3 Here at Nelumbo

The journey took only a short week, thanks to the spy's seemingly inexhaustible energy and portable magic array that Rowan assumed had to be used in a certain distance from the location to accurately teleport there, or the spy would not have put him through the torture which was being constantly shaken by being inside the shirt of a running man. Even if Rowan knows that the spy is unaware of him being trapped in the mirror, he could not help but mentally curse him a few times to relieve his emotional exhaustion.

He felt even more confined than when being in the small room with only a door and his thoughts to entertain himself, being shoved in a black shirt with no light and only accompanied by a stranger's steady breaths was not exactly an ideal way to spend a week.

Nevertheless, Rowan still felt indescribable happiness towards leaving Olinthus. He could tell that he left the country as the moment that spy used the aforementioned portable magic array that teleported them, the distortion caused extreme discomfort to himself, it was as if someone attached him to a wheel and kept spinning him around. His intolerance towards the feeling, despite previously using long-distance teleportation arrays, emphasized that the distance is rather large, as for how large?

Even Rowan was a little ignorant on the matter and is just itching to shake the stranger to ask which country they're going to. But, time was the thing he had the most right now and was able to wait till the spy intentionally takes him out of the damn shirt.

When the discomfort completely stopped, the spy seemed to stride a few steps before deeply bowing. Soon, Rowan sees a hand reaching to grab his inanimate body and finally sees the light for the first time in a week.

The first thing he manages to pinpoint was the interior of the room. Although it screamed out 'wealth' through its decorations, it was very unlike the gaudy style of Olinthus. It had a sense of elegance and harmony as the room used mostly beige to cover the walls with heavy drapes of dark red, like the color of a tart apple. Despite the large curtains, they were all bound by a golden tassel and a shiny metal flower pin, which revealed tall windows that let the gentle sunlight in.

The sun rays illuminated the room, providing a source of light for the many rare species of flowers that decorated the edges of the room, all of them were uncut and instead were tended for in exquisite and decorative pots. Taking care of these uncommon flowers would take many resources up and have many uses, from medical to even military resources, yet this country arrogantly places them for decoration. In the middle, a smooth red carpet led up to the throne that was placed in the back of the room. It was completely in harmony with the interior design of the room, it was not garish nor over the top, but still gave off a sense of loftiness.

The wooden throne was beautifully carved with multiple magical runes that could be used to provide protection to the sitter and if Rowan looked correctly, it could even be utilized to make essentially an isolated area where no one could come in or out unless the user disables said runes. Currently, the runes were activated as seen from the slight glow of several of the carvings, all of which were used to create a private space.

The man who activated it could be assumed to be the ruler. The man had slightly tanned skin, his handsome counterance holding eyes that were like the sunset, a sharp red with a slight gradient to orange, his platinum hair was slicked back and on top of his nearly white head laid a small crown with a noticeable symbol of a lotus.

'I'm in Nelumbo?' Rowan realized in slight surprise when he recognized the insignia of the Nelumbo royal family.

Nelumbo is a country renowned for its unity within the people. When a decision is made by the top, the bottom would follow suit, regardless of the demands as the masses have full trust in the government. However, there had been discord within the country as spies from multiple countries as they try to topple the royal family's power through artificial riots and rebellions.

Nelumbo has fertile land that is used to grow and export much of its crops and raw resources to other countries, making it seem like a big piece of meat to the other countries. But, these countries have not yet made an external move, like announcing war, as this piece of meat is tough. The Nelumbon Royal family has many hidden, elite forces that are fully utilized to keep the utmost peace within the country. Although they cannot make the country completely tranquil, it is still effective as the majority of the common masses pay no mind to the fake rebellion against the upper class, even going as far as to criticize the foreign countries as the spies were an open secret to everyone.

However, there will always be a few radicals that truly believe the foreign spies and became skeptical and hateful. Though, they would nearly never have the chance to rise up as the king is a powerful light magician, King Luken. His abilities are said to be stronger than Emperor Jove of Olinthus, as his light magic is able to fight both long and short distance and being very flexible to all fighting styles, but rumors are simply rumors as they never have fought to measure their strength.

Rowan felt the idle gossip he heard from nobles was probably true. The platinum haired man was astute and serious, giving off a cold atmosphere as he looked down from his thrown with sharp sunset eyes. His suit was pure black with a red tie, complimenting his hair and eyes. His clothes had no useless or ornate decorations that showed off wealth, but rather gave off a feeling of being pressured and witnessing great power, making Emperor Jove look like a complete joke compared to the elegant man.

Rowan stared in awe at the handsome man in awe until he saw the immaculate face scrunch its sharp eyebrows in confusion as the king stared at him, or rather the man lifting him up.

The man, noticing the furrowed eyebrows of his king, hurriedly explained, "Your Excellency, this lowly one was incompetent and unable to find the cause of Olinthus's recent decline. Thus, this servant is uncertain of when to strike and was accidentally spotted by a noble."

The spy felt the atmposphere become a little heavy with dissatisfaction and clarified in haste, "However, this one has discovered this mirror. This lowly servant does not know the full purpose of it, but the nobles of Olinthus seem to cherish it very much. Even one noble treated it as a life saving straw!"

Although King Luken was high skeptical of the value of a wooden mirror, he neverthless used his magic to manipulate the light particles to bring the mirror towards his hand. His hand seemed to hold untold power and when Rowan was brought into the Luken's palm, he shivered slightly from the mere power he felt from his toned hand.

Rowan appreciated the looks and power that the Nelumbo King held. 'Dignified and strong, he's a hundred times better than Jove.'

"What is the purpose of this mirror?" Luken lifted an eyebrow and his eyes filled with slight ridicule as if mocking his subordinate for his active imagination and exaggerations.

'Okay, rude.' Rowan could not really blame him, the mirror he was in looked nothing special, in fact, it looked like a mirror that was recently bought from a flea market. Good enough, but not great.

"Well, your majesty-" before the spy could answer, he was interrupted by another voice.

"My purpose is to answer any questions you have to the best of my capabilities." Rowan answered perfunctorily with a monotone voice as he was a bit irritated from being implied as useless.

'I am renowned for my extensive knowledge! I can destroy your country from the inside with a simple plan!' He exaggeratedly ranted towards the man holding his body.