“Contrary to its name, this is actually pretty good.” Lucina muttered through bites of the dirt chicken. We had all sat down for lunch after meeting back up, at a small local restaurant named, ‘Lasentenia.’

Needless to say, Lucina had visited the restroom to remove her gag, but left her armor on. Of course, seeing as how a group of heavily armored people had entered the restaurant, we had quickly become the only people in the restaurant.

“You’re right.” Reya muttered through a full mouth. “It’s really fantastic. We should try to lure over some chefs to the Kingdom. I wouldn’t mind having this weekly.”

I rolled my eyes at their conversation, and turned my attention to Akahime, who was happily eating on her piece of meat. To her left, Winter was desperately trying to cool her mouth off with a glass of cold water.

The chicken itself was a baked good, and their reactions weren’t over exaggerated. It was spicy, with a crispy texture and juicy meat insides. It got its name from the sheer amount of spices that were layered on top of it which, when cooked, came out to a charcoal black color, reminiscent of dirt.

‘There wasn’t much to gather about the relationship between the C.U.H. and the Secela family.’ Lucina sent as she bit into her meal. ‘We got some information from the man, although the woman was sharp and kept him in line most of the time.’

What did you manage to get then? I asked, finishing the last bites of my own food in the process.

‘Their relationship is not as structurally sound as we thought it would be. The older generation continues to bicker, while the younger ones stress out about the fallout. After all, what do the old politicians care if they ruin their country? They won’t be the ones alive for it in 100 years. They’re just trying to win for bragging rights.’

I could read the venom dripping off of Lucina’s written message, but continued on the conversation regardless. Even I could have told you that. I need details, Lucina.

A frowny face appeared in our chat log. ‘I was getting there. Apparently the deal between the two of them was about the amount of funding to send to the lower class people. The C.U.H. wants to open new schools, and start sending children for apprenticeships as an extracurricular activity. Whether or not they win or lose will determine the exact amount of money that the program will receive.’

I closed the chat and watched over the girls. How inane. Well, I guess no matter the world, politics will always be controversial. Not that I care who wins or loses in this case.

What are we doing? I sighed. I had finished eating already, but all of the women around me were only halfway through their smaller portions.

“Can you try eating faster?” I asked, earning me a round of glares from the table. Well, most of the table. Winter had an absolutely pathetic expression on her face, and inched her plate towards me.

“Fine.” I sighed, and took another serving of the delicious meal in her place. “I guess it’s surprising that you’re bad with spices. The rest of the Strafes seem to like spicy foods.”

She averted her gaze to look out at the marketplace beside us. “Bite me.” She whispered. My eyes widened as her image overlapped with Rachel, my college crush.

What am I doing? It’s been so long since I thought of Earth… since I thought about returning to my own world. I got up immediately, and walked out of the store, ignoring the calls of Lucina and Winter to stop.

Un appeared behind me, and placed one of his hands on my shoulder. “You should try to treat your women nicer. Just because you’re used to speaking with X, who can read your thoughts, doesn’t mean that other people will automatically get your line of thought.”

I ignored his logic in favor of walking back to our waiting aircraft. It’s got nothing to do with them, Un. It’s the fact that I’ve just been playing around in this world and doing nothing at all. Nothing!

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He seemed taken aback by my emotions, and quickly removed his hand, but continued to float behind me. “What do you mean? You went from living inside of prison, to someone with political power and influence equal to that of a King! What more could that be called than doing something?”

I didn’t respond, leading Un to follow up with, “Even more than that, you helped repair the relationship between two princesses, thwarted a crime syndicate, and liberated a group of oppressed people from imperial persecution. Do you still think that was meaningless?”

“Yes. Do I have any clue on how to get back to my world?” I said out loud. I didn’t even care that several children had overheard, and were slowly backing away from my outburst.

“No, you don’t.” Un started to float in front of me so I could see his frowning face. “I didn’t think that mattered to you anymore. At least, that’s what we were told by X.”

I don’t even have a concrete plan. Build my own country and have a harem? What kind of idiotic dream is that!?

“An attainable one.” Un said, stopping me in my tracks. “You have no idea where to start when it comes to researching, so why not make something attainable for yourself in the meantime?”

Un looked up into the sky, and then vanished from sight. “Vague goals make for vague results, Joshua. By building your foundations on top of smaller goals, even those that appear unattainable should be within reach. Never forget that.”

“I couldn’t help but notice that you’re alone.” A voice called out from behind me. I turned to see the fourth princess of the Primal Kingdom, Viina Secela standing in the alleyway.

“Am I supposed to believe that this is a coincidence? That you haven’t been keeping tabs on and following me since I left the palace?” I said, looking her up and down. She wasn’t wearing her red poncho, but was instead in a pair of white jeans and a black shirt. Her hair was let down, and cascaded in waves over her left shoulder.

“You have a different look in your eyes.” She said, giving my body a look over. “Want to talk about it?”

“No.” I replied. “In the first place, Fourth Princess Secela,” I said, driving home the name she told me to use, “the extent of our relationship is a political one. You decided that from the moment you decided to make a judgment of my character, after only one incident in which you weren’t present.”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. “I… made a mistake. I apologize.” I waited for her to elaborate, to recognize that what she did was immature, and exactly hat mistake she made, but no more speech came forth. That’s it?

I sneered at the woman. “Oh, how wonderful your life must be, princess. You must be used to people sweeping your transgressions under the rug because of who your family is. I don’t give a shit about your family. In fact, I couldn’t care less if you wish to make amends with me. What’s between us,” I said, walking closer, “is strictly business.”

She revealed a disappointed expression, which immediately hardened into something more neutral. “Very well, Paladin Cole. Would you like a ride back to the village near your lodgings? I do have business to discuss with you.”

I nodded. “Sure.” No sooner had the word come out of my mouth, then a slim, spherical pod floated down from the sky.

“Kid.” The driver nodded towards me, and I recognized him as the man who had taken us from the Primal Kingdom’s airport when we first arrived.

“Get in.” Viina said after she sat down in the seat behind our driver’s. I obliged, confident that I could get myself out of any potential danger that the princess put me in.

“So, Princess Secela, what is the matter of your business.” I crossed my legs and leaned back into the plush of the seatrest. I sighed and tilted my head back onto the seat.

I’m behaving like a dick. A childish, uncompromising dick. I let the heat of the moment get to me, and now I’m feeling the instant regret of it afterwards. “-you can see them.”

My gaze fell forward onto Viina, who was clearly waiting for a response. “See what?” She didn’t appear happy with my reaction, and snapped her fingers.

A man with pure red skin wearing a decorated loincloth, and a black mask over his face appeared to her left. His golden hair was cropped close to the skull, and the eyes to his skull-shaped mask shone a deep blue.

“You called, my Queen?” The man rumbled, his baritone voice feeling as though it made my intestines vibrate.

My mind instantly began to formulate a plan to have Un crush and absorb the Judgment, but his voice was sent to me privately. “I would refrain for now, Master. If we cause an incident here, it could be seen as an international problem. However, absorbing this one will be much easier during the War Game.”

Viina was smirking, but that expression quickly vanished as she noticed that I would give no reaction to the massive A.I.

“Like I asked before, Princess Secela,” I said, uncrossing and then recrossing my legs in the other direction, “what is the matter of your business?”