughtful face.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious right now.¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± A smirk fell on his lips. ¡°I¡¯m joking, of course.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡± Vera didn¡¯t sound the least bit convinced.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m the nephew of King Galavan, ruler of Burvia. It¡¯s a kingdom far to the west, past the Medina Sea. We really only get news from this part of the continent through the Trade Kingdom of Villnore.¡±


    ¡°Burvia¡­¡± Vera frowns. ¡°I ended my journey just before reaching their borders.¡±


    ¡°How unfortunate. If you had stopped by, we might have met before today.¡±


    Lutz¡¯s words were lies, but he chose them for a reason. After all, he knew exactly where Vera had gone during her journey, so he knew his secrets would be safe by claiming to be a royal from a kingdom she had never visited.


    However, it was clear to all that Archmage Vera still had her reservations. Though amongst the ones gathered, only Minerva truly understood why.


    Lucian couldn¡¯t detect it, but those capable of using ancient magic could feel that something was different with Lutz. Something small, yet undeniable. Even if he couldn¡¯t sense it, Lucian did pick up on one important detail.


    Lutz is getting her interest on purpose. His words, along with whatever suspicion is driving Vera, are both intentional.


    But why¡­?


    Lucian allowed the archmage to accompany him, despite not having motioned for her to follow. It wasn¡¯t that he suddenly had a lot of trust in her, it was simply convenient for him because of a decision he had reached after reuniting with Mia.


    ¡°Vera.¡± Lucian made it clear that he was changing the subject. ¡°You have your first lesson tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be there.¡±


    ¡°Good, because it¡¯s even more important now.¡± He looked to his sister. ¡°Since Mia will be one of your pupils.¡±


    ¡°I am?¡± The princess met his eyes.


    ¡°Even if it¡¯s a little, being able to defend yourself is important. The events today prove it. Besides, you¡¯re already a good mage. You just need an experienced teacher to bring out your full potential. And who better than one of our only archmages?¡±


    Mia nods. ¡°I intended to seek training, as well. It¡¯s frustrating to always be protected by others.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s settled. Learn what you can from Vera, and I¡¯ll handle your work for as long as you want to train each day.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± She agreed easily, the two having come to the same conclusion for similar reasons.


    With the aftermath of the attack on Mia dealt with, Lucian stopped in front of a particular door.


    Now, let¡¯s make sure nothing like this happens ever again.

 Volume 4, Chapter 7 pt2

    A knock filled the castle hall, where some of the most powerful and influential people in the world stood in front of a wooden door built into a stone frame.


    It wasn¡¯t King Lucian who knocked, though. Emilia stood close by his side, giving her easy access to the same door as her prince.


    ¡°Ah, coming!¡± A muffled, feminine voice came from behind the door.


    It was followed by the sound of solid objects hitting the ground. Though the noises were just as muffled as the voice since they originated from within the room, as well.


    Finally, the door opened, revealing the face of a young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a pair of fluffy ears like a squirrel.


    ¡°Oh! King Lucian!¡± Lily bowed, her fluffed tail rising as her head lowered. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect a visit today, so¡­¡±


    Lucian looked beyond Lily, where a pile of books sat atop her desk. ¡°Hard at work, as usual. You should take a day off sometime, Liliana.¡±


    ¡°Haha.¡± Another book fell from the table, joining several others that had already fallen victim to Lily¡¯s poor housekeeping. ¡°W-well, maybe I¡¯ll think about it.¡±


    Emilia raised a fist. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Lily. I¡¯ll take care of this right away.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to clean it up, or anything. I wouldn¡¯t want to keep King Lucian waiting.¡±


    ¡°No problem. It won¡¯t take long.¡±


    ¡°Umm.¡± Lily looked to Lucian, who nodded. ¡°I guess it won¡¯t hurt to put a few things away.¡±


    Emilia got started immediately, first picking up the books on the floor. After a quick scan of their titles, her arms moved like a professional librarian, sliding them back into their appropriate locations with absolute confidence.


    ¡°She just can¡¯t help herself.¡± Aelia shook her head as she stepped into the room.


    ¡°She cleans up after you, too!¡± Teflyn bounced in behind her.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to say that when you¡¯re the one who leaves the most mess.¡±


    ¡°Uwah¡­!¡±


    Minerva followed behind the two bickering girls. ¡°Perhaps you should both strive to become more organized.¡±


    ¡°No way.¡± Aelia denied her immediately. ¡°Emilia would go as battle-crazed as an enhanced white hair without something to clean and organize.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Minerva looked at the white hair foxgirl who was ignoring them as she efficiently cleaned the room. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°I remember this office.¡± Archmage Vera scanned the room as she entered. ¡°Used to belong to some arrogant paper pusher who always made everyone¡¯s lives a pain.¡±


    Lutz walked in beside her. ¡°Looks like that guy¡¯s long gone now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Vera¡¯s eyes settled on Lily. ¡°It¡¯s rare for a beastfolk to get high ranked positions in the castle. Did the Council of Elders send you here?¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯m Special Administrative Officer Liliana.¡± The squirrel-eared girl greeted the two newcomers. ¡°And I technically work for the Council of Elders, maybe?¡±


    ¡°Archmage Vera.¡±


    ¡°Lutz, a foreign royal.¡±


    The two introduced themselves back at the same time. Having a famous, long-lost Archmage return was a shock, and hearing that a foreign royal accompanied her only added to the surprise.


    ¡°Special Administrative Officer.¡± Vera repeated Lily¡¯s rank. ¡°That¡¯s a rare rank to hear. Does that mean you¡¯re outside the normal command structure?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Yes. According to King Lucian, I outrank all other officers when it comes to giving orders to those under my command.¡±


    ¡°And who do you command?¡±


    ¡°The white hairs. Both those in King Lucian¡¯s special guard and the new recruits at the nearby training camp.¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s it.¡± Vera nodded. ¡°Did the Council of Elders gain more power during my years of absence?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t get the special rank because of the council. King Lucian himself gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°Really¡­¡±


    ¡°It was a necessity.¡± Lucian was the final one to step into the room, just behind Mia. ¡°The white hairs who guard me needed a direct superior officer they trust that would always be available to them. Liliana was the administrative officer in charge of the camp where the white hair recruits train, and her popularity amongst the white hairs made her the perfect candidate.¡±


    ¡°I see. It does make sense when you put it like that.¡± Vera eyed Emilia. ¡°But giving so much power and autonomy to white hairs couldn¡¯t have been a popular move.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite an understatement. In fact, I had built up so much animosity amongst so many fringe groups in the kingdom that had I lost the battle against the Esgares Empire, I would have likely been deposed.¡±


    ¡°Then why risk it? Are you expecting a rebellion in the city?¡±


    ¡°I seem to attract daggers more than pitchforks, a fact that has been proven by what happened today.¡± Lucian turned to the Special Administrative Officer. ¡°Liliana.¡±


    ¡°Is there something you need, King Lucian?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I have an operation planned for my white hair guards, and I¡¯d like you to assist.¡±


    ¡°That means battle, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It does.¡± Lucian motioned to Mia.


    ¡°My carriage was attacked,¡± the princess said without any strong emotions.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± Lily finally understood why they had arrived suddenly and unexpectedly. ¡°Are you alright, Princess Mia?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t injured.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a relief. Everyone would feel horrible if something were to happen to you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think people would feel much of anything.¡±


    ¡°Eh!? That¡¯s not true at all! I know a lot of people who would be sad.¡±


    Mia looked away. ¡°I don¡¯t know about that¡­¡±


    Lucian gave her a couple pats on the head. ¡°Just accept it already. You¡¯ve gotten popular around here.¡±


    Mia accepted the headpats with a resigned expression.


    ¡°But as for my white hair guards,¡± Lucian continued, ¡°they¡¯ll just be continuing the clean-up mission from before. The remnants of those criminal gangs have begun to gather up into an organized band, going so far as to attack Mia¡¯s carriage while she was visiting the orphanage. Sigurd will lead the operation, with your support. Do you have any objections?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± Lily went to a nearby shelf and pulled out a notebook, one Emilia had only recently put back in place.


    Her hand moved along the page, writing down parts of the operation that Lucian had already outlined. There were still some blanks, but Lily had enough experience with helping organize the white hairs that she already knew how to fill them.


    She looked back to Lucian. ¡°I¡¯ll need the most up-to-date information on the criminal activity in the city.¡±


    ¡°You have full permission to meet with all personnel tasked with keeping order, including those above your official rank.¡±


    Lily¡¯s hand moved again, recording his words. ¡°Do you have any preference on which personnel I acquire from outside my command?¡±


    ¡°The captain of my regular guard has a list of units who are unavailable. You can choose from any soldiers who aren¡¯t on that list. If there¡¯s a problem regarding availability, come see me again.¡±


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯m also adding the full release of all restrictions on enhancing the white hairs. Is that a problem?¡± Lily¡¯s hand began writing even before Lucian could respond.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a problem.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Those are all the special permissions I need at the moment. If anything else comes up during the planning phase of the operation, I¡¯ll speak with you about it at your convenience.¡±


    ¡°Good. But feel free to interrupt me, if needed. I want this problem solved.¡±


    Lily¡¯s hand moved one, final time. ¡°I¡¯ll add it to the permission list.¡±


    Although there were many more privileges given to Lily during operations like the one she was starting, she and Lucian had already gone through the process many times. The rest of the permissions she had available to her were essentially set in stone, no longer needing to be clarified.


    Even other officers and generals rarely asked her for proof of command, knowing that Lucian would back up her claims, no matter how out of the ordinary they seemed.


    Though because of Lily¡¯s reservations about certain privileges, she always made sure to clarify them beforehand. One such example was releasing the restrictions on enhancing the white hairs, something that was rare outside of war.


    ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else¡­¡± Lily closed her notebook and put her quill away. ¡°Then I will speak with Sigurd and begin organizing them for the operation.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡± Lucian gave her a nod.


    With the pieces set into motion, Lucian opened the door to Lily¡¯s office, letting everyone file out just like they had done when entering.


    ¡°And that¡¯s the last one.¡± Emilia lowered her arm, which she had just used to put the final book back into its place on the shelf.


    ¡°Good job, Emilia.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Prince Lucian. It was rather fun to organize literature again.¡±


    ¡°Looks like I need to make a mess of the royal study, for old time¡¯s sake.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll gladly clean it up!¡± She said it without the least bit of reservation.


    Lucian shook his head. ¡°You really do love cleaning up after others, huh? Well, not that I¡¯m surprised.¡±


    The two of them were the last ones to leave the office. With the door shut behind them, Lily bid them farewell, going off to begin her tasks.


    As for the rest of them, Lucian had other plans, knowing that Lily would perform her job with the expertise he had come to expect from her.

 Volume 4, Chapter 8

    Chapter 8


    ¡°I¡¯ve got things to do, so I¡¯ll take my leave here.¡± Archmage Vera stops at an intersection.


    ¡°I hope preparing for tomorrow¡¯s training session is on that list.¡± Lucian gave her a final reminder about their agreement.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be ready.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± Lutz rubbed his chin. ¡°Would you like some company on whatever tasks you have planned?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m too busy to entertain a foreign royal.¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ll find I¡¯m not as stiff as all the kings and princes you¡¯ve met during your journey. Besides¡­¡± Lutz pulled out a pouch, showing the gold coins held inside. ¡°Now that you¡¯re back in this kingdom, I¡¯m sure there are plenty of things you need to buy. Consider them my treat for today.¡±


    Vera¡¯s eyes seemed to shine with the same golden glean as the coins. ¡°Well you should have said that sooner. What are you waiting for? I need Almekian style clothes, some accessories, a chest to store some personal possessions, and of course a personal carriage to ride around in.¡±


    Lutz looked between the bag of gold in his hand and the archmage in front of him. ¡°Looks like I better say my goodbyes to every single one of these coins, huh?¡±


    ¡°You made the offer, so there¡¯s no point in trying to weasel out of it now.¡± Vera crossed her arms beneath her rather large assets.


    ¡°Alright, I get it, I get it. Oh, and since I¡¯m also new to this kingdom, I planned to buy myself some local clothes. I don¡¯t have much of a fashion sense, so we¡¯ll be meeting up with someone who does. Her parents are tailors, so she developed an eye for detail when it comes to apparel.¡±


    ¡°Thought you were new here. How do you already know someone that specific?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯ve got a few important connections.¡±


    Vera narrowed her eyes just a bit. ¡°In that case, I¡¯m eager to meet this connection of yours.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡± Lutz turned to Lucian. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking my leave here as well, Your Majesty.¡±


    Lucian nodded. ¡°Do as you wish.¡±


    With that, the unlikely duo broke off from the group, heading down a separate hallway.


    ¡°I¡¯ll catch up with you after I draw up a plan for the operation.¡± Aelia gave a small wave.


    ¡°I shall accompany you on your endeavors.¡± Minerva joined the dark elf.


    ¡°Oh! Me, too!¡± Teflyn ran after the other two. ¡°I want to make sure I get to beat a lot of them up!¡±


    Lucian saw the three girls off, leaving him with only Emilia and Mia.


    Of course his most loyal and trusted bodyguard would follow him everywhere, but the same wasn¡¯t true of his sister. The reason she didn¡¯t separate at the same time as the others is simply because she was heading in the same direction as her brother.


    More specifically, they were heading to the royal bedrooms, which were located on adjoining halls.


    ¡°Goodbye.¡± Mia spoke only a single word of parting before opening her bedchamber door.


    ¡°See you soon!¡± Emilia saw her off with an enthusiastic smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll drop by before the mission begins.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Mia didn¡¯t step into the room, despite the door being open.


    ¡°Meow~¡± Luna rubbed against her legs.


    ¡°She¡¯s happy to see you again.¡± Emilia voiced what everyone was thinking.


    ¡°I suppose so.¡± Mia knelt down and picked up her young cat. ¡°Let¡¯s prepare your lunch. And I don¡¯t want to chase you through the castle again in the meantime.¡±


    ¡°Luna really has gotten brave.¡± Lucian gave the cat a small pat while she was in Mia¡¯s arms. ¡°The cooks must really be on the lookout after the last incident with the fish that vanished from the kitchen while they were preparing it.¡±


    ¡°Luna has learned since then.¡± Mia looked down at her cat. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°Meow?¡± Luna made no indication that she understood Mia¡¯s words or had learned anything from the fish incident.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Lucian shrugged. ¡°I guess being cute comes with a lot of benefits.¡±


    Without a final goodbye, Mia stepped into her room and closed the door.


    ¡°Just us now, huh?¡± Lucian continued down the hall, Emilia a step behind him.


    ¡°Not long ago, we used to spend a lot of time together like this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true. When I first came to this world, I didn¡¯t know who I could trust. When I found you, I felt like I could finally confide in someone. Since then, I¡¯ve gathered a lot more reliable companions and subjects. But it¡¯s nice to go back to our roots every once in a while.¡±


    ¡°Yes! We can spend as much time together as you want, Prince Lucian!¡±


    ¡°Maybe we can bring back our old method we used to use when we wanted to get away from it all.¡±


    ¡°Ah, you mean barricade ourselves in the royal study?¡±


    ¡°Precisely. I¡¯m sure I can think up a few more subjects I need to research, even if it¡¯s really just an excuse to spend some time together.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll follow you anywhere at any time!¡±


    Lucian stopped in front of his own bedroom door. ¡°Keep it up, and people might start calling you Queen Emilia before long.¡±


    ¡°Q-queen!?¡± Emilia¡¯s red face became a complete contrast to her white hair. ¡°Awawawa¡­!¡±


    ¡°Haha. Sorry, it just slipped out. Though I do wonder what people would think if I were to marry a white hair.¡± Lucian opened his door. ¡°It might be interesting to find out.¡±


    After stepping inside, Lucian was met with his meticulously-kept room. He had a habit of keeping it clean and organized with his own hands, leaving little for the maids to do when they came in for their daily cleaning.


    Although he had some expensive items in his room, the truly invaluable artifacts and equipment were stored elsewhere. And when it came to his powerful sword, he often kept it on his waist.


    Lucian had never intended on becoming a warrior-king, but his unique magic and skills, coupled with the ongoing war with the Esgares Empire, made his ascent as a powerful mage and swordsman a necessity for survival.


    When he was truly prepared for battle, he carried not one sword, but two. However, even a single blade could become cumbersome, so he often stored his secondary weapon in a safe location.


    One would be forgiven for assuming that his royal bedchamber would be the perfect place to hold his sword. But one would be wrong.


    There was a place safer than even that, and the location was often closer and more convenient than having to return to his room to retrieve his second blade.


    ¡°Emilia.¡± Lucian pulled his white, military-style coat back, revealing a loop on his belt that could be attached to a scabbard to hold it in place.


    ¡°Eh?¡± She still stood just outside the open door, her face still flushed red. ¡°Ah! The sword!¡±


    Emilia stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her. A heartbeat later, a sheathed blade appeared in her hands, the scabbard and hilt decorative enough to be fit for a king, without crossing the line into being gaudy.


    Although it wasn¡¯t a closely-guarded secret, Lucian¡¯s Guardians obtained the unique ability, [Materialize]. It allowed them to store equipment in an otherworldly space that only they had access to.


    Considering that, there was no safer and more convenient place to place his secondary weapon than inside Emilia¡¯s unreachable storage space.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Lucian attached the scabbard to his waist. ¡°As usual, it¡¯s a little cumbersome. But they won¡¯t be sitting in their sheathes after the battle starts.¡±


    ¡°I think they make you look very dangerous!¡±


    ¡°You think so?¡± Lucian looked in the mirror and saw a face fit for a movie star, framed by long, blonde hair that could be used to film a shampoo commercial. ¡°Something tells me my opponents wouldn¡¯t agree.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter since they wouldn¡¯t be alive long enough to complain about getting defeated by someone far more handsome than them.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Keep it up, and I really will be arranging that marriage soon.¡±


    ¡°Eh!?¡± Emilia¡¯s face began to grow red again, after having just returned to its normal color.


    While peeking at her through the mirror, Lucian began fixing some minor wrinkles in his clothes and some stray strands of hair that were trying to stand out from the rest. He was the King of Almekia, the region''s most powerful country. If he were going to slay some criminals, then he needed to look as immaculate as possible while doing it.


    Such was the way of a ruler who relied on the support of his people to maintain his power. Perception was everything.


    ¡°That should do it.¡± Lucian set down a small tub of deodorant he kept in the room. ¡°How do I look and smell?¡±


    Emilia visibly sniffed the air. ¡°You smell great, Prince Lucian! And of course, you look amazing.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Although a bath would be great at enhancing my appearance, it¡¯s not worth it just to deal with a few criminals. So, this will have to do for now.¡±


    Since Lucian was obviously heading toward the door to leave, Emilia opened it before he could reach it. He had gotten used to her little actions like that, removing small obstacles before he even had to deal with them.


    No matter how much he used to tell her that she didn¡¯t have to act like a maidservant, Emilia would keep doing it, regardless.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure!¡±


    Such an exchange had become common for the two of them, and neither of them wanted that to change.


    ¡°Now.¡± Lucian looked at Emilia. ¡°Since we have some time before everyone¡¯s ready, how about you freshen up next?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a soldier, so I don¡¯t mind looking a bit worse for wear.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true that people would be far more willing to forgive a wrinkled shirt on you than if I were wearing it. But really, this is more for my sake than anyone else¡¯s. I simply like it when you match me as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°Really? In that case, I¡¯ll do my best to look like a queen¨C!¡± Emilia suddenly realized what she was saying, her eyes going wide.


    ¡°Hah. Looks like someone¡¯s been giving it some thought.¡±


    ¡°I-it¡¯s not what it seems! I just happened to choose that analogy completely by chance!¡±


    Lucian nodded. ¡°Got it. Just random happenstance.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s true! There¡¯s no way I¡¯ve been thinking about becoming queen ever since you mentioned it a few moments ago!¡±


    ¡°I understand. What coincidental timing.¡±


    ¡°Mrrr. I¡¯m being bullied.¡±


    ¡°How dare someone bully my closest companion. When I catch them, I¡¯ll surely make them pay.¡±


    ¡°The mirror is that way¡­¡± Emilia pointed back to Lucian¡¯s door.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. But unfortunately, we¡¯re going this way.¡± He turned down the hall. ¡°Toward your own room. And after that, it¡¯s time to clean out this city¡¯s infection again.¡±


    The two of them continued their short time together as they made final preparations, enjoying every minute of each other¡¯s company.

 Volume 4, Chapter 9

    Chapter 9


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡± Sigurd saluted as King Lucian approached him and the white hairs he led.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you¡¯re as eager as ever, Sigurd.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m always ready to hunt criminals, especially those targeting you.¡±


    ¡°There are a lot of them, though not all are criminals that can be dealt with using force. Sometimes, that makes them even more dangerous.¡±


    ¡°Politics.¡± Archmage Vera understood his point immediately.


    ¡°Essentially. But the nobles have been rather quiet lately, as I¡¯m still politically untouchable because of my victory against the Esgares Empire. Eventually, the protection from winning a single battle will wane, but it¡¯s nice while it lasts.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re using this grace period to stomp out other forms of resistance, like the criminal gangs that are targeting you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a convenient opportunity for sure, but I have bigger worries than a shattered cartel. That is, until they made the first move.¡±


    Lucian looked down the line of soldiers gathered in the castle courtyard for the extermination mission. Both the normal Royal Guard and his special white hair division had been summoned to deal with the criminals.


    They were already in their tactical formations, ready to march to their various destinations. All they were waiting for was the order from their king.


    ¡°Liliana.¡± Lucian called over the Special Administrative Officer overseeing the mission.


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty?¡± She carried her usual pen and parchment.


    ¡°While we¡¯re gone, send a message to the Council of Elders. Inform them that I¡¯d like to speak about a few matters.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Lily was a bit surprised by the order.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be returning soon.¡± Lucian unsheathed the larger of the two swords on his waist, holding it skyward. ¡°March.¡±


    The blade flew from his fingers and began orbiting him, as if searching for a threat to attack. His shield did the same, making for a surreal sight as two inanimate objects defied gravity and seemingly had a mind of their own.


    Lucian had kept his unique ability, [Command Magic], hidden as much as possible. But during the war with the Esgares Empire, he had no choice but to use it without reserve.


    Because of that, he had become known for his special magic, which made hiding it a useless endeavor. Instead, he leaned into it, using the mysterious ability to further cement his growing reputation as an unusually powerful ruler.


    Combined with his rare companions, including Fairy Princess Minerva herself, he finally had a stable foundation to secure his rule. Nobles and wealthy merchants were having an increasingly difficult time undermining his authority.


    The fact that his citizens were even beginning to grow fond of him only further cemented his reign. Unless he were to lose a decisive battle or make a huge political blunder, Lucian felt he was mostly past the unstable phase that often came with the transition of power from one king to the next.


    However, that didn¡¯t mean that those who wanted to see him deposed would simply give up. Some people weren¡¯t so easily quelled. And since their political avenues to usurp him were all getting cut off due to Lucian¡¯s growing reputation and power, that only left them with one choice.


    Assassination.


    ¡°Good luck in the battle.¡± Lucian nodded to Aelia.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a cinch.¡± The dark elf girl waved her hand dismissively. ¡°I¡¯ve already seen through their operation.¡±


    As the Minister of War, Aelia knew her way around a battlefield. In fact, there were very few in the entire world who could challenge her in a strategic or tactical confrontation.


    Although Lily had been the one to organize the administrative aspects of the operation, Aelia was the one who created the battle plan. With the information Lily sourced from various personnel and records, the dark elf girl was easily able to formulate a plan that was virtually guaranteed to succeed.


    As long as nothing too extraordinary appeared. And considering the gods and acolytes who were toying with the world, Lucian couldn¡¯t rule that possibility out.


    He can¡¯t attack. Lucian thought back to Lutz¡¯s words about how the God¡¯s Acolyte had been restrained from attacking. But that doesn¡¯t mean he can¡¯t work against me behind the scenes.


    And if he has even more unique abilities and magics than I do right now, there¡¯s no telling what he¡¯s capable of doing.


    We can¡¯t let our guard down.


    Aelia, Minerva, and Teflyn broke off from Lucian¡¯s group, taking half the soldiers with them.


    The dark elf had concluded that there were two main operational bases that the criminals were using, each holding remnants from certain gangs that Lucian had destroyed.


    Although the two groups of criminals were enemies in the streets, Aelia determined that they were working together in order to assassinate Lucian. Whether that was because they had a shared interest in taking him out, or if there were another reason, Lucian couldn¡¯t be sure.


    But no matter the case, he couldn¡¯t allow two organized gangs to grow from the remnants of the ones he shattered. Plus¡­


    They made a huge mistake by attacking Mia.


    It¡¯s time to put the nail in their coffin today.


    Lucian often traveled in one of his royal carriages, though it was still rather common for him to walk the streets. He did it to maintain a public persona, allowing his citizens to meet him directly.


    Although he always had a large retinue protecting him, it was rare for him to take an entire company of soldiers with him. In the past, he had only done so when performing an operation just like the current one.


    He made no effort to hide his intentions. The sword and shield still orbited around him, catching the eyes of any citizens who happened to be using the same street as him.


    His [Command Magic] had become well-known, but most had only heard of it through word of mouth. Other than soldiers, guards, and close companions, it was rare for anyone else to see his unique ability with their own eyes.


    Walking through the busy roads between the castle and his destination, many of his citizens would catch their first real glimpse of the sword that could attack without a wielder.


    As the march continued, the extravagant buildings from the wealthier areas slowly morphed into more traditional designs. Both homes and shops were built with an emphasis on practicality, rather than flourish, their colors selected from a cheaper and more muted palette.


    Soon, even those middle-class homes began to vanish, replaced by the barely habitable buildings of the city slums. At least, by Lucian¡¯s standards, the homes should all be condemned and torn down to make way for better construction.


    Unfortunately, that was an unrealistic wish. His kingdom was still burdened with a heavy debt, their exports still hadn¡¯t recovered from the years of economic misallocation of resources, and education rates were exceptionally poor amongst the lower class.


    Considering all the conditions inflicting his kingdom, Lucian was surprised that crime wasn¡¯t completely out of control. Though he understood that his own expectations weren¡¯t quite aligned with those of his new world.


    That was to say, he knew that the people in the Almekian Kingdom were simply more conditioned to accept terrible living conditions because in a world without advanced science, life was harsh. The same was true for Earth, before the modern era.


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The fascinated citizens who watched with marvel had long since disappeared. Few people openly watched him and his men marching through the dirty streets, and those that did carried an expression between hatred and fear.


    Most only peered on from beyond the darkness, hiding in their shanties or in the shadowed crevices between them. Lucian was clearly on the hunt, and none of them wanted to become his prey.


    Finally, his target appeared. Although it looked like just another run-down neighborhood, one of the newly resurrected criminal gangs had taken residence inside, terrorizing the rest of the residents and those living on the nearby streets.


    ¡°Halt.¡± Lucian ordered his men to stop. ¡°Battle formation. We¡¯re not wasting any time.¡±


    The soldiers reorganize from their marching formation to one more suitable for battle.


    Seeing his men were ready, Lucian waved them forward.


    ¡°By my royal command,¡± Lucian began his chant, ¡°I call upon the power of the white hairs! Grant your berserked strength to Emilia! [Enhance]!¡±


    His ever-present Guardian walked beside him, leading the column of soldiers toward their battlefield. Emilia¡¯s focused glare didn¡¯t change, even after Lucian¡¯s magic enveloped her.


    But the bloodthirsty smile on her lips was enough of a clue that she had gone berserk.


    ¡°What a great day.¡± Emilia tugged on the katana at her waist. ¡°Let¡¯s enjoy it to the fullest.¡±


    More voices could be heard as dedicated mages enhanced the rest of the white hairs Lucian had brought with him.


    As they walked through the neighborhood filled with homes as broken as the people¡¯s lives who inhabited them, soldiers fanned out, filling not only the street they walked on but also the alleys connected to it.


    Like an umbrella being unfurled, the column of troops expanded out, preparing to catch their targets like a fishing net cast into a river.


    The encirclement was met with zero resistance from the neighborhood''s residents. Those who merely lived in the area wanted nothing to do with a king on a mission, while the ones being targeted fled the moment they heard that the troops were heading their way.


    Lucian¡¯s men continued to spread out until the column had fully transformed into a half-circle. And at the center of their formation were three houses, each as dilapidated as the rest in the neighborhood.


    But what made those three homes different was the fact that the criminal gang had chosen them as the central base for their operations.


    ¡°Movement.¡± Emilia smiled as she watched a shadow pass by a window. ¡°Good. Not all of them scurried away like rats.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a little surprising, but I won¡¯t complain.¡± Lucian raised his hand. ¡°Attack.¡±


    The half-circle of troops began to close in on the three houses. As they did so, several men appeared from their doors, armed with weapons. However, rather than running toward the approaching soldiers, the men simply fled through the gap in their formation before it could fully encircle them.


    The intelligent ones had long since fled, the cowardly ones did so after seeing Lucian¡¯s forces with their own eyes, and the brave ones stayed to make a stand. Though the line between brave and foolish could be quite blurry.


    The troops didn¡¯t give chase to the fleeing men, keeping to their formation and fully surrounding the targeted homes.


    Lucian, Emilia, and Vera all ended up at the central house¡¯s front door, as planned. Even though movement could be seen and heard within, no criminals came bursting out to attack.


    ¡°Guess we¡¯ll invite ourselves in, then.¡± Lucian motioned to the door, and his floating sword sliced through the rotting wood in an instant. ¡°Ah, so they did come to greet us.¡±


    ¡°You damn king¡­!¡± A man rushed out, carrying an axe.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me!¡± Emilia¡¯s katana flashed, and the axe hit the ground just outside the carved door.


    The man¡¯s body joined his weapon, clearing the way for the next criminal to try his hand. Or, that¡¯s what they thought.


    ¡°[Stone Shard].¡± Vera finished her simple chant, and a rocky spear sunk into the chest of the next man brave enough to rush out.


    Lucian watched on as his sword began rampaging within the house. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect you to join the fight.¡±


    ¡°Offensive spells may not be my specialty, but I am an Archmage. And I¡¯m no stranger to the battlefield.¡±


    Emilia led the charge through the main entrance, joining Lucian¡¯s sword and rampaging through the large room that made up the house¡¯s main living area.


    Lucian¡¯s shield zipped by his vision, putting itself between him and a nearby window. The sharp sound of metal followed after, the shield deflecting a dagger thrown from a criminal who thought himself stealthy.


    ¡°[Ice Blade].¡± Vera sends a spell toward the window, right where the dagger had appeared.


    ¡°If you¡¯re this calm, then I can only assume you fought many battles during your recent adventures.¡±


    ¡°Traveling can be dangerous, especially my destination.¡± Vera spared a glance for Lucian. ¡°But I didn¡¯t take you for a seasoned warrior. Your older brother was the one who had trained for battle while you sat in the castle.¡±


    Lucian remembered the scarred face of the former crown prince, who died from the sickness along with the rest of the royal family, other than Mia.


    ¡°You¡¯re right that I was never really on the battlefield, but I did train in personal combat.¡± Lucian recalled the history of the prince whose body he inhabited. ¡°You should know all about my skill with both the blade and magic, even before the unfortunate illness that took my brothers and father.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the stories.¡± Vera watched the open doorway as Lucian¡¯s sword flew by in search of its next victim. ¡°But no amount of simple combat training would lead you to discovering magic that has never been seen before.¡±


    The house ahead of them had gotten crowded. It wasn¡¯t because a large group of criminals had appeared to battle his soldiers, though. Rather, it was the opposite. Lucian¡¯s men were the ones rushing inside, filling the home and overwhelming the few criminals that had remained.


    As the two watched from just outside, their target¡¯s resistance crumbled, bringing a very abrupt end to what should have been a much longer and tougher battle.


    ¡°And what about you?¡± Lucian held up a hand, and his autonomous sword returned. ¡°Do you have any hidden magics that you would like to share with me? If so, perhaps we could exchange a few secrets.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I do.¡±


    ¡°Then maybe we should set up another private meeting soon.¡±


    The soldiers pulled a man out from the house, dragging him in front of Lucian. Although he had never seen the criminal before, Lucian knew who the man was. Or at least, he knew what general position the man held within the gang.


    As the raid was planned by Aelia herself, Lucian was confident in the information she had gathered while drafting the operation. The identities of the gang leaders were obvious from the beginning, but getting information on their many underlings was far more difficult.


    Still, Lucian had prioritized cleaning up the streets for a while now, which made it possible to create a fairly accurate list of powerful members of the gang he was eradicating.


    And without a doubt, the man held before him was one of those powerful members.


    ¡°You ain¡¯t shit.¡± The man spat at Lucian, but the shield protected him. ¡°And you ain¡¯t very smart, neither! Walking down here lookin¡¯ all smug, ¡®course the boss is gonna get the hell outta here!¡±


    ¡°So.¡± Lucian paused to allow his shield time to intercept another glob of spittle. ¡°You¡¯re saying that we were far too obvious in our approach, giving your leader a chance to get away.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I said!¡± The man grew a little angry that he wasn¡¯t even able to spit on the king.


    ¡°Seems to me you shouldn¡¯t be judging other people¡¯s intelligence when you stayed behind, despite knowing we were coming.¡± Lucian paused again, except it was to let the man get out a few curses before he continued. ¡°But you¡¯re right. We were very obvious. Your gang would have to be extremely incompetent to be caught off-guard by this attack.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said you ain¡¯t very smart!¡±


    Lucian shook his head. ¡°At least try to pick up on the clues I¡¯m giving you.¡±


    ¡°The hell¡¯re you talking about!?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about¡­¡± Lucian pointed down the street. ¡°That.¡±


    Another small column of troops was marching down the road, coming from the opposite direction of the main force. In their possession were various captured men, each bound with ropes. Among them was¡­


    ¡°B-boss!?¡± The arrogant criminal watched with shock as his leader was being dragged right back to him.


    ¡°If it were just me,¡± Lucian said, ¡°then perhaps your gang could have scurried away like rats, looking to regroup again after the destruction of your base of operations here. But the mistake you made was thinking that you could outsmart a genius dark elf who even outclasses the feared generals of the empire.¡±


    ¡°Huh!? That doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying that of course the rats would run to safety if they think I¡¯m coming to destroy them. And if I were to station troops to watch, then we could see exactly where the rats scurry off. The places that they think will keep them safe, the districts that harbor them, the people that support them. We wanted to know it all. That way, we could thoroughly destroy your entire operation at once.¡±


    ¡°All of it¡­?¡±


    Lucian looked at the man, one of the people who had orchestrated the attack on Mia¡¯s carriage. ¡°Every. Last. Scrap.¡±


    The gang leader finally arrived, bound in ropes and surrounded by his men, ones who were sent out in secret to act as the real net that would catch the fish he wanted.


    At the head of the troops who captured the gang leader walked a white hair that wasn¡¯t officially part of his royal guard. Lucian had picked her up in the far north, near the dark elves.


    Even though Sophia had white hair and fox ears like Emilia, there was one defining feature about her that caught everyone¡¯s eye. Her hair had streaks of red, as if she weren¡¯t fully cursed by whatever magic causes them to go berserk when enhanced.


    Before sending Sophia on her first mission, Lucian had tested her berserked state. Each white hair had varying control over their bloodthirst when enhanced, with some losing almost all self-control.


    Among the spectrum, Emilia maintained a relatively clear head, for which Lucian was grateful. Though there were others who had even better control over their berserked states.


    Sophia was one such girl. In fact, she had a better grip over her emotions than any other berserked white hair Lucian had ever seen, and it was precisely because of the red streaks in her hair.


    Sophia truly was less cursed than other white hairs, which was why the berserk effect was lessened for her. But that also meant she obtained less strength when enhanced, compared to other white hairs.


    It was a trade-off, but one Lucian was particularly grateful to have. She was still leagues stronger than the average enhanced soldier, and there was little risk of her going out of control.


    He could even have her lead a small operation while enhanced and she would remain focused far better than other white hairs, as she just proved by capturing the gang leader and bringing him straight to Lucian.


    ¡°Good job, Sophia.¡±


    ¡°It was easy.¡± Her voice contained a hint more of an edge than normal. ¡°He had this.¡±


    Sophia handed over a pouch, along with a few personal belongings the gang leader had on him.


    ¡°Lots of gold.¡± Lucian re-tied the pouch after looking inside. ¡°Crime pays well. Until it doesn¡¯t.¡±


    The gang leader spat at him, but like before, his autonomous shield considered it an attack and blocked it.


    When the criminal began to get loud, Lucian just motioned for him to be dragged away. He had plenty of time to talk to him later.


    Emilia finally emerged, having completely cleared out the house of all resistance. The other two homes were quiet too, all the criminals having either been slain or captured.


    With their base cleaned and the boss captured, the operation¡¯s main objectives had been completed. Though there were still many things to do before Lucian could call an official end to the mission.

 Volume 4, Chapters 10-11

    Chapter 10


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what they were hiding from us.¡± Lucian stood before a table filled with seemingly random items.


    ¡°Most of it is useless, obviously.¡± Aelia came to a quick conclusion with only a glance.


    ¡°That¡¯s to be expected since I just had the men grab anything they thought might be important. But I¡¯m sure somewhere in these items is a clue about who, if anyone, was funding the gangs to help them regrow after our last purge against them.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s definitely someone. I can smell it.¡± Aelia picked up one of the few pieces of parchment found in the lairs used by the two gangs.


    Not long after arriving in his new world, Lucian had arrested his uncle for conspiring against the crown. During the investigation into his estate, he had seized enough documents to fill a royal carriage.


    Going through the stacks of paper had been a huge undertaking, requiring many sets of eyes over several days. It wasn¡¯t something he was keen on repeating.


    Perhaps it was fortunate for him that criminals weren¡¯t in the habit of recording their crimes. Though the fact that most of them could barely even read or write was also a huge factor in their decision to forgo record keeping.


    Still, it made tracing the gang¡¯s activities far more difficult, which was why he wished that they could have at least seized enough documents to give them a trail to follow.


    ¡°Worthless dribble.¡± Aelia placed the parchment back onto the table.


    ¡°All we can do is look through it and see if we find anything noteworthy.¡±


    The soldiers had all been dismissed, so only Lucian and his closest companions remained to sort through the collection of items taken from the gangs. The afternoon sun was well on its way to the horizon, but the few hours of remaining sunlight were more than enough to go through the evidence, considering how little there was.


    Emilia, Minerva, and Teflyn were with them, of course. But Sigurd had also remained to help with the task. As the second-in-command just beneath Emilia, he sometimes joined them when needed.


    With all of them working together, Lucian hoped that they would at least find something.


    But as the first hour came to a close, not a single person had found anything that would clearly lead them to the source of the gang¡¯s funding. Worse yet, the task had gone by even quicker than Lucian expected.


    In fact, they were already done.


    ¡°Nothing, huh?¡± Lucian put down a silver dagger that looked more ceremonial than practical. ¡°It¡¯s all just random junk. Although some of it is still pretty valuable.¡±


    ¡°Whoever was funding the gangs was careful not to leave a trail.¡± Aelia stepped back from the table. ¡°Chances are, they didn¡¯t give them any items or even information directly. The gang leaders may not even know who was truly backing them.¡±


    ¡°That would be a problem because if we can¡¯t find any evidence, then the only other clues would come from the criminals themselves. But if even the gang leaders don¡¯t know, then there¡¯s no telling how hard it will be to find the trail that leads to whoever¡¯s been funding them.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve got a few leads from tracking the criminals that fled once they heard we were coming for them. But those leads will likely end with just more sympathizers and not the one providing the coin.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s still too early to get discouraged, so let¡¯s just hope we find the information we need from one of our other sources.¡± Lucian took a large bag from his waist. ¡°For now, let¡¯s take care of this.¡±


    After grabbing the bag, Lucian turned to meet the eyes of someone who had just arrived at their outdoor table filled with seemingly random items.


    ¡°Perfect timing, Liliana.¡± Lucian held the bag out to her.


    ¡°Ah, thanks?¡± She took it with a questioning gaze.


    ¡°One of the gang leaders had a huge sum of coins in his possession. Since we found it during the raid, I was planning to give it to the soldiers who fought with me.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Good idea! I think they¡¯ll be really happy to hear that.¡±


    ¡°Agreed. I¡¯ll leave it to you, just make sure that each man gets equal pay.¡± Lucian visibly changed gears. ¡°Now, I assume you came to tell me something important?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve received a reply from the Council of Elders. They¡¯ve requested for you to come visit them at their headquarters.¡±


    ¡°Send a reply to let them know I will be arriving tomorrow, two hours before noon.¡± Lucian rubbed his chin. ¡°Looks like I need to reschedule my mid-morning activities.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll send it right away. Oh, and I¡¯ll count out the coins to see how many each soldier should receive.¡± Lily took a single, gold coin from the bag.


    ¡°Make sure to include yourself in the list, too.¡±


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Lily inspected the coin more closely. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so shiny. It looks like it came straight from the mint.¡±


    ¡°It might have since I recently sent a large sum of newly-minted coins to¨C¡± Lucian cut off his words as something clicked into place in his mind. ¡°Wait a second!¡±


    He and Aelia both stepped up to Lily at the same time, each grabbing the hand that held the shiny, gold coin.


    ¡°This coin¡­¡± Aelia began.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t just look like it came from the mint¡­¡± Lucian continued for her.


    ¡°It did come from the most recent batch of coins.¡±


    ¡°And the only transaction I¡¯ve made since minting these coins was¡­¡±


    Aelia and Lucian met each other¡¯s eyes, both of them nodding at their shared revelation.


    ¡°Umm.¡± Lily looked at her hand, which was still being held by both Lucian and Aelia. ¡°Do you ¡­ want the coins back?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing has changed. Give them all to the men.¡± Lucian plucked the single gold coin from her hand. ¡°Except for this one. I think it will come in handy.¡±


    Lily gave a quick goodbye before going off to complete her new tasks.


    ¡°Looks like I need to speak with someone soon.¡± Lucian looked at the nearly uncirculated gold coin resting in his palm.


    ----------


    The next morning, Lucian awoke at his usual time, somewhere between one and two hours before sunrise. Unless there was an emergency, he always slept until he naturally woke up. But since he had a habit of waking at the same time each day, he could easily keep to his schedule, even without an alarm clock.


    ¡°Long hair sure takes a lot of upkeep.¡± He combed through the strands with a brush to untangle them. ¡°Should I get it cut?¡±


    Lucian imagined Emilia¡¯s shocked face if he were to suddenly show up with short hair.


    ¡°I get the feeling she¡¯d be disappointed, so let¡¯s not. Besides, long hair is part of my image now.¡±


    Not only was he known for his charming smile and handsome looks, but the long hair added to his perception as a refined and regal young man. Add in his mysterious magic and prowess as a warrior, and it was no wonder some people had begun to spread rumors that he was divinely blessed.


    ¡°They¡¯re not wrong.¡± Lucian thought upon the Goddess. ¡°But I¡¯m not sure if anything that comes from her can really be considered a blessing.¡±


    After making himself presentable, he threw on a pre-selected outfit put together by his maids. Despite it being one of the more casual sets of clothes in his wardrobe, it still held an element of royalty that couldn¡¯t be missed.


    Although his morning routine wasn¡¯t complete, Lucian walked to his door and opened it, revealing the castle hall. He didn¡¯t keep guards posted outside his door, as there was no real reason to do so.


    The entire wing that held the royal bedchambers had only one entrance connecting it to the rest of the castle. Considering that even the windows were narrow slits barely wide enough to fit an arm through, there was really only one way to get into the hall where his room sat.


    That¡¯s why rather than guarding each door, he simply posted several soldiers to watch the entrance into the royal wing. With some specialized tactics and failsafes included, Lucian¡¯s room was one of the most difficult places to access.


    Despite that, there was someone standing outside his door. Instead of an assassin, she was more like a guardian. Or rather, she actually was one of his three Guardians.


    ¡°Good morning, Emilia.¡±


    ¡°Good morning, Prince Lucian.¡±


    He stepped aside, and Emilia entered. It was common for them to meet up in the morning, and they had both adopted the same schedule, getting up two hours before the sun.


    Emilia always tried to prepare herself before her prince, though. That way, she could be there to meet him as soon as he opened the door.


    Lucian opened a cooler about the size of a footstool, the small box kept cold by ice held in the walls. It was only large enough to hold a few bottles of wine, but he preferred to stock it with something a bit more useful.


    Pulling a pitcher from the cooler, Lucian poured a glass for himself and Emilia. No alcoholic smell filled the room, nor any sweet aroma that one might expect from juice.


    No, the liquid held in the pitcher was simple water.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Emilia took a sip of the pure water, as she did each morning when meeting up with Lucian. ¡°That reminds me, are we still going to the magitech factory today?¡±


    ¡°The meeting with the Council of Elders is my top priority right now, but as long as we can finish in time, then I still plan on stopping by the factory.¡±


    ¡°I wonder if they¡¯ve made any progress lately. It¡¯s been a while since their last report, hasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°They report once a week, which should be today. But since I told them I¡¯d be stopping by, they¡¯re just going to give me a verbal report when I arrive.¡±


    ¡°If they really do succeed, I wonder if everyone will be able to enjoy this in the morning.¡± Emilia took another sip of her cold, refreshing water.


    Lucian followed suit. ¡°That¡¯s the idea. That, and much more.¡±


    A glass of cold water in the morning helped energize them for the day¡¯s difficulties. It also gave them an excuse to spend some time together before any of the people and tasks could draw their attention.


    But in a couple hours, the sun would declare the official start to the day. Before that could happen, he had to meet up with yet another person to ensure they were ready for the day¡¯s first task.


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s probably already dressed. So, how about we pay her a visit?¡±


    Emilia finished her water, putting the empty glass beside Lucian¡¯s on a nearby table. ¡°Princess Mia rarely oversleeps, so you¡¯re probably right.¡±


    ¡°Today is a bit different, though. It¡¯ll be her first time training under Archmage Vera, so I hope she was able to sleep well last night.¡±


    Emilia trotted up to the door just in front of Lucian, opening it and stepping outside ahead of him. ¡°I know how nervous people can get their first time training with a powerful master. I felt it the day Aelia¡¯s mother decided to teach me.¡±


    Lucian stepped outside, with Emilia closing his door behind him. ¡°If she¡¯s nervous, I¡¯ll think of a way to lighten her mood a bit.¡±


    ¡°As expected of her big brother!¡±


    ¡°Big brother, huh?¡± Lucian thought upon the strange relationship he had with his sister, who was technically blood related to him, even if he wasn¡¯t the same brother she had grown up with. ¡°I¡¯m just glad she accepted this arrangement. Can¡¯t say I would have been so understanding, if the roles had been reversed.¡±


    ¡°Princess Mia really is adaptable! That¡¯s why I think she¡¯ll do well when training under Archmage Vera.¡±


    Lucian nodded. ¡°Agreed.¡±


    The two of them turned a corner, and Mia¡¯s door came into view.


    As soon as he began knocking, the door opened. Standing on the other side was the sister he expected, along with her constant companion, Luna. The young, white cat was resting in Mia¡¯s arms, her hand returning to pet her cat after using it to open the door.


    ¡°Hello Mia. And Luna, of course.¡±


    ¡°Good morning.¡± Mia¡¯s hand stopped petting Luna, a decision the cat obviously disagreed with.


    As the princess exited her room, she grabbed something that was leaning up beside the door, taking it with her as she stepped out. Like many times before, she lowered the cat to the ground, letting Luna out into the hall.


    The cat rubbed up against each of their legs, wanting to join them wherever it was that they planned to go. Sometimes, that was acceptable, like when they were going to a simple meeting or sitting around performing administrative tasks.


    Their current destination wasn¡¯t well suited for a cat, so she couldn¡¯t go along with them. But that didn¡¯t mean Luna would be confined to Mia¡¯s room all day. As the princess¡¯ personal pet, she was free to roam the castle as she pleased, even if she did have a small habit of getting into trouble.


    ¡°You chose an appropriate outfit,¡± Lucian said. ¡°But I didn¡¯t know you had something like that in your wardrobe.¡±


    Mia looked down at her skirt, which ended at the knees. ¡°I bought it in case I needed something practical for a journey.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the shorter dress gives you more flexibility, and the cloak would come in handy for bundling up in bad weather. Is the hairband part of the outfit, or did you just add it to keep your hair under control?¡±


    ¡°All of it is part of the set, including the headband.¡±


    Lucian eyed the object she grabbed while exiting her room. ¡°And the staff?¡±


    ¡°Included.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just like you.¡±


    ¡°I like the boots and leggings,¡± Emilia said. ¡°They make the outfit look rugged and dependable.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Mia watched on as Luna rubbed against said boots.


    The princess normally wore royal dresses befitting her position as the king¡¯s sister. She had a certain amount of compromise on how formally she would dress, but she maintained a minimum standard, even when she was visiting the orphans.


    However, the outfit she was currently wearing was a step or two below that standard, in terms of its fanciful design and flourish. That said, she still looked like the daughter of a powerful noble or wealthy merchant.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s get going.¡± Lucian led the way toward the only exit from the royal wing. ¡°It¡¯d reflect badly on us if we arrived late after all the times I told Vera not to forget about the training session.¡±


    Luna followed them down the hall, past the soldiers who guard their rooms, and through the castle. Eventually, all four of them stopped at a door. It wasn¡¯t nearly as decorative as the ones in their bedchambers, trading the fanciful design with something a bit thicker and rougher.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait here, Luna.¡± Mia reached down and gave her cat a special treat. ¡°Be a good kitty while I¡¯m gone.¡±


    Whether or not Luna would respect Mia¡¯s wishes was yet to be seen, especially when the castle cooks began preparing the daily meals. But at the very least, the cat wouldn¡¯t follow them through the door.


    The special treat was a sign that it was time to separate, something which she had trained Luna to recognize since Mia was sometimes forced to work on important tasks. As expected, the cat wandered off after devouring the treat, leaving Lucian, Emilia, and Mia to do as they pleased.


    Beyond the door was a section of the castle that Mia rarely visited. She didn¡¯t have particularly fond memories of what lay in the depths, but neither did she often need to venture within.


    ¡°Can¡¯t believe I have to get up so early this morning¡­¡± Vera yawned without reserve, something most women would never do.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad,¡± Lutz said. ¡°You got at least a few hours of sleep, right?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. I just know I¡¯m going back to sleep after this training session.¡±


    Lucian, Emilia, and Mia stepped into the small combat arena that sat within the castle. It wasn¡¯t large enough to support a full crowd of onlookers, but it could at least hold a dozen students and their teacher with room to spare.


    It was still before the scheduled start of the training session, giving them time to make sure everyone was on the same page before they began.


    ¡°Just how long did you stay up last night?¡± Lucian asked as he reached casual speaking distance.


    ¡°Research is best conducted at night when there aren¡¯t any interruptions. Then I can skip all the annoying talking in the morning by sleeping in.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t blame you for that, considering your priorities.¡± Lucian gave the arrangement some thought. ¡°There is someone else who might benefit from your teachings. I left her in her room since she¡¯s not a morning person, either.¡±


    ¡°A student who needs afternoon training?¡±


    ¡°Afternoon isn¡¯t quite what I had in mind. Sunrise would probably be more aligned with her schedule, rather than two hours before like we scheduled the training for today. And if that fits yours better, then we can adjust the time to match.¡±


    Vera crossed her arms. ¡°A few more hours of sleep. It¡¯s still not ideal, but I¡¯ll take it.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then starting tomorrow morning, let¡¯s use the new schedule.¡±


    Mia would train alongside some of the noble kids with the highest magic potential, giving Vera a group of students worthy of an archmage.


    Lucian wasn¡¯t surprised to see Lutz waiting for him in the training arena. He had accompanied Vera for a long time the day before, and it seemed that wouldn¡¯t change any time soon.


    ¡°Good luck on whatever it is you got going on today.¡± Lutz waved to Lucian, indicating that he wouldn¡¯t be joining him.


    ¡°Are you going to help train them?¡± Lucian eyed the first student to arrive, a noble boy with short, blond hair.


    ¡°I plan to give a little advice, but I¡¯ll be leaving most of the work to our very competent and extremely energetic archmage here.¡±


    Vera grumbled a response, but Lucian couldn¡¯t pick up on her words.


    ¡°Then do as you wish.¡± Lucian gave a goodbye to Mia, who was already mentally preparing for the upcoming training.


    Then, he led Emilia back out of the arena and into the castle¡¯s main section.


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°As for us¡­¡± Lucian stared down the hall. ¡°We should meet up with the others and take care of our morning tasks before our meeting with the Council of Elders.¡±


    Chapter 11


    ¡°Welcome to the Council of Elders¡¯ headquarters, Your Majesty.¡± A well-dressed beastfolk greeted Lucian just as he stepped out of his royal carriage. ¡°I hope your trip here was swift and pleasant.¡±


    ¡°It was so.¡± Lucian¡¯s eyes moved from the council member to the architectural wonder that sat behind him. ¡°And I hope the same can be said for my visit here.¡±


    ¡°I assure you that we have every accommodation prepared to ensure a pleasant visit. Though whether or not it will be swift is out of my control.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m certain that the five elders will hear the wisdom in my words. Perhaps my visit will be over even more quickly than any anticipate.¡±


    The council member that greeted him wasn¡¯t the only one present. Precisely two dozen others had come as well, each representing the highest rank within the council, other than the elders themselves.


    Yet despite the large crowd that had come to meet him, Lucian¡¯s entourage outnumbered them at least two-to-one. And nearly every single person who accompanied him was a battle-hardened veteran, the only exception being Lily, who was an administrator instead of a soldier.


    News related to the king always traveled quickly. Town criers trying to be the first to spread news of current events, drunk patrons at a bar retelling a story they heard from another questionable source, and bards spinning tales with fanciful liberties taken to engage the crowd.


    It was for those reasons and more that nearly every citizen had already heard about Lucian¡¯s recent battles against the criminal gangs, despite only a single day having passed. Both the attack on Mia¡¯s carriage and the subsequent raid on the neighborhoods was already common knowledge.


    Though it was questionable how faithfully the events had been passed from ear to ear. At the very least, Lucian knew the Council of Elders would have a clearer view of precisely what had transpired.


    The member who greeted them began leading the group towards the nearby building. Although Lucian had met each of the five elders, it was his first time going to their headquarters on official business.


    ¡°So this is the Council of Elders headquarters.¡± Emilia looked over the heads of the council members and at the building on the other side of them.


    ¡°You never came here before becoming a soldier?¡± Lucian asked.


    ¡°No, I only met a representative. After that, Lily became my only connection to the council.¡±


    ¡°It was my job to oversee the trainees, after all.¡± Lily lowered her voice. ¡°But um, like I said, I don¡¯t have any power in the council, so I don¡¯t know how much help I can be.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure Prince Lucian can negotiate everything he wants.¡± Emilia looked to him. ¡°Right?¡±


    ¡°From my research and estimations, there¡¯s a high chance I walk out of here with all of my requests met. But there will always be details I can¡¯t account for, so it¡¯s not a guarantee.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re asking for so much,¡± Lily said. ¡°Getting me out of the council¡¯s hands, improving the beastfolk¡¯s loyalty to Almekia, and increasing their productivity in the kingdom. I¡¯m still not sure how you intend to get them to agree to all of that, and you never told me what you plan to give in return.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because I expect them to simply give me everything I want without making any other demands.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Lily couldn¡¯t hide her dumbfounded expression. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s usually how negotiations go¡­?¡±


    Although Lucian had arrived with a large entourage, only a select few actually accompanied him into the headquarters. Emilia and Lily were two such members, as was Sigurd. Since the rest of his companions were back at the castle, he filled out the remainder of his escort party with several of his more loyal guards, both human and white hair.


    If any other king had arrived with so many white hairs, it would likely be taken as a threat, a not-so-subtle hint at what kind of power Almekia¡¯s ruler had at their disposal. Indeed, many white hairs had found themselves brought to the negotiation table for that very reason.


    But Lucian was known for keeping company with many white hairs, even on a casual basis. Considering Emilia was his closest guard, it was strange to see him without at least one white hair by his side.


    Besides, he believed that such an obvious show of force toward the Council of Elders would only hinder his future plans, even if it did help the current negotiation.


    I hope the elders live up to my expectations, Lucian thought. It would make my life so much easier.


    Although the Almekian Kingdom had only one ruler¨CLucian¨Cthere was a separate governmental body within it.


    Even if Almekia was a human country, it did have a large population of beastfolk. Sometime during the kingdom¡¯s long history, a period of turmoil spurred the creation of a group who would argue for the best interest of the beastfolk.


    That group later became known as the Council of Elders.


    It was the council who petitioned the crown when the minority population of beastfolk had grievances, giving them a voice and preventing animosity amongst the two races. Even if the elders had no official power within Almekia¡¯s monarchy, they still held political leverage on the same level as some of the most influential noble families.


    As Emilia stated, even she had met a council representative before joining the training camp where she eventually met Lucian.


    White hairs were technically beastfolk, even if they were considered cursed. As such, the Council of Elders represented them, going so far as to sign a contract with the crown on the use of white hairs in war.


    Of course, the contract did almost nothing to prevent the king from recruiting white hairs. It only ensured that they would be treated at least as humanely as any other soldier, which was not a high bar in Lucian¡¯s new world.


    ¡°The elders await you within, Your Majesty.¡± The same council member stood beside a door, clearly suggesting for Lucian to enter it.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± He obliged, pushing on the door and revealing the room within.


    The council¡¯s meeting room was a familiar sight. Not because Lucian had been in it before but simply because he had been in so many similar rooms that they had all begun to look the same.


    However, there was a clear difference between this meeting and most of the others. The ones joining him at the negotiation table all had fluffy ears and tails of varying colors and from a variety of animal species.


    The five elders who made up the council weren¡¯t actually sitting at the table, though. Even if they were seen as a separate governmental body, their power and authority was dwarfed by the crown. Even the class of human nobility who ruled the kingdom¡¯s provinces had more leverage, all things considered.


    That placed the Council of Elders at the bottom of the totem pole, which often left them fighting for scraps after the king and nobility took the juiciest spoils for themselves. And with the discrimination against beastfolk and white hairs, it always left them wanting for more.


    Over generations, that led to a growing divide between the king and council, which had never been fully addressed. The recent economic and social downturn in the Almekian Kingdom only further stripped the beastfolk of their meager scraps as the king and nobles hoarded even larger pieces of a shrinking pie, leaving less for the ones who were struggling most.


    Despite their rather poor opinion of the crown, even the Council of Elders wouldn¡¯t disrespect Lucian openly, which was why none of them were actually sitting at the negotiation table. Rather, they were standing in front of it in order to properly greet their king.


    ¡°Welcome to the council, Your Majesty.¡± A man with light brown fox ears gave a bow that would make any noble proud.


    The rest followed the first man¡¯s example, with all five of the council members showing their respect, even if it was just for show. Appearances were important for those with power, after all.


    ¡°Thank you for the reception.¡± Lucian returned their greeting with a simple nod, which was the expected response when acknowledging those of high rank within his kingdom.


    Decorum and tradition often framed people¡¯s actions, and Lucian was no exception. Were he to completely disregard people¡¯s expectations at every turn, his opposition would be able to use his disrespect as leverage to turn neutral parties against him.


    ¡°As I am certain that each of us considers our time valuable,¡± Lucian motioned to the table. ¡°Why don¡¯t we get started right away.¡±


    Five chairs were lined up on the far side of the round table, which the elders took in an order that Lucian felt was predetermined. Although each elder technically held as much power as the next, there would inevitably be an imbalance between their influence. Though he wasn¡¯t sure if the seating order was because of some hidden ranking between them or if their positioning was irrelevant to rank and just their preference.


    But there was another clue, other than their speed and confidence as they took their seats.


    The same brown-eared foxman that greeted him sat in the center seat, with two elders on each side. It was too much of a coincidence, letting Lucian know that the elder was considered the leader amongst them.


    On one side of him was a small ratkin who held her hands in front of her like a little rodent that was standing up on her haunches.


    Even further down the table was a catfolk covered in gold bands and jewelry with eye tattoos and curved ears. She had the gaze of an intellectual, though her body language made it look like she was ready to pounce at any second.


    On the foxkin leader¡¯s other side was a bearkin wearing tiny reading glasses. An expense report was laid on the table before him, along with a small abacus. It was one of the strangest sights Lucian had seen after coming to his new world, and that was saying a lot.


    On the other end of the bearkin was a two-tailed cat whose tails seemingly had minds of their own. She twirled a coin between the fingers on one hand, showing the practiced movements of someone who had spent more than enough time in a gambling den.


    As the elders took their seats, Lucian and his two companions did the same.


    Lily sat to his left. As a council representative and a part of Lucian¡¯s inner circle, there was little surprise that she would take a seat at the table. Her very presence gave the elders several clues about why the king had set up the meeting in the first place.


    But what the elders didn¡¯t expect was for Emilia to also take a seat at the table. As a white hair, she was essentially forbidden from many positions of power and influence simply due to the stigma that hung over her kind.


    Everyone understood that she was Lucian¡¯s primary guard, but many believed that to simply be an excuse to bring a white hair along with him everywhere he went. After all, bringing one to a meeting was often seen as an aggressive statement of power, meant to subtly remind the other party of just what he had at his disposal.


    But Emilia made no efforts to appear as a guard and instead joined them at the table, as if she were their equal.


    This was, of course, Lucian¡¯s plan. Throwing a wrench into the opponent¡¯s expectations was always a good move to put them on the back foot, especially during a negotiation.


    With the first cards laid out on the table, Lucian decided it was time for the meeting to truly begin.


    ¡°So, what does the new king have to ask of us~?¡± The Bastet asked as she put down the ring she was toying with.


    ¡°I have but one request to make of the Council of Elders.¡± Lucian ignored Lily¡¯s confused face. ¡°I wish for Liliana to be removed as a council representative and placed completely under my care.¡±


    With a quick glance at each of the elder¡¯s expressions, Lucian concluded that two of the five had already anticipated that Lily would become a focus of the meeting. One of the two was their leader, the brown-eared foxman. But the other one who noticed was quite a surprise to Lucian.


    The large man with bear ears chuffed with a headshake. ¡°I saw this coming from leagues away.¡±


    ¡°And there¡¯s no way I can agree with it,¡± the two-tailed catgirl added. ¡°Liliana is one of our best representatives.¡±


    The bearkin adjusted his small glasses with practiced delicacy. ¡°From a financial standpoint, finding a competent and hardworking representative to replace her would be no small task.¡±


    Lily looked around, her squirrel ears twitching shyly. ¡°I¡¯m not that valuable, or anything.¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re right,¡± Lucian said. ¡°You¡¯ve proven time and again that you¡¯re a fantastic administrator. Even the white hairs respect you, despite not being one of them. I am in full agreement with the Council of Elders. Replacing you would be difficult, bordering on impossible considering you earned your respect during some of the most turbulent time in this kingdom¡¯s recent history.¡±


    ¡°R-really?¡± Lily still carried a look of disbelief, despite so many powerful and influential people speaking so highly of her.


    While Lily was still processing the praise being heaped upon her, the council had already moved on. Their focus was now on Lucian, who had defied their expectations considering his stated goal for the meeting.


    It made sense for the elders to speak highly of Lily. They had an asset that the king wanted, so attempting to inflate her value at the negotiation table was completely expected. The more they could claim she was worth to them, the more they would be able to ask for in return.


    But the opposite was true for Lucian. If he wanted to remove Lily from the council¡¯s grasp, then it would benefit him to act as if her transfer were a simple formality or security issue, rather than because she was invaluable to him.


    Yet he not only praised her alongside the council, he took it a step further than even the elders had. Making such a statement at the negotiation table could only be seen as foolish.


    The ratkin girl wrinkled her nose, as if she smelled something strange. ¡°So you see, we can¡¯t let someone like that go cheap, yea?¡±


    The Bastet-looking elder moved her hand around slowly, the gold bracelets jingling in the process. ¡°Even if she¡¯s valuable to the council, she¡¯s not irreplaceable. Perhaps we could consider letting her go¨Cfor the right price.¡±


    The ratkin¡¯s mousy ears twitched at the sound of the Bastet¡¯s jewelry. ¡°I like the sound of that.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s not be too hasty,¡± the bearkin added. ¡°Buying out Liliana¡¯s contract with a pouch of gold would do a lot of good for our people, but solving a long-term problem would do us much better than fixing a short-term one.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m open to discussion on the matter,¡± Lucian said.


    In truth, the king could do whatever he pleased. With the stroke of a pen, Lucian could command the council to hand Lily over to him while giving nothing in return.


    Even though Lucian could force their hand, he would have done so from the beginning if that was his plan. The fact that he even came to the negotiation table told the elders that he was willing to make a deal, rather than act as a dictator.


    ¡°The rate of disease amongst us beastfolk is far higher than that of humans,¡± the foxkin council leader said. ¡°It''s difficult for anyone to prosper when illness runs rampant through their neighborhoods.¡±


    ¡°So you want easier access to healers?¡± Lucian asked. ¡°I''m not opposed, but a large part of the problem is simple prejudice against your people. That''s not something that can simply be fixed with the stroke of a pen.¡±


    The foxkin nodded. ¡°They don''t even want to treat us. And when they do, it''s obvious they charge more for their service. Beastfolk aren''t even allowed to take loans from the banks. At the rate we''re charged for healing, even if the illness is life threatening, many of us can only lie in bed and hope to survive it.¡±


    ¡°It seems that it would be easier to simply solve the fundamental problem itself, which is the lack of healers amongst the beastfolk.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard enough to make a living, much less have a chance to train under a healer.¡± The foxkin sat back in his chair. ¡°Especially when most of the mages are in the army. The ones who are left don¡¯t have time to spend training beastfolk who can¡¯t afford their fees.¡±


    ¡°As I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware, we are currently at war with the Esgares Empire. With that being the case, we can¡¯t expect an increase in the number of available teachers any time soon.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to send your soldiers to train us. We could do it ourselves, if we had enough capable healers to teach our own.¡±


    ¡°It takes many years and lots of resources to raise a powerful mage or healer. Even in the military where we¡¯ve streamlined and trimmed it down only to the bare necessities, the cost is still high. Considering the poor financial situation most beastfolk are in, it would take more than just a small effort to increase the number of healers in your communities.¡±


    ¡°There is a simple solution.¡± The bearkin used his large arm to push up on his small glasses. ¡°We could shoulder all the responsibility ourselves¨Cif we could take out loans from the banks.¡±


    The Council of Elders eyed Lucian, scrutinizing his reaction. Depending on his response, it could vastly change the direction of the negotiations that followed.


    Although beastfolk weren¡¯t openly persecuted in the Amlekian Kingdom, there were still some restrictions put on them by the crown. Those limitations were solely to prevent them from becoming a threat to the many humans who held power.


    Lifting those restrictions would be very unpopular amongst the nobility and merchants, as they would suddenly have to contend with an entirely new influx of competition.


    The council understood exactly how unlikely they were to negotiate such a trade, considering they were only offering to release Lily from their service. As important as she had become to Lucian, nobody truly believed he would jeopardize his own rule by agreeing to such a risky trade.


    ¡°Let¡¯s keep that in mind for now.¡± Lucian visibly changed gears. ¡°Are there any other suggestions on what you believe would constitute a fair trade for Liliana¡¯s service?¡±


    The Council of Elders hid it well, but Lucian could still see traces of disappointment on their faces. Their expectations for striking such a deal were low from the beginning, but just mentioning it shows how important it is for them to have access to the same capital as the humans around them.


    It was difficult for a beastfolk merchant to compete against a human one, when they didn¡¯t have any way to borrow coin from a reputable source. And as many had learned throughout the generations, loan sharks weren¡¯t a replacement for a bank.


    When it came to other aspects of life, borrowing money was often a last resort. But even though nobody wanted to go into debt to cure an illness, it was still better than death. Yet the beastfolk couldn¡¯t even do that, legally.


    ¡°Perhaps~¡± The Bastet-looking catgirl twirled a golden necklace around her finger. ¡°There is something else.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°The Council of Elders can petition the crown on behalf of the beastfolk, but we don¡¯t actively receive requests for input when a new decree is signed. We learn of new laws from word of mouth, and it¡¯s up to us to reach out to the king and ask for representation each and every time we think it¡¯s necessary.¡±


    ¡°So you wish for your input to be taken into consideration more actively. Do you have a proposed solution?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be easy.¡± The ratkin girl scratched at her ear. ¡°All we need is a copy of the decree delivered here for us.¡±


    ¡°I see. That is a simple solution. It will keep you informed and allow you to quickly petition me if you believe a new decree will negatively impact the beastfolk.¡± Lucian shook his head. ¡°But I won¡¯t be doing that.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± The foxkin leader could barely keep the annoyance from his voice, though a few of his fellow elders failed to do the same in regard to their expressions.


    ¡°Because it creates a system that encourages re-examination of decrees that I¡¯ve already signed. If you want to stay informed of any decisions I make, we¡¯ll need a more efficient solution.¡±


    The Council of Elders showed obvious doubt that Lucian would concede to their wish to be kept in the loop on his decisions. They already petitioned him when they thought necessary, so an official copy of his decrees would barely change anything.


    However, everyone at the table understood the reason why the council had never received such reports before. The less reliable their information, the more difficult it was for the elders to successfully petition the crown.


    It wasn¡¯t just the wording of the law but also the time that elapsed between Lucian signing it and the council asking for a petition. The longer that gap, the less likely that the elders would be able to make any changes.


    Even just a simple copy of his decrees could lead to Lucian having to take the petition more seriously, both because the council would arrive better prepared while also showing up more quickly.


    There was another fact that all the participants knew to be true, one that couldn¡¯t be said openly without causing the air to thicken with tension.


    Liliana was a spy for the Council of Elders.


    To say she was an undercover agent placed by the elders would be a lie. Lily didn¡¯t have the personality for such a mission, considering her somewhat anxious tendencies. It would be far too much for her to handle, and everyone knew it.


    Although she had displayed her backbone many times, she always did so in a straight-forward manner. Back when she distrusted Lucian, she even stood up to him to ensure the white hair trainees she oversaw would be treated fairly. Calling her a coward would be the furthest thing from the truth, but that didn¡¯t mean she could handle the stress that came with spying on her king.


    No, she wasn¡¯t a spy by choice. But when the Council of Elders asked questions about what was happening in Lucian¡¯s inner circle, Lily often knew the answers. She was a part of that inner circle, after all.


    Even if she didn¡¯t answer them directly, her body language and choice of words could give away a lot of information to those who were competent enough to understand. And without a doubt, Lily could be read like a book.


    Hence, Lucian was prepared for the council to request some sort of compensation that would allow them access to information, since that was what they would lose when giving up Lily.


    The elders believed that the king had seen through their plan, which was true. And they also believed that Lucian would never give them what they wanted, access to inside information on his decisions, as it would mean giving the council that much more power and influence.


    ¡°I have a better solution.¡± Emilia attracted everyone¡¯s attention, the elders turning to her for the first time since the negotiations began.


    ¡°You do?¡± The two-tailed catgirl asked, almost in disbelief that she would even speak up during the meeting.


    ¡°Yes. If a system that encourages re-examining decrees is too inefficient, then we should just get rid of the need to petition His Majesty in the first place.¡± Emilia pointed to the table where everyone was sitting. ¡°And we can do that by giving the council a seat at the table where the laws are signed.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re ¡­ serious?¡± The two-tailed girl looked between Emilia and Lucian. ¡°There¡¯s no way he¡¯d agr¨C¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± Lucian said.


    ¡°What!?¡±


    ¡°Emilia is right. If I¡¯m going to take the beastfolk into consideration, then I might as well do it from the beginning, rather than dealing with petitions. This will save both of us a lot of time and paperwork, so I don¡¯t see a problem with it.¡±


    Even the experienced members of the council couldn¡¯t hide their disbelief. Direct representation had been denied to them many times by former kings and their cohort of nobility. That was why they opted for an indirect approach that would still give them some additional leverage.


    The last outcome they expected was to have the king himself request for them to take a seat at the table where he decided on laws.


    ¡°Hah¡­?¡± The ratkin asked with a surprising amount of elegance, considering her bewildered tone.


    ¡°I already receive petitions from the council and a horde of self-serving nobles with ideas that far outweigh their stations. In a way, this is as much to benefit me as it is you. I don¡¯t want to waste my time arguing details on laws that I¡¯ve already signed.¡±


    ¡°We accept.¡± The foxkin cut straight to the finale before anyone could interject. ¡°But I want the deal signed here and now, with all of us as witnesses.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s precisely what I intended to do.¡±


    Emilia was the one who brought out the quill and parchment, laying it on the table. Although she hadn¡¯t been tutored in calligraphy as a child, she was currently being taught by someone who was trained by the best.


    Princess Mia.


    With a quick motion, Emilia laid out the decree in the usual style and format that Lucian¡¯s official calligrapher used. Although it wasn¡¯t a perfect match, it was close enough that it would hold up to scrutiny, if challenged.


    ¡°So,¡± Lucian drew attention back to himself while Emilia was writing. ¡°Let us restate the conditions of our deal so we¡¯re all clear.¡±


    ¡°We will release Liliana¡¯s contract with the council,¡± the foxkin said. ¡°She will be free to contract with the crown or anyone else of her choosing.¡±


    ¡°And in return, I will guarantee the council a seat at the meetings regarding legislation.¡±


    Emilia had already finished writing most of the contract, including the terms and conditions for each side of the deal. But while she put the finishing touches on it, there was one more topic Lucian wanted to discuss.


    ¡°There is one problem.¡± Lucian¡¯s sudden statement caused an air of doubt to fall over the council, who still expected the deal to turn sour at any moment.


    ¡°What would that be?¡± the foxkin asked.


    ¡°You said it yourself, the beastfolk are economically depressed compared to humans. The worse their living conditions, the more you will have to fight to make laws more favorable for your people in an attempt to close that gap.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that normal? A noble petitions for decrees that benefit his province over any other. Why should it be any different for us?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that it¡¯s a bad thing. Actually, I think having a representative government that fights for the best interest of their people is a good system. However, I think there¡¯s a way to avoid many of the battles we will likely have in the meetings.¡±


    The foxkin raised an eyebrow. ¡°How is that?¡±


    ¡°By providing a path for the beastfolk to direct their energy and resources. A way that will let them take their futures into their own hands, instead of relying on me or charity.¡± Lucian looked around the table. ¡°Beastfolk will have access to loans from our banks.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making it legal for us to take out loans!?¡± The bearkin with small glasses sat so far forward in his seat that his large body nearly began pushing the table across the floor.


    ¡°If you can take out loans, you can compete with human merchants more easily. With the additional wealth from crafting and trading, you can begin improving your living conditions over time without anyone else having to provide any charity. This will turn my kingdom¡¯s beastfolk from a liability that requires coin to upkeep, into an asset that generates wealth. No matter how you look at it, this would be a victory for both of us.¡±


    Emilia had already written the trade agreement, including the change in law that would allow beastfolk to take out loans. She handed it over to the foxkin, who reviewed the contents alongside the rest of the council.


    Lucian watched as the elder¡¯s eyes moved along the page, taking in each word while looking for potential traps based on the language used or the structure of the sentences. However, Emilia had written it with plain language and didn''t use any political jargon to hide duplicitous meaning.


    So, when the foxkin reached the bottom of the page, he didn¡¯t show any signs of suspicion. However, there was a bit of confusion on his face.


    ¡°We can only use a single bank?¡± The bearkin asked in the council¡¯s stead.


    ¡°For now. It would be much easier to centralize the beastfolk loans into this one bank until I can make a few, sweeping changes to the financial laws. Since the crown uses this particular bank for our national loans, I can guarantee that it will be able to meet your needs.¡±


    ¡°I can see the logic in that.¡±


    ¡°Then if there are no objections to the agreement¡­¡± Lucian held his hand out, and the foxkin handed the parchment back to him. ¡°I have no problems signing it right now.¡±


    He took the pen from Emilia, placing it on the line where his signature needed to go. However, he didn¡¯t begin writing. Rather, he simply removed his fingers from the quill, leaving it standing on its own.


    As if held by a ghostly hand, the pen moved across the parchment, ink covering the formerly blank space above the signature line.


    Before the council could even register that they were witnessing Lucian¡¯s Command Magic for the first time, the quill had already stopped moving, going back to the ink jar seemingly of its own free will.


    He held the parchment back out to the still bewildered council, who took it after a longer than normal delay.


    Five signature lines were below Lucian¡¯s, one for each of the elders. One by one, they took turns re-reading the agreement, looking one last time for anything that could be a trap.


    But in the end, none of them found anything suspicious. That would naturally be the case, since Lucian didn¡¯t put a trap inside it.


    Eventually, all five of them signed the agreement. It was a rather short negotiation, but he had gotten what he came for, and the Council of Elders received far more than they ever expected.


    And, Lucian thought. This sets the stage for my revenge.


    Nobody targets Mia and gets away with it.

 Volume 4, Chapters 12-13

    Chapter 12


    ¡°[Order].¡± Lucian released the inked quill, and it began to write seemingly with a will of its own. ¡°That takes care of that.¡±


    The carriage hit a small bump, barely enough to jostle the seat. Although the wheels were equipped with crude shocks, they couldn¡¯t absorb every uneven stone or rut in the road.


    But despite the vibrations and bumps that came with riding in a carriage, the quill¡¯s writing was completely unaffected. That was because the parchment it wrote upon was also floating in mid-air, isolating it from the rattling carriage.


    ¡°Um.¡± Lily watched as the ink flowed onto the page, forming words in Lucian¡¯s exact handwriting. ¡°What just happened?¡±


    ¡°Hm? Which part do you mean?¡±


    ¡°All of it. Before the meeting with the council, you said you had three requests in mind for the negotiation, but when we sat down, the only thing you asked for was to release me from my contract with the council. What happened to the other two requests?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I see where the confusion is coming from now. If you think back to the conversation we had before the meeting, you¡¯ll notice that I didn¡¯t say I had three requests for the council. I said that I had three objectives I needed to accomplish.¡±


    ¡°Three objectives. The first was getting me out of the council.¡± Lily raised one finger as she began listing off what Lucian said he wanted. ¡°The second was to improve the beastfolk''s loyalty to Almekia. And the third was to increase their productivity in the kingdom.¡±


    Lucian nodded, looking at Lily¡¯s three raised fingers. ¡°Correct. The first one speaks for itself. I can¡¯t have someone in my inner circle be under anyone else¡¯s thumb. When it comes to improving the beastfolk¡¯s loyalty, what better way than to give them a stronger voice in how the kingdom is governed? And as for their productivity, it will be the natural result from giving them more economic freedom. They will produce more goods and perform more services, increasing Almekia¡¯s overall productivity.¡±


    Lily sat wide-eyed as all the pieces fell into place. ¡°The demands the council made of you were exactly what you wanted. Doesn¡¯t that mean you got everything you set out for, without actually giving anything in return?¡±


    ¡°I said it from the beginning, right? I expected them to give me everything I wanted without demanding anything in return. The fact that they think they got the better end of the deal just means I¡¯ve laid the foundation to build some goodwill between me and the Council of Elders. In the future, I intend to put that to use.¡±


    Even after seeing Lucian¡¯s plan unfold in real time, Lily could still hardly believe what he managed to pull off. He had long since proven to her that he was worthy of the crown, being both open-minded when needed and decisive when necessary.


    But to finesse even the Council of Elders to such a degree was something she never imagined possible. Were it not for the war with the Esgares Empire demanding his attention, Lily wondered if he would be able to bring Almekia back to its former glory.


    ¡°When you said you wanted to improve the beastfolk¡¯s loyalty and productivity,¡± Lily said, ¡°I thought you were going to do something like conscript them for construction projects.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a logical conclusion. My father often used beastfolk as cheap labor, since so many of them are desperate for money. And to be honest, I do plan to put them to work. I have several public works projects where I intend to use almost exclusively beastfolk laborers. In fact, I¡¯m heading to one of those locations right now to meet with the noble in charge of the district where the construction will be taking place.¡±


    Lucian grabbed the quill and parchment, both of which floated motionlessly in the air. ¡°However, it wouldn¡¯t do any good to put their hands to use with public funds if they don¡¯t have any way to generate income in the private sector when the public projects are finished. It¡¯d just be a small and temporary solution that wouldn¡¯t solve the underlying issues.¡±


    ¡°Public funds?¡± Lily made a confused face.


    ¡°Oh, sorry. I meant the royal treasury.¡±


    ¡°But the royal treasury belongs to the king and not the public, right?¡±


    ¡°By law, you¡¯re technically correct. But nearly every coin in the treasury was collected through tax or tariffs. That means the money came from the pockets of Almekia¡¯s citizens or through the private trades made between my kingdom and our neighbors. When you look at it that way, it only makes sense that if the coins in my vault came from the people, then it should be used for the benefit of those same people.¡±


    Lily looked like she was listening to someone speak in a language she barely understood. Not because she couldn¡¯t comprehend the concepts, as she was easily able to follow Lucian¡¯s reasoning.


    No, her perplexed expression was simply because having a king declare that the royal treasury should belong to the people was unheard of.


    ¡°We¡¯ve arrived, Prince Lucian.¡± The ever-observant Emilia released the curtain, letting it block the window once again.


    ¡°That was a quick trip.¡± He stood. ¡°I suppose our destination wasn¡¯t very far to begin with.¡±


    Lily stood alongside them. ¡°Where are we?¡±


    Lucian motioned for her to follow, but Emilia was actually the first to reach the carriage door, as usual. She disappeared outside, scanning the street for potential dangers before her prince stepped out.


    She was met with the squad of royal guards who protected the carriage, along with a few citizens who were loitering in the area. Many of the buildings were in poor condition, with all of them being shops, most of which had been abandoned.


    However, despite the condition of the neighborhood, Emilia couldn¡¯t detect a hint of danger.


    ¡°This is ¡­ or was a market street?¡± Lily looked around, correctly determining that the area was once filled with shops.


    ¡°Considering how many have closed,¡± Lucian said, ¡°your use of past tense is fitting. From the records I found, this was once a nice area of the city. But over the course of decades, criminals entrenched themselves in the nearby neighborhoods, turning these shops into dens of illegal activity.¡±


    ¡°It looks like a lot of these shops were only recently abandoned. Is it because of you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. We wiped out a lot of the bigger gangs, and since these shops were part of their criminal empire, that naturally means they¡¯d get caught in the crossfire. To put it bluntly, many of the ones who ran these shops are either dead or imprisoned.¡±


    ¡°I thought so. But the gangs are gone now, right? So do you plan to rebuild these shops?¡±


    ¡°I do. Or rather, the beastfolk will. It¡¯s one of the public works projects I have planned. And since this street is in the mixed zone where both humans and beastfolk live, it¡¯ll prove extremely useful after construction is completed.¡±


    Lily tilted her head. ¡°Useful?¡±


    ¡°Beastfolk are about to have access to extra coin through bank loans, so what better place to start a business than a newly rebuilt market street frequented by both beastfolk and humans?¡±


    ¡°Ah! So that¡¯s why you chose this place!¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It might take a while for the neighborhoods to recover from the decades of crime, but we have to start somewhere.¡± Lucian peered down the cobblestone road, where a carriage was approaching. ¡°But it looks like the final member has arrived, so it¡¯s time we get started.¡±


    The new carriage was surrounded by royal guards, their armor a perfect match to the ones who protected Lucian. When they came to a stop nearby, the carriage door opened almost immediately, revealing the one who would accompany Lucian on his next task.


    The dark elf, Aelia.


    ¡°What a trash heap.¡± She looked around the neighborhood with a wrinkled nose. ¡°Won¡¯t see anything like this in my land, even in the loam.¡±


    Lucian recalled the messy lower level of Ul¡¯Tharas, the city where he met Aelia. In human terms, the loam could be considered the dark elf equivalent of the slums. Only those without money or influence would live in such a place.


    Although it was filled with what Lucian considered junk, he later found out that the broken devices in the loam actually served a purpose in their society. Most of the discarded items were actually still usable, with the right repairs.


    Any dark elf living in the loam that had the knowledge and motivation to improve their life could fix the junk, bringing it back to a usable state. That provided the more motivated people with the ability to learn and grow their technical skills in hopes of clawing their way out of the loam.


    With the strict structure of their society, dark elves respected competence over anything else, including bloodlines. It was far different from human societies, where families would hoard wealth and power for generations on end.


    While the loam in her lands was a place for dark elves to prove their worth, the derelict market street where she now stood was nothing more than a graveyard of hopes and dreams. Those who once sought to prove their worth had long since abandoned the area, moving on to places that would respect their genuine efforts, something a gang of criminals would never do.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a noble to meet here?¡± Lily looked around, but the two carriages and swarm of royal guards blocked much of her view.


    ¡°We arrived a bit early,¡± Lucian said. ¡°But he should be here soon.¡±


    ¡°Three minutes,¡± Aelia added. ¡°Scout¡¯s been tracking him.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I think I understand.¡± Lily picked up on the fact that they wanted to be prepared for when the noble arrived. ¡°What should I do?¡±


    ¡°You.¡± Aelia thumbed behind her, where her carriage sat. ¡°Are going back to the castle.¡±


    ¡°I am?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t need you here, and now that you¡¯re free from the council, you¡¯ve gotta have a lot of reorganizing to do in your office. Might as well get started on that instead of standing around out here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re right. I used to have a lot of tasks to do from the council, like making reports.¡±


    ¡°Throw that junk out.¡± Aelia motioned to the royal guards leading the squad she arrived with. ¡°Got a new task for ya, fellas. Use them scary glares you got and escort Special Administrative Officer Liliana back to the castle. Ya let anything happen to her, and all yer asses are getting banned from my bar.¡±


    The men straightened up at her words, giving salutes worthy of their positions as royal guards.


    Lucian fought the urge to shake his head. Aelia frequented one of the bars near the castle, where many of the guards gathered to drink. She often challenged the men to drinking contests, with various conditions for the winner and loser.


    No matter how many of the soldiers stepped up to the challenge, not a single one of them had been able to drink her under the table. Dark elves had a natural resistance to alcohol, but even with that, it wasn¡¯t a guarantee that she could defeat every single human in a drinking contest.


    But Aelia was one of Lucian¡¯s three Guardians. That position came with many benefits, including a tougher physique and resistance to status effects.


    Although the challenge had become famous amongst the guards, that wasn¡¯t the true reason why the men didn¡¯t want to get banned from the bar. It was simply that she had earned their respect, so they didn¡¯t want to disappoint her and disgrace themselves.


    Aelia had only conducted a few missions since taking over as Minister of War. However, each time she led the men to raid a gang, the battles had gone exceptionally well. It was rare for them to lose even a single guard during the bloody fights that ensued, as her tactics took nearly everything into account.


    The men had long since realized just how competent she was as a general and tactician. To add to her reputation, Aelia often led from the front line, being the first to engage the enemies in battle.


    Because of her actions and abilities, she quickly gained the respect of the humans and beastfolk beneath her. The result was a unit of royal guardsmen with more cohesion and comradery than had existed in a long while.


    ¡°Um, goodbye for now, everyone.¡± Lily gave a slightly panicked bow to the others, anxious about the short time limit before the noble¡¯s arrival.


    ¡°Be safe.¡± Emilia saw her off with a smile and a wave.


    With her on the way out, Lucian and Aelia immediately swapped gears. The market street was nearly desolate, but a few shops had managed to survive the decades of gang activity and the purge that followed.


    Ironically, the gangs that destroyed the market street were also the only things left supporting it. Without their ill-gotten coin flowing through the surrounding neighborhoods, it was questionable if the few shops that remained could even survive, given the lack of demand.


    That was why a full reconstruction was necessary to revitalize interest and draw crowds. Nobody would come to a deserted street with a handful of run-down shops, but once converted back into a real and honest marketplace, it would naturally pull in customers and act as a central hub for the revitalization of the surrounding neighborhoods.


    Lucian didn¡¯t simply choose the street on a whim. Using the resources available to him as Almekia¡¯s king, he carefully selected the district based on his knowledge of economics and business management.


    To him, it was a foregone conclusion that rebuilding the shops would breathe life back into that part of the city. But many nobles and advisors who had heard of his plan weren¡¯t convinced, believing that the crime had done irreparable damage to the neighborhoods for at least the next few decades.


    Lucian wasn¡¯t discouraged by their lack of trust in his vision. Rather, he was relieved to find that outside of his inner circle, very few believed he had the capability to bring about any meaningful change, whether in the market street where he stood, or in the Almekian Kingdom as a whole.


    Until recently, Lucian had mainly relied on the force of strength to achieve his goals. He defeated his uncle in a civil war, raided gangs to stomp out crime, and achieved victory in a critical battle against the Esgares Empire.


    Other than his military victories, Lucian was best known for his charismatic personality and the mysterious companions he acquired through his travels. For the most part, he had done little in the way of making administrative changes to the kingdom, with the only major exception being his revisions to Almekia¡¯s farming laws, where he mainly just cut out the unnecessary bureaucracy.


    But not even a single farming season had passed since his changes came into effect, meaning the results of his new laws were still unknown. With nothing to point to as a show of competence when it came to administrative success, it was no wonder that most people doubted him.


    Soon, that would change.


    I didn¡¯t come here as a warrior-king. It was just something I had to do in order to survive.


    No, I came here as an administrator. Someone who could identify the cracks in the kingdom and repair them.


    And now, it¡¯s time the people of this world learn where my strengths truly lie.


    Starting today, Almekia¡¯s Renaissance will truly begin.


    As soon as Lily¡¯s carriage vanished from sight, another appeared to take its place. The new one wasn¡¯t quite as extravagant, but it was still fancy enough that most nobles would be proud to ride in it.


    Armed men were surrounding the carriage, escorting it through the bad neighborhood where Lucian had given the order to meet. Although organized squads of soldiers weren¡¯t allowed in or near Almekia¡¯s capital city, exceptions were made for personal guards.


    Being a noble often meant making a lot of enemies, and even a king couldn¡¯t order them to travel the streets without protection. At least, not if the king wanted to keep his crown¨Cand head.


    The new carriage came to a stop, the men guarding it keeping a distance of several paces between them and Lucian¡¯s Royal Guard. With both forces standing one in front of the other, the differences between the two became obvious.


    Lucian¡¯s men wore armor emblazoned with his royal crest, something that only his hand-selected soldiers were allowed to display. But their heraldry was far from the only distinction between them.


    As representatives of the king, the Royal Guard were as much of a representation of Lucian¡¯s authority as they were warriors. That meant appearances were strictly enforced, from the cleanliness of their equipment to the confidence in their posture.


    When contrasted against a standard group of noble guards, Lucian¡¯s men looked like professional soldiers standing before a band of conscripts. On top of that, he had twice as many men, some of whom were white hairs.


    ¡°I¡¯m happy you called for me, Your Majesty.¡± Marquis Novak took a glance around the barren market street. ¡°Even if the location is a bit ¡­ coarse.¡±


    ¡°If I''m not mistaken, you''ve been overseeing this district for nearly as long as it''s been deteriorating. If you''re so against visiting such rough neighborhoods, then perhaps you should have done more to prevent its decline.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I meant no disrespect, of course!¡± Marquis Novak¡¯s smile didn''t reach his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m merely curious why we''re meeting in such a place, rather than in the castle.¡±


    ¡°It''s simple, Marquis Novak. Discussing numbers and drafting plans behind closed doors is often the most efficient method for completing administrative tasks. But walking through the locations that are most affected by my orders helps remind me of what precisely is at stake, were I to make a misstep.¡±


    Novak looked around again. ¡°Is there something important here?¡±


    ¡°Yes, absolutely.¡± Lucian waved for him and a few others to follow, including a ring of personal guards.


    He led them to one side of the crumbling street, where one of many abandoned buildings sat unused. The lot was so overgrown and filled with so much refuse that none of them could even reach the door without brushing up against weeds and trash.


    Fortunately, what Lucian sought was near enough that neither he nor any of his companions needed to dirty their clothes.


    ¡°[Order].¡± Lucian brushed his fingertips against a square piece of wood lying on the ground.


    The rotting planks seemingly came to life, rising into the air and coming to a stop at head height.


    ¡°What does this sign say?¡± Lucian never took his eyes off the sign floating before him.


    ¡°Let''s see¡­¡± Marquis Novak leaned forward a bit, struggling to read the old, dirty sign. ¡°Belmont¡¯s Leathers and Tannery.¡±


    ¡°And what can you tell me about this former leather shop?¡±


    ¡°What is there to say? There''s scarcely anything left of it.¡±


    ¡°You''re correct about the shop being gone. It was destroyed over two decades ago when the owner was murdered on his way home one night. Since that day, it had been used as a front for various illegal activities, all sponsored by the gangs that used to rule these neighborhoods.¡±


    Lucian brushed off the dirt covering the former owner''s name. ¡°The Belmont family built this shop from nothing, only for it to be taken by criminals and brought to ruin. With her husband gone, the wife was forced to sell everything she could and move out of the city, her family''s dream of building a decent life having crumbled in the worst possible way.¡±


    Lucian motioned with his hand, and the sign settled on the ground, leaning up against the shop''s outer wall with Belmont''s name still on display. ¡°You asked if there was something important here, and now you have your answer. Those with talent, those with initiative, those with dreams¨Cthat is who used to live and work in these streets. When the gangs took control, we lost all of them, only for them to be replaced by crime and brutality.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just one street, no?¡± Marquis Novak tore his eyes from the sign. ¡°Surely it can''t impact a kingdom as great as Almekia.¡±


    ¡°By itself, no. But if we fail to give our citizens the basic safety and freedoms they need to build better lives for themselves, then Almekia will stagnate while the world advances around us. Eventually, the cracks in our kingdom will grow wide enough that we won''t be able to resist whichever power seeks to capitalize on our weaknesses.¡±


    Lucian turned his back to the old leather shop. ¡°Almekia nearly fell to the Esgares Empire only weeks ago. If I had lost the recent battle against them, resistance would have crumbled, and we would have become a vassal state like many others before us. And that is something I cannot allow.¡±


    Lucian had no faith in Marquis Novak to have a revelation about why increasing the freedoms of the peasant class would benefit Almekia. In fact, the nobleman had a vested interest in keeping the lower classes down, as giving them power would come at the cost of his own.


    It was much better to keep the status quo, a sentiment that most nobles shared. Going against that by giving the citizens more economic opportunities and avenues to influence the direction of the kingdom would be extraordinarily unpopular among the ruling class.


    Without a doubt, the number of daggers seeking his life would only rise. But even if it were a dangerous gamble, it was one he had to take, for his own sake.


    I just need to get even stronger, until even the assassins won''t take the deal, no matter how much coin they''re offered.


    Until then¡­


    Lucian eyed Emilia and his personal guards.


    I''ll have to play my cards carefully.


    Lucian brought the group back to the center of the street. There wasn¡¯t much else to see in the market, but he had one more destination in mind while they discussed a few topics with Marquis Novak.


    The nobleman still wasn¡¯t sure why he was even summoned to a poorly kept road in the bad section of the city. Anyone with a keen eye could tell he was nervous, with the way he kept tapping his leg with one hand while obviously struggling to put the pieces together.


    Not long ago, Marquis Novak had made the mistake of harassing the orphanage when Lucian had been paying it a visit. Since Lucian was undercover, he and his group were disguised as wealthy merchants.


    Novak failed to recognize them, leading to a confrontation where he nearly hit Princess Mia. Since that day, Lucian had kept the noble under his thumb, applying an appropriate amount of pressure to keep him in line.


    With such a strained relationship between them, the last thing Marquis Novak wanted to do was get on his bad side again. But when the king called, men answered. And that included nobles.


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    Being appointed to oversee sections of the capital city was an honor given only to nobles with long histories and deep ties to the throne. At some point in the past, Marquis Novak¡¯s family was one such ally.


    Those times had lapsed, a rift having grown between Novak and Lucian for many reasons, especially regarding the unorthodox decisions the king had made since taking the crown. Unfortunately for Lucian, the market street he wanted to rebuild was within Novak¡¯s jurisdiction, so he had no choice but to meet with him to discuss his plan.


    Though in truth, the honor to govern part of the capital city could be taken away just as easily as it could be given. Marquis Novak would no doubt make a fuss, but in the end, he would have no choice but to accept Lucian¡¯s decision.


    Now that I¡¯m almost done cleansing the filth at the bottom¡­


    Lucian began walking down the market street once more.


    It¡¯s about time I get started at the top.


    ¡°Hey, Marquis.¡± Aelia spoke up just as they began moving.


    ¡°Yes?¡± His tone was noticeably less submissive when speaking to the dark elf girl.


    ¡°This section of the city is under your jurisdiction. What else do you think needs to be done to make this market street into the successful economic district it once was?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious, isn¡¯t it? We make contracts with the Merchant¡¯s Guild and a few tradesmen¡¯s guilds to run the shops after the reconstruction. With their coin and connections, the shelves would be stocked with valuable goods as quickly as the doors can open.¡±


    ¡°Look around.¡± Aelia made a show motioning to their surroundings. ¡°You think the people who live here can afford anything of value?¡±


    ¡°If they can''t afford to buy anything, then what''s the purpose of rebuilding the market? It''ll just become abandoned again.¡±


    ¡°It would if we contracted out the shops to the guilds like you want. These people can barely afford to eat. You think a bunch of rich merchants from affluent parts of the city know what they need? They''d ruin this market street in months, trying to sell their overpriced goods to people who just want something affordable and useful.¡±


    Marquis Novak huffed. ¡°Aren''t you the Minister of War? What do you know about markets and economies?¡±


    ¡°You''d be surprised how much Aelia knows,¡± Lucian said. ¡°She''s the daughter of a Dark Elf Lord, making her the human equivalent of a princess.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± Novak looked back to the dark elf girl, disbelief in his eyes.


    Aelia waved her hand. ¡°Market economics is easy. All you gotta do is give the talented people a chance to prove themselves, and it will all work itself out.¡±


    ¡°That''s ¡­ that''s all you learned!? How ridiculous!¡±


    ¡°She''s right,¡± Lucian said. ¡°Though it''s a bit more complicated than that. Suffice to say that she knows all about those complications and has taken measures.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying you plan to do more than just reopen this market street?¡±


    ¡°That''s exactly what I mean.¡± Aelia answered his question. ¡°First off, all the shops will be owned by people within this district. That includes the beastfolk, who will be given a fair chance to start their business here. Not a single owner will be the subsidiary business of a wealthy merchant.¡±


    She pointed at the crumbling road where they walked. ¡°The infrastructure will be rebuilt along with the shops, stretching from the nearest major street, through the market, and all the way to the beastfolk neighborhoods. This includes all the homes that line the new roadway, which will be torn down to make way for new construction.¡±


    Aelia stopped in front of one of the few shops that had yet to close down. ¡°We''re also converting a nearby neighborhood into a warehouse capable of providing storage for a variety of goods. That will provide some much-needed work to the people in this district, as well as giving them easy access to raw materials they may need for their businesses.¡±


    She walked to the shop door and opened it, stepping inside. ¡°There are several smaller projects also in the works, but the last major one is a new guard station that''s going to be built near the market. It will both ensure the safety of the shop owners and their patrons, while also patrolling the streets for any remnants of the gangs we eliminated. The guards will be mostly new recruits from within the district, including squadrons of beastfolk.¡±


    Everyone was inside the shop now, where various tools sat around on the shelves and walls behind the counter. Despite having a rather large area for customers to browse, the shopkeeper didn¡¯t have anything laid out for people to pick up and inspect.


    That would make it far too easy to steal.


    Besides that, the owner didn¡¯t have much inventory, so he couldn¡¯t fill his shop with a large selection, even if he wanted to. Considering the decades of gang activity in the area, it was surprising he had anything left.


    Though perhaps that was because in a nest of criminals, tools used for trade work weren¡¯t the highest priority for thieving.


    Regardless of the circumstances, the last thing the shop owner ever expected to see was the Almekian King stepping foot inside his store. His dumbfounded expression was quite the sight, though the underlying fear that accompanied it did blunt the enjoyment for Lucian.


    ¡°Marco.¡± Lucian called the man out by name.


    ¡°S-sorry, Your Majesty!¡± He knelt down behind the counter and lowered his head until he virtually disappeared from sight.


    ¡°You can stand.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± He stood back up like a marionette yanked up by a set of strings, though he kept his eyes down.


    Having the king say his name made Marco break out in a cold sweat. He had watched from his store window as guards raided many of the shops on the street, arresting most of the owners and leaving just him and a few others untouched.


    He thought himself lucky at first, but now all he could imagine was a future where he was shackled and brought to a dungeon.


    ¡°How did you manage it?¡± Lucian asked.


    ¡°Pardon, Your Majesty?¡±


    ¡°My men investigated every single shop owner on this street. Among them, only you and a few others came up clean. The rest were all members of gangs, using the shops they stole as fronts for their black market economies.¡± Lucian tapped the counter. ¡°But not you. How did you escape having them come in and take your store away?¡±


    Marco blinked, the confusion painted openly on his face. ¡°I ¡­ I¡¯m not sure. Guess they weren¡¯t too interested in a shop that sells tools.¡±


    ¡°Hah. I thought the same thing.¡± Lucian shook his head. ¡°Though I suspect there are other reasons. You paid a protection fee, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Enough to almost put me outta business.¡±


    ¡°Letting a few shops stick around to extort would be a good idea. Not just to take your coin but to legitimize the market street by letting real craftsmen and tradesmen keep producing things of actual value. They may have been criminals, but they wouldn¡¯t have been so successful if they weren¡¯t at least somewhat capable of understanding concepts like that.¡±


    Marco seemed to realize something. ¡°Their thugs were always trying to get me to sell more. Kept tellin¡¯ em there ain¡¯t no customers around, but they didn¡¯t wanna hear it. Now I¡¯m wonderin¡¯ if they were worried I¡¯d have to shut my doors and they¡¯d lose one of the few real shops they had left.¡±


    ¡°Seems possible, though we¡¯ll likely never truly know.¡± Lucian shrugged. ¡°But that¡¯s not important for you anymore. Just stick it out a bit longer, and you¡¯ll have those customers back. Oh, and I¡¯ll take that.¡±


    Marco traced the path of Lucian¡¯s finger, which pointed at one of his tools. ¡°You want a spade?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good tool for gardening, and I know someone who might enjoy it.¡±


    The shop owner brought the spade to the counter and handed it over without requesting any payment. That was a common response from stores he frequented, but Lucian never took them up on their unspoken offer.


    Instead, he placed several silver coins down on the counter before grabbing the spade. Marco looked at them with hesitation, as the payment was far higher than the price. But when Lucian nodded, he had no choice but to take the coins.


    After their short trip into the shop, he led the group back out to the street, where the carriage and excess guards still waited for him. But he wasn¡¯t quite done yet.


    Although he had informed Marquis Novak of his plans, he had yet to put the final nail in the coffin to ensure that everything would go as he wished. Though in truth, he wasn¡¯t the one who would be driving that nail down.


    ¡°Marquis.¡± Aelia was the one who spoke up first. ¡°Are you beginning to see what we have planned for this district?¡±


    ¡°Of course I understand. You explained it to me clearly enough.¡± The nobleman scoffed. ¡°Though I don¡¯t see how a bunch of beastfolk will draw crowds to the market. They live in squalor, even more so than the humans around here.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t get it, as long as you do what we need.¡± Aelia raised a finger. ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll be the ones making the final decisions, so expect to hear from us every step of the way.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you even need me for?¡±


    ¡°To do the work we don¡¯t want to do. And it better be done when we need it.¡±


    Novak scoffed again, clearly not happy to be ordered around by a dark elf. ¡°I can do anything His Majesty needs in this district, with or without help.¡±


    ¡°Good. Then you¡¯ll have no problem meeting my expectations. Perhaps I¡¯ll even raise them a bit, since you¡¯re so competent.¡± Aelia¡¯s lips curled into a devilish grin. ¡°Oh, right. Before we go, I wanted to ask something, Marquis Novak.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Have you seen the new coins the kingdom has started minting?¡±


    ¡°You mean the ones with His Majesty¡¯s face on them?¡±


    ¡°Those are precisely the ones I¡¯m talking about. Did you have any opinions about the new design?¡±


    ¡°Not particularly.¡± He obviously couldn¡¯t figure out where Aelia was going with her line of questioning.


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s a shame. I¡¯ve got a lot of thoughts about those newly minted coins. Many, many thoughts.¡±


    The marquis waited for Aelia to continue, but she didn¡¯t. She simply left off without explaining why she had asked such strange questions.


    In the end, Marquis Novak left without any clear indication of what she was digging for. It was only after his noble carriage began shrinking into the distance that she reached into her pocket and pulled out one of those shiny, new coins.


    ¡°Many thoughts.¡± Aelia flipped the coin into the air, catching it with Lucian¡¯s minted face pointing up. ¡°Like how you know about this new design when we only paid one person with these coins so far, and it wasn¡¯t you.¡±


    With their goals accomplished, Aelia joined Lucian and Emilia in the royal carriage, the three of them heading back to the castle to work on yet another task that couldn¡¯t be ignored.


    Chapter 13


    ¡°I¡¯m a little excited this time!¡± Emilia¡¯s tail swished along the plush carriage seat as she peered out the window.


    ¡°A little, huh?¡± Lucian listened to her tail as it rubbed back and forth along the fabric.


    ¡°Yeah! Last time we went to your new magitech factory, they had some weird weapons. But now we might have some amazing inventions waiting for us!¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope the magical researcher has made as much progress as he claims. I haven¡¯t had a chance to verify his work in over two weeks.¡±


    ¡°He seemed really intelligent, so I¡¯m sure he figured it out!¡± Emilia nodded at her own words. ¡°Plus, you handpicked him yourself!¡±


    ¡°Although I consider myself quite good at conducting interviews, the real test is the candidate¡¯s first performance review. In a way, today is the final part of the head researcher¡¯s interview. If his prototypes work as well as he claims, then I¡¯ll make his appointment as the magitech facility¡¯s administrator official.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m cheering you on, Mr. Researcher!¡±


    A gate opened for Lucian¡¯s carriage, a well-kept stone path leading to an expansive building beyond. Though it was large enough to belong to a powerful noble, the yard wasn¡¯t part of an estate.


    No, it was akin to a facility or factory, rather than a residence. Both the research and production of Almekia¡¯s most advanced magitechnology took place on those grounds, a market sector that was both woefully unexplored and desperately needed.


    Although people had been enhancing lifeless objects with magic for a long time, it was difficult to make products that were useful enough to compensate for the costs. Magical lamps replaced torches and candles in Lucian¡¯s castle and the homes of many of his more powerful nobles. There were even some magical lamps in the wealthy merchants¡¯ districts, where the image of luxury would attract their desired patrons.


    But inventing new magitechnologies was an expensive endeavor. It was only recently when dedicated research facilities began to push out real innovation from their factories.


    Unfortunately, most of the new inventions were geared toward one, singular function¨Cwar.


    Lucian acquired his current factory from his uncle, after putting down his failed insurrection. But even Lucian didn¡¯t restructure the facility until after his triumphant return from the war with the Esgares Empire.


    His current visit was the first major progress assessment since the reorganization, where the focus had been shifted from the weapons of war that had been the priority before. Now, the magical researchers and engineers were tasked with solving several critical issues with products that Lucian hoped would prove profitable when completed.


    ¡°You sure you can make all those useful things you keep talking about?¡± Aelia exited the carriage behind Lucian and Emilia.


    ¡°I won¡¯t know for sure until I can track the progress, cost, and market feasibility of each product,¡± Lucian said. ¡°But I¡¯m certain I¡¯ll find at least a few that will produce value for Almekia.¡±


    ¡°Well, this inspection isn¡¯t really off to the best start, so forgive me if I have my doubts.¡±


    Aelia¡¯s words were in reference to the chaotic reception given to them on their arrival. Many of the staff had lined up to greet Lucian, as was often the case when he made official visits.


    Social etiquette demanded those of lower ranks to meet high ranked visitors at the door, as a way of acknowledging the gap between their positions and power. To do otherwise would be akin to proclaiming to be the visitor¡¯s equal, a feat that only a few could claim considering Lucian was Almekia¡¯s king.


    Yet despite being fully aware of the situation, some of the staff were clearly panicked as they scrambled to search for one particular person.


    ¡°M-my apologies, Your Majesty!¡± A mage in the employ of the magitech facility bowed at Lucian¡¯s approach. ¡°We¡¯re looking for the Head Researcher Nicholas at this very moment! I was sure he was here until just a moment ago¡­¡±


    ¡°I think we all know where he went.¡± Lucian¡¯s gaze fell on the facility¡¯s entrance, beyond which were the various research labs and prototypes that he had come to inspect.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll find him quickly! There are only a few rooms where¨Cah, he¡¯s here!¡± The mage showed obvious relief both in his face and voice.


    Nobody wanted to be the one to confront the king about a social misstep. Although Lucian didn¡¯t know why that particular mage had been the one to speak up, it was obvious that it wasn¡¯t his own decision.


    So when the person who made the mistake showed up, he quickly made himself scarce. No doubt he hoped that Lucian would forget his face after having his attention drawn to the main culprit.


    ¡°Ah, Your Majesty.¡± Head Researcher Nicholas gave Lucian an appropriate bow. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here. I have a few questions about some of your ideas that I¡¯d like to go over.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s half the reason I came today. The other half being an inspection of your handiwork. I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t find any problems with it, will I?¡±


    ¡°Hm? No, everything has gone as well as I could expect, considering my limited knowledge on some of the principles of magic you¡¯ve introduced me to.¡±


    ¡°Good. And what about your absence upon our arrival?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that?¡± Nicholas turned toward the facility¡¯s door, the same one he just used. ¡°While we were out here waiting, an idea occurred to me. I went to go test it, but before I could even finish setting up, people barged into the lab shouting at me.¡±


    ¡°As expected.¡± Lucian nodded. ¡°But I¡¯m interested in this idea of yours. Let¡¯s add it to the list of things to do while I¡¯m here for the inspection.¡±


    ¡°Alright. At least that means I can hurry and finish it before I get busy on something else.¡±


    ¡°That would be ideal.¡± Lucian motioned for Nicholas to follow. ¡°And next time, carry a notepad for writing ideas.¡±


    With the rather chaotic arrival over, Lucian and his entourage entered the magitech research facility in order to inspect the progress the mages and engineers had made during the past couple weeks.


    Beyond the doorway was a large room with three, distinct paths to choose from. To the left was a set of stairs that led to the second floor, where administrative offices, specialized testing rooms, and restricted areas were located. The former owner, Archduke Henrik, made heavy use of the upstairs, but with the cancellation of the previous war-related magitech research, most activity on the second floor had ceased.


    Instead of using the specialized rooms upstairs, Lucian¡¯s new inventions were mostly created within the facility¡¯s main manufacturing hall. Straight across from the main entrance was a hallway lined with many doors, behind which sat engineering, general testing, and production rooms.


    It was within those rooms where the bulk of the productivity was achieved within the magitech factory. As such, they contained a wider variety of tools, equipment, and resources than the specialized areas upstairs, which was why Lucian instructed Nicholas to use the main manufacturing hall.


    To Lucian¡¯s right was the third and final section attached to the entrance room, a storage area. It held a variety of items, ranging from processed materials waiting to be used in the production rooms, to finished products waiting to be moved and prepared for shipping.


    Although most of the work was done in the main manufacturing hall, Head Researcher Nicholas ignored it and turned to the right, toward the large, open storage area. Much of the floor space was occupied by materials, but a section had been dedicated to a display of sorts, with various items lined up on a long table.


    Nicholas wasted no time bringing everyone to that display, where he stopped at a stone square about the size of a large microwave.


    ¡°I must say.¡± Nicholas opens the device¡¯s door. ¡°This idea of yours is both simple and effective. I can¡¯t believe I haven¡¯t seen one of these already.¡±


    Lucian looked inside, where a metal rack sat in the middle, burnt slightly black. ¡°Ovens are some of the most convenient ways to cook. They¡¯re difficult to manage when you have to use open flames, but with the use of magical metal, they become both easier and safer.¡±


    The head researcher eyed the chunks of metal placed at the bottom of the oven. ¡°I agree, but there is a problem with this design.¡±


    Nicholas picked up a loaf of bread sitting on top of the oven. Even without an explanation, the problem was obvious.


    Lucian nodded in understanding when he saw how burnt the crust was in the middle of the bread. ¡°So it¡¯s overcooking in the center because that¡¯s where we placed the magical metal that heats the oven.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it. By the time the heat inside the oven cooks the rest of the bread, the center is charred black because of the metal. I was thinking of covering the magical metal so the food isn¡¯t exposed directly to the heat, but I haven¡¯t had the chance to make a new prototype yet. I was going to alter this one, but a few of the other researchers said it¡¯d be best to keep it like your blueprints until after the inspection.¡±


    Lucian was holding said blueprints in his hand already. Each device had them sitting out so they could go over any problems and find potential solutions.


    While Nicholas was speaking, Lucian was drawing. Nearly as soon as silence returned to the inspection table, he handed the revised blueprint over to the head researcher.


    Nicholas looked it over. ¡°A ceramic cover that goes over the magical metal? That¡¯s exactly what I was going to suggest.¡±


    ¡°The holes on the side of the cover will let the heat disperse through the oven while preventing it from overcooking in the center, where the food is in the direct path of the heating element. As long as the cook gives appropriate time for the oven to warm up before using it, this will let the food cook evenly throughout, while requiring almost no management once everything is prepared.¡±


    ¡°Certainly beats having to stoke a fire when making dinner. I¡¯ll make the changes to the prototype and give it another test run. Need to get my hands on this, though.¡± He pointed to the ceramic cover.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have a potter make one and deliver it here. Though there is another design for the oven that I¡¯d like to test.¡± Lucian put his finger on the blueprint in Nicholas¡¯ hands. ¡°The magical metal that makes up the heating element is just a lump right now. But if we were to shape it into something similar to a horseshoe, then it would radiate less strongly in the center and spread heat more evenly. Perhaps it¡¯ll be enough to prevent burning the bottom of the food without the need for a cover.¡±


    The head researcher nodded. ¡°A blacksmith working these metals would increase the cost more than a potter making a cover, but it would be a better solution.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have one made to test the cost and functionality compared to using a ceramic cover. It would be safer too, since there¡¯s always a chance that a poorly made cover could explode when the oven is opened. But until we get those new items in for testing, you can work on one or more of the other devices.¡±


    Lucian moved his gaze down the line, where a half-dozen other items sat. His eyes settled on the one next to the oven, which was also the one that he had most of his hopes pinned.


    He was somehow both optimistic in his design while also being nervous that his lack of knowledge in the field of magitechnology was giving him a sense of overconfidence. In a way, the inspection was as much an assessment of his own ability to adapt to a new form of technology as it was an evaluation of Nicholas¡¯ ability as an engineer and researcher.


    The partial success of his oven design helped ease his uncertainty, but the real tests were the inventions that utilized more modernized ideas in their construction. And the next device on the table would either prove him a fool or a genius.


    ¡°Now, this¡­¡± Nicholas¡¯ put his hand on the second invention, his tone not giving away whether he was impressed or disappointed by what Lucian had him make. ¡°This one is¡­¡±


    Lucian unconsciously held his breath as the head researcher went silent.


    ¡°It¡¯s absolutely genius!¡± Nicholas opened the device, which looked almost identical to the oven in both shape and size, though the door to it was on the top instead of the front. ¡°An icebox that doesn¡¯t use ice! Never thought I¡¯d see one that actually works!¡±


    Lucian finally breathed a silent sigh of relief. ¡°It works, then?¡±


    ¡°Better than I ever imagined! Who would have ever thought that a heat-absorbing enchantment would produce better results than one that produces cold!? It¡¯s illogical, no matter how I think about it!¡±


    ¡°It may seem counter-intuitive, but the truth is that cold is just a lack of heat. That means if you want to reduce the temperature, the only real way to do so efficiently is to focus on the removal of that heat, rather than trying to create cold air.¡±


    ¡°Even with the evidence staring me right in the face, it¡¯s still hard to believe that absorbing heat is the ideal way to lower the temperature.¡±


    Back on Earth, the laws of physics prevented the creation of cold air from nothing. All cold air was made by removing the warmth from it, using various methods.


    But his new world didn¡¯t need to strictly obey the laws of physics. Magic bent the rules in ways that Lucian still didn¡¯t fully understand, but the end result was the ability to perform feats that would be impossible on Earth, such as creating cold air without first having to draw the heat from the environment.


    Any mage who ever cast an ice spell had broken the fundamental laws of physics. Though in truth, the same could be said of nearly any magic that existed.


    However, even if it was possible to bypass thermodynamics, the energy cost to do so was clearly higher than using spells that obeyed those fundamental laws. When the people of his new world had tried making refrigerators in the past, the mana cost made them unfeasible because they were using enchantments that created cold air out of nothing.


    With Lucian¡¯s design, the magical metal that powered the refrigeration didn¡¯t create cold. Instead, it absorbed heat, just like the fridges that he used on Earth. Since it synchronized with the laws of physics, the power consumption was drastically lower than previous attempts.


    As a result, the fridge became a feasible product for people other than kings and wealthy nobles.


    ¡°Your method of transferring that heat out of the icebox works flawlessly.¡± Nicholas put his hand on the metal coil on the backside of the small fridge. ¡°Warm to the touch.¡±


    ¡°Since metal conducts heat well, all it takes is attaching it to the magical material that¡¯s absorbing the warmth inside the refrigerator and adding a small enchantment so it dissipates the heat effectively. Without that enchantment, it wouldn¡¯t work well in hot environments, and the metal on the outside could even become a fire hazard if it couldn¡¯t disperse the heat well enough.¡±


    ¡°How fascinating.¡± Nicholas rubbed his chin. ¡°Honestly, when you gave me these blueprints, I thought you mad. But seeing them in action has convinced me otherwise. Just what kind of genius inventor did you receive tutoring from? I¡¯d love to read his works for myself.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t taught by anyone whose works you would be able to read.¡± Lucian fell back on the excuse he came up with in case such a question was asked.


    ¡°Hm? Do they not author any of their ideas?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that, it¡¯s just no matter where you go in this world, you won¡¯t find them.¡±


    Nicholas¡¯ expression still showed confusion, but another researcher watching the inspection provides him with the answer.


    ¡°Head Researcher,¡± he said, ¡°haven¡¯t you heard the rumors?¡±


    ¡°What rumors?¡±


    ¡°I thought so¡­¡± The man shook his head. ¡°They say His Majesty is divinely touched. If his knowledge can¡¯t be found anywhere on this world, then that means¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, I get it.¡± Nicholas looked back to Lucian. ¡°In that case, can you ask if I can meet the gods? I¡¯d love a piece of this knowledge myself.¡±


    Groans could be heard from those watching, no doubt because casually asking a divinely-touched king to introduce him to the gods could be considered blasphemy from a certain viewpoint.


    In response, Lucian only smiled. ¡°I somehow doubt they¡¯ll agree to such a meeting. But if you keep working for me, you¡¯ll naturally obtain what you seek anyway.¡±


    ¡°Guess that¡¯ll have to do.¡±


    With the fridge being such a resounding success, Lucian already felt like he had what he needed to fulfill one of his next major goals. The rest of the devices could all be failures, and he could still go ahead with his plans.


    So, with far more casual steps, he moved on to the next invention lined up on the table.


    ----------


    ¡°Welcome back.¡± Princess Mia gave her brother a perfect curtsy.


    ¡°Thanks, Mia. It¡¯s not often that I¡¯m out of the castle all day, but it¡¯s worth it if I have someone to greet me when I get home.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing special¡­¡±


    Lucian shook his head. ¡°I disagree. But explaining it won¡¯t do it justice. I¡¯m sure one day, you¡¯ll understand it for yourself.¡±


    The princess wasn¡¯t the only one who had come to meet Lucian on his return. Several other familiar faces had joined her, including a certain fairy princess.


    Minerva was still enamored with exploring the world outside her mother¡¯s domain, and the castle was prime territory for expanding her cultural and social knowledge. Because of that, she¡¯d been content to remain behind on many of Lucian¡¯s trips out to the city.


    But there was a limit to how long she would remain sedentary, a fact that Lucian already understood from the time he¡¯d spent with her.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be in need of your special abilities soon,¡± Lucian said to her. ¡°So you¡¯ll have an opportunity to spread your wings a bit, so to speak.¡±


    Minerva summoned her actual wings and literally spread them, the luminescent tendrils lighting up the castle floor and walls around her. ¡°Then I shall accompany you on such an endeavor.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I was hoping to hear. You¡¯ve got a great eye when it comes to seeing the truth behind a person¡¯s words, so I¡¯d love to hear your opinion on a certain person after you meet him.¡±


    ¡°It is so. Mortals often have their true desires hidden beneath a veneer. But to me, their thoughts may as well be on full display.¡±


    Although she looked like just another mysterious race to Lucian, fairies were special, even in a world with beastfolk and dark elves. Only two of her kind were even known to exist, one being Minerva herself and the other being her mother, the Fairy Queen.


    Lucian wasn¡¯t aware of the Fairy Queen¡¯s history. Even Minerva herself was kept in the dark by her own mother. But one thing he did know was that unlike every other living creature that walked the world, the two fairies were immortal.


    They could still be killed by steel and magic, but time had no effect on their bodies. Though the fairies were unique in their world for that very reason, there was another person in his castle who could claim to care little for the effects of time.


    ¡°Would you be happy if I welcomed you back, too?¡± Lutz¡¯s smile made it clear just how much fun he was having.


    ¡°Somehow, it doesn¡¯t seem to have the same effect.¡±


    ¡°Well, I agree with you there.¡± He shrugged, as if imagining a similar scenario.


    Vera crossed her arms. ¡°I¡¯m going back to my studies. Can¡¯t believe I let you drag me out here to begin with.¡±


    ¡°But everyone else was coming to meet him. You wouldn¡¯t want to be left out of the celebrations, would you?¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s celebrating? Certainly not me.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of celebrations,¡± Lucian said. ¡°A small one might be in order if this morning¡¯s training session went as well as I had hoped.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that? I guess you could say it was a success. Most of the students aren¡¯t anything special, but I guess a couple of them are worth teaching.¡±


    ¡°Those are some of the best young mages in the Almekian Kingdom. Though I guess from the perspective of one of our only two Archmages, they can be considered lacking.¡±


    ¡°The best mages of noble lineage,¡± Vera corrected.


    ¡°That¡¯s true. If I had the means to search the entirety of the citizens for prodigies and enrolled them into a special magic academy regardless of their heritage, then we could likely find even more capable students for you.¡±


    ¡°Good luck with that.¡± Vera shrugged, knowing just how much resistance Lucian would face if he founded an academy with the sole purpose of helping commoners compete with nobles in the field of magic.


    The Archmage herself was a simple commoner before proving herself to be a powerful spellcaster that only appeared once in a generation. Without a doubt, many more competent mages would arise from Almekia¡¯s population, if they spent the time and effort to foster them.


    Unfortunately, a monarchy didn¡¯t naturally lean toward equality for the people born within its borders. Those with power had a vested interest in preventing the growth of the underclasses, as it would likely lead to the erosion of their power and influence as competitors arose to challenge them.


    It was for that very reason that the nobility were often at odds with wealthy merchants. Any commoner who made vast sums of coin and too many powerful connections could become a threat to their rule.


    There were even times where famous traders were labeled as traitors, simply out of fear at the amount of influence they had attained. Though there were some cases where the accusations of treason were correct, the reality was that it was only a convenient excuse to rid themselves of a growing threat.


    ¡°If you want to celebrate, send a messenger. Doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll answer the door, though.¡± Vera turned and walked off, heading back to the hole where she often secluded herself.


    ¡°Oh, wait for me.¡± Lutz waved at the others before following the Archmage down the hall.


    ¡°If you¡¯re going to follow me again, you better be useful.¡± Her words slowly faded from earshot as the two of them shrank into the distance.


    As silence fell on the room, one of the people still present decided to fill it with her unique noise.


    ¡°Uwah!¡± Teflyn puffed up, looking indignant.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Lucian asked.


    ¡°Training!¡±


    ¡°Training?¡±


    ¡°Battle! Danger! Kishin!¡± Teflyn revealed her oni fang.


    ¡°Ah, I get it. You want to train under Vera.¡± Lucian rubbed his chin. ¡°But she started her class two hours before sunrise this morning. Are you even capable of waking up that early?¡±


    ¡°Ehhhh¡­¡± Teflyn¡¯s indignant expression slowly melted away. ¡°Why¡¯s it so early in the morning!?¡±


    Lucian smiled at the sudden return of her oni fang. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry. Starting tomorrow, she¡¯s going to start class at sunrise. You can at least be ready by then, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! I can do it!¡±


    ¡°Then I expect to see you there in the morning.¡±


    Since it was already late in the afternoon, Lucian didn¡¯t have time to complete any more of his major goals. Though he had accomplished all he had planned for the day, so he wasn¡¯t concerned.


    Instead, he¡¯d be spending the rest of the afternoon doing administrative work. He was quite fond of sitting behind a desk studying or working, so he wasn¡¯t particularly upset at the thought.


    ¡°Emilia, would you like to join me?¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± She smiled, knowing that the two of them would be spending the rest of the evening together, mostly alone.


    With the tasks he had completed during the day, Lucian had set the stage for an upcoming show. One that he found himself looking forward to, despite his usual tendency for diplomacy.