“Citizens of Rocky Cloud City!”, continued the woman, her voice strengthened by some kind of artifact on her tight dress.

“Let me introduce to you: Crown Prince Nouram Subire!”

“The... the…”

Tepo rose his brows slightly. The attractive woman wanted to continue but was interrupted multiple times by the cheers of some smaller groups. Were they frantic fans or paid actors? Who knew…

After a few seconds the crowd had calmed down allowing the woman to speak again:

“Our mighty crown prince is known as the guardian of Tamed Storms Kingdom. From a young age he learned in the military, leading his first army before his awakening.

After his awakening, our highness’s genius conquered the hearts of the kingdom by storm. He punished vicious criminals and defended entire cities during dungeon breaks. Soon, a saying spread among our loyal citizens: ‘If you live in Tamed Storms Kingdom, your life has been saved by the crown prince at least once.’

Now, his highness decided to spread his benevolence to…”

Suddenly another voice interrupted the woman’s speech. The man who stood on the plaza earlier had arrived in the wind channel.

Tepo watched the proceedings with interest. Since learning about the Force of Natural Perception, the young adult could guess what the crown prince was trying to do. He came to spread his fame, thus gaining more feedback.

Since the surrounding warriors also understood this, they only listened to the speech halfheartedly. But the sudden change now drew many peoples’ attention. Obviously, it was rather rude to interrupt their official guests.

But neither the crown prince nor the city’s delegate portrayed any awkwardness. They warmly greeted each other from afar with cordial smiles on their faces. The entourage continued its way, with the plaza still being its target.

“What a farce!”

Tepo looked over his shoulder as a female voice suddenly reached his ears.

A tall woman had arrived in the VIP area. Her ordinary face stood in stark contrast to her athletic boy. Wearing a short-sleeved, black shirt, with her defined abs in the open, and a comfortable brown skirt, which doesn’t try to hide her muscular legs completely, she gave of a feeling of great strength.

Around her neck hung a silver necklace with multiple strange trinkets. Her long brown hair was held back on one side by a silver hairclip. She appeared slightly exhausted as she sauntered towards Quill and Tepo, plopping onto a comfy chair at their table.

Quill wrinkled his nose, turning his head away.

The newcomer smiled teasingly.

“What? Quilly? Not welcoming me?”

Tepo observed the interaction with interest as the man opposite him addressed the woman:

“Your hygiene is miserable as always. I don’t even understand how a warrior can reach such a state.”

“Tzz. That’s just the prove of my hard work. Obviously, this is something you don’t know. You even got your work stolen by a newly awakened.”

With as laugh full of mirk the woman eyed Tepo.

“This is him, right?”

“Yes.”, spoke Quill, having regained his usual leisurely demeanor.

“Newbie, this is Anvil. Anvil, this is newbie.”

Tepo rose his brow upon this strange introduction. He reached out his hand.

“Nice to meet you. Of course, my n…”

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“Nah! Don’t say it.”, interrupted Anvil hurriedly as she shook Tepo’s hand.

“Although it’s not banned to reveal your real identity, we usually only use codenames.”

Tepo nodded slightly. It made sense. Quill and Anvil were obviously not these peoples’ real names.

So keen on secrecy… they are indeed criminals, right? Ah, what did I get myself into?

Hiding his real thoughts Tepo smiled politely as he pulled his hand back. He was surprised by Anvil’s rough skin, but together with her name a certain picture naturally formed.

“So, newbie, how did you manage to catch Quill’s eyes, which are normally above anyone’s head?”

As Tepo chuckled, Quill didn’t react to the provocation. The man kept his languid expression, observing the crown prince.

“I don’t know. I didn’t wear clothes, so maybe he took me for a beggar and felt pity.”, joked Tepmodus.

Anvil’s eyes lit up. She teasingly looked between Tepo and Quill:

“No clothes? Then he might have taken you for a beggar, or… something else…”

Tepo stocked. He needed a moment to process Anvil’s meaning before a cold shudder ran down his back. Suddenly he coughed awkwardly. Taking a deep breath he addressed Quill:

“Quill. If this is true, I have to say I feel honored, but I just don’t swing that way. If I somehow misguided you, I’m sorry.”

Tepo’s face appeared solemn, but his voice had a joking tone. Next to him, Anvil let out a chuckle, imagining Quill’s annoyance.

The scholarly man slowly turned his head. With lazy eyes he looked at Tepo as he spoke with a tinge of disappointment:

“Oh? Have I been mistaken? And here I thought we were forming a strong bond.”

Tepo and Anvil were both baffled. Quill couldn’t suppress a small smile on his face before turning his head away hurriedly. His companions couldn’t wrap their head around the fact that the man had just joked around with them.

Anvil was especially shocked. She had known Quill for a long time now. When had he ever been this easygoing?

After this short introduction the three did their best to pass the time. Tepo quickly noticed that Anvil’s character was right up his alley. Although he got along well with Quill, it was more a relationship of colleagues or rather mentor and student. But with Anvil, Tepo could imagine building a good friendship in little time.

Meanwhile, the ceremony was continuing. Elite soldiers surrounded the crown prince and the kingdom’s delegate as they graciously landed on the plaza. The delegate kept talking as the crown prince smiled benevolently. Inwardly the royal was pissed, however.

It was already an honor for him to visit a provincial lord, but they didn’t even step out to personally welcome him. This was an insult to his dignity!

Watching the show, Anvil commented in annoyance:

“At least they stopped singing praises. Damn loser.”

Tepo only shrugged his shoulders.

“He’s trying to strengthen his core. Guess I would do the same in his position.”

“Tzz.”, Anvil clicked her tongue loudly, but it was Quill who explained:

“You are right Tepo, but that’s not the entire story. He proclaims to have saved many people, but which crown prince would travel without his own bodyguards? Often, those do the bulk of the work and the crown prince reaps the benefits.

That’s a standard strategy if you are born into a strong organization.”

“Adorning themselves with someone else’s laurels. How could he build such a heroic image for himself? If he were really strong, he wouldn’t need to profit off of others!”, scoffed Anvil.

Tepo thought those words sounded logical. For a crown prince it would be easy to command others. But he still had some doubts:

“So those who actually defended the city get all their hard work undermined by the crown prince? Wouldn’t this eventually lead to rebellion?”

In Tepo’s mind even if the royals were strong, could they defend themselves against millions of warriors? By concentrating all the fame on themselves, wouldn’t they shake the foundation of others?

“Hmpf. What can they do? A longstanding royal family like the Subires isn’t overthrown in one night.”

Quill shook his head lazily. Anvil’s apparent dislike for all forms of exploitation often tinted her perspective.

“It’s not that clear cut, Tepo. From the way you talk someone explained the Force of Natural Perception to you?”

Tepo only nodded, prompting Quill to continue.

“Then you need to understand that the exact thoughts of people are important.

If we think the crown prince is powerful, only he profits.

But if we think the city’s savior is brave, all the defenders profit.

Since our thoughts on most topics will be a mix, everyone profits. Now the crown prince is spreading his deeds in other kingdoms, which enlarges the cake for everyone. Thus, the warriors will also be happy.”

Digesting this information, Tepo had to admit that this world seemed more complicated than he thought. Apparently, it wasn’t even important if others knew your name as long as they knew your deeds. Therefore, as warrior it was important to build up your renown.

Noticing that Tepo acknowledged Quill’s words, Anvil had an unhappy look. She quickly interjected:

“But don’t think that the crown prince is doing this for others! It is still him who takes the lion’s share!”

Just as Tepo wanted to answer, a commotion broke out. Startled screams spread among the crowd.

“Assassination!”

The trio was startled as their eyes turned towards the plaza. Out of nowhere a hooded figure had appeared in the wind channel. A hoarse shout came from it:

“Down with the tyrannical prince! Kill all royals!”

With those words thousands of small, incredibly sharp ice needles appeared out of nowhere. Suddenly, to everyone’s shock, a part of the wind channel changed its direction towards the plaza, bringing the deadly blizzard with it.

Shining deceptively beautiful under the sun, the ice storm was determined to kill.