Chapter 96 : King Dinner

Maskmana left the room. He returned to his office and locked the door. He went silent and lost in thoughts.

Memories filled his mind. A girl lay on the cold obsidian floor. She looked at him with empty eyes. 

"Come with me. Let's start over. Give us a chance to prove to you that not all is lost," said Maskmana as he reached out his hand. 

The girl hesitantly gave her hand. 

Maskmana returns to reality. He looks out his window.

"I could never forget the day I saw you, drenched in so much despair," he mumbled. 

He let out a long sigh before he quickly sat down and opened his computer. Determined to work on his next steps. 

After the civil war, Sveratis worked hard on rebuilding itself. The citizens begin to repair the city with the Kingdom's officials. Prince Stravenkov spent 30% of the royal treasury to aid the people with the most damage. He also invited Kaizo and his team to stay in the palace as gratitude.

Rum throws herself to the sofa in the guest lounge with a long sigh. "What a day."

"I got a reply from Admiral Maskmana. He said he'll personally deal with the official matters of the Sveratis Kingdom," said Kaizo. 

"Is he coming here?" Ramenman asked. 

"No. The Admiral is coming to Sveratis at a later date. He wants to give Sveratis some time to recover. I'll tell Stravenkov to send him an official invitation letter," said Kaizo. 

"Hmmm… Hey, do you think we'll get punished?" Ramenman asks as he leans on his pillow. 

"Punished? For what?" Rum asked. 

"Well… we kind of blew our cover and to top it off… Everyone knows us. Like, the whole knights know who we are," said Ramenman. 

"Right. This is supposed to be a recon mission. And we end up getting involved in a war instead," said Lahap. 

"Well, things ended well, didn't it? Besides, the Queen and the Prince will probably put up some good words for us, right?" said Rum. 

"Maybe. But the best it can do is probably reduce our punishment," said Kaizo.

Ramenman whined. "Awww… I hope Admiral Maskmana is in a good mood so he won't punish us so harshly."

Run looked at Axion. She's so focused on her tablet. "Axion, you're alright? You've been quiet for a while now," she asks.

"O-oh… yes. I'm fine. I'm just writing down a… personal report," said Axion. 

Rum sighed. "You're too diligent. It wouldn't hurt to be lazy for a bit."

"True. You don't have to write down everything you've been through in detail and report it to Admiral Maskmana, you know?" said Ramenman. 

Axion smiled. "I may call it a personal report but it's just a diary. I don't report my personal life to people, not even Maskmana," said Axion. She leans towards Ramenman. "Don't peek."

"I wouldn't dare. I'd be dead the moment I touch your tablet," said Ramenman. 

They chuckled. 

Axion's smile slowly faded as she looked back on her tablet. The screen showed a private message from Maskmana. 

'These people came looking for you. Contact me ASAP' -Maskmana

Along with that message, a few pictures of three men are attached. Three men that Axion knows well. 

Shortly later, someone knocks on the door. A servant entered and greeted them. 

"The Queen and the Prince invited you to join them for dinner," said the servant. 

"We'll be there," Kaizo replied. 

The servant bowed and left the room. 

"Finally! Dinner time!" said Lahap, excited.

"Yes. You think they have ramen here?" said Ramenman. 

"Well, they found your stock of cup noodles. I'm sure they noticed that you like them," said Rum. 

"Yeah. That'd be amazing," Ramenman replied. 

In the dining room, Prince Stravenkov and his mother are waiting patiently. Stravenkov looked at his wounded left hand. He gently caresses the bandage that wraps his hand. 

A memory fills his head. He remembers the moment Axion held his left hand where he put his royal ring. Just a moment before she told him to challenge Versatel. 

Her hand is smaller than his. She's wearing a glove. But the way Axion's fingers intertwined with his, he can only imagine how soft and warm her hand would be. 

"Does that still hurt?" asked the Queen, noticing Stravenkov rubbing his hand.

"A-ah, no. Not at all," Stravenkov flustered. His cheek slightly turned red.

The Queen feels concerned."Are you okay? Your face looks a bit red. Do you have a fever?" she asked. 

"No, mother. I'm fine."

Shortly later, the door to the dining room opened. Kaizo and his team greet the Queen and the Prince as soon as they enter the room.

"Ah, you're here. Welcome. Please take a seat," said Prince Stravenkov. 

They all sit down. Servants start to come in and arrange a variety of food on the table. 

"Please, enjoy your meal. I hope Sveratis cooking will be to your liking," said Stravenkov as he began eating.

"I believe it will. After all, it is a meal worth serving the future king," said Axion. 

"Hahaha. You're too kind," said Stravenkov. 

"On the contrary, I think you're the one who's being too kind. You must be busy recovering the Kingdom. Yet you still trouble yourself inviting us to such fine dining," said Axion."You shouldn't have…."

"Oh but I insist," said Stravenkov. "After all, I lost the bet."

"The bet?"

"Back then at mount Balor, we bet that whoever defeated the most steel army gets treated to dinner. I recall you wanted a King's meal," said Stravenkov. 

Ramenman almost chokes on his drink. Kaizo paused. He frowns.

Axion chuckled as she lowered her head. She doesn't know whether to be pleased or to be embarrassed.  Stravenkov smiled, watching her smile. 

"I believe at that time, no one present was able to defeat steel knights more than you did… lady Axion," said Stravenkov. "Isn't that right, sir Kaizo?"

"Yes, that is true," Kaizo replied with an unimpressed tone. 

"Hm? So you admit that I win and that I'm better than you. That's unusual," said Axion. 

"Hmph! Had it not been for Versatel's elite soldier, I would've defeated more steel knights than you," said Kaizo. 

"Riiiiiiight, of course, you will," said Axion teasingly. 

"By the way, your highness. Our Admiral sent word that he's requesting an official invitation to help Sveratis," said Kaizo. "I advised you to contact Astraeus soon."

"Yes. I most definitely will," said Stravenkov. 

"We're also ordered to return as soon as possible," said Kaizo.

"Oh, when will you be leaving?" asked the Queen. 

"I believe in 2 to 3 days, your Majesty," he replied. 

"So soon," said the Queen. 

Stravenkov nodded. "It seems that I've taken much of your time for our Kingdom's affairs. I can't thank you enough." 

"Not at all. As space rangers that travel here and there,  we quite enjoy the fresh scenery of a friendly world," said Axion as she raised a glass. 

Stravenkov smiled. He raised a glass and invited them to a toast. "To the friendship of Astraeus and Sveratis!" 

The rest of the dinner ends well with no trouble. And they return to the guest room. 

"Axion the stealer of hearts. One day you make Rubrum's finest knight fall in love with you, another day you make a crown prince fall for you," said Ramenman as they walked back. 

Axion glanced back at Ramenman. "It's not my fault. I'm not the one who decides who gets to fall in love," said Axion as she walked ahead. 

"But you get to decide who you're giving hope to," Ramenman yells.

But Axion kept walking. 

Ramenman slowly shook his head. "Women. They don't know that their smile alone can make a man fall in love," said Ramenman as he put a hand on Kaizo's shoulder.

Kaizo shrugs him off and strides towards his room.