50 The Alama Kingdom

The rest of the trip back was quiet even as they dismounted their horses and headed inside the massive building. Even so, Idris still followed Emre into his room without a word. Emre didn't try to stop him and they eventually both ended up standing on the balcony alone, looking out at the side garden.

"I'm sorry for yelling back there." Emre apologized.

Idris set gentle blue eyes upon him and shook his head, leaning on the railing with his elbows folded under his chest.

"It's fine. It's my fault for continuing." He responded.

Emre glazed at Idris with a complicated expression and wanted to say it wasn't his fault but knew it would only lead to a roundabout of self-blame. Closing his eyes he let out a sigh and turned, plopping onto his butt to lean against the bottom part of the railing.

"All cities have places like that, both in this world and my last… After seeing people living in such conditions, it makes me want to do something about it." Emre paused, leaning his head back to glance up at Idris. "But I know we have more important things to do that matter much more for the wellbeing of every living being, not just them... I know that… but it doesn't feel good knowing."

Idris looked down toward him before lifting his arms off the railing and pivoting around to also lower himself onto his butt and lean his back onto the railing. "After we get rid of the dark creatures we can go around and help people." He was looking up toward the blue sky.

"What?" Emre's brows lifted as he sat up. "Really?"

When Emre first met Idris it seemed he was just intending to do the duty that Animor had given him. He had simply tagged along with a party for guidance toward where the dark creatures were increasing in number. It occurred to Emre at first that Idris wasn't exactly doing this because he wanted to.

But here he was offering to help humans with him after his duty was finished? Something must have changed in these past few weeks to bring about a development like this. That was the only explanation Emre could think of.

"I was always warned to never get close to humans and to not meddle in their affairs. Of course, it seems I'm disobeying my mother's teachings left and right." Idris chuckled. "I can understand why she told me this, but the farther I learn about humans and how things are for them… And after seeing that child… I can only wonder if I could do any good to help those types of people."

He then leaned up as well, looking Emre straight in the eyes. Usually, the icy blue color of his eyes exuded coldness, but right now Emre could only see warmth twinkling in them.

"I can't heal like you, but I feel that I'd be able to help out in some way." He paused a moment before continuing. "Living life in quiet solitude on some mountain only sounds lonely to me now. Maybe it didn't before when it was drilled into my head… but after experiencing what I have, and becoming friendlier with everyone, I don't really think I would want to leave and live alone after all this."

"Even if it means staying among humans?"

"It's not doing me any harm so I don't see why not? I don't care how I might be viewed by other dragons. And obviously, my mother's teachings do not bind me."

Emre smiled and propped his chin upon his knees. "Then after we get rid of all the dark creatures, we can go around together and help those that cannot help themselves, hm?"

"Yeah… I think it would be a good idea." Idris nodded.

For a moment they were quiet, Emre's warm amber eyes gazing upon him. Idris found himself staring back, noting his long white lashes and his smooth pale skin. It was not a face without flaws, but it was still terribly stunning. And although Idris would indeed consider him beautiful, Emre seemed to still not lack masculinity.

When Emre realized they had been staring too long his eyes blinked and the tips of his ears grew hot with embarrassment. Clearing his throat, he tore his eyes away and glanced toward the almost cloudless sky inside.

"Well, I should probably get started on strengthening my core if I want to get to the third layer by tonight," Emre stated hurriedly.

Idris also straightened up, wondering why they had just decided to sit there and stare at each other like that. Had it been his fault? He stole a quick peek back at Emre, but he had already crisscrossed his legs and closed his eyes to focus on his core. Idris didn't say anything, so as to not distract him and forced the occurrence to the back of his mind for now.

Quietly, even he began to focus on his own core. For the rest of the day, the two ended up strengthening their cores to the late night.

Emre only stirred as he felt the burst of power, his third layer finally forming. Warmth spread along all of his limbs and he took in a deep inhale, his senses feeling even sharper than before. Despite being tired, a sense of giddiness filled him and he felt accomplished now that he finally formed his third layer.

Feeling his mana pool, it was now a bit larger than the Commander's had been. He would be able to cast stronger spells and would be able to use more spells without needing to regain mana as often.

Happy, he looked over to his side where Idris was still focusing. The air around him seemed to fluctuate and Emre could clearly see the difference in power between him and Idris. There was definitely a lot for Emre to learn from him yet.

Emre tried his best to get up quietly, but Idris's eyes still opened the moment he stood up. He felt sore from sitting in one spot for so long, but it sure paid off. Idris on the other hand stood up with ease, a happy look upon his face.

"You did it." He noted with an approving tone.

"Yep!" Emre grinned at him before looking up at the dark sky. "We should get some rest though… I didn't realize so much time would pass without thinking about it. I wonder if everyone came back okay."

"I'm sure they did. They are probably already sleeping by now." Idris dusted off his clothes. "So let's go to sleep. We have a Queen to meet tomorrow."

A look of dread crossed Emre's face. "And I thought meeting the Paladins and High Priests was nerve-wracking… Now we're going to be meeting the ruler of an entire Kingdom." His tone was compliantive.

"We'll be fine." Idris gently reassured.

Emre could only nod. Everything else has gone well so far. Besides, the Queen was known to be benevolent and they would also have Yivrenel to help them out. Shaking off his chills, the two reentered the room. It was cozier than the outside at least.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Idris said as he opened up Emre's door. "Goodnight."

"Night.~"

The guards seemed to flinch in surprise as Idris exited but he paid no mind to them as he headed into his own room. Emre flopped into his bed and it only took a moment for him to fall asleep after taxing away at forming his third layer.

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The morning came quickly and Emre grumbled in annoyance as he felt his body being shaken. Although it was gentle, the movement still woke him up and in a fit of grogginess he nonchalantly rolled over onto his other side.

'Emre, get up, we're all having breakfast together today.'

With Idris's voice directly entering his mind, he was forced to regain some semblance of consciousness.

'Ragan wants to see us off with a grand breakfast. If you miss it he'll be bummed out.' Idris shook him again. 'You need to get up and get dressed properly.'

"Okay, okay… stop shaking me." Emre shooed Idris's arm away.

Idris let out a sigh and backed up as Emre sleepily sat up with a bedhead. Washing up, he took a moment to brush out his hair until it was nice and silky smooth again before dressing back up in his armor. Idris waited patiently, helping with his armor a bit before the two exited into the hall.

Led by Winston and Reanil, they were brought to the dining hall. It seemed to be a recurring incident that they arrived last. Taking their seats, food was already quickly being filed into the room.

"Took you guys long enough!" Killan piped up.

Emre childishly stuck his tongue out at Killan who quickly returned the favor. Ragan, however, set a sharp gaze upon the two of them and they retracted their attitudes with small snickers. Breton chuckled at the display and smiled.

"I'd say I'm going to miss the liveliness, but once you all go to Alama I'm going to be heading for the frontline defenses. There will likely be plenty of liveliness there." Breton commented.

"I'm guessing you and Commander Thorgrim worked something out then?" Idris inquired.

"Yes, I'll be leading a battalion to defend the south. I'll be working together with another battalion to intercept the dark creatures already in the Kingdom and see if we can keep them from venturing farther north. At least, that's the simplified explanation."

"Given the strength of the army and with you leading the frontlines, we won't even have to worry about the Gaia Kingdom while we're gone." Ragan chuckled out.

Breton nodded. "Yes, I'm certain we will do fine. You all, however, are going to be diving into the worst of it."

"We'll be fine. We're strong. And we'll have these latecomers with us, what could go wrong?" Gerrar chortled.

"Don't jinx us!" Emre huffed.

A small bout of chuckles filled the group as the large breakfast was finally ready for them to dig in. They ate happily and quickly, eager to get a move on.

Once they finished eating they wasted no time in getting their things all contained and ready before they set off on horseback toward Tirian's Capital Temple. Breton had informed them that they would likely be provided with new horses when they got to Alama so they didn't have much issue leaving their horses with Breton for when they would return one day.

They were greeted and led by Silvis with Breton following behind back to the same meeting room as before. The pleasantries were dimmed since they knew they had to go as soon as possible. Even so, the party looked around in awe as they walked through the temple, barely able to contain their excitement. Through the meeting room, they headed for the double doors that led down into the ground.

The stairs were long, but at the bottom, it opened up into a bright white and well-lit subterranean room. The room was circular in shape, a massive runic circle was drawn onto the smooth floor in golden color. A smaller pillar with an orb upon it sat just beside the circle near the door.

"Alright, everyone. Stand in the middle of the circle." Silvis instructed. "Note that since this is your first time teleporting it might be a bit jarring. Please try not to throw up." They smiled sweetly despite their words. "Yivrenel is likely already waiting on the other side."

"Everyone, good luck," Breton said with a serious dip of his head.

"You two as well," Emre answered with a nod.

The party moved to the center of the circle as they were told and with that, Silvis placed their hand upon the orb upon the small pillar and it began to glow. The circle followed in kind, golden markings lighting up from below.

In a split second, Emre felt his heart drop. The ground seemed to disappear from below his feet and his vision flashed and darkened for a moment. He felt like he was about to be thrown down in a roller coaster until solid ground met his feet. His knees almost buckled at the contact and his stomach felt turned about in queasiness, but it oddly wasn't unfamiliar.

When his eyes clarified they were in a room not too different from the last. However, instead of Silvis and Breton standing at the bottom of the stairs, it was the dark-haired Yivrenel and the older beast-person Izala.

Groaning then erupted around him as his party members flickered into existence beside him. Idris's face looked sour and Killan doubled down, gripping his stomach to avoid vomiting. Nalia, Ragan, and Gerrar's faces paled with a sickly green. Conin and Emre seemed the most okay out of all of them with only wavering countenance.

"Oh my, the first teleportation is always so rough," Izala muttered.

The two women gave them a chance to recover and hopefully not throw up before giving light bows toward them. Greetings were exchanged and Emre and Idris's appearances were complimented on.

"We will take you to meet the Queen right away. She is waiting for your arrival." Yivrenel informed.

"Then we shouldn't keep her waiting," Ragan said.

With nods of agreement, they were led up the stairs and into another meeting room that looked like the last. It seemed each one of Tirian's Capital Temples had a similar make. Being led through a hall, they winded through a few more before they exited into the main hall.

With the main doors wide open, Emre's amber eyes flickered in surprise as the strong scent of sea salt hit him. Although he had only been to the ocean once in his past life, he would never forget the salty and damp air with the perpetual screeching of seabirds.

The capital of Alama was definitely a coastal city.