*Evan POV*

The journey towards the Human Kingdom was uneventful, and we were almost there. It seemed like the cultists didn't want to attack us during our travel, which was strange considering this is their best timing.

This meant that there were no more spies in the Elven Kingdom, or that they needed more reinforcements before launching an attack. It was also possible that they were focused on a new objective altogether.

I decided to go scout the area ahead since I knew we were almost there. I climbed a tall tree and could see a huge army in the distance. Daisy, Ruby, Lucy, and Oswald were at the forefront of their army.

I turned and gave Elizabeth, who was galloping on her horse, a thumbs up to signal that we had finally reached our destination. I could tell she understood what I meant.

Without wasting any time, I used my grappling hook to launch myself forward towards Daisy who was waiting nervously.

I landed on my legs and heard a distinct crack again.

-22

Oh, come on! Not again!

“Hey Daisy, I heard your message from Lucy and thought maybe I should help.” Daisy and the rest of the group were taken completely by surprise when I suddenly appeared out of nowhere. As their mouths hung open in shock, I swiftly pointed behind me, signaling for the rest of the elven army to make their entrance.

Daisy's body visibly tensed up as she tried to process the sudden turn of events. The rest of the group was similarly nervous, save for Ruby, who looked like she had been in this type of situation countless times before.

The sound of galloping hooves grew louder as the elven army approached, stopping just a short distance away from our group. The tension in the air was real as everyone waited for the next move. Though I didn’t really care since I was just there as a security measure.

I have no idea what’s gonna happen next.

Elizabeth dismounted from her horse, accompanied by Sarah, a brown-haired elf woman whom I’d never seen before and the man from before. The four of them made their way towards us, or more specifically, towards Daisy.

I stood next to Oswald and whispered to him, trying to get some insight into the situation.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked in a hushed tone.

Oswald was slightly startled but managed to respond quietly. "It's the peace treaty in session. The Queens will interrogate each other, and if they come to an agreement, then step one is successful," he explained.

As he spoke, I couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation and excitement. This was a crucial moment, and the fate of our kingdoms rested on the outcome of these negotiations. I guess this is a historical moment for them.

“Queen Daisy, the third Daughter of King Gabriel and Queen Mari. Your kind had always made us suffer with charges, such as kidnapping, slavery and murder, for a few hundred years. Why should we trust you now?” Elizabeth was cold and harsh with her words and her attendees showed a similar stance.

It looked like Daisy didn't expect that and was out of words.

“They were pretty friendly before. What happened now?” I said in a quiet tone, almost as if I was talking to myself but Oswald quickly responded to me.

“It doesn't matter if they were friends before, the Queen's number one priority is the safeguard of their people. That and they should also prove to their Army's Captains that they're doing the right thing. Otherwise, the army won't stand up for nonsense and may even rebel.”

I can easily tell that the pressure of all that is not boding well for a kid like Daisy.

“Q-Queen Elizabeth, the s-seventh Queen of the Elves. I-I know that my kind had done a lot of bad deeds towards your kind. But not only was that a really long time ago but it was the actual doing of the Cultists. The Cultist's group does consists of humans but they're just demons In disguise and I will never accept them as our own people. And just like your people, they have even kidnapped and murdered our people too.”

This time, the man beside Elizabeth responded, “That might be true. But what does that have to do with us?”

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Daisy tried to convey her earnest desire to prove her people's innocence.

"I want to show you and your people that we're not the bad guys," she began. "A misunderstanding led to my people being blamed for atrocities they did not commit. I want to remove that stigma by demonstrating our innocence. All I ask for is a chance."

With her voice quivering and her hand trembling, Daisy closed her eyes and held out her hand in a gesture of sincerity.

Nice speech for a scared little kid.

Queen Elizabeth's face softened into a smile as she nodded and shook Daisy's hand, accepting her proposal and promising to give her a chance to prove her people's innocence.

Daisy opened her eyes in surprise, a wide smile spreading across her face as Elizabeth quickly said, "Alright, Queen Daisy, I will accept your proposal. We'll give you a chance and our trust. If you can show us that we were wrong."

Overwhelmed with joy, Daisy let out a triumphant yell of "Yes!" as the two queens sealed their agreement, setting the stage for a new era of cooperation and understanding between their kingdoms… Atleast that’s what I thought until Oswald started talking again.

“Now, step two will occur where all the captains will introduce themselves, and those not present with reason, to the other army.”

I yawned to show my disinterest, “just tell me when it will finish.”

“It will take one full day.” Said Lucy who was listening in on our conversation.

I almost screamed "Why!?" before managing to hold myself back.

As the peace treaty continued, Daisy and Elizabeth stood off to the side while the army captains stepped forward to introduce themselves. Four captains from the human side and three from the elven side came forward, each placing their right hand on their heart and their weapons on their left side, though only the humans had weapons.

Among the elven captains were the man who had stood by Elizabeth, Sarah, and another woman with straight brown hair and a striking resemblance to the man. It wouldn't be surprising if they were siblings, given their similar appearances.

The captains took turns introducing themselves, each announcing their name and their position. Trish introduced herself as the captain of the Queen's private army, followed by Conrad, the captain of the Balathien's army's archers. Baldric then introduced himself as the captain of the Balathien's army's knights, and finally, Nilus announced himself as the captain of the Balathien's army's mages.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

So apparently, the Human Kingdom had a name, and it was Balathien. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure. And let's be real, I'm not gonna remember any of these army captain's names, except for Trish. He's my man! No homo, of course.

Baldric stepped forward and announced the absence of two of the captains. "Captain Tilton, absent," he said, "On an important mission to find traitors. Captain Semil, absent, taking care of a similar mission." Then he stepped back and left the other captains and queens to process the information.

That’s a weird way to say they’re after the cultists.

Anyway, at this point I was so bored that I started dissociating on purpose, here’s a quick rundown on what happened next,

On the human side, only two captains were absent, and soon the introductions shifted to the elven side. The guy from Elizabeth side was Rudolph, and Sarah both introduced themselves as the captains of the Queen's private army and the Stillvine army's archers, respectively. I was surprised to learn that Sarah was a captain, and I also learned the name of the elven kingdom.

The unknown brown-haired girl then introduced herself, Cerene then stepped forward as the captain of the Stillvine army's assassins. Rudolph followed up with the announcement that Raerik, Torbeld, and like seven more captains were absent due to rebuilding the kingdom.

All of the captains nodded in agreement and shook hands with one another, prompting a loud round of applause from both armies' soldiers. Oswald and the rest of us joined in, clapping along with the rest of the crowd.

Daisy stepped forward, beaming with happiness. "Alright everyone, please follow our lead!" she exclaimed, as the soldiers fell into formation and began to march towards the kingdom. As we made our way through the alleyways, people peeked out of their windows to catch a glimpse of the procession that had blocked off the entire road.

I took the opportunity to ask Oswald why all of this would take an entire day. "Well, step 3 is happening now," he explained. "There will be a feast outside the castle, and all the soldiers will try to become friendly, make connections, and get to know each other until tomorrow morning."

Ohhh Grrrreeeaat.

… I wonder if I can ditch Everyone here?

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted when I noticed Lucy making her way through the crowds towards us, pushing her way through to get closer.

"Shishou! I'm sorry that I couldn't talk to you earlier. I had to follow some military customs." Lucy explained as she finally reached us.

Heh, you can’t fool me! I started humouring myself in my mind. You can’t convince me of following Military customs when you act like a flippen weeb and call me Shishou.

…Wait a flippen minute.

It was then that reality hit me like a flippen truck.

Shishou is a Japanese word. Which means mentor or teacher.

That previous hero dude said that he wrote a book on how to learn Japanese in 30 days or something.

WHY DID I FORGET THAT BOTH LUCY AND OSWALD CALLED ME SHISHOU AND NOT QUESTION WHY DID THEY KNEW JAPANESE!?!

Well as long as I remember now.

I barely hid my excitement and interrupted Lucy's talk.

I could barely contain my excitement and quickly interrupted Lucy mid-talk. "Lucy, where did you learn that?" I asked eagerly.

Lucy was taken aback by my sudden outburst but tried to answer my question. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

Realizing my mistake, I cleared my throat and tried again. "Sorry, I just wanted to know where you learned the word 'shishou'," I clarified.

Lucy thought for a moment before answering. "Oh, umm... I think the language was called japa-neese?" she said uncertainly. "My grandfather gave me a book that had that language written in it. He said it was a really old, respectable language used by some heroes of legends."

A LEAD!!! A HUGE ASS FUCKING LEAD!!!

Amidst the bustling crowd that seemed to ignore us, I grabbed Lucy's shoulders tightly to get her attention. "You have to make me meet your grandfather," I said urgently.

Lucy was taken aback by my sudden outburst, but she nodded nervously in response. "Okay," she said quietly.

Feeling relieved and excited, I let go of her shoulders and let out a loud "alright!" before turning to thank her. "Thanks," I said, beaming with excitement.

I then began to follow the crowd, trying to blend in as if nothing had happened. I could feel Lucy and Oswald's confused stares on my back, but I was too excited to care.

The expedition had turned out better than expected, and I had managed to gather some much-needed information.

Though I Still can't calm myself down.

Might as well ask Elizabeth, how she got the necklace and ask ruby how she got the book.

Oh yea, I’m finally starting to feel like Sherlock Holmes.

{Author Note: you see Sherlock, you're only running the world, I, however, am making it........ As long as he doesn't see me.}

Anyways, As we walked up to the Castle Courtyard, I couldn't help but be awed by the towering stone walls that surrounded us. The area was massive, easily able to hold a thousand people, and the almost 500 soldiers present felt minuscule in comparison.

Massive tables were spread throughout the courtyard, lined with an incredible variety of dishes that made my mouth water. Tons of maids scurried around, keeping track of the food and making sure that everything was running smoothly. They refilled dishes, cleared plates, and kept the feast flowing.

In the center of the courtyard stood a huge, unlit bonfire, waiting to be ignited. Daisy stepped forward, her voice booming through the courtyard. "Alright everyone! Let's have a feast!" she exclaimed.

The soldiers, both human and elf, cheered loudly and charged straight toward the food. Even Lucy and Oswald got caught up in the excitement and charged forward to join in.

… The maids are gonna have a hard time.

Even the flippen Captains are charging in to get food. Except for my man, Trish and that Rudolph guy who were staying with their Queens.

I might as well start my detective work now, and talk with Elizabeth.

But I don't want to look like some shady guy who's looking for answers. But, how can I be casual with her when her captain is staying near her?

Bah! who am I kidding? I'm a Smooth Criminal. I can handle these kinds of situations, no sweat!

As I made my way towards the Queens, I couldn't help but notice the aura of joy and relief emanating from their conversation. Trish and Rudolph were joined by Ruby and Tifa, adding to the group's lively chatter. As I approached, Elizabeth caught sight of me and greeted me with a smile.

"Hey everybody," I said, joining the conversation. "Looks like everything went well."

Elizabeth's expression softened as she spoke. "Ah, Evan. Everything has gone wonderfully well. I still can't believe that the deep-seated animosity between our peoples has slowly started to dissipate. It will take time, but we have taken the first step. I suppose I have Daisy to thank for that."

Daisy dubiously asked "Me?"

Elizabeth replied, "Your naivety and innocence gave birth to something that I thought was impossible to do."

Daisy quickly refuted, "No, no, I haven't done anything. I only had a wish, but it was Evan who helped us all."

Elizabeth agreed, "True. Thank you once again, Evan. For saving us."

As everyone listened quietly, I tried to deflect the attention, saying, "Nah, I only stated some of my opinions. You guys did the rest. Bravo for everyone who took part, and let's leave it at that, okay?"

I'm gonna try to stop this conversation here because I'm not that good with compliments.

The Queens chuckled, and the rest smiled

Okay, now, how can I start a conversation which ends with her telling me about the old hero's stories while also making sure that she doesn't get suspicious of me being a hero too.

Why do I want to keep my identity a secret, you may ask? CUZ IM BATMAN.

No, its because they would keep telling me to do stuff and only rely on me for everything, which I don't want to happen.

Now. How do I do this?

“Hey Elizabeth, I was wondering, how old you are?”

Mission Failed! We'll Get 'Em Next Time!

Rudolph looked at me angrily and I don't blame him I would've done the same thing.

Elizabeth promptly replied with " five thousand and fifty four," leaving me unsure if it was considered old for an Elf. Tifa appeared taken aback by the response.

I commented, "I'm surprised you answered so quickly," and Elizabeth chuckled.

“Well you didn't mean any harm by it did you?”

“Of course not.”

But still, five thousand and… Wait a second.

When I asked Elizabeth about the Neko Fox Race, her demeanor changed suddenly. She went from being warm and nurturing to worried and anxious, which surprised me.

“Evan, there are some things-” Rudolph was about to say something, but Elizabeth raised her hand to stop him

“It's alright, Rudolph.” She then took a deep breath. “Excuse me everyone, but I want to talk to Evan about some things privately.”

Ummm, I'm actually a bit scared now.

Her sudden change in behavior caused some commotion among the group but Elizabeth ignored them all and went ahead. I followed her to a corner where there was no one else besides us two.

Elizabeth asked me, "How did you know about the Neko Wolves and the Tiger Fox tribe?" Her tone was serious, which reminded me of the time she had tried to kill me.

… Flippen who? I only know of Neko Fox race not whatever you said.

I tried to clear up the confusion, "I'm talking about the Neko Fox Race. Not, uhh, whatever you said."

Elizabeth appeared puzzled as she tilted her head a bit and asked, "I do not know of that race.”

I started explaining, “Okay, I'll be clear then. I found two eggs half buried in the ground. And for some odd reason I decided to take them with me. Then a few days later those eggs hatched revealing two cute little girls with cat like ears and fox-like tails. After some further research I found out that they were cursed few thousands of years ago and the curse made them not hatch. I’ve also found out that their race went extinct thousands of years ago.”

Elizabeth fell silent for a moment, lost in thought. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she gasped in shock, grabbing my shoulders tightly. She seemed to forget her royal demeanor as she practically yelled in my face, "YOU FOUND THE EGGS!?”