IN HINDSIGHT, I SHOULD HAVE BEEN KINDER TO THE BOY.

But who can blame me for being wary of an entire person popping up out of nowhere like that? And in the middle of town, too. Nobody but me seemed to see or care. He looked like a ghost with how pale he was, as if he'd never stepped out into the sunlight. His hair was dark and limp as he hid his eyes behind his bangs. His strange garb was baggy, but it was clear that he was thin beneath them.

And when he appeared, he was babbling like a lunatic about going outside to buy some exclusive figurine—whatever that meant—and getting hit by a truck—whatever that was.

I should have ignored him, but I didn't. No, I had to be a noble prince and take pity on him. And all I got for my trouble was rank body odor and an earful of how he dropped his precious figurine before he died.

Well, I put an end to that immediately and left him groveling in the dirt.

I should have been kinder.

I should have granted him mercy and killed him there and then.

But to my greatest shame, I did not. And now innocent people were in dire straits from this pest who somehow got his hands on such incredible power. And my retainer, Silva.

She had been there by my side at the time and was as apathetic to the boy as I was. And yet, now she was gone.

I still don't know why she decided to follow him; they had barely spoken two words to each other! I can certainly say it wasn't because of his personality. But on she went, without a reason or even letting me know she was leaving. She was just gone.

That aside, I took responsibility for my lack of foresight. The boy—rather, the worm—was said to have started causing trouble for the towns around the Demon Kings' Palace. Rumors, that's all they were. But if they'd managed to reach me at Cross, it was probably best to take action as soon as possible as no one else at the palace seemed to care.

This was why I now wandered the streets of Pleasance, too far from my home in the capital city of Isen, searching for a way to end the wrath of the so-called hero of our land.

So far, my luck has been—poor, to put it lightly. All the supplies and animals I had started this trip with had all vanished as I camped on the third night, including my sword, Silbermond. A thief, no doubt, looking to take advantage of my affluence.

There was no point in complaining—at least not aloud. And home was now too far to return to on foot. So, forward it was in hopes of resupplying.

Upon laying eyes on Pleasance, my first impression was that the name was false advertising. How was a muck hole like this part of Cross? I was not even on the outskirts yet!

As I squelched along the path in the center of town, I kept my eyes sharp and ears pricked for any conversation relating to a mysterious and obnoxious presence. The boy had set off from the capital and traveled to Pleasance, or so the rumors went.

It had been over three months since the boy had left Isen, which meant I was probably following a cold trail, but it was worth trying to sniff out any information.

The fact that I did not immediately chase after them to retrieve my retainer would come to be my biggest regret. I had thought she would come back to me, but so far, she was still gone. Well, the rumors gave me an excuse to rectify that mistake. I was here now, out of the goodness of my heart, to fulfill my duty as a prince.

If the worm was as powerful as claimed, I had to get every scrap of intel I could, even if it meant interacting with unsavory types. I'd heard my family had connections to the black market.

I had only heard as I had never desired to interact with such distasteful sorts, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

To be honest, I had no idea where to start. Did one call out and say, "Who can tell me where the scum of the earth resides?" or "Excuse me, sir, would you be so kind as to tell me if you are a member of the black market? I'd very much appreciate it if you exposed your diseased morality in front of me."

I wasn't even sure if Pleasance even had a black market. At least, I saw no benefit from it. Every person I passed looked mangy, flea-bitten, and tired. Anyone with a modicum of self-respect would stand out from this heap of a town. If these were my subjects, what did that say about me, their prince?

For sure, Silva would catch any man with eyes' attention—and even the blind seemed to have a sense for her beauty. Even if it had been several weeks since she and the boy had passed through, I was sure their presence lingered somewhere within this town.

Sure enough, as I passed the inn, I heard a snatch of conversation drifting through the window, "—she was a real beauty, I'll tell you. Though there seemed to be something… not quite fixed down in that head of hers."

"I know what you mean," said a second man, "the minute I laid eyes on her, I got the impression that she lacked sense."

I knew what he meant as well. Silva was the type of woman to interrogate a dog if she thought it was conspiring to eat from her plate. But that's what made her such a reliable protector.

The first man continued, "You're right about that. She had no idea where she was. She actually thought she was in Grenna, of all places! How does someone mistake this dung heap for Grenna? I think all her brains were allocated somewhere else if you catch my drift." A chorus of laughter rang out from the inn.

Charming. But what did I expect from commoners?

However, whoever they were discussing did not sound like Silva. I moved on, my spirits as wet and cold as the mud that caked my good traveling boots. At least the thief did not steal these.

I took a moment to scrape a particularly nasty glob of what I prayed was mud from my sole when another set of voices drifted on the wind.

"—oh, you don't have to worry about a thing. We'd be happy to show you around the place." A man's voice.

"Really? That would be a big help!" The voice of a cheerful woman. "I've been searching everywhere for a bag of rice. It's my darling's favorite, but nobody seems to have any."

I finished scraping my boot on a pig trough—disgusting commoners—and dismissed the conversation as I turned to continue my search. Everything seemed on the up and up until I heard:

"Say, that's a nice dress you've got there. How much do you think it's worth?"

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"Oh, this?" said the woman, her voice still bright, "I'd say about 30,000G."

My ears pricked. I couldn't say that I liked the sound of this conversation. Upon turning to look at the source of the voices, I spied two men, arms ladened with bags, standing beside a woman with long rose-colored hair and an even redder dress. All three had their backs to me.

"Really?" said another man, "and how much do you think you're worth with it off—?"

"You there! Yes, you with the intellect of an inebriated swine."

To my surprise, the woman turned to look. "Yes?"

I blinked. "I wasn't—I didn't mean—" The woman's face was admittedly beautiful, as her red eyes glittered like rubies, but her expression did not reflect that she had taken my remark as an insult. Instead, she smiled at me as if I had complimented her.

The other two rounded on me, "Hey. That's not a nice thing to call a lady. Now, is it?" said one, cracking his knuckles.

The other followed suit as he said, "You'll get your nose out of our business if you know what's good for you."

"N-now, hold on," I sputtered. "You're the ones with the ill intentions. Don't turn this on me."

The woman smiled, "These two gentlemen offered to carry my groceries. I was surprised they were this eager, but they've been so kind."

"Yeah. We're just here to ensure our lady is properly…taken care of," said the goon on the left with a rather unpleasant sneer to his equally boorish companion that gave away his true intentions.

"Is that so?" said I as I adjusted my footing and gave a slight bow. "I apologize. If you would, please allow me to respond with the following." And with that, I kicked the left man square in the face with my muddy boot.

"ARGH!" He reeled back and dropped the shopping shopping to clutch at his face. "I can't see!"

For anyone else, fighting might have been a bit tricky without a sword. But for me? I was defending the honor of this poor woman, who was one of my subjects. For that, I wouldn't break a sweat.

As I thought this, I was met with a hammy fist to the face. The force of the blow caused me to spin in place and fall to the muddy ground.

A sucker punch?! That oaf would pay for ruining my beautiful cotton tunic!

"Let's try this again. I wasn't ready!"

I took the chance to leap up, only to be met with the same fist.

I fell again.

Blood trickled from my lip. "Fool me once…."

If he didn't want to fight like a gentleman, then neither would I.

I stood again, only this time, I aimed my head at the man's chin.

It connected with a crack, which sent the man staggering.

I looked down at my clothing, which was soaked with multicolored mud. My nose curled. I hate this town.

I needed to have a talk with my father about the state of our villages. If he remembered I existed, that was.

The man gained his footing and rushed forward, hands raised to grab me, but I did not hesitate to move. I was ready.

As the oaf's arms hugged the air, I maneuvered to his right and lifted a leg so that my knee connected with his stomach.

My opponent doubled over, his attempted grab at me morphing into holding his bruised abdomen. I took the opportunity to land a precise blow to his jaw, after which the man crumpled, face down in the mud.

I then turned my attention to the other, who was still trying to wipe the mud from his eyes. The man was yelling and cursing as he stomped his feet. I took a moment to decide how best to finish this scrap. But then my opponent grabbed the woman by the shoulder of her dress and dragged her towards him.

I cursed myself for my indecisiveness, now at a loss as to what I could do to aid this helpless girl. Although, she did not seem bothered by it as her smile remained.

Then something happened that I did not expect.

As the brute's arm wrapped around the woman, his foot gave out from beneath him. Whether his foot slipped on the mud or his knees simply buckled, I did not know. I watched the man push the woman away, arms windmilling to keep his balance. It was in vain, however, as he fell on his back and began to slide along the ground.

The woman stepped out of the way of his trajectory, her eyes watching in surprise as the man tried to stand up, only to fall back into the mud with a squelchy splash.

"H-help me…" he said thickly.

It was like the man had no sense of balance at all. I spared a glance at the woman, whose face gave no sign of being the one behind this turn of events.

Honestly, I pitied the man. Not enough to help him, of course, but, as his prince, I was obligated to at least feel a little bad for him. Eventually, the man resigned to lying on his back, staring at the sky. He panted and shot venomous looks at both the woman and me.

"What did you do to me?"

I had no answer. I could only stare at him for a moment longer.

"Come, ma'am. Let him be."

"But what about my shopping?"

I was taken aback by her lack of concern for her companions. All I could answer was, "I'll take care of it." I bent down, and gathered as many bags as possible, doing my best to brush mud from the canvas.

"Here." I shoved each bag into her hand, which she took with a smile. After I had grabbed the last bag I could see, I stood. "Come, let's get away from here."

She nodded, and we began walking together toward the town center.

When we were a reasonable distance away, I said, "Well, then. I bid you a fond farewell, Lady—erm—forgive my manners, my name is Anno Wolfskreuz, third prince of Cross. What is yours?"

The woman smiled again, "It's Lina. Just Lina. It's not every day you get to meet a prince!"

I smiled. Finally, someone with a good head on their shoulders!

"I never knew Grenna had such charming people!" She smiled down at the two men on the ground.

Or maybe not. I remembered the conversation I'd overheard in the bar.

"You know you're not in Grenna, don't you?"

It took her eyes a moment to register what I said, then her jaw dropped. "I'm not?!" She looked around. "Where am I?"

"This is Pleasance in the Kingdom of Cross. Grenna’s in Hirsent. You’re on the opposite side of Rhine." How could someone not know they were on the wrong side of the continent?

Lina looked rather stricken. "Oh, no! My darling's going to be so worried! Stupid, Lina! You should have asked for directions." Lina writhed as she fretted, clutching her shopping bags to her ample chest.

I caught myself as I realized I was staring in a most unprincely fashion. I looked away and cleared my throat. "Erm, forgive me, Miss Lina, but I must be going."

I tried to walk away in hopes of finding the inn, hopefully one with a bath, but found myself stopped as Lina clutched my arm with muddy hands. "Please, don't leave me, Anno! I have no idea where Pleasance is. I thought I could make it to Grenna, but my companions were right. I really do have a terrible sense of direction."

Obviously. So, this Lina wasn't my subject, after all. I did not know how she had ended up here without knowing, but that was not my current concern.

Grenna was on the way to my destination. Perhaps I could... I shook myself—bad idea. Just spending a few minutes with this girl—who looked to be a few years younger than me—made it clear that she was trouble. I still had a sneaking suspicion that she had been the one to make that man lose control. And if she wasn't aware of that power, then that made her all the more dangerous.

I looked down at her pouting face as she gently tugged on my sleeve. Her begging fell on deaf ears.

"I'm terribly sorry, dear Lina. But I'm in a hurry." It wasn't a lie. My quest could not be delayed any further. I had already been delayed for three months. For all I knew, the boy could be getting stronger as I wasted air on this conversation. "'Til we meet again."

With one last look at Lina, I turned on my heel and began to walk away. Lina's fingers slipped from my arm.

"Oh no. What am I to do? If I'm gone for too long, Silva and the others will swoop in and snatch my darling from me… Stupid, Lina!"

And right back around I went to fix my gaze upon a teary Lina. "Did you say ‘Silva'?"

Lina nodded. "She's been my traveling companion for a while."

I looked at the writhing man, then back at her smiling face. “Then, perhaps you would like a princely escort to Grenna?”

Lina’s smile brightened. She was practically beaming.

I could feel the twinges of regret already nagging at my mind. This girl would be trouble, but for Silva’s sake, I was sure that I could tolerate a bit of trouble for a spell.