After warping to the outside of the capitol building, Holy Knight Amado lead the two children into the humongous double doors that led to the inside. The interior was meticulously chiseled with very pricey material such as marble and quartz. The gorgeous statues of influential figures inside of the strangely long hallway made the whole building look befitting for a king. The talking of people could be heard from the large doors that held the different wings of the capitol. After an awkwardly long walk through the hallway, the group arrived at a pair of two large wooden doors, guarded by two knights. They stopped and allowed the guards to speak.
"Holy Knight Amado, it is a pleasure to see you again. Please state your reason for being here." The knight recited in an obviously practiced way.
"I have young Kagumi here with me. He needs to talk with the king." was the formal response given. Kagumi neve could understand how two people could be so formal with each other. To him it just felt unnatural. Both of the knights nodded at each other and opened the large doors that held the kings chambers. Walking inside the room, the sunlight from the stained glass windows shone on the floor to make a beautiful pattern of colors that ultimately created the shape of a sun. Kagumi had to squint his eyes for a while due to the brightness he was not familiar with, making Saki giggle to herself. She found it strange how a person could be that sensitive to light.
"Dad, we're here! What's going on? Why do you wanna talk to this stinky boy from the streets?" was the onslaught of question being thrown at the king haphazardly. Kagumi was simply annoyed at the noise from the girl, and even more annoyed at the fact that the king simply laughed is delight at the frankly irritating yelling.
"Hahahaha! Now, settle down Saki, I need to have a word with young Kagumi before you question me. You might want to stay to hear this though." was his commanding, yet caring, response. The girl Kagumi now knew as Saki simply pouted and stood next to Kagumi, making him slightly uncomfortable.
"So, Kagumi, as you might know I an king Togiro of the region of might. I've summoned you here today to make you a proposition. You see, due to your constant stealing from the town of Aclarya, you are now eligible to be kicked out of the protection of Solsaria and be given a bounty." said the king, delivering the unfortunate news to Kagumi with a dead serious stare. Kagumi was slightly shaken up by this news, only slightly visible by the kings trained eyes. He knew he had a bad reputation, but he didn't predict that he would get a bounty this soon. Calming himself down, he regained his cold and indifferent composure and continued listening to the king.
"Now, of course, we wouldn't want someone that's only 12 to have a bounty so early in their life. It would look bad on this kingdoms reputation. So I have a proposition for you. I believe that this will benefit the both of us if you agree. Are you willing to hear me out, young Kagumi?" proposed the king, directing some slight magic output at him to try to get a response out of him. Kagumi thought about it for a moment before deciding to hear him out. He had no where else to go anyways.
"Fine, I'll hear you out. Not like I have much of a choice anyways." he mumbled at the king in begrudging acceptance. Saki stared at the unknown child in surprise with how casually he was talking to the king. Most people would praise him for even giving them an opportunity to take an offer from him. 'What a strange kid' was the thought ringing in her mind.
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"You are very smart for your age, I respect that. Anyways, I propose that you to join the magic academy here in Solsaria and become a proud knight of this kingdom. You have potential that would be wasted if I simply let you run off as a rogue and eventually die. I know this may be a big ask, but you realistically are backed into a corner here. You understand that, right? So, what do you say?" was the king's tempting deal. Kagumi wasn't expecting that to be the solution, but was satisfied with the fact that he could at least get out of this situation. While it would be troublesome to become a knight, it would be deadly to have a bounty on his head without the protection of a kingdom. Deciding his answer, he simply bowed his head to the king in acceptance.
"Wonderful! You've made a wise choice, young Kagumi. For right now, one of my knights will escort you to your room at the academy where you will be staying for the time being. I will send you a small monthly allowance until you start making a stable source of income to provide for youself. Do you have any questions?"
Before Kagumi was able to think of anything to say, Saki quickly beat him to it. Her face got comically red with anger, confusing Kagumi for a good while.
"Hey, that's unfair! How does he get to join the academy without any proof of his skills while I had to work my butt off to get in?! He doesn't deserve it!" were her constant protests against Kagumi's admission. Even if he found it annoying, she had a point. He never openly showed his skill to the king so he has no way to prove his skill. Simply deciding to leave the matter alone, Kagumi decided to leave with his escort knight. But before he got 3 steps in, Saki stopped his path, very noticeably pissed off.
"Hey! You don't get to leave yet! If you're so good, why don't we fight?! Don't back down if you're scared!" was the request given by Saki. Kagumi simply sighed and started to walk around her. To this, she somehow looked even more offended and decided to stop again by putting a hand on his shoulder. Kagumi had enough and decided to give her a little scare.
"Hey! Who said you got to walk away? We still need tp fi-" was her monologue that she almost finished before she felt a strong magical pressure coming from Kagumi, suppressing her ability to speak. The king decided to let this happen, easily swatting away the magical output that was laughable compared to his. Saki has always had a problem with her confidence, and the king thought Kagumi would be a good rival and teach her to be more cautious with her pride. He would obviously stop anything that might possibly turn dangerous, but he trusted that Kagumi had no intentions to truly harm his daughter.
"Do you want to die? Fine, I'll fight you. Just don't blame me when you arms get turned backwards." were the cold, almost dead sounding words that frightened Saki to her core. His voice, visage, and magical pressure gave her a sneaking suspicion that she shouldn't mess with him. She wasn't used to magical pressure, so she was almost drowning in the pure magic that radiated from his body. Kagumi stopped the magical pressure, thinking that this was over with. But before he could leave, he heard the strained voice of Saki, giving him a headache.
"D-Dammit, I won't let you beat me! I'll fight you and beat you to a pulp." were the shaky, yet determined words proclaimed by the Saki, calming down enough to stand up on shaky legs. For some reason, she was drawn to fight him. It was almost like fate that told her to fight him. Kagumi had to admit, he was slightly impressed with her resolve after dealing with that much magic at once.
"Don't think I'm going to go easy on you." Kagumi stated, using his usual monotone voice. For the first time in a while, something slightly interested him.