Jacob looked around as he tapped his foot impatiently, he couldn't really appreciate the view of the city's center at the moment, he was too busy worrying about the part where Asya's town- and by extension, Yarya village, - is about to get attacked by the neighboring kingdom in preparation for an invasion. Their current king, some guy named Rendrik, is known to be a "good tactician" and the Duke himself has said that the man wouldn't allow people like them to run around freely as he does an invasion.

"We are simply too powerful," Duke Lezatian said as they all silently ate breakfast, none of the man's family members seemed worried about his words though, including Xecania herself, "and because of that, Rendrik is gonna be spending a lot of manpower and resources to take over the village's and town as well as to lay a siege in this city,"

The Duke probably expected him to say something along the lines of 'Are we gonna counterattack?' and seemed disappointed when Jacob was content on simply listening, which is the most sensible thing to do back then because he isn't really a tactician nor does he know how to go to war.

And besides, asking about something like that blatantly in front of the servants can be pretty stupid, oh, sure, being paranoid about one of the maids or butlers being a spy also sounds pretty stupid but King Redrik is clearly confident in invading a frontier city that's built on top of the mountains so he has to have something to put that confidence in.

And between a secret weapon, a lot of resources to spare, more manpower, or even a powerful mage on his side, none of those things really seemed to matter when in front of the Duke- given how unconcerned everyone around him is, - which means that the man has power in the form of information. And what better way to go through with that sort of plan other than putting a long term spy within the territory?

By this point, who knows how long said spy has spent living here? 'Decades, maybe,' Jacob thought grimly.

Regardless, as a powerful mage, the Duke will most likely not let him live in peace and he would be forced sooner or later to join the fight, and that's assuming that the Kingdom and the Duke doesn't suspect him of being an enemy spy first, which is, has a larger possibility of happening than Jacob liked to admit, after all, he just so happens to pop up during a time when the enemy King is preparing for an invasion. Though, if he were to start thinking that things won't go to hell for him and if he were to go by the best scenario, it practically means that he needs to prepare for the upcoming war, which is easier said than done.

His INT stat is pretty small and the level of his [Sharp-Bolt] is downright useless against the more powerful foes that this world has to offer, the only thing that he has going for him is his [Shield] but encountering the Warbeast had opened his eyes to the spell's weakness- that being magic, which is rather common in times of war.

Really, there's no question that the enemy King would have other [Mage]s at his disposal.

The Class Ball in his hands can potentially turn the tide for him though and right as long as he saves his (potentially) most powerful spell- that being the uh, one that involves explosions - as his trump card, then there might even be a chance of him wiping out an entire battalion. And that can lead to him keeping Yarya village safe, a rather important goal given that the place has a Dungeon that more or less gives free armor and weapons every month.

Hell, it can even be argued that the enemy would focus on taking over Yarya village first due to the resources the Dungeon there can give.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Then again, he hasn't really seen the Dungeon that Asya's town yet so- "Jacob?"

And speaking of the devil.

Jacob turned his head to his right and nodded in appreciation at what he was seeing, Asya wore a tight purple dress with a dark shade made of silk, and much like the crowning braids that ran around her head, thin chains of golden embroideries ran from her collar bone and down the V-neck that went down to her chest, showing a modest amount of cleavage, a pair of silver earrings that ended in a white gemstone hang from her ears. Jacob met her eyes and whistled.

"Huh, you look good," he complimented, earning a smile from the blonde. "Wish you always dressed like this," Jacob said as he started walking, Asya following behind him. Dating spots around the city had been a complete mystery to him yesterday but thanks to Xecania, he should be able to make this thing work.

His date for the day rolled her eyes, "you sound like my father," she replied, her smile gone, replaced by a small pout. Jacob turned back to her and flashed her a smile and she threw out her tongue before catching up to him with a small jog, "he was always, "You should dress nice and look pretty so that you can have more marriage partners!" this and "you should get married now," that- it was kind of annoying,"

Jacob simply nodded at the sudden rant, opting to stay silent. He didn't really know what to say to that, and never has, just ask his sisters. Asya, huffed, "What about you? You dressed nicely today, makes me almost want to run away in shame because of how inadequate I look," she returned the compliment with a bit of self-deprecating snark.

"Don't be like that," Jacob said as he eyed the restaurant that they passed by, Xecania did say that the center of the city had lots of places like these, though she also admitted that they're only there for the vanity and are rather expensive, adding that he can buy stuff for cheaper prices on outer edges of the city's western wing- which is the place that they are heading now. Jacob faced Asya, "Honestly, I think that our clothes blend well together,"

Asya rolled her eyes but nevertheless, she still wrapped her arm around his, "I won't marry you no matter how many of those pretty words pour out of your mouth."

"It's true though," Jacob admitted, "pretty sure that the God of Vanity would be proud of your state of dress,"

He smiled when Asya blushed and rightfully ignored the soft thump that came down on his bicep as well as the following, "Hmf."

With nothing more to say, the conversation came to a lull and the two of them walked in relative silence, Jacob was content on looking around for anything that might resemble a gift- he did have two gold coins to spend after all, which Xecania said is a lot for a simple, "date", and that usually, gold coins are used as a Dowry for a baroness bride and not for an outing. But eh, excessiveness is pretty much the game of modern "rich kids" and being like his old self for a day wouldn't really hurt.

Unfortunately, nothing really caught his eye and he's sure that buying Asya jewelry would probably just piss her off so he kept his eyes away from any shop showing gold necklaces and bracelets through a large open window.

Eventually,- that is to say, after riding a carriage through the pauper district, - the two of them reached their destination and Xecania had been right, the western part of the city definitely had a lot of charm. And it was mostly because the place was literally built on top of the savannah-like grasslands that Jacob first saw after he woke up in this world, making it the perfect spot for building things due to how flat the land here is.

All around him, the tall grass had been cut, replaced by tall, secular buildings that are nothing more than fancy establishments, he didn't know if this was because of Horos' influence or if it was because that there is a God of Vices somewhere out there but the place had a lot of modern stuff, things like casinos (nothing but a fancy gambling den full of "games" that people can win money on,) that didn't need any chips, open area eateries where one either cooks for themselves or a hired "show chef" does it for them.

Street theatres that ranged in size from a small to a large building- with a number of seats that reflect that size, - as well as drinking establishments full of dangerous alcohol- which is saying a lot given that alchemy exists, - that are "permitted" by the city to function and a few more places that Jacob didn't have the time to look at because Asya was already dragging him around.

"You know, for someone who didn't want to go on a date, you're pretty excited," Asya said nothing and simply dragged him around. To where? Horos can guess because Jacob is absolutely clueless.