"By the way... it's very nice of you, to demote me to, quote, personal security and a mage", Cale spoke up wryly. "Constantly watching over Aletta and Will was already enough for me; overseeing the future king of Sylve is beyond my abilities."

"Like we were that much of a problem for you!", Aletta complained in a huff, but the rest were aware that Cale was not serious about the statement.

After Cale had offered to become Crown Prince Edward of Sylve's official escort for a day, Edward had sent one of his soldiers back to his father, who had asked the king for permission. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Edward and his three other companions had been waiting in Cale's apartment. Philippa clearly found all the excitement too much. Of all those present, she was the calmest, yet she was completely overwhelmed to have so many high-ranking people standing in her immediate vicinity.

When the soldier reappeared after a few minutes and announced that Crown Prince Edward would be allowed out, it was the first time William had seen his brother with so many friends on his face. The soldier had then gathered his colleagues and left, while Cale used his communication crystal to inform the 1st seat of the Council of his temporary assignment. First, Grischa had given him a real telling off, unaware of how many people were listening to him at the moment. Cale had to listen for 10 minutes about what his responsibility was and whether he was aware of what would happen to him in the worst case - the sermon went on forever. Finally, the complaint ended in Grischa saying he was old enough now and should be aware of the danger before sullenly ending the discussion.

Crown Prince Edward had then apologized to Cale several times, but Cale didn't really listen to him and merely led him through his office to the second floor dressing room. He didn't really care what Grischa said to him. He had been protecting people for half his life, so he was quite confident that he could take care of Edward. Only the thought of what could happen to the relationship between Altona and Sylve in the worst case still made him a little nervous.

"What do you say? Is that all right?", the young heir to the throne hesitantly spoke up after he had shed his royal garb and slipped into Cale's robe. He stepped out from behind the privacy screen and presented himself abashedly while all eyes were on him.

"Looks good! You wouldn't think you were the crown prince of Sylve, except for your perfect face and perfect styled hair. I'm sure William can give you some advice there on how to look inconspicuous."

"Hey!", the black-haired man, who had been leaning against the door frame, gave sullenly. William sighed a moment later as he looked into Cale's grinning face and walked toward his brother. He hesitantly undid the top button of his tightly buttoned shirt, looked Edward in the eye briefly, and then asked if he could run his hand through his hair. Edward allowed him, whereupon his younger brother loosened his hairstyle. After a few minutes, he finally took his distance again and turned to face Cale. "Better, isn't it?"

"Yeah, a lot. You guys really do look confusingly alike."

"Do we? Never noticed that before", William replied, glancing briefly at his brother before studying his own clothes. In fact, they were wearing the same style and their eyes and hair were naturally the same. Edward was merely a little older and taller, if one paid closer attention.

Edward, on the other hand, was completely silent as he watched William look at him in wonder. To him, it was always the case that Marion and William looked extremely similar, but him? That was a thought that hadn't occurred to him like that before.

"You would think so with brothers", Cale merely interjected, standing up and reaching for a thick, dark, hooded coat that bore no decorations. He handed the coat to Edward, who put it on without further question and looked at Cale. Silently, Cale adjusted the coat a bit and loosened the hood before looking at the crown prince with serious eyes. "Don't worry about it. As long as you stay close to me, nothing will happen to you. It's not the first time I've been an escort, and with my magic, no one will get too close to you. I promise."

Unintentionally, Cale had chosen a distancing tone while warning Edward, who nodded in agreement. Then the three of them stepped out of the dressing room and went into Cale's bedroom, where the others were waiting. William also threw a cloak to Aletta, who at first seemed a bit surprised, but when William put on his hood, she immediately understood. Of them all, Aletta was the one most likely to stand out. Her light blonde hair and blue eyes made her quite an eye-catcher anyway, especially in a town like Exarion. She, William and Edward had to be careful not to be recognized. By the fact that everyone had attended the banquet with their real names, the whole town probably knew they were here. Wordlessly, she led the group down the stairs, followed by Edward. As Philippa was about to follow them, Cale grabbed her arm. Surprised, she caught sight of Ben and Cale's serious eyes.

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

"Philippa, please keep an eye on Aletta today and if you find anything strange, tell me. Don't separate from me under any circumstances, that goes for you too, Ben. I will have an overview of all of you anyway, but even I can miss something. Please be really careful, just because we're in town doesn't mean we can't get into dangerous situations."

With a determined nod, they both acknowledge Cale's demands. He had indirectly told them that Philippa was responsible for Aletta, Ben for William, and Cale for Edward, even though Cale would protect everyone anyway. They were just supposed to watch out for little things and have his back in case something really happened. Just for safety's sake.

The group, led by Ben, followed the path outside down to the town. It was lunchtime and quite a bit of bustling life was on the streets. A hundred people were fighting their way through the crowds, voices, music and other sounds could be heard everywhere. They followed the path to the marketplace, where people were already selling their products since the morning hours. The four of them caught up pretty quickly and started looking at the goods with interest and discussing among themselves.

Only Edward remained a little quiet, as he was not used to being among so many people. Especially with people he hardly knew. Nervously, he pulled his hood lower before Cale appeared next to him.

"It's okay, you don't have to be afraid. People won't recognize you that fast. Just relax, enjoy your time with William, and let the rest be my worry."

"I'll try", he replied, and followed his brother, who bemusedly picked up a small musical instrument and demonstrated it for Edward. Something he seemed to have said, for Edward had to grin. They walked down the streets together and ended up in a beautifully decorated street with glowing stones, which Cale introduced as the Flower Walk. Originally, the residents here had placed hundreds of flowers and other plants everywhere every spring to attract customers to their street. The idea was so well received that they adopted the whole thing for each season, which is why Flower Walk had become naturalized.

The five strangers looked at the street with wonder, stopped for a quick snack at one of the stands, and then walked on with food in their hands. Edward's initial nervousness subsided more and more as time went on, so that he even began to examine individual towns himself and considered buying one or two souvenirs.

The group walked through the streets for a few hours, chatting happily, when suddenly all five, excluding Edward, stopped abruptly and stared in the same direction.

"What was that?", was Aletta's first comment before she turned to the others. Edward looked a little helpless, not understanding the sudden excitement of the four, and turned to Cale, who brought up the rear of the group.

"Very nice, didn't expect you all to notice", Cale interjected.

"How could you not notice that?", was William's irritated comment, who had turned around because of the statement. His hand had already moved to his sword, as if he was afraid someone would attack them. However, when he saw Cale's relaxed face, he calmed down again. "What that Sir Mirai?"

"I would have guessed so, yes", Cale replied. Silently, the four of them turned to the side and looked toward the Magistrat, from which they had sensed the massive mana source.

"The madness, how much mana does that man possess?", Ben respectfully chimed in as Cale nudged the group not to block the streets. Edward stayed close to Cale, his eyes literally asking him what was going on.

"I don't know for sure, but definitely over 60RM, may be more by now."

"Unbelievable. Does he do this kind of thing often?"

"No, actually, only when one of his students misbehaves. Then he loses all inhibitions and gets furious. So I can well imagine that something happened", Cale explained, reminiscing about his old school days. Ben and the others sank into admiration and fear of Yusuf at the same time as they walked down the streets. Since Cale was walking right next to Edward, he quietly explained to him what had just happened. "Yusuf Mirai, one of the Magistrat's mages, abruptly released a large amount of his mana. This release could be felt all the way down here."

"And you notice something like that?", the man admitted in wonder.

"If you are a little sensitive to mana, yes. That one just now wasn't particularly hard. The amount of mana released was quite large, so it's possible that the residents noticed something as well. It would be different with a smaller amount. Then, it can be really hard to notice the mana."

"Can you sense smaller amounts?"

"I do all the time. Within a certain radius around me, I don't miss anyone giving off even a little mana. But the true top performer is Sir Mirai himself. He can, if he concentrates, perceive the whole city."

"Is this mage the same Yusuf Mirai who had recently attended the meeting?"

"It is the same man, yes. A young mage with fair hair and staring gray eyes."

"I seem to remember him. He had told of the rumors from Persiven that evening. The ones regarding the creatures."

"The rumors have reached this far up?", spoke up Ben, who was walking a few steps ahead of Cale and had overheard the conversation.

"They have, yes", Cale confirmed.

"You had overheard that, too, Sir Freigoud?", the Crown Prince admitted in surprise, whereupon Ben turned to the rear and grinned broadly at him.

"Overheard? We were the group that started the rumor."

Surprised, Edward fell silent and looked up at Cale, who confirmed this statement with a nod. Now he understood how the Magistrat were able to easily spot the Anuxers and why she had simply believed the group's statement. One of the members had been the 12th High-Magician himself.

"Cale!", William spoke up shouting, causing Cale to look jerkily at his friend. For a moment, the mage thought something had happened, but the tall swordsman waved him off happily and pointed to a man in one of the many towns.

They had found the man with whom one could register for the arena.