6 6

Ain glanced at his wrist, the rip in his clothing was quite visible. Being thrown into such an unfamiliar situation, his mind had been racing since he first appeared within the darkness and yet he hadn't thought of every little thing in his plan.

"At first, I thought your behaviors were too calm and relaxed for people who had just been summoned--though, your 'acting' didn't help either--but then you stumbled and my mind was at ease for a moment. However, after that vessel healed you all, not a single shock was seen on your faces. I had long heard that every hero that has ever been summoned into this world, at the inception of seeing true magic, their expressions would noticeably change into excitement and interest. However, you three seemed to not follow common law…" Gleaming hazel eyes bore down on the trio as Ignus narrated their flaws.

"Ah, I see, I was indeed a bit too careless," Ain nodded, folding the wrist of his tunic and hiding the rip on his left arm. He mentally kept this memory in his head as a future reminder.

"So you've come to understand that we are not 'common' to your knowledge. However, why attack us even then?"

"I wanted to test a thought, and I was right," Ignus smiled for the first time.

Ain raised a brow.

"You heroes, I originally thought you had never wielded a weapon in your life. However, thankfully, I was wrong. For a girl her age to be able to quickly react to my slash and pull you to safety—even when I had little intent behind it—it seems your group has been through quite a lot of battles."

He bowed, "Please, even if you come to hate the royal family, help this kingdom and the world. And in return, I'll pledge my life and my sword to you."

The surrounding armored knights gasped.

Ain looked between Aurora and Felz, and they too looked amongst the group. This man's demeanor changed too quickly!

***

Ain gazed forward.

Black marble steps led to two thrones.

On the left sat a man with crimson red hair, medium length, and sparses of bangs dropping onto his ruby eyes. He was lean, appeared tall, and wore something akin to a crimson robe decorated fairly with golden highlights. Around his neck was a single necklace with an embedded green gem that Ain speculated to be a runestone.

At he left of the man was a woman Ain thought to be the queen. She wore a Jade robe much similar to her husband, and when her azure eyes glanced over the group, the sway of her long blonde hair was visible. Yet, those eyes of hers seemed to wavy and Ain could not help but see the Queen's hand squeeze the arm of her throne.

Opposed to the visibly tense queen, there seemed to be a natural smile on the king's face as he relaxed with ease onto his throne.

He raised his brow, "Are you not going to kneel before me?"

Ain smiled.

Even though there were currently surrounded by knights, even when Ignus stood behind them with sword drawn. He still smiled.

Walking here, he had learned quite a bit more than nothing. For one, it seems the person that had the room filled with weakening poison and then subsequently called for them to be healed was this king before them. 'He said it would build a certain layer of gratitude, ease, and trust within the heroes, allowing them to be more inclined to listen to request from people they don't know,' Ignus had said, 'They've always done this and no heroes have ever found out until now.' At least, by the implications of Ignus, that was the excuse given. Ain still held to his suspicion that it was also an initial restriction on whichever beings were summoned.

Just as he was about to speak up, a curt voice responded besides him.

"I'm sorry, king, but you're currently not our majesty. We have no obligations to kneel before you or follow your commands. In fact, you haven't even told us why we're here, so why should we kiss your shoes?" Aurora scoffed at the thought of bowing before another.

"Oh?" The king narrowed his eyes, "Does she speak for all of you?"

Felz grinned, "Naturally."

And Ain shrugged, "I don't see a problem with her words."

He smiled, "You're not common. You figured it out, didn't you? The room?"

The Queen's eyes widened, she turned to her husband in shock before resting her gaze on the trio. Ain wasn't quite sure what was going through her head as she bit her bottom lip.

He frowned, "What room? Figured what out?"

His words alone would be meaningless. In fact, as soon as he entered this hall and noticed that not one of the knights had stepped forward to state the situation to the king--he had figured that it didn't matter what they said in the end. It carried no weight, the king would still be the king. If he proclaimed someone stupid, they wouldn't dare call themselves smart.

So, his plan was quite different. He wanted the king to say it himself, make it known by his own words that he tried to poison the heroes. However, it seemed he wasn't going to get his wish.

"Good, very good," The king nodded, he wasn't a total fool.

If word reached the masses ears that he tried to poison the summoned heroes, there would be unintended consequences.

"My name is Alabaster Gridion, and this is my wife Layla Gridion. We, the king and queen of the kingdom of Albion, welcome you to our world." He smiled.

Aurora nodded.

"Good to be here I guess?" Felz shrugged.

And Ain merely said, "I see."

Those were not conventional reactions, but the king had already come to see this trio as unconventional. He nodded once more and stuck to the main topic.

"I suppose you would like to know why you were summoned first?"

"No," Ain shook his head, "we would first like to safeguard ourselves. Is there a way to return to our original world?"

The king rested his head onto his hand, he narrowed his eyes.

"Merlin." He called out.

The trio's eyes immediately widened when they heard that name.

The space before the throne blackened before beginning to tear. A ripple of energy flowed from the bare air like waves before a portal crackling with sparse lightning opened up.

A figure stepped out.

Cloaked in a gray robe, a wrinkled hand holding a pure white staff with a single clear orb stuck to the top, and a fluttering long beard. An old man, the spitting image of a mage, stepped forward with a smile as the portal behind him closed.

'No way…' Ain frowned.

No matter how he looked at it, no matter which thoughts ran through his head. Looking at both Felz and Aurora's shocked faces, he become certain.

'Merlin...the demonic slaughterer. A mage that wiped out half a country for their Souls and used it to reach the limits of his powers. What is he doing here?'

Ain stared at the old man in front of him, vigilance in his mind.