Chapter 8 - Something is brewing… And it’s not tea…

Walking hand in hand, we made our way to the board near the entrance of the Guild.

“Wow! There’s so many papers!” Alicia exclaimed, scanning the papers in front of her.

Looking at her being this excited, I couldn’t help but smile and let out a chuckle.

“Woah there really is a lot.” Taking a look at it myself, I was amazed at the multitude of papers stuck on the board, some worn out, some new. Even after the busiest time of the day had already passed, there were still a lot of pending requests.

There are common fantasy-like tasks like gathering herbs and killing monsters, guarding tasks where you need to guard transport vehicles, errand type tasks where you need to fetch materials needed by shops, and even simple tasks like looking for a missing cat. I guess the guild really was just a big employment agency, matching job seekers with employers.

“Lumina look at thi-... No this one! Actually this one!” Her eyes glittering as she enthusiastically moves from one paper to another.

“Slow down a bit, I can’t follow what you want me to see.” Though I have been taking my studies seriously, It was still difficult for me to quickly read the characters in this world.

Alicia stopped at a single paper. It looked pretty new so it probably was just put up recently.

“What is that quest you’re looking at?”

“Ah.. It’s a monster subjugation task. It was rated for B ranks above only so it caught my attention.’

“Let me see…” There was a large wolf on the paper, grabbing all the attention of the viewer. At the corner of the paper was a large letter B.

“Location… Evergreen forest… Task, subjugate obsidian wolf…” If I’m not mistaken Isn’t Evergreen the name of the forest on the east of the kingdom? I remember seeing that on the map in the castle library before. I once again took a look at the image of the wolf. It was hand drawn. Though it wasn’t really that detailed, it still managed to capture the features of the monster.

It had large claws at its foot and spiky looking fur. On top of that, the drawing was black, though I don’t know if that was done on purpose or just the lack of colored ink. That color didn’t help though. Because of those features, I could not stop myself from thinking about the wolf that I encountered in the forest before.

“Lumina? Are you alright?” Suddenly, Alicia was right in front of my face, staring directly right at me.

“H- huh? What are you talking about?”

“You looked kind of pale and you were shaking a bit. Are you alright? Are you feeling sick?” She moved closer, placing her hand on my forehead.

Her actions made me snap back to reality. I didn’t notice it myself but looking at my hands, it was indeed shivering.

“Lumina, Alicia.” A stern voice echoed from behind us. We turned around and saw Lilia and the others walking towards us.

“Why did you suddenly run away like that? Did you already forget what happened a few weeks ago?”

“Umm… We were just excited Miss Lilia…” Alicia said softly, her fingers nervously intertwining behind her back.

“Princess Lilia, didn’t you just have a talk with your father? What do you think he would do if I told him what you just did?”

Blood drained on Alicia’s face. “No please don’t tell father! He won’t allow me to go outside again! I promise I’ll be a good girl from now on!” Alica pleaded.

“And you Lumina.” When she turned to me, she stopped. She must have noticed my pale complexion.

She took the paper from my hand and took a look. Suddenly, I felt her arms wrapping around my head. It was warm. I felt the fear that was enveloping me slowly fade away. She took my head and gave me a hug.

“Hey, that's not fair. Why is Lumina not being punished?” Alicia watching everything unfold complained.

“It’s alright. You’re safe now.” Lilia whispered to me.

Though still terrified by the thought of the wolf that nearly took my life, slowly, I felt my tense muscles relax. I let her comforting warmth calm me down, Alicia’s complaints sounding more muffled as time passes. I really am thankful to Lilia for saving me that time.

As I was enjoying myself in Lilia’s embrace, I felt a bouncy object landed on my head. It was not a strong impact or anything, more like a light tap.

I let go from Lilia’s embrace and took the slime now sitting on my head. While I was doing so, out of nowhere, Emir spoke.

“Can we do a task? I want to try doing one.” He was staring at the wooden board.

“Yes, can we please do one? Since we’re already adventurers, I want to do what adventurers do!” Alicia also butted in, waving her adventurer’s card in the air.

“I’m sorry but we can’t do that.” The one who replied was not Lilia but Ceres.

“We can not put the prince of another country in any dangerous situations. Furthermore, King Edward only allowed us to tour inside the walls of the city.” She added, saying it in a low volume since we were supposed to be traveling incognito. Since Sandra was with us however, she managed to overhear everything. Though she still treated us the same nonetheless. What professionalism!

“Even a simple and safe one would do. If that’s okay?”

“That’s right, we don’t need to do anything dangerous. We just want to try it out!”

Due to the insistence of Emir and Alicia, Ceres was at a loss about what to do. She looked at Lilia, trying to ask for help.

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“Then how about doing this?” Sandra took a task from the board and presented it to Ceres and Lilia. “And since you're with Miss Lilia, doing this simple task shouldn’t pose a problem right?” She put her index finger to her lips and winked at both Emir and Alicia.

Emir and Alicia stared at Lilia with hopeful eyes. After thinking for a bit, Lilia finally answered.

“I guess it should be fine…”

“Yay!” Both of the children celebrated.

“Are you sure about this Miss Lilia?”

“It should be fine. Besides, it’s not everyday that these three can go out of the castle. We should treat them a bit.” She smiled, looking at the three of us.

“Sigh.. If you say so.” Having nothing else to say, Ceres finally decided to back down.

Alicia then grabbed my hand and started shaking it.

“Isn’t this great Lumina? We get to be adventurers and we can even go outside of the city!”

“Y-yeah. Hehe.” I let out a nervous laugh. I was feeling conflicted. On one hand, I was excited for the adventure, but on the other, I’m also terrified because of that stupid wolf. Well since Lilia is with us. It’s probably going to be fine so let’s just try to enjoy this one.

*+*

“If you’ll excuse me..” The maid said after preparing a cup of tea for her master.

Hearing this, the man waved his hands and the maid lowered her head, promptly leaving soon after. Looking outside the window out of his office, he took a sip from his cup. The warmth of the tea quickly spread throughout his whole body.

“Haah..” As he placed the cup on the table next to him, he wearily let out a sigh. That was uncharacteristic of him, letting out a big sigh like that. Though since it was only him in the room, he thought that it should be fine just this once.

He slowly ran his fingers on his chin, feeling his newly grown golden-colored beard. “Maybe I should grow this out?” He asked no one in particular.

Despite it being in the middle of the day and accompanied with the comforting warmth of the tea, he was still feeling awfully cold. He wasn’t sick or anything. It’s just the thoughts inside his head are just jumbled up. He should be happy right now. He finally convinced Lilia to join his ranks. But he just can’t relax since that in itself came with some headaches.

Taking another sip from his cup, he grabbed the paper on his desk, continuing to read the report regarding the state of Evergreen Forest.

Multiple Obsidian Wolves were spotted deeper in the forest. Obsidian wolves were a breed of wolves not commonly found in the Evergreen Forest. They were far larger compared to regular Gray Wolves. On top of that, they also have tougher hides, bigger canines, and sharper claws. Commonly found on the other side of the Evanclair Mountains, they usually never cross to this side. So finding one on the edge of Evergreen was indeed a cause of concern.

Ever since the day Lilia fought that Obsidian Wolf, it seems like the monsters living in the forest are getting more active. What could be the reason behind the sudden change in behavior of the monsters? The King was not really sure either. Maybe something is happening in the demon continent that led to the disturbance of the wildlife in the forest. Maybe the demons are once again planning an invasion?

Eduard knows that he shouldn’t think this way but with all these problems appearing at the same time as that silver-haired child, he just couldn’t stop thinking that maybe that child is connected to all of this.

It’s not just that however. He took the other stack of paper on the table. It reported an increase of kidnapping inside the kingdom. The targets of these kidnappings were mostly children from the slums where the control of the knights can be a bit lackluster. However, recently, her own daughter Alicia had been targeted by these kidnappings. He clenched his fist, crumpling the paper on his hand. He was getting annoyed at the slow progress of the investigation.

He was unsure whether the kidnapping of her daughter and the kidnapping around the kingdom was connected. Though he had a hunch that it was all being done by a single mastermind. For what reason however? He again was unsure. The amount of questions in his mind was slowly increasing, alongside with his stress.

As he finished reading the report, a knock came from the door. He shifted his gears and called for the person to enter. The door opened, revealing a person dressed in a striking purple suit. It was the envoy from the Kingdom of Frelvia, William Fenrae. Following behind him was the maid that exited the room earlier.

“Good day, your Majesty. I sincerely thank you for allowing me to have this audience.” He bowed his head deeply, showing his sincerity.

“Raise your head. You may take a seat and don’t hesitate to speak what’s on your mind.”

The man took a seat near His table, relaxing his body.

“How is Frelvia these days?” It has been a long time since he last visited Frelvia. It was a kingdom located north of Ludenburgh. It snows there most of the year earning them the name White Kingdom. Even though they live through that harsh weather, they still manage to live comfortably because of their advancements in magic, enabling them to create a barrier that helps them keep the warmth of the sunlight in and block the cold from the outside. Similar to how a greenhouse works.

The last time that he went there was when King Franz and her Queen had their marriage celebration. It was summer there at that time so he did not have the chance to look at the so-called “White Kingdom” in its full glory.

“It’s still as white as ever, your majesty. The snowfall never stops. Though recently, it’s starting to become a bit more sunny.

After preparing the tea for the visitor, the maid headed for the door, leaving both him and William alone to talk.

The maid swiftly made tea for the visitor and left the room. Leaving both him and William alone to talk.

“Then, tell me Sir William. For what purpose have you come to this Kingdom of mine.” Though he already had an idea about the reason why he came here, he still decided to ask for formalities sake.

“Your majesty, Do you already know what’s happening on the west side of the continent?”

“I do have an idea. Is this about the Sevatein Empire?”

“Yes your majesty.”

The Sevatein Empire, a large empire in the west. Started as a medium-sized kingdom, they managed to grow into such a gigantic empire due to the large amount of resources such as iron and bronze in their territory. Though that contributed to their growth, the main reason was the discovery of mythril. A material that is much harder and much tougher than iron. So any sword and armor made from it will naturally be much higher in quality.

In recent decades, when the new King took over the throne, they started expanding their territory, invading their neighboring countries that have valuable resources.

“The Sevatein Empire’s army is sitting close to our borders.”

“Are you telling the truth!?” He slammed his hand on his desk, standing towards William. It was only a few years ago since the Nolton Kingdom fell against the Empire. And now, with this clear sign of aggression, are they once again planning on expanding their borders?

“I sincerely wish it was merely a jest your majesty. Our scouts managed to find their encampment sitting close to our borders a month ago.”

King Edward continued to listen but did not reply. He was thinking about what to do with all these problems popping out at the same time. He had not felt this pressure since the war with the demons a decade ago.

“We already sent an envoy, requesting for them to back away from the border. However, they refused to back off and insisted that they’re only guarding their own border.”

He took the tea from his table and took a sip, hoping it would help ease his nerves. Though it was a bit cooler than it was earlier, the little bit of warmth left still managed to calm him down.

This really happened at a bad time. If it can be avoided, he’d rather not send any troops to this neighboring kingdom. Especially now that the state of the Evergreen Forest has become unpredictable. On top of that, the reason behind the change in behavior of the monsters is still unknown.

“Are you here to ask for reinforcements, Sir William?”

“No, your highness.”

Though not really noticeable to the man in front of him, his eyebrows twitched. He did not expect that. Perhaps it's something related to that young prince he bought with him. “Then why have you come to my kingdom? Does it have something to do with the young prince that you brought with you?”

“About that, your highness…” William, still smiling, took a letter from his coat and handed it to him

“What is this?” Examining the letter, he noticed the crest pressed on the seal. It was the crest of the Frelvia’s royal family..

“King Franz has ordered me to deliver this letter to you, your majesty.”

“Hmm…” He opened one of the drawers of his desk and took out a small knife. He slid it under the seam of the envelope and tore it off. While opening the letter, he could not think of anything that this letter would include. They went here without seeking any help. On top of that, they brought their youngest prince here. Wait, don't tell me.

As he continued reading the letter, his suspicions were confirmed. On top of that, another problem was added into the pile.

“Hahaha… You can’t be serious Franz.”he let out a nervous laugh, unable to stop himself because of what he read.

“King Franz is serious, your highness. He would like to arrange the marriage of Prince Emir and Princess Alicia.”

King Edward looked at the envoy, confused. Though that was written in the letter, that wasn’t the main problem that he was thinking of. Perhaps this envoy doesn’t know? To keep it hidden for now, he played along with him.

“What is Frelvia planning? Trying to arrange a marriage with my daughter with the current state of your Kingdom.”

“That’s not it, your highness. King Franz had been planning this long before the Sevaten Empire showed up.” He stood up, trying to appease the King.

“I can not believe that. Besides, I’m sure you know that Alicia is my only child right?”

“Ye-yes.”

“I’m sure you know what that means?” He stared William down.

“Y..” He gulped, unsure of what to do and say.

“I can not respond to this immediately. I will prepare a letter in due time. But for now, is there anything else?”

“There’s none, y- your highness.”

“Then you may go.”

After hearing him, The man in the purple suit grabbed his things and immediately headed for the door, bowing to him on his way out.

“It seems like he really had no idea.” He sighed.

“I need to let everyone know.” With that, he took a fresh page of paper and made a letter for the neighboring kingdom, informing them that the “Mountain had finally fallen.”