2.5 The King

In front of Kali was the entrance to Crocus. She slightly lifted her hood to see the crowded and charming city. And as she thought, the capital hasn't changed at all, it was still as beautiful as it was back then.

She followed behind Gildarts who showed his ID to the guards. Right when she was about to enter, two spears that formed the shape of an "X" were in front of her.

"Show us your ID!"

"And reveal yourself, we cannot let someone with a hidden identity in the capital for safety measures."

Kali didn't do anything, she waited for Gildarts to do his thing so she didn't have to reveal herself.

"Oi! That person is with me, we're here to see the king since we're doing a job for them." Gildarts said.

"But-"

Before the guard could continue, Gildarts flared some of his killing intent which made the guards scared.

"This never happened." Gildarts said. "Let's go."

Kali smirked under her hood. That was how things were supposed to be, laws don't apply to the strong.

"And what did you say earlier? As long as I'm with you, no one is going to make contact with me. Look at what just happened."

"This was different, they were guards. Anyway, let's find the king."

Together, they made their way through the crowded city. Kali's eyes never stopped analyzing her surroundings. She could see tons of people looking at her and then start talking. Most likely, they were talking about her hidden appearance. Thankfully, none of them approached her since Gildarts was here.

Soon enough, they were in front of a large castle.

"This has to be it right? There's no other building that is this luxurious." Gildarts said.

Kali looked up to see the purple and gold designs on the castle. Truly, it was a fitting place for a king.

"It is, let's go in. Make sure to tell the guards you're with me this time, I don't want to go through it again."

"Don't worry, I got it."

"I hope you do."

As Gildarts was speaking to the guards, Kali decided to take a look around the registration area. Everywhere she looked, there were paintings and statues that represented the capital. Not a single thing was cheap besides the furniture. It was a prime example of extravagance.

Suddenly, Kali spotted an unknown figure entering the door that only high-ranked nobles could enter. She had a slim appearance, blonde hair, and red eyes. She gave off a noble and strong aura. Even though Kali only saw her for a few seconds, she could tell she was strong.

Right when Kali was able to investigate further, she was interrupted by Gildarts who was calling her over.

"Oi! Let's go!"

"Coming!" Kali replied back as she glanced at the entrance. "I guess I'll think about it later."

"Hey…Kali…" Gildarts said tiredly.

"Yes?"

"Why do we have to walk up this many flights of stairs? There was clearly an elevator, why couldn't we use that?"

Kali sighed. "One, we're not important to them. Two, although they know who you are, they don't know my identity. That means they're taking safety precautions and making us use the stairs."

"So, this is all your fault?"

"To put it bluntly, yes, but can't you just fly? Don't tell me you don't even know how to fly despite being an S-Rank wizard."

"I know how to fly! Why don't you fly? I've seen you do it before."

"Flying would make me not want to walk anymore. Though I walk since I like to stay normal."

"Then your reason is the same as mine."

"But you're not normal."

"I am!"

"Instead of walking through the entrance of the guild, you walk through a wall, and destroy it. You don't even pay the expenses."

"That was one time!"

"No, it was like your three-hundredth time."

"Alright! I get it." Gildarts said. "Moreover, it seems like we're here."

"Indeed."

Kali pushed open the door which revealed a large room with a red carpet on the ground. At the end of it were two thrones that sat the king and the princess. Two lines of knights were formed on their left and right side. There also seemed to be a mage too.

Kali and Gildarts walked forward until they were close enough to the king. Neither of them did any royal movements to greet the king. After all, it was the king who requested for them, not the other way around.

"Hello, king and princess. We're here to take on the mission you requested, could you tell us the contents so we know what we have to do?"

The king didn't mind Gildarts's behavior, his eyes remained on the figure with the cloak.

"I will in one moment." the king said. "I will need the cloak figure to make her presence known. I need to know it is someone and not something."

"Go, this is the one time where you'll need to." Gildarts said.

Kali sighed and said, "Greetings to the king and the princess. Your palace, Mercurius, is as amazing as the citizens say it is."

Both the king and the princess were surprised. They never expected the S-Rank wizard's partner to be a girl. They thought that it would be a male considering his personality.

The princess widened her eyes, she couldn't hide her surprise. Strangely, she felt drawn towards the cloaked figure. It wasn't feelings of romantic interest, at least that's what she thought, but she wanted to know more about the person. And to do so, she would need a plan.

"I see, it is a female." the king said as his eyes switched from Kali to Gildarts. "Is your partner reliable?"

"You mean if she's strong? Then yes, of course. She might even be stronger than me." Gildarts said.

This left the king even more surprised and the princess seemed to be more interested.

Kali cursed Gildarts in her mind for saying that. Now, the king and the princess will be more focused on her. She wanted to conceal her presence as much as possible. But with someone as dense as Gildarts, that wasn't likely.

"Then I'm relieved. Though, it's getting quite late. Why don't my maids bring you to your rooms? We'll discuss the mission tomorrow." the king suggested.

Kali looked at the window and saw that even if they were given a tour, there was still time for her to explore the city for a while. She nodded to Gildarts to accept the suggestion.

"Okay, we'll accept your offer." Gildarts said.

"Great! And while our maids are preparing your rooms, why don't we introduce each other?" the king asked. "I'm Toma E. Fiore, the king of the capital."

"I'm Hisui E. Fiore." the princess said.

"I'm Gildarts."

"..."

The three were expecting an introduction from Kali, but she suddenly disappeared. Despite only looking away for a split second, she had managed to slip away during that moment.

"It seems your partner slipped away." Toma said.

"Sorry about that, she'll be back later." Gildarts said. "I'll be following the maids to my room then."

"No." Hisui suddenly said. "You can go to your room, but I wish to look for her."

The king looked at her daughter dazed, he wasn't sure what he had just heard.

"Darling…I don't think I can allow you to do that." Toma said in a worried tone. "It's too dangerous."

"Then send a couple guards with me, I don't mind." Hisui said sternly.

Toma didn't know what to do, he couldn't reject her daughter seeing how resolute she was.

Toma sighed and said, "Alright fine. My best knights, accompany her. If she gets a scratch on her, you're all dead."

""Yes!""

Hisui smirked, it was going to be a breeze losing the knights.