Daybreak arrived. Bells had tolled and the city streets were filled with silence.

Citizens of Silovilo had formed a line on the stone pavement, making way for four large four-legged lizards—two on each end, forming a square—as they marched across the vacant road with knights riding on top of them, and a large luxurious carriage in tow. While they were following them, the lizards were carrying a casket in the middle of the square, exposing the body with a bouquet of flowers surrounding it inside.

The body they are transporting was the Queen of Silovilo.

The citizens were not only just standing there, they were mourning. They were all grieving for the loss of their beloved queen. She was the heart and soul of this city and she was loved by many people in Silovilo. But now that she had passed and was sent to the afterlife, the citizens felt nothing but sorrow.

The giant lizards continued to march while transporting the body all the way to the cemetery. Silovilo has a route that was made specifically for the royal family. That’s why the roads were vacant. They approached the large silver gates that were guarded by two knights clad in armor and wielding long spears. Both the giant lizards and carriage halted in front of the gates for only a moment until the knights separated from each other and simultaneously hitting the butt of the spears on the ground twice, giving the signal to open the gates. They answered their sound and the silver gates opened.

No one knows how the gates open by themselves; Some say it was either created by magic or some invisible force pushed the gates. No one could figure out the secret behind it. The only one that knows the secret to this was the royal family.

The gates opened wide and the knights raised their spears and gave a salute before letting the lizards and carriage pass. As they passed through the gates, the knights slammed the ground with the butt of their spears again and the gates closed behind them.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

After the gates were closed and the royal family had gone to the cemetery, those who had been given invitations to the castle went to the castle, meanwhile those who were not given an invitation went back to their homes with grief and sorrow.

The castle was just straight ahead. Everyone, including Shouya and Gin—meanwhile Alisa stayed back at the inn—went up the path and climbed the long stairs that took about ten minutes—or at least two by carriage at most if they took the road—until they reached the top.

This is the first time Shouya has ever been to a castle before. The castle is as big as everyone makes it out. He always sees them in video games and anime, but he never saw one up close before. He imagines himself what it would be like to be king. He would imagine himself having servants doing his bidding and surrounded by a pool of gold and jewelry.

But of course, that was a childish dream.

Shouya stopped for a moment and looked back at the scenery behind him. He can see the large body of ocean with many ships floating on it. He wouldn’t believe how many people came to this city from abroad just to say farewell to the queen. But other than that, he can see the world view of the endless sea.

“Hold it right there!”

“Woah!”

Shouya turned his head forward and was suddenly halted by a pair of intimidating looking fully armored knights as they blocked the entrance with their spears crossed.

“You look unfamiliar here. State your business!”

“H-Hold on! I came here as a guest.”

“Do you have a proof of invitation?”

“I…”

“We don’t allow commoners to just go inside the castle whatever they want without an invitation. So either you show us proof or turn back from the castle. If you don’t comply, we’ll arrest you for trespassing.”

Their stone expression and their ever so slightly aggressive tone of the guard’s voice meant that they were serious. It’s true that he has an invitation, but they don’t know that. Not only that, Shouya and others left the invitation note back at Vincilos. So he doesn’t have a way to show proof that he was invited.

“But it’s true! I— Aie!”

The knights turned their spears and aimed the sharp tip of their weapons at Shouya.

“I’ll say it again, kid. You better show us proof or you have to leave.”

“We really don’t want to hurt you, but this is your one and only warning.”

The situation has gotten a bit worse. Everyone has their eyes on the scene as the knights’ weapons pointing at the boy at which, to their eyes, they see him as a shady person and they don’t blame them for it.

“Woah woah woah woah! Hold it there guys!”

“Oh! Captain Glymes!”

From the distance, Shouya can hear Gin’s voice behind as he runs towards them. As the knights saw him, however, they put away their spears and saluted him.

“Goodness you’re here, sir. This child here tries to trespass the castle without an invitation. For the safety of the kingdom and our patrons, we decided for the best precaution—”

“Yeah yeah yeah, I heard ya and I get ya! But you know, this kid right here is actually with me.”

“...!”

They gave a surprised look on their faces when they heard him say he’s with Shouya. They looked at each other with worried looks on their faces and then nervously looked back at Gin.

“A-Are you sure, sir?”

“There's something wrong?”

“Nothing! We just…”

“Then we, er, ahem, apologize for this misconduct. You may proceed.”

Flustered, the guards retracted their spears and returned to their standing positions, letting Shouya and others to pass.

“Thanks for the help back there.”

“No problem. But it’s better that you stay close to me for a while.”

“Why’s that?”

“People can be a bit strict here and be on guard sometimes when coming across the family royalty. These people are royal to their king and queen, and their princesses, too. So it’s best that you stay cool and everything will work out.”

“Right, stay cool. I can work with that…I hope.”

This was normal and he was used to this back in his world; being normal, not, not interacting with people, don’t stick out like a sore thumb. This was the only thing that Shouya was good at and no one would notice him.

Of course, however, the old him would’ve also not been interested in talking to anyone. So if there wasn’t anyone to help him like Gin did, he would put himself in a tough spot and do what he was told.

Shouya was greeted in awe as they entered a very large ballroom of the castle with a lot of people mingling with one another. The room has some lavish decor, fitting for the royal family, with the floor of the room made out of fine marble and the walls of the room itself was coated with bright blue paint with portraits hanging on the walls.

“Man, there’s a lot of people from around the world coming here. But they all look so…spiffy.”

Looking around, almost all of the people that have gathered here have worn some fancy and expensive clothing.

“Most of the people gathered here are other royal families and politicians from other countries. I can recognize some military factions they’re from. Over there is the Church of Bouzun. A cultist bunch in Delaforza and their ‘god’. That one over there next to them is the Scholars of Miraziva. The most proficient magic users out there. Not a surprise that they would be here. Over there are the Rugothura’s Sky Raiders. You don’t normally see these guys ever visit and touch ground and they protect the sky city itself. And then there’s…tch!”

Stolen novel; please report.

Gin made a sudden click of his tongue that only Shouya could notice.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing. Anyways, that’s what I could recognize.”

“I…see.”

Given that he has been with the military, the Silver Moon, for a long time, it makes sense that Gin would have supplemental knowledge of almost all of the political factions, locations, and hierarchy that these people are from. However, Gin sounded antagonistic when saw another group that he was hesitant to even say their name. Does he hate that group that they’re from? Shouya is unsure what to think.

“I kinda wish Alisa was here to see this. She is a bit more knowledgeable than me.”

“I do so, too. But two is plenty, three is a bit of a crowd that we’re bound to get noticed. Besides, we can only allow up to two people in a group; one invited, and one guest.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well…before there was a rule like this, we had to fight a group of assassins that tried to kill the king. Thankfully we stopped them before they could accomplish it. That’s how this rule was made. Although the only exception to this rule are the people from the higher up.”

“Ah. I guess that makes sense.”

So because of the incident that happened last time, as Gin had said, they decided to restrict the number of guests to enter to avoid further incidents like the one he had described with only royalists and diplomats that can bypass this rule. It is a strict rule, that is not a lie, but it is to ensure safety for the royal family and the guests that were invited to this castle. That is what matters the most.

“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir Glymes.”

One person, an average looking young man, approached them from the side and greeted Gin. The man was at least approximately two feet lower than Gin’s chin, not counting his dog-like ears coming from his hazelnut-colored hair. He was lean and wore a dark green suit. From the looks of it, he must be one of the politicians that was invited to this castle.

“It’s nice to meet you too, mister…”

“The name’s Lazaro. My colleague is a big fan of yours and he informed me all about you. It’s a shame that he couldn’t be here to see you. He would lose his mind if he saw you right now.”

“Haha! Well, good to know that I have a fan by my side.”

Gin played it out and gave each other a firm handshake. Then Lazaro looked over to notice Shouya standing next to Gin.

“I'm afraid we haven’t met before. Are you new here?”

“Oh, yes. I’m Shouya.”

“Such a strange name, not going to lie. Huh, Shouya. Oh, sorry, I don’t mean to offend you. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mister Shouya.”

“Same. And I don’t really mind it.”

They reached their hands out and shook each other’s hands. He felt a distinct warmth from Lazaro; different from the people he had met in Vincilos. He was nice and upstanding, and he was even careful with his words when pondering about Shouya’s name. It was a breath of fresh air for Shouya.

Is my name really that strange?

“What about you, mate? I’ve never seen your logo before.”

“I am from House Lynnco. Sadly our house isn’t that big. We’re from a smaller house that is different from the rest.”

“What do you mean different?”

“It’s…uh, better not to tell you.”

Lazaro seemed a bit hesitant on disclosing on that topic. What makes his house different from the rest from the other diplomats? Both Gin and Shouya weren’t really sure.

“Anyways, best that I’ll be going. It was nice to meet you two.”

“Same here.”

At a moment’s notice, Lazaro left the two and he continued to mingle with other guests.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※

It has been an entire hour since Shouya and Gin had entered the castle. Everyone was waiting for the king and the princesses to return and the guests had been mingling with each other the entire time.

After a long wait, a knight in heavy armor speaks aloud, announcing to everyone in the room. Everyone has their gaze at the knight.

“Ladies and gentlemen. We are all gathered here today to mourn and pay tribute to our late Queen of Silovilo. And while she may be gone, we, the soldiers and the people of Silovilo, will continue to strive.”

Everyone was silent and continued to listen to the knight.

“But not only that, His Majesty would like to say a word about the future on where Silovilo will go. So without any further adieu, we would like to present to you King Briomaar Abelgiz and his daughters Princess Morrigan Abelgiez, General of the Silovilo’s Royal Knights, and Princess Sheri Abelgeiz.”

As the knight announced their names, a large door opened behind him and there were three people coming out from behind the door. The one who was in the lead was the King of Silovilo himself: Briomaar Abelgiz.

The king looks like he was past his prime with wrinkles on his pale skin and gray hair with fox-like ears on top of his head. He was walking with a cane that was decorated for a king as he was walking with a limp as he entered the room.

Behind the king, there were two girls; the princesses of Silovilio, who almost inherited similar appearances to their parents with both having a pair of fox-like ears and a tail, but most of it is from their father's side.

On the left, the girl—no, this woman—who has her hands behind her back, looks taller than her father by just a couple of centimeters. She was tall and had long black hair decorated as a ponytail rested over her shoulder.

While her appearance was a sense of beauty, what she wore threw off Shouya’s imagination as she wore dark blue formal military uniform that reveals her position of power in Silovilo’s military. The knight did say before that Morrigan is the General of Silovilo’s Royal Knights. That woman right there is Morrigan. It made Shouya feel a sense of intimidation just by looking at her appearance alone.

The girl next to her was—

“—!”

—When Shouya first set his sights on the girl next to Morrigan, he was starstruck; his eyes widened and he was dazzled and dumbfounded by her appearance.

This girl was almost exactly the same height as Shouya. She had long jet black hair with her sides braided and woven behind her head that flowed down, reaching up to the midsection of her spine. She was the fairest of them all, with skin white as snow, and wore a beautiful gray dress that was as bright as the full moon.

But, somehow, he couldn’t help but feel like she was familiar.

He tried looking away, veering his eyes in another direction, but Shouya couldn’t help but keep on looking at her. Her beauty was so intoxicating that it was hard for him to resist.

The three of them walked up to the throne and the king sat on the throne on the left, next to the throne where the queen used to sit, meanwhile, the two princesses stood between and close to the king. The king, whose name was Briomaar Abelgiz, gave an exhausted sigh and looked at the guests who had attended here before giving a speech to everyone.

“My good friends and fellow people from across the nation. I would like to express my gratitude for taking your time off from your private life to pay tribute to my dear wife. You have come from a long journey and I cannot express my gratitude enough. We live in such a troubling time for all of us and to those who are close to us.”

Everyone kept quiet while they were listening to the king’s speech. Some people, but only a tiny amount, prayed during his speech. One group in particular, the Church of Bouzun, all clasped their hands together and prayed. There were only seven people in that group. They all wore long beige robes that covered their bodies from head to toe with the robe only stopping at two centimeters off from the floor. All of them wore hoods to cover their faces, but one of them didn’t. A middle aged man, who looks no older than the king himself, has instead of a hood, he wore a large pentagon-shaped hat on top of his head.

As they preyed, the king went on.

“My beloved wife, Urbria Abelgiz, was a wonderful woman. She always makes the smartest decisions and she is always optimistic. Whenever we are down, she always brings us back up on our feet and supports us when times are needed. She was a woman with a great heart. It is sad to say that she is no longer in the land of the living. This is a tremendous loss in the kingdom of Silovilo. However, we mustn’t indulge ourselves with grief and sorrow. She wanted us to stand strong with our heads held high as she wanted a world where there be peace and tranquility. We shall honor her wish and we shall pass it on to a new generation. She will ever be engraved in its history so we will never forget.”

The speech ended and he concluded with the words “Ruvsko re Puvana” and the people repeated those words after him. Shouya couldn’t understand what that meant, but if he were to assume what it meant, he can guess that translates to: “Rest in Peace”. He couldn’t get a read out of it. The only thing that is similar to it was a video game he played where he plays as an assassin in a simulator and says something similar after a successful kill.

But that is all it was: an assumption.

Morrigan, one of the two princesses of Silovilo and taller than her younger sister, stepped forward next to their father.

“If there is anything that you would like to say to His Highness, please step forward.”

The room went silent and the attendees quietly spoke to each other, deciding on who will be the first to approach. It took a short while only for the members of the Church of Bouzun moved in in the center. As that was happening, only the old man with the pentagon-shaped hat walked up to the king up to be in close proximity in front of him. Then he bent one knee and placed it on the floor, kneeling in front of the king.

“My King.”

“Ozgard, my friend.”

“For years you two and I were companions ever since we were in our youths. While you were a prince in that time, I was but a humble priest in-training when we first met. Urbria was the last surviving member of House Vegnar after her father’s assassination along with her sister, and her mother succumbed to her fate after giving birth. But surprisingly, she continued to strive even after those events with the support of you, me, and everyone she’d met along the way. She made us laugh and cheer, and also made us a good sweater.”

“Same can be said about the hat that she made for you, friend.”

Both of them gave each other a laugh, remembering the good times that they had in the past. But that moment only lasted a few seconds before their joy quickly disappeared as they returned to the sad and somber present that is reality. Such moments do not last forever.

“Ahh, but that was a long time ago. I would love to relive the past and enjoy those moments again. I really do. But sadly, life is short, and father time does not have a moment to waste. She may be gone from our lives, but our memories of our time with her will live on. She will be watching over us with Zulven guiding her a safe passage to heaven. So do not worry, my friend. You are not alone. We will meet with her soon once our time comes. So for now…”

Ozgard held the king’s old and fragile pale hand only to draw it to his lips and kissed the king’s jeweled ring from his finger. He pulled his lips back and said “Let the light of Zulven guide you” and the members of the Church of Bouzun repeated those words after him as Ozgard walked back and all returned to the spot where they were.