“…And then I was on my way back when I ran into Lance and Killian.” Ace explained to lance and his mother.

As soon as he got back, after making sure he wasn’t hurt, he was made to explain everything that happened.

“How sure are you that it was the Baruchs behind the assassination?” Lance asked, still unable to believe the extent his formers were willing to go to for revenge on two little kids.

“I can’t be 100% certain, but that assassin definitely mentioned being hired. Between that, Lina’s shock when she saw Killian and me, and how they’re the only people any of us have annoyed, it’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“I still can’t believe they’d go this far, all because two children rejected them.” Lance’s fists were clenched tight with anger and disappointment as he thought about the pettiness of a family he once respected from the bottom of his heart. “I can’t believe I ever trusted them!”

“Don’t worry. I promise to make them pay in full!” Ace’s voice and face were eerily calm as he spoke.

“Ace, I know you’re angry and have every right to be. I won’t ask you to forgive and forget, but don’t do anything silly or impulsive. You have people who love you!” Milianna said earnestly, as she could almost feel the anger being suppressed by her son.

“I know, mom. Don’t worry. I don’t intend to do anything reckless.” Ace took a deep breath to calm himself down.

‘In my previous life, I probably would’ve been halfway out the door in a blind pursuit of revenge by now. I guess I really am maturing.’

“You’re mother’s right. The most important thing for you two right now is to focus on the assessment tests in two days. Until then, it’d probably be easier to stay in the inn so as not to draw any more unwanted attention to ourselves.” Seeing everyone nod in agreement, Lance smiled and got up to get some more rest.

Ace and the others barely left the inn over the next few days. Whilst Killian and Lance spent their time resting, hoping to recover as much as possible before the assessment, Ace was diligently training or spending quality time with Milianna.

Two days later, Ace, Killian, and Lance made their way to the city centre from the inn.

“I hope Mom’s okay.” Ace said as he made his way down East Fenlai’s Greenleaf Road alongside Killian and Lance.

“I’m sure she’s fine. She understands that if anything was to happen, we stand a better chance of getting away if she’s not with us.” Lance replied.

“I know. It still sucks, though.” Ace said, frustrated at the whole situation.

As the trio entered the more popular part of the city, they started receiving more eyes on them. From how they were dressed, they looked exceptionally ordinairy, yet the further they travelled, the more frequent the looks became.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It was starting to make them uncomfortable. Well, most of them, anyway.

“I’m so hungry, and that smells amazing! Ooh, so does that… And that!” Ace seemed completely unphased as he kept stopping to stare at the various restaurants they passed en route with lustful eyes.

Killian tried to calm his nerves but being stared at by so many strangers made it difficult. He didn’t even have the mind to pay attention to the lavishly constructed buildings like he usually would.

“Ace, stop messing around. We’re almost there.” Despite feeling uncomfortable with people staring at them, Lance forced himself to ignore it as he noticed the tallest and most extravagant building on the road.

“So this is the Cathedral of the Radiant Church?” Ace asked as he studied the building that looked more like a small palace than a cathedral.

“The Radiant Church is in complete control of the entire Holy Union. They have six Kingdoms and fifteen dukedoms that fall under their jurisdiction…” Lance said as he looked at ace with an almost pleading expression.

“Don’t worry; I’ll be on my best behaviour.” Ace said with a chuckle, understanding Lance’s concern.

“Will we see the Holy Emperor?” Killian asked excitedly.

“Haha, Holy Emperor Heidens has an extremely high status. He has the power to get rid of any king in the Holy Union. The reason why the cathedral is the tallest building in the capital is to pay tribute to his status. A man like that wouldn’t have the time to watch the assessment of some children.” Lance replied with a tone full of respect. It was clear he had a great deal of respect for the church.

This morning, the entrance to the Cathedral of the Radiant Church was packed with several hundred people. The vast majority of whom were extravagantly dressed noblemen.

Countless carriages filled the space in front of the Radiant Cathedral as the various nobles chatted amongst themselves, waiting for the assessment to begin.

As Ace and his group approached, the wealthy nobles started to take note of their presence.

“It’s the same every year. These country bumpkins come from far and wide to take part in the assessments, only to fail.”

“Those aren’t your ordinairy country bumpkins, Joel.”

“Ooh, Wensworth, you know of them?”

“I don’t know about the other two, but that dark-haired child, he’s the one who beat the child from the Baruch family.”

“That was him? I heard that Wharton boy could even turn into a Dragon Warrior!”

“He did, but he still ended up being no match for that child.”

“I guess the dragon warriors don’t live up to their name after all.”

Ace and his group expected some weird looks, but they definitely weren’t expecting to be the sole focus of everyone’s attention.

“Ahh, we don’t have time for this; just ignore them. We need to go and register.” Ace said as he led the other two to the table near the entrance to the cathedral.

“Good morning, sir priests. We’re here today to register these two children.” Lance said as he bowed respectfully to the elegantly dressed priests before them.

“Name?” The priest sat on the left asked impatiently.

“Ace.” Ace replied indifferently, ignoring the looks he was receiving from Lance

“Kil…

Killian.” Killian mumbled hesitantly.

“Ace? The same Ace who beat Wharton Baruch a few days ago?” The priest on the right asked, clearly having heard of what happened.

“That’s me.” Ace replied uninterestedly.

“Haha, interesting, very interesting.” The priest didn’t take offence by Ace’s attitude. He was well aware that the more talent a child had, the more proud they were. “I look forward to your results. That’ll be ten gold coins for each child.”

Handing them the coins, Lance led Ace and Killian away.

“What happened to best behaviour?” Lance said, exasperated with Ace’s nonchalance.

“Isn’t that the Dragonblood Warrior from the Baruch Family?” A man said, grabbing everyone’s attention before Ace could respond.