I decided to postpone my meeting with the king and queen in favor of relaxing in the streets of Rong, the capital city of the Metron Kingdom.

It had only been a month since my last visit, which, at the time, ended in me spending my first night with Lucina together in an Aishi love hotel.

“Did you want to experience that again, Master? Shall I send a message to the Princess for you?” X asked. I shook my head, causing the street vendor I was buying a kebab-like food from to give me a leery-eyed look.

No. That won’t be necessary. I just wanted some time to myself tonight. Nothing more, nothing less.

“I see. Shall I enable sleep mode on our connection while you are in the city?” I took a large bite out of the food in my hands, and started to walk down the street.

Absolutely not. I don’t want to be ambushed and attacked by someone because you can’t tell me that someone is there. Besides, you’re practically a part of me already. I can’t even imagine a day where I don’t hear your voice inside my head.

“Thank you, Master. Your words are the reason I keep on continuing to execute my program. I would not take another user, even if I could.”

I smiled at the compliment, and looked up at the night sky of the marketplace. I had left Lilian to unpack his own bag, and get himself situated with Lucina’s help.

Reya had been adamant about coming with me, but for her own sake, as well as my mental sanity, I decided to decline. She had an odd mixture of disappointment and relief upon hearing that I was going out by myself, but had obediently gone to bed.

Now that I was out, I was walking wherever my legs took me, not so much thinking of the direction, but more spending time just taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the bustling city.

A hand caught me from behind, and I sent a spinning back fist that way, which was caught by another hand. I turned to find myself looking Raiden Metron in the eyes.

“Is that how you always greet people, Paladin Cole?” Raiden shot me a big smile. At the mention of my name, several people turn our way, and begin to crowd around us.

“Heel!” I call out, and X executes the command perfectly, freezing the people in a ten meter range around us in place. Of course, that includes the prince as well.

I started to walk away from the affected area, but Raiden called out to me. “Paladin Cole, I didn’t mean to startle or offend you! I merely wanted to talk about the war games, and get to know each other a bit better!”

I continued to walk, until X spoke to me. “I believe this to be a mistake, Master. You should build a relationship with the Prince. He will prove to be a reliable ally in the future, especially if you establish yourself as a reliable and independent person.”

I stopped walking, sighed, and turned back around. I can’t believe I’m taking more political advice from an A.I. who hasn’t the first clue about interpersonal reactions.

“You may be adept at the opposite sex, and I may not know much, but that is still much more than you can claim to know about male friendships, Master.”

I undid the paralysis on Prince Raiden, and he dropped to the ground. I thought for a moment before offering the prince my hand to take. Point taken.

---

“Oh man, that was my first time experiencing something like that. That was wild!” Raiden downed a Nihon Super Dry beer in one go, and wiped his mouth with his cape before letting out a loud belch.

Was this really worth the hassle, X? I watched Prince Raiden in disgust as he stuffed his mouth with fried meat and returned to consuming alcohol at an alarming rate.

“Recalculating… the possibility that you could have left him on the street exists. There was a 40% chance that it would have ended fine.”

I looked over at the Prince and noticed the big smile on his face. “Does being here make you happy?”

He looked surprised that I had said anything to him at all, but regained his former cheer. “Of course! I come here often with my platoon leaders. We get drinks after daily training, and even take up requests sometimes.”

He must have seen the confusion in my eyes, because he pointed to a large holoscreen that took up residence above the bar. “This is a little known secret, but jobs of the… unsavory variety often get posted here. Occasionally my team and I get our hands dirty to protect the country.”

“So… underground job listings?” I studied Raiden once more, and the friendly look to him was gone, only to be replaced by the hard gaze of a military veteran.

“That’s right. This bar plays a very important role in keeping our country safe, which is why I wanted to invite you here.”

I can’t figure this man out. He punished those that tried to detain me, and even showed me this place. At the same time, he’s at odds with Lucina, and tried to assault me after my match with Gazix. What does he want?

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

I sighed as Raiden clapped me on the back. “Come now, drink up! Let’s celebrate a toast to our friendship!”

“Maybe to our… becoming acquaintances.” Raiden frowned and, red-faced, and practically slammed a can of beer into my chest.

“Fine, to our friendquaintanceship then!”

“Raiden, that’s not a word.”

“Shut up and drink!”

I sighed again, cracking open the can of beer. I was surprised at how easily it went down, but stopped to stare at Raiden as he flirted with the barmaid.

The two seemed to know each other, as this was a bar that Raiden claimed he frequented often with his soldiers. She was a red-headed woman, whose curly hair was tied tightly in a high ponytail. Her bangs reached down to her eyebrows, and she had a lip ring on her bottom, cherry-colored lip.

Her nose was black colored, in relation to her otherwise pale skin, and she had a mechanical arm from the elbow down where her natural left should be.

But of course, the two most standout things about the woman were the pair of cat ears on her head, and the three, swaying tails behind her.

Huh. I guess you see something new everyday. Is she… “Yes, Master. She is a fallen from another planet. She is a Felis from the planet named Rictor, and the only one of her species on Ethia.”

Is she a Neuromancer? “No, her official record says that she has no affiliated power, and therefore accepted the King’s gift to start her own business, as an option similar to what you were offered in the beginning of your stay in Ethia.”

You make it sound like I checked into a hotel. How many kinds of Fallen are there, anyway? "More than we know." X responded. "The problem is that it happens semi-regularly, so not all of those who Fall are registered.

I sighed and leaned back against my chair, taking in the scenery of the bar. It was quite the large establishment, with very soft looking cushions on every chair, and a smattering of teal blues and maroon on the tables, walls, and even the ceiling.

“What a weird paint job.” I muttered and took another sip of beer. I turned back to where Raiden was, and nearly jumped out of my seat when I came face to face with the Felis bartender.

“How dare you. Those are the proud colors of the matron and patron gods on my homeworld.” She headbutted me softly, baring her fangs. Her voice was lower than what I had expected, and kind of rough. She was wearing a cloak that obscured her figure, and had some sort of a pistol attached to her hip.

God damn politics. Calm down and play it cool. You’re a representative of the government now, Joshua. I shivered at the very thought. I couldn’t wait for the day when I finally defected from this godforsaken continent. Alas, that was still a while away.

The woman was still looking at me, and getting increasingly upset for every second I didn’t answer her. “Apologies. I didn’t mean to offend Felis culture, it’s just a very unusual color combination for this world. I’m sure you’ve noticed how bleak and dreary the predominant colors are in this world.”

The Felis woman blinked twice and smiled at me, taking my hands into hers. “You know of my people! Oh, we have to sit down and talk more!”

Her eyes were inviting, and three tails were swaying back and forth hypnotically, but I ripped my hands out from hers and stood up. “That’s alright. I’m on a bit of a tight schedule. My… my friend and I-”

The words caught in my throat as I looked at Raiden’s state, and how absolutely hammered he was. He was swaying back and forth on his chair, and almost fell over several times.

“Oh, are you talking about Rai here?” She poked Raiden’s forehead, and he reached for her hand, giggling like a child.

“Rai comes and does this all the time. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s spent the night because he’s too incapacitated to leave.”

I just stared at the manchild in disbelief. “How the hell does he even get drunk? Shouldn’t the nanites in his body be taking care of that?”

The Felis woman laughed heartily, rubbing Raiden’s hair with her mechanical hand. “Before he drinks, he puts their detoxification function into sleep mode, so he can actually feel the effects of the drink.”

“Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but isn’t that extremely stupid?” She looked at me with a smile chock-full of sharp teeth.

“Of course it is, but Rai trusts me. He was the first friend I made after coming to this world, and he helped me get on my feet. Plus…” her face turned red as she looked down at his goofy grin.

Of course he fucked her. That explains why he comes here so often. So much for ‘protecting the kingdom.’ “Regardless, we really should get going. We have people waiting for us at the Palace.”

She gave me a frown, and said, “You’re free to go, but please leave Rai here. I can put him into his usual bed.”

I gave her a look of disbelief, but she avoided my gaze while fidgeting in place. “You know what, sure. The man even claimed that he comes here often. I’ll send someone to pick him up tomorrow morning.”

The Felis beamed at me. “Alright… but please have Rai bring you back in a few days, when the shop is closed. I’d love to just sit down with the two of you and talk for a while.”

“Sure, whatever.” I tried to pay for both my bill and Raiden’s but the woman stopped me.

“I’ll just put it on his tab. The name’s Leray. It’s been a pleasure to meet you.” I shook her hand and muttered something that would have passed for, ‘likewise,’ and took off into the brisk night.

I started walking back toward the castle, enjoying the breeze and almost empty streets, when X’s voice resounded in my head. “Master, you are being locked on to.”

I casually ducked into another bar. Where am I being aimed at from? I didn’t dare move erratically, and instead moved to the counter area, where I ordered a drink.

“The rooftop immediately across the way from this store, Master. Should I stun them remotely?” I thought about it for a moment, and finished the beer in my hands before paying for it.

Go for it. Do it as soon as I place my hand on the door. “As you wish, Master.”

I stepped forward towards the bar’s exit, and pulled open the door immediately, running outside. I jumped onto a construction girder, and used that as a platform to reach a low roof. From there, I jumped onto the roof my apparent pursuer was on.

A large, cloaked man dominated my vision. He was just shrugging off the paralysis, and had a floating, dark-skinned man next to him. A Judgment user!

They turned around and hopped onto another roof, leaving me standing by myself. X appearing next to me restored me from my shock, and her next words sprung me into action: “Chase them, Master!”