The sun shines upon the town, showering everything with its rays of light.

Here I am, dragging my legs away from the castle, on my way to pay my dear friend Dustin a visit. I just hope that he can pry himself away from the library, even if only for a short tea break.

As I was strolling down the stone pavers that led to Dustin's workplace, I noticed a flock of fellows gathered near a fountain, so naturally, as a knight, I decided to put an end to whatever commotion there was, but it appears that captain Jack, who was also nearby, beat me there.

While he put one of the men who seemed to be the root of the trouble to sleep with his bare knuckle, our eyes met each other's, so he waved at me.

"Oi Kazimir! Come on over, lad!"

I walked over to where Jack was standing and greeted him.

"Good day, captain. You seem to be doing well, and also seem to be in high spirits."

"Ah, ol' Kazimir, I could say the same about you as well. Oh right, congratulations on being appointed as the princess's knight. My, how you've grown. Not too long ago, you were but a brat who would birth chaos on any battlefield he was thrown onto. You were quite the handful, even for me. But look at you now, you even outrank me as a knight!"

"Please captain, I would have never gotten this far if you hadn't straightened me out. I owe all of what I have gained to you."

"Oh please, boy, drop the "captain" rubbish. You needn't be so formal with a mere cohort captain now, Sir Royal Guard, wahahaha!"

The captain laughed cheerfully while dealing a punch to my shoulder.

Please captain, even your "friendly greeting blow" can break several of my bones...

Jack then continued:

"But I will be frank with ya, even I was surprised when I heard that you managed to slay Arthur in a duel six months ago. As much of an eyesore as he was, he was still a beast during battle, that would change the tides of any war simply by being there. You really are quite the warrior now. Not to pat myself on the back, but I really am proud to have been involved in the upbringing of a such an accomplished warrior as yourself."

"No, please, it was no easy task, you know? You could even say that my triumph was nothing but a mere stroke of luck."

"Oh, pack your tongue up, lad. Learn to be proud of yourself. You are now one of Selria's great knights."

That's right. What happened six months ago has never left the trenches of my mind. Although Arthur was "executed" after our fight had been interrupted, it had been announced to the public that I slew Arthur and came out victorious.

The sight of the king on that day has also been engraved into my eyes ever since. Just what is our king? What were those glowing lights that emanated off of him and his sword? Were my eyes deceiving me?

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Seeing that I've become lost in thought ever since the name "Arthur" was brought up, Jack tried cheering me up:

"Now, now, lad, don't pay what happened any heed. That man is just another vile creature that you have rid the world of. I truly do believe that all of what you've heard about him were not mere rumors."

He then rested his hand on my shoulder, then continued:

"Well, it appears that the commotion here has been settled. If you're wandering around, then this must be your vacant day, right? Do enjoy it, lad. Even we warriors need time to soothe our minds every now and then. I have been summoned by the king, so I'll be seeing you!"

Captain Jack then marched off towards the direction of the castle.

Ah, the town library. It has been quite some time since I've last lazed around here.

Entering, I immediately spotted the gloomy face of a man I'm too familiar with.

Noticing that I have arrived, the gloom surrounding Dustin's face vanished, as his face lit up.

"Oh! Kazimir! It's been a long while, you prick!"

"Greetings, Dustin. It has indeed been a while. I'm sorry I couldn't come here more often. I haven't had too many chances ever since I've been appointed as the princess's knight."

"Oh, spare me the details. Why don't you head up-stairs and have a seat? I'll have tea ready in a moment."

I threw myself onto a chair at the wooden table up-stairs and waited for our bookworm to come up.

Not long after, he stomped his way up here, carrying a tray on which were a tea pot, a few cups, and a few slices of fruit cake.

He spared no thought to sit down, then begin filling his face-hole with cake.

"I see fruit cake is still the greatest pleasure in the world to you."

And all he could reply with, due to his stuffed mouth, were incomprehensible grunts. Swallow before you try talking, will ya?

I also decided to take a bite out of a slice.

"My, you really never stopped improving your recipe! This might be one of the finest slices I've ever had."

The starved ogre who had finally swallowed then grunted:

"Oh, spare me the hollow flattery. I've barely been able to make a change to my recipe no matter what I tried. Anyways, I have heard all about your deeds and accomplishments. Now that you are part of the royal guard, I know that you'll be worked like a pack mule, so our meetings shall become even more of a rare occurrence. So, take this. it's an early gift since it shall be your birthday soon."

As I reached my arm out to grab the small bag the cake beast pulled out, he pulled it away in the blink of an eye, then continued:

"However, I need your word first. Promise me that you won't open this bag until the day of your birthday. Can you do that for me?"

"Oh please, I'm a knight. Of course I'll honor my word. I won't open it until the promised day. Now give it here"

I assured him then yanked the bag out of his cake-crumb covered hands.

"Anyways, what have you been up to lately? Still searching high and low for books of mythologies?"

"Well, I cannot say that I haven't been, though as of late, I can say that I've began to lose interest"

"You? Losing interest in myths and legends? Surely you jest..."

"Perhaps saying that I've "lost interest" in them would be an overstatement. Maybe I only need a break from it all. As much as I live and breathe my studies, even I would need a break every once in a while. Anyways, did you ever hear of the tale of the vermin that dreamed of becoming a lion? It is a tale from a land far to the east..."

I had to endure Dustin's rambling for several hours, and it seemed like the sun was setting, so I decided to bid him farewell once more, and return to the castle.

I pulled my tired bones up the stairs, then dragged them down the hallway that led to the princess's room's door, where I should stand guard until morning.

Then, it happened again.

The same dreadful feeling I felt when the king's eyes and sword were glowing.

My eyes were instinctively pulled to where the source seemed to be, which was a bookshelf in the middle of the hallway. I even caught a glimpse of the same black glow that coated his sword on that day.

So, what I saw really wasn't my eyes playing tricks on me, eh?

It appears that our dear ruler may be inhuman.

The sound of a door opening brought me back to my senses, from my deep sea of thought.

"It appears that you have returned rather early, Sir Kazimir."

"Ah, good day to you, my lady."

Out of the opened door, appeared princess Brenna.