Compared to its two neighbors, Aizen was a considerably advanced nation. And as expected, its capital city was the perfect embodiment of this superiority.

"Wow..." Reivan's head swiveled left and right as he took in the sights and smells of the busy street. He couldn't even hear himself think over the chatter of the passersby and the clopping of horse hooves. A gust of wind suddenly blew past and he had to hold onto the hood of his cloak to stop it from getting blown off.

"Please be careful, Your Highness." Valter — who was somehow hiding inside Reivan's shadow — warned the young prince in a voice only he could hear. "You might bump into someone. It will be troublesome if your disguise faded."

"Okay..." Despite what Reivan whispered in reply, he couldn't stop curiously eyeing his surroundings.

The marble streets were filled with people, all of whom were orderly keeping to the side of the road. Some of them walked briskly as if they were rushing to get somewhere, while others chatted leisurely with their companions or looked through a store's show window. Strangely, Reivan noticed, all of them had different shades of blonde or brown hair. Sometimes, he'd catch a glimpse of red or black somewhere within the sea of heads, but none of the colorful anime hair he had somewhat expected to see in a fantasy world.

A fact that Reivan found mildly disappointing.

Towering over them all were buildings made of bricks or stone, each with a nice coat of paint and ornate carvings adorning their facades. From stores that sold little baubles and curios to ones that had literal lines of people waiting for whatever they offered, it felt like one would find anything they could possibly want somewhere along the street.

Some stores even had people shilling for them, calling out to people with hopes to increase their business' profits.

"Pies!" A man with a fat belly yelled in a booming voice. "Right outta the oven and made from freshly picked fruit! Get your pies here! Just three lumens! You won't get a better deal anywhere else!"

"Hey, missy! Yes, you. With the pretty face." With an ingratiating grin on her face, a middle-aged lady called out to a young woman wearing white. "Although my wares pale in front of your beauty, I'm sure you'll find something just for you in here. Perhaps to get a special someone's attention, hm? The price? Oh... we'll work something out."

"Sir! Why not get a nice little present for your lady friend? Only five lumens! This is your chance to show off how gallant you are! It's just a few dozen lumens! Don't be a cheapskate!"

"I swear your wives will never complain at night again! Get a bottle of special oil for only ten lumens a pop!"

"Anybody up for a challenge!? If you guess how many gumballs are in the large barrel inside, you'll win a hundred lumens and all the gumballs in the barrel! Only three lumens per guess! Come right up before someone gets it right before you do!"

Men and women, young and old, all clamoring to hawk their wares to whoever looked interested — and sometimes even those who didn't look interested at all. Their cries and hollers could only be rivaled by the clattering of horse hooves as the occasional carriage passed by. Sometimes, a massive Siberian Husky galloped up the road with a knight riding on its back, causing a few people to stop and stare.

Naturally, that included Reivan.

"What the... What the heck was that?" he stood still and narrowed his eyes at the noble beast as it got farther and farther away. "What was that beautiful creature...?"

"You don't know what that is?" Hector, who had also stopped and admired the dog, raised a brow as he sent the prince-in-disguise a glance. "That was a husky."

"A husky...?"

'Husky? You mean the dog breed...?'

Reivan briefly recalled Slay, one of his many pet dogs who'd passed away because of old age. Slay was big, but the Siberian Husky was nowhere near as big as the so-called husky that had a knight riding on it.

'There's no way they're the same.'

"What kind of husky are they?" The prince asked.

"What do you mean, "what kind"...? A husky is a husky."

Reivan nodded, accepting this as fact for now. "Okay."

"Anyway! I got to ride one yesterday!" Hector threw out his chest before pointing at his sister. "Helen got to do it too."

"Mhm." The girl nodded. "It was okay."

'Hey. That's kind of not fair...'

A frown crossed Reivan's face as he stewed in his envy. When had his friends done something so fun? He felt a bit left out.

In the first place, what in the world were huskies anyway? How could such big and loveable dogs exist?

The answers to those questions didn't really matter though. What mattered was that Reivan really wanted one.

'No. One's not enough. I want three — maybe even five of them. I'm gonna make a basketball team with dogs.'

"Valter..." Reivan whispered. "Am I allowed to have one of those?"

Sounding somewhat amused, the hidden knight whispered a reply, "That can be arranged."

'Boo-yah. Let's go! The perks of being a prince!'

"Eeeeeh?" Somehow, it seemed Hector managed to hear their conversation. "What about me...?"

"That would be a tad bit too much..." Valter sounded troubled by the question. "They're not easily acquired, since the knighthood directly manages their entire species."

Hector immediately deflated. "I guess I'll have to be a knight before I can get one..."

Seeing his friend feel so down, Reivan made a suggestion. "What if I just give him one of the huskies that I'll get?"

"You plan to get more than one of them...?" Valter seemed baffled by the statement but eventually answered. "As long as they are kept in a controlled environment most of the time, I don't see any problems. Huskies prefer very cold climates, and cannot sleep well unless certain temperature requirements are met. Aizen's general weather does not provide ideal conditions for them, so we've built a special habitat for them to run around in when they're not being ridden."

'Doesn't that mean that just being outside makes them incredibly uncomfortable? It's not that cold here after all. But they'd be fine in the palace since Mother can probably maintain an ice room easily.'

"I'm completely fine with that!" Hector raised his arms and cheered while jumping for joy. "I can just live with them!"

"Please don't do that," Valter retorted. "You'll get sick. Perhaps even die."

Ignoring the knight's warning, Hector faced Reivan with a beaming smile. "Thanks!"

"Don't thank me yet. I haven't given you anything."

"Even so! Thanks!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Reivan scratched his cheek and tried his best not to let the embarrassment show on his face. He turned to look at Helen with a smile. "What about you? Want one too?"

"Nope." Helen instantly answered.

"Oh. Well, okay..." The dazed prince nodded, a bit taken aback by the instant refusal.

'Maybe she's not a dog person?'

"But..." The little girl looked down and fiddled with her fingers.

"Hm?"

Looking at the usually apathetic girl hesitate was a strange experience for Reivan. He unconsciously straightened his back and focused on what she was about to tell him.

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Helen opened her mouth to say something, but the words seemed to get caught in her throat. In the end, she shook her head. "Nothing."

'Hey. Don't get my hopes up just to let me down like that...'

"Tell me."

Helen repeatedly shook her head in refusal.

"Tell me~... please. Please?" Reivan reached forward, pinched her soft cheeks, and pulled. "Will you tell me if I give you more food?"

The glutton's eyes brightened for a moment, but then she hesitated. After hemming and hawing for a few seconds, Helen stubbornly replied. "Don't wanna."

'Wow. She won't tell me even after getting tempted by food...!? Just what kind of world-ending secret is she keeping from me?'

"Ah!" Hector cried out just as Reivan was about to continue pestering Helen to spill the beans.

Letting go of the glutton's cheek, Reivan's brows raised as he turned to look toward the cause of the noise. There, he noticed Hector on all fours against the ground. That could have been an eye-opener on its own, but that wasn't what drew Reivan's attention the most.

'Oh, shit. This doesn't look good...'

Right behind Hector was a large man, who had biceps and legs as thick as a child's hip. The rippling muscles surrounding his body were barely contained in the white shirt and brown pants he wore. In fact, he was so tall that Reivan had to strain his neck quite a bit to get a glimpse of the sharp, unkind eyes on the man's face. And the young prince didn't need to see the scowl on the giant's scruffy, unshaven face to know what kind of mood the goliath was in.

Judging from this scene, Reivan easily surmised that Hector got bulldozed by that massive hulk of a man while they were all walking down the street.

"Careful." Helen walked over and helped her brother up.

"Thanks..." Hector replied as he took a peek at his knees before sighing in relief. "Good thing I didn't get any scrapes."

While the twins were displaying a bit of their sibling bond, Reivan was busy thinking of a way to de-escalate the situation. To make matters worse, all of the adults around them gave them a wide berth while going about their own businesses. It was as if Reivan and the twins weren't about to get the living shit beaten out of them by this walking pile of muscle.

'What do I do...?'

Reivan was in disguise so he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Furthermore, causing trouble on his first trip outside the palace would set a bad precedent, possibly making future trips outside less likely. As such, he decided to just apologize to the big, scary man on behalf of his friend in hopes that it would be enough to tide things over.

Just as he was about to do that, however, his eyes widened when the man knelt down on one knee.

Despite effectively cutting his height in half, the man still towered over the three children, covering Reivan and the twins with his shadow. "Sorry 'bout that kid. Didn't see ya down here. Is your knee okay?"

"It kinda hurts but I'm okay!" Hector chuckled as he gave the man a thumbs-up, seemingly unafraid of the giant.

"Are you sure? Maybe I should take you to a chapel to get healed..."

"I said I'm fine! I'm training to be a knight someday so my body's really tough! Falling over once is nothing!"

"Great to hear!" The man chortled with a fierce grin on his face as he gave Hector a light pat on the shoulder. He then stood up, nodded, and then started walking off into the sea of people. As he left, he looked back with a ferocious smile. "You kids be careful. And don't stay out too late, alright?"

"Okay!" Hector energetically jumped up with his arms raised.

"Mhm. Bye-bye." Helen waved her hand as she sent the stranger off.

'Wait a minute, what just happened...'

As Reivan watched the massive man get lost in the crowd, he felt somewhat empty that nothing had happened. He'd thought the giant would try to threaten them into handing over all their lunch money or something.

'I mean, if this was an isekai story, this is the part where some arrogant shithead picks a fight with me, not knowing I'm a prince. Where's the action? The drama? C'mon...'

"What's wrong with your face?" Hector raised a brow as he looked at Reivan.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing..." The prince chuckled wryly as he scratched his cheek, realizing it was foolish to apply the stereotypes from web novels to the real world. "I just thought that guy was gonna make a fuss or something."

"Whaaaaat? But he looked nice!" Hector looked genuinely confused. "What made you think that? He was smiling and stuff, wasn't he? And it was kinda my fault cuz I was standing around like an idiot, but he still apologized."

"Mhm." Helen nodded. "Nice person."

Not knowing what to say, Reivan rubbed the back of his head.

'Am I the asshole here?'

Thinking about it objectively, perhaps Reivan had made assumptions about the man's personality based on looks. Which was a foolish thing to do, because the most powerful people in the nation all looked and acted like normal people — except for his mother, who even Reivan had to admit was a bit weird.

'Am I really a judgemental piece of shit...?'

"My apologies." Valter's deep voice entered Reivan's ears at that moment. "I didn't bother stopping the man since I did not sense any ill intent. It would have made a bit of a scene."

'Welp, there's my confirmation. I guess I'm a piece of shit.'

While sighing to himself, Reivan waved Valter's concerns away. "It's fine. Hector didn't get hurt anyway."

"Yep. I'm fine!" The boy in question piped up.

The prince lightly tapped Hector's arm as he warned, "Just be more careful next time."

"Shouldn't you be more careful than me?" Hector raised a brow. "You were walking while looking around all over the place. Like a country pumpkin!"

"Bumpkin." Helen corrected. "Not pumpkin."

"Yeah, that. You were like a country bumpkin, Rein!"

'Well, he's not wrong. I pretty much am a country bumpkin.'

Reivan wasn't offended in the slightest. He knew how he'd been acting. But he had no plans to change it anytime soon, since everything around him was just too interesting to him — having been locked up in the palace for most of his reincarnated life.

While shrugging off his friend's teasing, Reivan warned the twins in a whisper. "And don't call me by my name, dummies. I'm in disguise, remember?"

""Oh..."" The twins gasped in unison.

"Wait a minute..." Hector's forehead creased in doubt. "Isn't it fine to use your nickname? Sure everybody knows what the second prince's name is, but—"

"Nope." Reivan wagged a finger in the air. "Mother calls me by that nickname when we get takeout. So at least some people out here know my nickname."

Scratching his head, Hector frowned. "Then what do we call you?"

His friend's question made Reivan scratch his head too.

'Hmm... What would make a good alias?'

Naturally, he wanted something cool, just like his name. Reivan would probably use the alias whenever he went out from now on, so it'd be better to pick a name that he actually liked. However, the thought that he could literally pick any name made it a bit hard to choose.

In other words, he was spoiled for choice.

'Should I just use "Ken"...?'

Strangely, Reivan wasn't too keen on the idea. To him, Ken's story had ended. It was his time to shine now. As such, using Ken's name felt... wrong in some way. Of course, it wasn't like Reivan planned to abandon his past, but he was a new person now, and he wanted his future to be determined by his new self.

Just as he was starting to get frustrated at the lack of good ideas, Reivan was snapped out of his thoughts when Helen started pulling on his sleeve.

"Van," she said while pointing at him.

"Oh, it's one-half of his name." Hector rubbed his chin before nodding with a smile. "I kinda like it. I even like it more than 'Rein', y'know?"

'Van, huh? Van...'

Reivan repeated the name in his head again and again.

One-half of his name. Just like how his past — Ken's life — made up the first half of who he was now. While the second half was Reivan, with all his dreams and aspirations.

"It's perfect." The reincarnated prince smiled. "It rolls right off the tongue too."

"I don't know what that means, but I'm glad that's over with." Hector pointed down the street as he resumed walking. "We better get going. I don't wanna get bumped into again... That guy's legs were really hard so my back still hurts."

"Mhm." Helen nodded. "Let's go, Van."

"Sure." Reivan chuckled at the strange feeling of being called by another name before he suddenly stopped. He could feel a tiny hand grabbing the back of his cloak. "Helen, what're you doing...?"

Rather than talking, the girl wordlessly grabbed Reivan's left hand with her right, causing Reivan to furrow his brows in confusion.

'What is going on right now...?'

Helen glanced at their linked fingers for a moment, seemingly thinking about something, before looking up into Reivan's eyes. "It's so you don't fall..."

"Huh...?" Reivan's confusion deepened before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh. Do you mean, like, if I get bumped into?"

The girl nodded.

"Oh, okay..." The prince nodded, thinking how adorable Helen was for being so considerate. "But you don't have to do this. I'll be alright."

'Valter's here to help me out, after all. Plus, I can easily heal any scrapes from falling with my ability.'

Unaware of his thoughts, Helen stubbornly shook her head and tightened her grip on his hand. Even when Reivan tried to pull away again, her fingers were like an immovable vise.

"Hey, let go..." Reivan's forehead creased as he steadily put more force into freeing his hand. He even debated using his Soul Armament's energy to power himself up for a bit. Since Helen didn't have one yet, he could easily overpower her with the help of his trusty tool.

'Wait, no. That's a bad idea.'

Reivan shook his head, scrapping the notion of using Armament Energy. It hadn't been long since he got it, as such, Reivan still couldn't control his empowered strength very well.

A vivid image of Helen's arm getting blasted off to the other side of the city flashed through his mind.

'Yeah... nope. I definitely shouldn't do that.'

The young prince sighed as he brushed his black hair to the side. He glanced at Helen, intending to negotiate, only to see a look of utter sadness on her face.

"Do you hate me?" With tears in the corners of her eyes, Helen bit her lip.

Reivan jumped, feeling as if someone had set his ass on fire. "What are you talki— wait, no. More importantly, stop crying okay?"

"But you hate me..."

"No, I absolutely don't, okay?" he spoke in a gentle voice, trying to pacify the pitiful girl. "Where'd the heck did you get that idea...?"

Staying silent, Helen looked down at their linked fingers.

'It's cuz I tried to pull away? Are you kidding me?'

However, considering the fact that Helen was just a ten-year-old girl, Reivan supposed it wasn't too strange for her to think he hated her just because he didn't want to hold hands. After all, back on earth, Kyouka got upset even easier. Although it was when she was five, Kyouka always thought Ken would disappear forever every time he went to the bathroom.

'Kids.'

"Fine..." Reivan sighed in exasperation, realizing he wouldn't be able to convince her to let go. "We can hold hands."

Helen sniffled before looking up to meet his gaze. "Really?"

"Yes. So stop crying. I don't hate you. I actually like you a lot, okay?"

On the bright side, he wouldn't have to worry about losing Helen in this crowd. He could just imagine her going off on her own after smelling something tasty, so tethering her to him like this would be advantageous for everyone.

'And even if she does get lost, Valter can probably find her again.'

An Ascendant's senses spread far and wide after all.

With the gluttonous girl in hand, Reivan moved to chase after Hector, charging straight into the bustling forest of buildings and people.