As they were walking through the castle, many guards stopped them and questioned them, but thanks to Vince’s presence, they got through easily. At least, until reaching the innermost area where the King lived and the twelve selectors. The inner-palace was divided into thirteen living quarters, the biggest one in the middle, which was the King’s, and the rest surrounding it.

Of course, these living quarters were well separated and each elector had to take care of his or her own safety, though the King set a minimum of five guards per elector as the standard. They stopped numerous assassination attempts before, so the King’s decision proved to be useful. Each living quarter had an area of five hundred square meters, featuring the most advanced technologies, so nobody was lacking in luxury either.

A young man who had a smooth face, golden eyes, and golden hair stopped them when they were only a few meters away from the throne room where the King was holding a meeting. Although he too had combat clothes on as the other guards, his suit seemed to be made from much better materials than the guards’.

“Stop right there!” he shouted, raising his right hand. Elena sensed a bit of his Mana flowing towards his palm, which was pointed at them.

“He is the son of one of the electors. Pleases, as I said before…” Vince whispered into Elena’s ear before stepping forward and bowing his head, “Good day to you, Lord Xander. I brought the Magicians of the other world to the King as per his orders.”

Easing up, he let down his hand and measured up Elena and her friends, one by one. Furrowing his brows, he said, “I understand that it was his Majesty’s orders, but we should check them at least. What if they planned to attack-” before he could continue, Elena used Shadow Step and appeared behind him in a flash.

Grabbing his throat from behind, she said with a chuckle, “Oh, dear. I don’t need weapons to kill either of you. Don’t make this scene any bigger than it is or I’ll just walk away. I don’t care about your King even in the slightest.” Letting go of him, she appeared beside Audrey once again, and Vince translated her words.

Although she didn’t squeeze his throat, the fact that she was able to get behind him in just a moment terrified Xander. He realized that if she had a blade in her hand, even if he knew special movements and had fighting experience, he would be dead by now. Regaining his composure, his frozen face turned into a serious one.

“I apologize,” he said and stepped to the side.

A smile formed on Elena’s face as she patted his shoulder, and walked towards the throne room, “Don’t mind it.”

As Vince knocked on the door, the servant pulled the plate to the side, which was covering the peephole in the door. “What is it? There is an important conference at the moment,” he whispered.

“I brought the Mages from the other world,” Vince replied shortly.

“I’ll notify the King, please wait for the time being,” he answered before pulling back the plate.

He edged around the circular room and got behind the King’s back to whisper into his ear. After hearing the servant’s words, the King told him to call everyone related inside. Since Acton was the first person who made contact with them, he too was allowed in, even though he couldn’t even talk with them.

When entering the room, Elena saw the King on a platform, sitting in his luxurious and comfortable throne. He looked like someone at the age of thirty-five and he had a well-built body, showing that he wasn’t a good for nothing. The top of his head was bald and he had a smooth, hairless face, and he had deep blue eyes.

There were twelve other chairs in the throne room and an Elector was sitting in each of them. Some of them had one or two teenagers standing beside them.

“I suppose they are their children, then why is that blondie staying outside?” Elena whispered as she turned to look at Vince.

“It’s because Lord Xander hasn’t earned the right to be present at important conferences since he is a bit hot headed. Once he successfully takes the psychological exam, he too can join,” Vince replied as he knelt down in front of the King.

“Well said,” the King remarked with a smile, surprising everyone.

“Surprised? Although I didn’t... tell? it to you, I declared that every Elector and King should learn the Ancient languages in the future. But I’m a bit lacking in that… department, so please translate just in case,” the King said with a loud voice, sometimes stopping to think about his next words.

A few of the Electors were angry with Elena and the rest of the group since they didn’t kneel, but they didn’t want to make a fool out of themselves by stuttering to pronounce each word and think for seconds, so they stayed silent.

Let’s see. Should I show my carefree side or my disciplined side? The first would show my strength and self-confidence, especially if I show them something, while the second would make me look more dependable. If I want business the second would be better, if I just want a temporary relationship, then the first is better. The only problem is that they might try to rely more on me in the future.

Stolen story; please report.

Well, I can just turn them down, Elena thought over her possibilities and the possible results, her eyes measuring up everyone in the room. I’ll go the middle way and use the benefit of the doubt.

Straightening her back, she crossed her arms in front of her chest as her shadows spread out and connected with every people. Shady arms ran up on their bodies and grabbed their throats, the King no exception. The guards in the back jumped forward and pointed their guns at Elena.

“As you can see, I’ve got a few interesting spells. Don’t get offended since I have no intention of harming you, it was just an example,” she said with a smile as her shadow returned to its normal shape.

“Before we start any kind of discussion, I’d like to share my standpoints. I and my group are self-proclaimed trash cleaners. It is definitely arrogant, but anyone I find unworthy of life, we will kill, even if other people are telling me that he or she is a good person. Based on what I’ve heard, this Sliton Empire is full of such people, which happens to be a good thing for you.”

“I’d take care of them either way, but since our goals are overlapping, I’d request a few simple rewards. One. I need a tutor who can help me train my skills with blades. Let’s add the weapons of your world to the list as well. Two. I need all of you present to make an Oath, stating that if anyone asks, you will say that I’ve come from this planet and from this Kingdom. Good or bad, you can think of any kind of backstory. I also need information about Sliton Empire, so I request you to share what you know with me.”

As she finished talking, only Vince’s murmuring could be heard as he translated her last words. Silence hit the throne room as everyone looked at Elena.

Furrowing his brows, the King said, “So you are telling me that you want the things you mentioned before, and in turn, you will take care of the Sliton Empire, whatever that means. But if we don’t do anything, you will still take care of our enemies, right?”

After Vince translated his words, Elena nodded her head, “That’s right. Of course, I’d advise you to accept my request,” she replied, showing a bright smile, which filled the King’s heart with a feeling of dread.

Clearing his throat, he said, “I won’t blame you for your little showcase beforehand, but I can’t reward you when there is nothing done. If you can really help us out, I intend to reward you with much more than those simple things you requested. Since you are looking for vicious people, I can give you a list, which would also happen to contain the names of numerous Generals and even the King. I’ll also add a list of their wrongdoings if that’s what you are desiring.”

Clapping her hand, Elena exclaimed, “That would be great! Where should I stay until that list is finished? Oh, but note that I don’t take anything for granted. If I find out that your list contains names of people who aren’t my targets, you will have to pay a heavy price. You, don’t jump the gun. I don’t care whether he is a King or a peasant. I don’t care about your ranks either,” she pointed at the Electors upon seeing them standing up with enraged faces.

“You- you called his majesty a peasant?!” One of them cried out, clenching his fists.

“You are loved so much, how intriguing,” she said with a smile, looking at the King.

“Haha, I can’t complain,” he replied, wearing an amused expression. After making a thoughtful face, he said, “You can stay in a guest room in the palace or I can send a servant to reserve a hotel room for you.”

Placing her hand on her chin, Elena said, “I’ll stay in the palace. I haven’t had the chance to see this kind of place before.”

“You may leav-” before he could finish his sentence, he noticed that they were nowhere to be seen. Looking around he noticed the Electors’ gazes. Feeling a little embarrassed, he cleared his throat as he said to the servant beside him, “Send a servant after them who will lead them to a free room.” Bowing his head, the servant quickly left the throne room.

“Your Majesty, isn’t your decision a bit rash?” one of the Electors asked, with a tinge of worry in his voice.

“I understand your worry, Vadim, but if you think about it, I didn’t offer them anything other than three guest rooms. If they manage to kill even just a few key figures, they will do us a huge favor. If they lose their generals, there will be nobody to control that animalistic Empire and we can easily wipe out their forces.”

“Cutting off the head of the snake, haha. I understand,” Vadim replied.

“Yes. In case they stay alive and return, I won’t mind rewarding them and I’m sure that neither of you is against it. But to be honest, I’m afraid we can’t control these people, no matter how hard we tried. Their abilities seem to be overwhelming. Acton and Vince, could you fill us on in this matter? Also, why are you bloody?”

Nodding his head, Vince stepped forward. “I had the luck to communicate with them quite a lot. The power they showed us could be a devastating force against the Sliton Empire and I’m afraid our guns wouldn’t work against them. The good news is that they are quite easy to get along with and I believe that unless provoked, they wouldn’t attack our Kingdom.”

“I got covered in blood when she killed two Skydiving Hawks with a simple dagger and their blood splattered on us, though they cleaned themselves with their Magic! On a side note, I’d like to remark that this isn’t the full group. They can use Necromancy too, which seems to be a normal thing for them, and they have a black panther as their company.”

“He can speak… and he has numerous forms. In fact, he is intelligent and I’m afraid, he might be one of the most dangerous member of the group. The black haired girl, Elena, tends to listen to his words, so I’m not sure about the true leader of their group. That’s all I know. If your Majesty wishes, I’ll write a detailed explanation of the events.”

Nodding his head, Hector said with a smile, “That would be great. You may leave. I’ll reward you later for your services.” Bowing down, Vince turned around and left the throne room.

---

When the servant left the throne room, he saw Elena and co. standing right in front of the door. She wanted to leave before the King could finish his sentence, just to show that she was doing whatever she wanted. Realizing this, the servant shook his head and led them towards three neighboring guest rooms.

Elena entered her room and jumped on the huge bed. She bounced on the soft mattress before slumping into it. “Ah~ this is really great. I’ve never laid on a bed this good. I’ll definitely push this into my storage ring, one way or the other!” Hearing the door creaking, she looked up, only to see Audrey and Jake.

“We should go and check on Dred,” Elena said as she jumped up and walked past them.

“We were about to tell you that,” Jake said with a chuckle and followed her. Turning into their shadow forms, they left the city in a short time. After finding the clearing, they didn’t see even a single soul. Using her Sense, Elena found Dred’s presence.

There was a big rock in the forest. “Yo!” Elena said as she got on its other side, but her face turned white in the next moment…