Relieving Stress

"I want to stay here, in this kingdom." Samuel reaffirmed his prior statement.

King Adrian raised one of his eyebrows. "I mean....I'm not prohibiting you...but we don't know if you are a threat to this kingdom yet, so you will undergo a period of examination and your movement will also be closely monitored...do you still want to stay here?"

"I am fine with all of those. Just grant me a place to stay and something to do." Samuel replied.

"You're also asking for a house! You little—"Braum was about to lash out again as he was annoyed that Samuel kept requesting different things when he hadn't offered anything yet.

King Adrian raised his hand again to stop Braum. "Okay. We have some empty houses in the residential sector, I will give you one, but it is under a loan, so you'll have to pay it back or vacate the house in the future. For jobs, look for job recruitments in the city hall. Also, I will also invite you here occasionally for we still have some matters to discuss about the outside world." King Adrian stood up after saying that.

"Braum, escort Mister Samuel here to the city hall so he can be issued a residence card. I have some other matters to attend to." King Adrian left the room without passing a glance towards Samuel again.

Braum stood there in a daze before looking at Samuel frowning. "Come with me." He said to Samuel in an unpleasant voice. Samuel just smiled and followed Braum through another door.

--

Next to the room where Samuel met King Adrian, Chief Kylantha was standing in front of the door as King Adrian opened it.

"Why did you let him in freely? He could very well be a spy from the mercenaries. If not, he could still be someone that would reveal our existence too early to other kingdoms." Chief Kylantha did not seem pleased.

"Is it considered polite in elven culture to overhear a conversation like that? And here I thought my ancestors designed that room to be soundproof." King Adrian replied.

"I have my means....but nevermind about that, why did you let him stay?" Chief Kylantha restated her question.

King Adrian raised half of his lips in a smile. "Don't worry. His movements will be very, very closely monitored by the intelligence department to the point that we would know what time he sleeps and wakes up...I sensed something from him. He's strong. Very. Potentially an important asset. I can't let him go just yet." King Adrian started walking away from Chief Kylantha.

Chief Kylantha followed King Adrian closely behind. "I just...we are very tolerant towards you Vathrians since you don't have any prior history with us elves....but outsiders like him..." She said while following Adrian.

King Adrian stopped in his tracks and turned to Chief Kylantha. "We have to grow. We have to grow quickly. I don't know if this time we'll have another 500 years like before or if the evil forces will arrive next year or even next month. We can't predict that. We only have 15.000 people and with you elves, we have around 20.000. That won't be enough. We'll accept more immigrants future and no matter if we like it or not, they will be attracted to migrate here. Like him." King Adrian said in a serious manner.

"I understand...but..." Chief Kylantha looked down as she was not sure what to say.

King Adrian grabbed Chief Kylantha's shoulders softly. "We have a blood pact together. You and I are tied. I will protect you and your people. I swear." King Adrian said.

A tinge of red could be seen on the cheeks of Kylantha. Her eyes turned wide for a bit before regaining her consciousness again. "I—I see...I will trust you, King Adrian..." She replied in a fluster.

King Adrian let go of his grip on her shoulders. "However, I do see that you are not in the most relaxed state of mind. Shall we take some time off?" King Adrian said while flashing a cheeky smile.

"Time off? What do you mean?" Chief Kylantha did not know what King Adrian was implying.

"You haven't had the time to truly see the city, right? How about a quick city tour? It'll be a little date between you and me. I have a method that we can use so we won't be bothered." King Adrian offered.

Kylantha flashed a worried smile as she was not sure what the King was thinking about.

--

"What do you think?" King Adrian touched his face as he was now fully bearded with a fake prosthetic. His face also looked older and he was wearing a simpler suit than the fancy one he wore before.

"It looks...realistic...mine too." Chief Kylantha was wearing a sun hat to hide her long ears and she was also wearing a black-colored hair wig. "How is this possible? We look like completely different people!" She exclaimed.

"That's the power of the intelligence department alright. Their disguise department was one of the best back in our old world." King Adrian replied. "C'mon, let's go out." He said.

The two of them took a classified backdoor exit from the castle, leading them to a building that was designed to be a secret exit for royalties. This building was then connected to one of the main roads near the castle.

"We're out." King Adrian looked around as he saw his citizens going about their daily life. As the economy has started, he could see many different businesses such as restaurants, general stores, and clothing stores. Professional workers could be seen walking around in suits and children was also walking with their school uniforms as educational institutions have begun operating again.

Chief Kylantha also looked around in wonder. "Wow...It's truly different when you're out in the street by yourself. This feels...liberating" She said.

King Adrian held her hand as he started to walk. "Let's have fun." He said while smiling.