"Here we go landed safe and sound!" Teras said as he placed Lola on the ground

"I appreciate that you took the risk of taking me outside the castle but was there a specific reason you did?" Lola asked as she adjusted her casual clothing

"Damn, the scar on my elbow looks sick!"

"DON'T IGNORE ME!"

Soon after Teras and Lola walked among the casual civilians and the adventurers who ventured into the Heart kingdom's capital

"I never realized how vast people dress and speak! It's like another world!" Lola said to Teras while walking through the local market

"That's the reason I don't like royalty and formal stuff like that, usually people of that caliber are so out of touch with the world around them, that's why I thought you deserve to see the people you will guide in the future and the way they live their life"

Teras was never accustomed to living among a crowd of people, little communities were always his thing so walking with Lola also helped him understand how a capital functions

People were buying random goods, kids were playing on the street, some were homeless, and others were acting mean toward others

There were a ton of different-mannered people in the capital which captivated Lola

"How about we relax in this little park! There are trees here so we could also refresh ourselves by eating an apple or an orange" Lola suggested to Teras

Apparently, she was tired of walking so much

Teras agreed and the two of them relaxed on a hill near a tree

Lola picked up an orange to eat and Teras a lemon

"Why are you eating a lemon like it's an apple?" Lola wondered

Teras was eating the lemon without peeling it first

"Why not? It tastes good!"

Teras never failed to amaze people with his preferences in food to the point when they wondered if his taste buds were working correctly

After silently eating Teras wondered about something

"Enyo told me you can only take one fruit but who limits you from taking two?" Teras asked Lola, she didn't have an answer so Teras tried to cut another lemon

But to his surprise sparks that damaged his hand appeared

'These sparks have the feeling like the door the king didn't let me open...' Teras thought as he pulled his hand back

Surprisingly another individual who was familiar with Teras arrived at the scene

Thankfully it was Maximum, a not-so-keen individual to say the least

"Wow! Why is this guy wearing so many clothes? Are you cold buddy?" Maximum asked Lola while being unaware of her identity

Lola pulled back after being stared at by Maximum, she logically wouldn't have been able to get herself out of this situation but thankfully Teras was there with her

"My friend Lo...lo is coming from the Diamond kingdom and is very uh... Allergic to sun so that's why he is wearing so much!" Teras barely managed to not give out Lola but what he said was illogical

'He will realize it is a lie' Both Teras and Lola thought at the same time

After some seconds Maximus took Lola's hand and shook it

"Nice to meet you Lolo! I'm Maximus!"

Lola simply nodded awkwardly

"Teras are you okay dude? You almost died back there! The Jack of Hearts wasn't a fake as you said"

"You are right! He was much more fake!" Teras said with a serious expression before taking a bite of his lemon

"Why do you think that? I'm starting to believe you are just saying all that to impress us but you did technically win..."

"Nah I won fair and square! How couldn't I when I faced an enemy like that?"

Lola and Maximus were very confused about why Teras was saying that after making it out of this fight with a destroyed arm and more injuries than Balor

"Teras I'm totally lost here but I don't plan on arguing with you! You did something nobody could have done yesterday! It sounds like a blatant lie when you tell me you are silver-ranked..." Maximus said as he lay on the ground with an apple in his hand

Teras didn't reply, he simply lied near Maximus

"Can I ask you something Maximus?" Teras said while staring at the sky through the leaves of the tree above his head

"Sure..." Maximus said after swallowing a piece of apple he was chewing

"Why do you want to become Jack?"

"Why? I haven't really thought about it myself but I guess that's the only thing I have left in my life... My village was destroyed by what is now confirmed to be the Joker and all my family was slaughtered beside me, I promised myself and my parents that I would become strong enough to prevent those close to me from getting hurt like this again, and well... Since I have nobody that is close to me I plan on acquiring this somebody through this process! And defending the future of our kingdom and possibly of the world is a duty I feel I can manage, considering how petty I am I never thought I would consider myself a type of guardian like this, maybe after putting my goal into words is making me realize how much greater of a goal I chose to chase even though I'm so small..."

Upon hearing this answer Teras was shocked

"I have two questions! Please answer me swiftly! First, was your village named Yuta? And second, what stops you from simply joining an adventurer party?"

Maximus replied as swiftly as Teras asked those questions

Stolen novel; please report.

"No my village was named Ninoro and I don't want to join a party of adventurers because I will hold them back, I rather get years training toward becoming a Jack than gamble my life because adventuring is essentially gambling your life for experience"

"Gambling huh? I guess it truly is! Anyway, that's too much serious talk now let's talk about the princess! Lolo and I did all the morning! So what do you like so much about the princess that you would dedicate your life protecting her?" Teras asked as he quickly got up in a sitting position

Maximus got up as fast, his eyes were shinning

"Didn't you see her dude? She is gorgeous and her body is amazing considering she is our age! Imagine the potential she has! Then another thing she has is her family! I could become buddies with the king if I become Jack plus I could get to meet many more cool people while working under her! It's truly an amazing job!"

Lola was embarrassed about his first comments and mad at the fact Teras brought up the topic but she had to stay cool so in order to not get mad she signaled Teras that she would walk a bit away from them

"Well even though I participate I don't really have a deep reason like you or a passion like yours! After all, I'm already teaching her mana which annoys me! But I would be lying if I said it was a bad deal, this is simply not for me" Teras told Maximus with a smile on his face

"And what do you plan to do after this? I assume you are an adventurer but it doesn't look like you have a party do you?" Maximus asked confused wondering why he just noticed that

"Well my party was killed by the Joker two years ago and I didn't have time to recreate the party, that's the reason I accepted this deal, to hopefully find someone worthy of joining the party! Up to this point, I have three people in mind but realistically only one is likely to join!" Teras said as he stood up thinking about his possibilities

"Which are those if I may ask?" Maximum asked as he stood up too

Lola in disguise started returning to them after she overheard the last part of the discussion

"Well, the easy one is you! Then the person that will most likely not join is Icarus and to be honest I really liked his aura and energy so it's a shame! And last but not least..." Teras simply turned around and pointed at Lola

"Lolo would be a nice addition to the party but he is kind of an irregular here" Teras said as he smiled at Lola

Lola's eyes sparkled as she thought of the possibility of traveling outside her kingdom

"I see so I'm included too huh?"

"Well, not anymore! You said you have one goal so I ain't trying to force you! Plus your dream is nothing alike my goal! Yours is far more simple"

"How so?" Maximus wondered

"Because I plan to become a savior and save the whole world while you are trying to save yourself from the world!" Teras's voice seemed harsher and more judge-like when he said that to Maximus

"Anyway Lolo's time outside... in the sun I mean is probably coming to a close so goodbye for now Maximus! Thank you for sharing your views with us!" Teras said in a goofy way as he picked Lola and ran off

Maximus simply stared speechless at Teras leaving after he heard what he had to say

"Why did you say that to the poor guy? Even I could tell he is much weaker than you so why would you say that his dream is simple?"

"Because it honestly is! I swore to myself that I wouldn't lie without a reason in my life ever again so why would I tell that his unselfish dream of his is something worth his passion? I mean would you be okay if somebody protected you just because he is afraid of chasing after what he wants in his life? I certainly wouldn't want to protect a woman who is too scared to express herself with the fear of being thrown away! Do you understand me?" Teras asked Lola

He then stopped in an isolated place so they could talk in private, Lola took all the excessive clothes she was wearing because she was beginning to get hot

"I'm honestly confused. What's wrong with wanting to choose and protect the people you want?"

"Everything! A dream is supposed to be something selfish! Something that will bring firstly you then the people around you good! What Maximus has is loyalty to none, protecting a selected group of people is like being a slave or a guard dog!"

"And protecting everyone like you said is better?"

"No it's not any less pathetic than his goal but I don't call it my dream, do I? I don't even know my dream! The savior I want to become is more like a duty or a promise made to the world I won't do it because I want to! I will do this because it's the obvious thing to do"

…

"Don't cry, smile! Smile and guide everyone like a sheepherder to the right path and also create the right path for the generations to come so they can follow too, make sure to guide all the lost souls crossing your path and if one strays away from you, make sure to chase after them and bring them back to the herd. You are the only one I can trust to do this..."

…

"Are you crying?" Lola asked as she saw a tear fall down Teras's face

Suddenly Teras dashed toward Lola and pushed her away, Lola was first scared and then annoyed at this but what she was about to see cleansed her anger

It was Maximus, it seemed like he was running after the two of them

"Tell me Teras what is that I'm missing? Because the way you spoke back there made me think like you have something I lack, what is it?" Maximus wasn't the smiling guy he always was

At that moment Maximus aimed his sword at Teras while demanding an answer

"What you lack is D E T E R M I N A T I O N, and confidence in your choice, maybe a little selfishness too" Teras casually replied

"I never achieved anything by being selfish Teras, you and I are not similar one bit, I don't know what kind of hell you went through your life to become the way you are and you don't know my hell so how can you stand in front of me and tell me I lack determination or my dream is simple? NO, THE HELL IS NOT! IF IT WAS THIS EASY ALL ALONG I WOULDN'T HAVE TO SACRIFICE EVERYTHING I OWN TO GET HERE!"

At that moment the boy named Maximus snapped

"That's the difference between me and you, you gave up everything you had and walked into a hard time alone expecting to achieve your dreams, the things I loved were taken from me, my memories, my party, my confidence. Everything was stripped off me by someone else but you know what I did? I took a step forward no matter what was in my way, but you are taking the wrong steps and you are about to stumble"

Teras's calm response made the furious Maximus even more furious

"What the hell do you know about me?"

"The same you know about me! So that's why I judged you from what I can see, and what I see is a lost boy gambling his life trying to become a Jack, and by gambling, I mean putting all your money on red when the red horse has only two back legs"

That was the last thing Maximus tolerated...

Maximus had dashed toward Teras and swung his sword at him

"BOTH OF YOU STOP!" Lola screamed as she revealed herself

"Princess L-Lola?" Maximus wondered as he stopped his attack midway

"Hey, my brat! What are you doing here?" Teras replied casually

"No stop this Teras, I heard your dream back then and I believe you can achieve many things if you try hard enough so don't listen to Teras, just because he is strong he thinks he can treat people any way he wants" Lola said as she got between the guys

"S-So you mean you were Lolo?" Maximus asked confused

He was inverted back to his goofy self

"I'm just being realistic here" Teras tried to explain himself

"No, you aren't! What makes your goal in life more novel than his? You said his dream was pathetic but I think yours is twice as that no thrice! And you are as unrealistic as you can get! So take back everything you said to him before I tell my father to ban you from the castle" Lola said as tears ran down her face

"It's my opinion! Just call me wrong if you don't agree and move on"

"Answer me this Teras, my dream is to live a normal and peaceful life away from royalty and castles! Will you say this is a pathetic dream too? Is dreaming of freedom pathetic to you?"

Maximus was shocked by what he was witnessing and Teras had no answer for Lola's question

"Can I be honest Lola?" Teras replied after some seconds of staring at them

Before she could answer Teras began to speak

"I believe that people with unreachable dreams are beautiful in their own way, even though I call his dream or your dream pathetic it doesn't mean it's not a good dream, it's just shows me how much you can grow and how true to your dream you are, you know what, a person I really love did to me? Humiliated me and my goals and the results of his actions are right here..." Teras said as he spread his arms

"Someone can always take everything from you at any time but you know what they can not take?" Teras asked as he walked toward them grabbing their hand and putting them on their chests

"Your dreams! A person's dreams are who he is" Teras said with a smile "So if I was able to take your drive you away from your dream was it really your dream?" Teras then spoke again in a much more kind and friendly way

"But this thing about D E T E R M I N A T I O N... I didn't quite like it..." Maximus told Teras

"Of course you didn't like it, who would? But you must prove me wrong and prove the part of you that believes what I say wrong by doing everything in your power from now on to achieve your dream!" Teras replied

And just like that, a spark that reignited two souls appeared, and the battle for the role of "Jack" became a ticking bomb waiting to unravel the spirit of every individual attending the event

That's right, a tournament where dreams are challenged not people