Unwanted encounter

As Maya hurriedly packed her belongings for the trip to the Last City, Alex courteously excused himself to give her some privacy. His mission was to meet with the king and relay the decision of Maya and Linda. However, his progress was halted by Julia, who stood menacingly in front of Maya's room. With a smirk, she sneered at Alex and taunted him, "Ha! Why does this little mouse come to say goodbye to my sister? Well, at least you can finally do something with your life, as being a city lord is still a pipe dream for commoners like you." Unperturbed, Alex chuckled at Julia's petty remarks and continued on his way to the king's chambers. As he made his exit, Julia cast a scowl his way, her disdain for him bubbling beneath the surface.

Deep within Julia's thoughts, she seethed with resentment towards Alex. "That commoner always ruins my mood," she seethed. "I would have killed him long ago if it wasn't for my sister who always protects him. But now, finally, I can get rid of him and marry the Hero." She scoffed at the idea of Alex becoming a lord and settling for an unattractive spouse. "Ah, let's forget about him," she thought to herself. "I must make a good impression on the Hero."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Alex approached the door to the King's chambers, he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation. He knew that he was about to speak with one of the most powerful figures in the kingdom. As he knocked on the door, he heard a muffled voice from within, before the King himself emerged, beckoning him inside.

As Alex stepped into the room, he was greeted by a familiar face - a man he recognized as his cousin. Before he could even greet him properly, however, a figure stepped out of the shadows - a boy who looked just like the hero of Dharma Kingdom.

To Alex's surprise, the boy spoke up in a mocking tone. "I'm sorry to hear about your canceled marriage with the princess," he sneered. "But don't worry, I'll take your place and marry her instead. And as for defeating the demon king - well, that's going to be my job now."

The atmosphere in the room was tense, and Alex felt his heart pounding in his chest. But then, unexpectedly, the King let out a deep, hearty laugh. "My, my," he said, clapping his hands. "You certainly are a confident young man, aren't you?"

The tension in the air dissipated as the King continued to speak, his voice now much lighter. "But I know that a hero like you must have much to do," he said. "So if you'll excuse us, we won't keep you any longer."

With a displeased look on his face, the hero left the room, leaving Alex alone with the King. As he looked into the older man's eyes, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen next.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Your majesty," the king eagerly inquired of Alex, "what have the two of them decided?" Alex proceeded to recount the entire story to the king, unable to discern the monarch's expression, though it seemed to lean towards contentment. As their conversation drew to a close, the king approached Alex and presented him with the city lord's seal, an emblem that every city lord appointed by the king was obliged to possess. With that, Alex bid the king farewell and departed the room.

In the king's mind, conflicting emotions swirled around. "I'm not entirely sure if I feel happy about their decision," he mused. "On the one hand, I wish to bid farewell to Maya, but on the other, I fear I do not dare to face her after what I have done to her."

-To be continued

[So, the Next chapter will be an extra chapter and after the extra chapter I released the final chapter of the prologue, and with that prologue ends and the next arc start "The Last City"]