Royal palace
[In the throne room]
King Rudas sat on his throne, contemplating today's invasion. Despite his centuries of experience and having witnessed the true colors of the world, he couldn't shake the feeling of powerlessness from today's events.
"Veldora, how's the situation in other cities? Have the reinforcements arrived in time?" King Rudas inquired, concerned about the potential worsening conditions in those cities if the situation here was already dire.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The situation in other cities is under control. As you requested, most of the royal guardians, armies, and some hunters from the Hunter Guild have been deployed to regain control in those cities," Veldora provided a situation report.
"What about Silvermoon City? Has the Demon Empire made any strange moves in the city?" King Rudas couldn't shake the concern for Silvermoon, the city that the Demon Empire relentlessly targets. There must be something driving them to attack repeatedly.
"No, there haven't been any suspicious moments in their attacks. Some of our spies have infiltrated the enemy ranks, but they haven't discovered anything significant. It seems like most of the forces in the Demon Empire are unaware of the reason behind the attacks," Veldora reported.
"Make sense; the Demon and Vampire hierarchy relies on the single foundation of the purity of their bloodline. The purer the blood, the more powerful they become," King Rudas remarked, his gaze fixed on the throne room door.
"You may come inside," King Rudas announced.
A shadow appeared in front of the throne, and while kneeling down, it conveyed information about a guest arriving at the palace.
"Veldora, I'll leave the security of the city in your hands. Call me if you need something urgently. I have to attend to Mr. Astrophel, and then we can discuss countermeasures against the enemy empire," he declared before leaving the throne room.
"As you command, Your Majesty," Veldora replied, and with that, he too disappeared.
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"My lady, this is an important guest invited by His Highness," Ruby asserted, maintaining control of the situation.
"No, no, aunty. I know him very well; he is a robber, there is no doubt in my mind," Princess Alena declared, eyeing Azkar.
"How come? I don't know you very well, Princess. And when did I become a robber?" Azkar didn't mind her behavior, considering he was a guest in her house. Until he completed his task, he wasn't going to bother with anyone.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Vance, for this kind of behavior," Ruby apologized, doing her best to control the situation as she had been explicitly informed by His Highness that the guest would be important.
"Don't worry, Miss Ruby. I know her from the store; she just has some misunderstanding about me," Azkar reassured. The situation came under control, and Alena remained silent, influenced by Ruby's chilling glare.
The three of them headed towards the dining table, a rare sight since hardly any guests visited the royal palace. The servants, intrigued by the new face, began to gossip.
"Did you see that? Princess Alena brought a new guest inside the palace," Servant A remarked.
"Who is this person? He looks so handsome, doesn't he?" Servant B chimed in.
"Hey, you two, cut it out. If someone hears, both of you are going to be executed by this crazy princess," warned Servant C.
"Oh, so you didn't know about Princess Alena. You must be a newbie. She's the youngest princess and the youngest child of the king. His Highness loves her very much, which is why he doesn't punish her for anything she does," explained Maid Servant D, shedding light on Princess Alena's situation.
Azkar, with his keen hearing due to his "pure human bloodline," overheard the servants' conversation and was shocked by the revelations. It explained why her behavior was so bizarre; she was just a spoiled child.
"Sometimes, no-name background characters have some pretty good info," he mused to himself. Suddenly, he felt a chill running down his spine.
He turned around to find Princess Alena glaring at him with deadly eyes. Despite her menacing look, her face remained adorable. In spite of everything that happened between them, he never felt bad about it. Regardless of whether this entire empire turned out to be his enemy, he believed he could handle it solo, no problem.
"Hey, Miss Puffer Fish, your eyes are about to pop out with all that excitement," Azkar teased her playfully.
"Say that again, and I'll skin you alive. I'll show you my excitement. Aunty, help me kill him!" she declared, anger boiling over.
Ruby observed both behaving as if they hated each other a lot, yet neither was trying to hurt the other's feelings.
"They'll make a pretty good couple," she thought.
"We are near the dining hall. Both of you, stop behaving like children," Ruby said.
"Hey, why do you hate me so much? What did I do to deserve this?" Azkar playfully asked Alena.
"I... I..." She wanted to say something but stopped. She couldn't find a reason to hate him, yet her behavior continued, making it embarrassing, and her cheeks turned red.
"Now, what's this development? I have to stay away from her," he thought.
*Grrrooooaaaan!*
Azkar heard the gate opening, and he saw a very big gate in front of him being opened by two guardians. He was shocked because the gate's design had some similarities to the Gothic architecture from his past life. Once again, he was impressed by the architecture used in this royal palace.
As he entered, he saw a very modern and unique dining hall. Compared to 5-star royal hotels in his previous world, this place was unparalleled. Everything was made of gold and precious alloys, and the glace. The dining hall also featured many high-tech modern technologies, including weather control and various security measures. In this place, the king liked to dine, ensuring it was a safe space without extra concerns about safety and other details.
In the middle of the dining room, there was a long, fancy dining table with lots of elegant chairs. At that table sat a single person, looking at Azkar with an immense feeling of gratitude.
However, he paused as he noticed his lovely and usually spoiled princess behaving differently in front of the guest. This was highly unusual, but he decided to ask her personally later.
"Come here, sit beside me, Mr. Astrophel. I have something important to discuss with you," the king said as he stood up from his seat and invited Azkar to the dining table.
"Please call me Vance, Your Majesty," Azkar said, impressed with King Rudas' behavior.
"You too, call me Rudas; there's no need to be formal. Right now, I'm just an old man trying to pay his debt," King Rudas said, glancing at Alena and inviting her to sit in front of Azkar.
At the head of the table, the king occupied a majestic chair, while on either side of him, Azkar and Alena took their places.
"As you already know, Zenith Empire is the last empire where people live freely. I'm not saying everything in the empire is perfect, but the fact that humans can live their lives freely is the most I can achieve right now. However, today, there's one thing I couldn't accomplish. Do you understand what I mean, Vance?" Rudas spoke, his gentle voice conveying a sense of failure in not being able to uphold something he had been doing for a long time.
"I understand, Your Majesty. But everything has its limits because one person cannot save everyone. I'm young, but I still understand that power decides everything in this world, and Your Majesty has been able to keep this empire safe for two centuries. This cannot be ignored," Azkar expressed, his thoughts running, "What do I say? I don't even know how to talk properly, but I can express what I feel. I want to be free, so showing my views in some aspects is not a bad thing. I'm still a child, but if I count my simulation trials, I'll consider myself a grown soul who has seen the darkness very well."
As Azkar and King Rudas chatted and ate, Princess Alena was stunned. They were talking like they understood each other and as equals. It was challenging for her, being the same age as Azkar, yet everyone treated her like a child. Hearing both of their opinions about the world, discussing experiences they had themselves, Alena couldn't help but glare at Azkar.
"So, Vance, what do you want from this empire? If you have any requests, you can say it. I'll try in my power to allow it," King Rudas offered, pondering, "If not for the unknown god, my empire wouldn't see the day again, but he has some connection with that god, so paying the debt to him is not a problem. Upon our conversation, he seems to have a good understanding of the world and doesn't seem to have any interest in money or anything. What is he going to request?" He observed Princess Alena's behavior and instantly dismissed any thoughts related to her.
"Now, you're going to show your true colors. Ask something, and then I'll expose you," Princess Alena said, smiling at the thought.
"Nothing much, Your Majesty. Just some research data that can be shared with outsiders, and I want access to the royal library. Aside from this, nothing else," Azkar replied. He didn't need much; the library and access to research data in various fields were his primary interests.
"..."
Both of them were stunned because never in their dreams did they think that someone would make such a modest request when given a chance by the king. Princess Alena even felt embarrassed as her expectations of exposing him were completely shattered.
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