Baik and his friends walked within the gate-assigned veterans, with Toif and Baik at the front just behind Aggel. Most kobolds kept about their business and kept the village's road clear, yet many couldn't help gawking at the newly-arrived Prince. Many whispered indistinguishable gossip and no doubt remained unconvinced at his identity, yet the blue noble hadn't any reason to bother explaining himself further. Toif recognized him and Aggel's test had been passed; as far as the situation called for, the only person here that he had to answer to was Bai.

And after all this time, Baik's mixture of instincts were both eager and afraid to see him. Even if he hadn't grown, Bai was taller and stronger than the prince currently. The chimeric mutation had done little to put him on the same level of reptilian monstrosity that Bai was, whilst the magical gap between them was probably even further. Weapons alone could do little when put against the titanic difference in experience; in Daesal, the explosive lifestyles of kobolds meant that even a few years could make them unfathomably different when it comes to skills. To top it all off, Bai had the entirety of Bailaka's warriors at his side. Convincing the old prince would be the most logical conclusion even if his body wanted to fight.

"You all may leave," Aggel called back, slowing to a stop at the final stairway leading up to the old prince's home. Toif dismissively waved the soldiers away while she looked to Baik. "You and your druidess will come inside. The other two stay here."

Baik turned his head, only to find Ango grumpily set his shield down. Hanaya sat her hands on her hips, yet she held her tongue and composure far more adequately. "Don't worry about Ango; we'll be patient. We've spent hours waiting for wolves to pass before, so it's no different. Except we're in this big, walled-in place."

"Don't worry," Nehlka sighed. "We'll be fine. Baik and I will be right back."

Aggel said nothing, yet the prince felt there was a chance it'd be something substantially more than in-and-out. Coming back like this hadn't been part of his education, much less facing the reality that Bai may not allow him to lead kobolds of his own. At this moment, every precaution and step followed may expose them but ensure less likelihood of an outburst. Bai may not be so lenient if Ango gets aggressive like back at the wall.

For now, his eyes shifted to the large doors. "Lead the way, Aggel."

"Yes, my prince." She bowed her head but started forward, using the end of her staff to push the swinging doorway open. She paused only to look back at the old kobold, waving her magical rod toward the pair. "Toif, see to it that they're comfortable while we're gone."

"Yes, Druidess Aggel." Toif let his arms fall, looking at Ango for a moment before rolling his eyes. "Although that one reminds me of myself when I was younger, I will ensure they cause no trouble for their Prince."

Ango rose just as the door began closing behind Nehlka, yet whatever he said came out muffled behind the thick wooden barrier.

That moron... when we get back, I'll need to see that he learns a few more manners if he plans to protect me...

The three of them went deeper into the familiar hallways; the floor was carved from raised stone and decorated with the pelts of various wolves and boars, while the walls and ceiling had been made from whittled wood and reinforced using crude iron. Such a structure was considerably advanced for kobolds by Aggel's accounts, especially since ironworking anything beyond a nail was next to impossible for most smiths. The short lifespan of kobolds had required Bai to pursue the craft; with his smithy skills, iron and metal had become somewhat commonplace for more advanced crafts. Nails alone meant that the village's walls — long before Baik was born — went from merely raised dirt and logs lodged in it to standing palisades.

As far as kobolds went, Bai could be equated to a great and ingenious leader with a penchant for educating himself. Perhaps it was why Aggel had never put terrible weight on his shoulders since no one could imagine a Prince being able to always surpass those before them.

The inner sanctuary of the defensively-built fortress eventually came into view; Baik and Aggel kept moving without issue whilst Nehlka confusedly looked at the new decorations lining the wall. Broken and battered shields and armor pieces from the fallen hung on nails and shelves... but unlike the rugs or furniture, these were distinctively too large for kobolds.

"Bai has been busy." Baik looked at the left wall, particularly at a ridge of new helmets crushed and battered to unusable condition. "I don't remember him having a few of these."

The pink-haired kobold laughed, tapping her staff and pointing at Bai's empty throne. "Yes, well, he picked a few up in the last year or so. The humans have been greedy... the demons, too."

Daesal's humans are getting... greedy?

"She isn't telling lies, you know."

Baik halted and turned his head, looking past one of the bending corners of the inner sanctum's large room. Aggel curved around on his right, moving forward and over to a dining table and settling in with a relieved sigh. Nehlka paled and hurried up to Baik's side, turning and looking at the speaker before hastily retreating behind him.

The one sitting at the table was Bai... but compared to years ago, he was different. He was only six feet tall, with his face clad in a familiar mask; the featureless one that the human in the woods had worn. The kobold's tail was just as long as he remembered, with his claws modestly trimmed shorter. Even his clothing had been replaced; rather than furs and claimed cloth, the kobold prince wore a well-made cloak around his right shoulder over a long-sleeved shirt that one might have found in a medieval town. The seams alone meant only one possibility: it was the work of humans.

"Bai... where did you get that mask? What happened to you that you got so much smaller?" Baik uncomfortably looked to Aggel. "That is Bai, right?"

The mask-wearing kobold grabbed his mask and removed it, letting his short snout come into view whilst the druidess nodded. Baik looked back just in time for the large kobold's appearance to flicker; his stature and clothing vanished, replaced with the astoundingly-sized giant of a kobold he remembered.

"It's magic, my Prince." Aggel reached out, taking the mask from Bai and setting it on the table. "Bai normally uses it only when he goes hunting, but he recovered this strange artifact from a demon he slew around the time your Trial had started."

Nehlka wasn't comfortable either, grasping at Baik's sash. "Baik... isn't that... the mask from that man?"

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"Man?" Bai raised one of his brows.

"Yes, Nehlka, it is." Baik turned, gently patting her head. She immediately went red in the face and pulled away, forcing the kobold to address the older prince. "In the first span of the Trials, our group encountered a dead human. They wore a similar mask... but I recall it being a lot more beat-up."

Bai scoffed, yet tapped the mask. "I see. Then this mask was made by that demon to infiltrate a human group. Go figure... those bastards are always working an angle, before and ever since the ancient King."

Silence hung whilst Baik watched the kobold and the mask, feeling many questions nagging at him about this whole situation. After all this time, he and his friends had merely assumed the humans were kobold hunting. A fact like this meant that maybe there had been some sort of power struggle between humans and demons within the Bailaka forest. At the very least, it would ascertain why they hadn't found the group's tower; they either all died or one side won and left to report the results or pursue its undercover work. The machinations of his old life's people had always been deep compared to the more simple and war-like kobolds, yet his own experience in Daesal hadn't even allowed him to speak to humans. It was impossible to find out just how similar he may be or if cooperation and coexisting could be taken instead of extermination.

For now, Baik moved to the opposite end of the table and led Nehlka along with her holding onto his tail the whole way. Once he was seated, however, she eventually moved to a chair nearby and dragged it up alongside him. All four of them sitting in silence was too much for Baik, so he bit the bullet.

"All this aside," Baik paused, emphasizing with a dismissive wave toward the mask. "I came here to make a request."

Bai smiled but said nothing. That unnerved Baik further, feeling his eyes glaze pink in annoyance at his inability to read the other Prince.

"The request, Bai, is that you allow me the freedom to lead kobolds myself."

Baik waited, watching the older prince and wondering if he would truly accept the situation or react with withheld rage. Yet neither anger or visible signs of hiding it flashed; rather than angry, Bai smiled and shifted both hands over the mask. He folded them together neatly, looking at Aggel.

"Aggel didn't put you up to this?"

Baik wanted to talk but was too confused. The creamy kobold merely sat her staff down, leaning back in her chair with a pleased grin. "No, Prince Bai, I didn't. He made the request when I confronted him at the gate. He even put on the most profound air that he'd actually challenge you if you refused."

Aggel, wait-

"B-But only if so!" Nehlka sputtered and quickly looked to Baik, then back to Bai. "M-My Prince would never mean to-"

Most surprising still, Bai chuckled. The kobold put on a toothy grin, letting his own eyes glaze crimson... before leaning forward over the table. Both of the young kobolds flinched, perceiving the aggressive air he puts on in the form of a lingering dark aura. Bai's eyes alone roll fiery waves of mana, squeezing his fingers taut enough that the scales and nails scrape together audibly like grating stones.

"Only if so," he chuckles, growing quiet and staring Baik down. "If that's the case, then perhaps I should take you seriously. You know the Key Laws... a kobold either leads or serves. How do you plan to explain to me letting you run free and doing as you wish?"

Baik wanted to panic before the monstrous presence, stifling the alarm and letting himself think. It wasn't a question or situation he hadn't come across, but the situation seemed to be rather unreadable. Bai seemed angry yet Aggel was relaxed; it felt like yet another test, stacking additional moments to see what he'd do after another. Maybe the trial hadn't truly ended like he pondered, merely evolving and shifting itself into another situation that tested his skills and mettle.

"Well? Answer, boy."

Nehlka looked at him for an answer, clutching and holding her staff tightly.

Aggel's eyes settled on Baik next, her grin unphased.

And of course, Bai continued glaring him down with that damning energy.

All the pressure made him consider his options in what felt slow. Time crept along at a snail's pace yet still too quickly. His red tint faded when the solution revealed itself, Baik raising a thumb toward the ceiling.

"I'll serve Bailaka. Everything I do will be to aid this place, so long as I maintain my autonomy."

All three of the kobolds, at the word autonomy, seemed confused. Bai looked at Aggel, Aggel to Nehlka, and then Nehlka right back at her; the trio eventually turned their gazes back to Baik, whilst he wrestled with the reality that such a concept may not be known to kobolds. Baik frowned, opening that same hand.

"You know of human nations, correct?"

Bai nodded. "Of course; what's auto-whatever have to do with humans?"

"It's not to do specifically with them, but also the demons." Baik looked to Aggel, hoping she would catch on.

The fact was that she didn't, of course; she merely sighed, scratching her silver ponytail's base. "Their nations? I... would it have to do with their structure?"

Baik nodded, then raised his hand up to the spread-fingers.

"Consider that human nations are led by a King, similar to how kobolds once served the demons and eventually our King. Within these nations, based on what Aggel taught me... I came to the realization that they have a big difference based on their armies and movements. Demons enslave and enact a total monarchy with supreme power in their throne's authority centralizing it. Humans, however, are comprised of many nations that may be smaller but comprise the same overall picture. A king of a smaller nation may serve the human king in affairs of war... but most likely, he runs his land as he pleases."

Bai and Nehlka still seemed rather lost in his example, but Aggel finally smiled. "I see; you mean to be like one of those?"

"Yes." Baik lowered his hands and looked at Bai. "Specifically... not that we are equals but that we make up the same nation with our own differences. My tower only has the four of us, but Ango and Hanaya are hunters from another village. Their lifestyles and the ones we're used to aren't like the ones here. But, were we to work together... if you let me serve Bailaka and help feed it... then I believe I can isolate you from any issues I incur, too. I can do much more out of the way than here, can't I?"

"..." Bai looked to Aggel, who merely rolled her eyes, before looking to Baik with a confused grumble. He leaned back and both of them lost their murderous intent. "So, you will serve Bailaka. Does that mean you'll bring us food? Like how humans have their taxes?"

Nehlka finally caught on at the furthest simplification, immediately raising her hand to gather the attention of the older of the princes. "If I may, we have stores from the last winter that are still plentiful. If we bring it, perhaps we could trade? We also have plenty of furs... I'm sure Bailaka needs things like that, right?"

Baik smiled whilst the two picked up a conversation; Nehlka broke the ice and plummeted into a discussion on the number of pelts as well as showing her own attire to cement just how fine their quality was. Autonomy and a trade agreement as it was shaping up to be certainly favored them. Compared to moments ago, the avoided violence made the blue-scaled kobold uneasy. Aggel got up part way through to leave and gather human paper, yet Baik stayed seated in his old home and merely let out a sigh of relief.

We avoided a fight now... but Bai must surely realize that this is merely sidestepping the key law. In the future, things may not be able to be resolved by confusing them with human concepts. Kobolds are willing to find ways to thrive post-survival but the allure of human ideas working on Bai is only a temporary measure. We'll need to work hard... but this trading and work may yet pay off. All this time we spent surviving, we could finally draw on information and take on jobs that Bai may need doing. If we depend on them too much, he may view it as an unequal position... but if I do too little, he may think me unloyal.

Going forward, I have to become stronger. Strong enough so that, if he finds us a threat, that we can either escape or face Bai.