"Sir? Sir?!" shouted the soldier next to Gab, who stood silently there and was deeply engrossed in his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry," Gab said with a smile before telling him: "Everyone that wants and can leave the tower is allowed to do it. I won't judge them. Let's try to compensate as many people as we can."

"Are you sure? The princess will probably be angry with you since she didn't give you the right to dismiss soldiers, right?" asked the soldier as he gulped.

Gab nodded his head, and the soldier whispered silently: "You know, that could cost our head, right?"

"Yes, and if I'm being honest, I stopped carrying about that. We both know that the princess needs my men and me. Making me a head shorter will result in many more casualties. We all know that she will have an even harder time climbing the tower without us," commented Gab coldly, not caring about the consequences.

After telling him his orders, he slowly made his war towards the camp of the princess. The grin he had while walking towards her went from ear to ear since he knew that he now had leverage in their discussion with each other.

Her camp suffered way more casualties. Almost half of her soldiers were missing even though they had better equipment.

Soon two soldiers of her camp walked towards him to lead him to her.

Enota, the princess, sat silently with closed eyes on a chair as her whole body was wrapped in bandages. Around her stood five mages casting spells without stopping.

"Interesting, there were you two. I thought you guys died somewhere in the dungeon," commented Gab with a raised eyebrow as he saw two former mages of him.

The latter two ignored his words since their focus was on the princess, who smiled innocently at him.

Gab merely smiled back before moving his gaze from her beautiful face to her body. And no, Gab didn't have any perverted thoughts or lust towards her at the moment. He was merely inspecting her bandages, which were soaked with blood, trying to estimate how dependent Enota will be on him from now on.

'If I'm being honest at her actual state, she won't be of any use to me or to anyone here. The only value she carries is her rank outside of the dungeon and that she already has a small army that is loyal to only her. Most of my men despise her and only see her as a means to an end.

I'm still unsure if my goal should be to leave this dungeon as fast as possible or to stay with her as long as possible. The longer we stay here, the more she will value me even outside the dungeon. But the earlier we leave, the sooner I can begin searching for my brothers,' thought Gab.

A spear made of thunder leaned against Enota's shoulder. To Gab's surprise, her royal attire remained clean with no holes whatsoever. Behind her stood a soldier with a bow strapped around his back. His armor, however, was broken.

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Without even uttering a word Gab took the free seat on the table.

"How dare…" before the man could finish his sentences, the princess cut him off: "It's all right. His manners can be ignored for the time being. Don't forget that we have bigger problems to deal with."

The princess glanced coldly at the soldier, who immediately apologized.

Nodding, the princes continued with: "Please summon a soundproof barrier between him and me."

The latter was shocked. Till now, he was always on Enota's side during every important discussion she had, acting as a middle man. The fact that Enota doesn't want him on her side can only mean one thing. She didn't trust him.

He forced a smile before summoning a barrier around the two.

Inside, the two merely stared at each other for a minute before Enota broke the silence.

"I've expected you already, but till now, I dreaded meeting you," she honestly stated as her gaze was still fixed at his eyes.

Gab nodded before nonchalantly replying: "Then it should be easier to move forward and finish the discussion as fast as possible."

"Not so fast, my dear general~. Let's have some chitchat before moving towards the important stuff," Enota told him as her bandaged finger moved through her hair.

"Fine by me," sighed Gab.

"To be honest, I'm amazed by what you've achieved, especially for someone who was probably a slave from the countryside that got caught somewhere.~"

A shiver ran down his spine, and he immediately cut her short: "How did you realize that?"

"Interrupting someone is rude. Especially a princess, but I'll let it slide~

Well, I've seen you fight. If I'm being honest, you were below average when it comes to your fighting techniques. The only thing that makes you stand out is the absorption ability you've got. Also, my men eavesdropped from the people advising you that you are lacking some common sense," Enota commented.

Gab admitted that he was indeed a villager that got sold into slavery. But to his surprise, the latter didn't judge him for that.

On the contrary, her eyes sparkled after hearing his words. She immediately told him: "That only raises your worth since you are a rough diamond that still has a lot of room for improvement."

The greed Gab saw from her eyes sent shivers down his back, while the latter merely laughed at the sight of it. By now, she lost any manners one would expect from a princess.

"Princess, I'm unsure how I should talk with you since I don't want to offend you, so please forgive me for my silence," Gab admitted with a sigh.

"Since nobody hears us, you might as well talk to me with ease," she replied with a smile before asking him the following question:

"What do I have to do to gain your loyalty outside of the dungeon?"

"Well, it's quite easy. I've got a few demands, but the one that could give you the biggest headache concerns four people. If you can help me with finding these four, I'll be willing to swear loyalty towards you," Gab admitted.

"Who are these four people? I want to hear more so I can evaluate how easy it will be to find all of them," Enota asked Gab with curiosity.

"Well, these four are my siblings, and I might as well tell you the whole story about what happened," Gab sighed before telling her the whole story that happened. on the day.

"Interesting. If I'm being honest, I'm now more interested in getting your older brother," she admitted.

"Don't you dare touch anyone of my brothers!" Gab commented jokingly.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm not touching anyone, hehehe," she replied before telling Gab: "By the way, you better awaken her."

"Why should I? It'll take ages till I can control it reasonable enough for it to be of any use for me." asked the latter confused.

"Just do it, and you won't regret it. Everyone who awakened here has an easier time using spells and learning them. They also could even choose their respective talents. I, for one, have chosen thunder as my talent."

Sighing, Gab gave in: "Fine, I'll be awakening by the next chance I have."