Chapter 26 - Mouse-Man

Nakada Ryota walked out of the carriage. The soldiers surrounding the carriage shivered from his icey aura, the aura he used only when he needed to do business. Ryota walked into the trading center, which was at least an eighth of the size of the trading center right next to the imperial palace. Natsu screeched from Ryota's side, alerting him of danger. Ryota nodded and petted his falcon, to calm him more than Natsu.

The soldiers followed him in a single file line. If people saw them, they would think that they were heading to war. The seriousness on all of their faces made them seem wiser, like they lived millions of years.

But, the problem was, there was no people. Everyone fled once there was word about royalty coming to their trading center. A scout in one of the trees saw their bright carriage from miles away and alerted the whole town. The town was able to hide themselves in only a couple of minutes. None of the townspeople spoke about the royal family coming to the doctors, though. The town had a deep grudge for what the doctors did. They also had a grudge against the royalty for ordering the increase of payment for medicine. Many have died because of this increase, and the victims have been thinking about retaliating and rebelling against the empire.

Ryota walked calmly through the abandoned streets, already knowing that everyone was hiding. He wanted the carriage for this exact reason. If everyone was hiding, no one was going to get hurt if the doctors decided to start some trouble.

The group reached the medicine center. Ryota knocked on the door politely, trying not to make the doctors uneasy if they barged into the room. A small doctor with a balding head wearing a white gown opened the door. His small mouth opened wide when he saw the first prince right outside his door.

"H-hello! First Prince Ryota! Please, come inside."

The man's voice was rusty with age and slightly more high pitched than a regular man's voice. The man reminded Ryota of a mouse, small and squeaky.

Ryota was led inside and he ordered some of the soldiers to stay outside, since they all couldn't fit in. The mouse-man pulled out a chair in the middle of the room for Ryota to sit in. He thanked him and sat gracefully on the chair.

The mouse-man fiddled with his fingers while he waited for Ryota to speak. The weight of the air pressured the mouse-man's shoulders, making him feel suffocated from Ryota's stare.

"Is there anyone else here?" Ryota asked quietly, but loud enough that everyone could hear.

The mouse-man shook his head quickly before running up the stairs to retrieve the remaining doctors. Currently, the doctors were in a room laughing with bottle of alcohol in their hands. The mouse-man coughed loudly when he breathed the pungent smell in the room. He pressed his fingers on his nose before yelling over the laughter, "The first prince, he's here! Everyone has to come downstairs!"

The doctors soon stopped their laughter and paled. They stopped drinking and hid away their bottles. They brushes their hair and dusted off their clothes, trying to make themselves look presentable. They felt like they were walking to doom when they walked down the croaking, uneven stairs.