A man stood in front of a mirror within a room in Lauhr City’s City Hall. His dark skin and black hair were cared for and his clothes were luxurious yet practical, enabling him to possess the elegance of royalty while still able to fight comfortably and secure.

He had enchanted rings on both hands, 3 on the right, 2 on the left; he wore enchanted chainmail under the golden and white robes of silk that covered his torso and arms. He wore white pants and polished leather boots.

His entire attire was a mixture of enchanted artifacts and clothes made from monster materials. A perfect balance between a warrior’s combat armor and a noble’s opulent clothing.

Amir Aal Majid, second son of the King of Sahbadia. He was both a warrior and a prince, and he served his country and family with fierce loyalty on both accounts.

He had come here to Lauhr City, a strategic point bordering with the Desert of Death with a personal mission, but it was also something that would help his Kingdom and its people.

Yet nothing had gone as he had expected.

So far, he had been ambushed on the road, although by a very weak group compared to his own, but attacked nevertheless. Then a spy had infiltrated the city he was heading to, disabled its defenses and started a monster horde while also sending an elite group of 300 people to invade.

It had been a nasty surprise after another. It was a miracle that they had managed to survive so far, there were many moments in the battle with the Feld-Ehian soldiers when he thought he would be killed, only to barely dodge the attacks that would claim his life. He saw similar situations happening around his escorts too, the enemy spells would get delayed or even backfire a bit, the arrows would take a slight turn that made them miss their targets or the soldiers would slip when they were about to deliver a killing blow to his people.

He couldn’t pay attention to it during the fight, and even now he thought it was ridiculous, but the more he recalled the fight and even checked with his subordinates, this idea gained more strength. Nevertheless, he hadn’t told anyone about it, it was meaningless anyway, a series of fortunate events during a battle was welcomed, but it wasn’t something that one could possibly rely on.

There was also the matter about that foreign kid, Ethan Bhreg. He had appeared in the hour of need and helped the city by driving off the beast horde. The senior hunters of the city now held him in high regard, and despite it being a suspicious coincidence, Amir couldn’t just arrest him when he had helped them and saved their lives.

The kid didn’t seem to be a spy, but what spy did? It was still early to jump to any conclusions, and he decided to postpone the matter for now.

There were more pressing matters right now.

The enemies knew his identity and knew the route he was taking; they knew his destination too. The real important question was whether they knew what his real goal was.

Interrogation of that Commander will clarify some of his doubts.

All this made him a bit restless, but the possibility of a spy was an issue he had to deal with since he was a child.

Life for royalty might seem all pomp, luxury, authority and wealth from the outside, but there was far more to it than that.

People tended to forget that nobles were constantly fighting each other, and not just in the fields with troops.

In this world full of constant conflict that they lived, battles and bloodshed were common scenery. The threats came from every direction and in every possible form. Wars between countries over petty reasons were not unheard of, even the clans and noble families from one country would fight against families of another nation without neither side having the backing of their countries.

The Kings constantly made plans and actively looked for opportunities to seize land and resources from their neighbors, all the while covering their backs so they wouldn’t be betrayed and killed by their own side.

Battles against monster hordes and powerful beasts were also something that could be seen any day. The land of this continent was constantly drinking the blood shed by its inhabitants.

However, for all the blood and gore that could be seen in war, Amir preferred it a hundred times over the constant backstabbing, manipulation and venomous tongues of the nobility.

The court was a battlefield on a different level, each banquet was a stratagem, each word spoken out loud and each word unspoken were part of a scheme.

The clothes they used when attending a ballroom, the type of food served during meetings, who owed you favors and to whom you owed favors were all weapons, shields, walls, and artillery used at every presented chance.

Even if on the surface they were allies as members of the same kingdom, politics was never a simple subject to handle. They were on each other throats all the time, and they did it with hypocritical smiles.

Amir hated it, but he understood it well, and knew the necessity of it, to a certain extent.

Now his trip to this region was compromised, and he might face further obstacles, but it didn’t matter, he would push through it all and succeed.

Amir grabbed his saber and walked out of the room, his guards were waiting for him right outside.

“Then?”

Amir turned his head and spoke to one of the mages, Anwe.

“The kid stayed in his room all the time, Your Highness, Elder Kareb has gone to look for him and will bring him to the plaza for the banquet.”

He answered with a clear voice, they had already checked the area so it was safe to speak.

Amir frowned.

“He didn’t contact anyone?”

“No, Your Highness. Nobody entered his room and we checked for magical signals but there was nothing abnormal. It seems he went to sleep right after locking the door.”

“I see. Did you find more details about his background?”

“Nothing new, he only arrived yesterday to the city, coming out from the Desert of Death. He brought some bodies of beasts he had killed, sold them at the Hunters’ Guild and then went into the Inn. He ate there and then went to his room to sleep.”

“Curious. I think I’ll have to ask him myself if I want more information. Good job.”

Amir mused then nodded to all of them.

“We live to serve.”

They answered at the same time with a small bow.

Amir and his escorts walked through the corridors of the City Hall.

The banquet was ready and there would be good food, liquor, and entertainment. At least he would get to relax for a bit, being so far away from those damned nobles.

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There were torches already burning in the main plaza of Lauhr City by the time Ethan and Kareb arrived there.

Tables of polished wood and chairs had been arranged around the plaza, many of the long tables were already filled with food. There were decorations all around the place, even a wooden structure had been built in an area of pure white sand surrounded by a circle of stones, it looked like huge bonfire would be starting any time soon.

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“Did you arrange this? It seems a bit excessive.”

Ethan asked Kareb while looking at the scenery in front of him.

He had imagined Kareb would take him to a restaurant or something, but they were in the center of the city, in a wide plaza next to the City Hall.

“Me? Nah, this was arranged by the prince. I was going to offer you a lot of food and drinks in the banquet hall of the City Hall, but the prince insisted on making this fancier when he found out.”

Kareb answered with an apologetic look.

“But well, this way more people will get to relax after the battle, so I think it might be better like this. I’ll get you a more modest meal another time.”

“I told you already, you don’t need to do that.”

Ethan replied shaking his head lightly.

He didn’t really care about any of this, although he was curious about the food and culture here, he wasn’t in any mood for a banquet with the prince and his retinue.

“Don’t be like that, It’s tradition to offer a feast for someone who makes a remarkable deed for the city or who makes a big favor, you did both by getting the beasts away from us.”

“Alright, but stop feeling like you owe me this, I didn’t help you for a reward.”

“I know, but that just makes it more worthwhile to give you one. Ah, before I forget, here.”

Kareb threw a small bag to Ethan, it was filled with coins.

“That’s for the Voracious Vulture you killed and brought to the city.”

“That? Seriously you didn’t have to.”

“What’s fair is fair, and that beast was killed and brought to the city by you, so obviously the Hunters’ Guild bought it and gave you the fair price for it. Stop being so stubborn, lad. Now let’s eat.”

Kareb had a big grin on his face and Ethan resigned himself to participate in this fancy open-air feast.

“You’ll enjoy it, I assure you, there will be great entertainment, we can relax a bit since the walls are already active again. There are great dancers in here, I bet you haven’t seen something like this before.”

Kareb patted Ethan on the back while they walked through the plaza.

Ethan only made a light snort. Well, Kareb was right about Ethan having never seen a Sahbadian dance show, but he could bet the movies and concerts of his world would blow everyone’s mind here.

To be fair, it had been a common occurrence in the last few days for him to have his fair share of surprises and astonishment.

It was a new world for him, after all.

“Are you sure you don’t want any alcohol?”

Kareb answered as they sit on what seemed to be the most important table, it was covered by a beautiful tablecloth, the chairs here were of a notably higher quality than in other tables, there were many plates full of foods that Ethan had no idea what they were called or even what they were made of, and also a lot of elegant bottles full of alcohol.

One of such bottles was already on Kareb’s hand and he served a cup of wine for himself, then threw an inquisitive look at Ethan, expecting his answer.

“I told you, I’m only 14 years old, I know I’m tall for my age, but it’s the truth.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt you. Anyone who takes a look at your face can see you haven’t lived long.”

Kareb assented but continued with a tone a bit more thoughtful.

“Though you give me the impression that you have lived quite some things, despite your short life.”

Ethan’s heart skipped a beat, and for a moment he recalled the images from his home. He pushed the thoughts back and shook his head.

“Just… some stuff.”

“Everyone carries their own burdens of the past, lad. Just don’t let them overwhelm you… sorry if I touched a sensible topic.”

He added after a pause, still looking at Ethan’s face, he spoke a bit softer and sounded sincere.

Ethan shook his head again.

“Don’t worry about it.”

He looked at the food on the table and changed the topic.

“What are these dishes? I have never eaten them before.”

“Oh? This is quite good food, I assure you. Some of these are very famous, you know?”

“Really? Well, I didn’t have anything like this back home, so it’s all new to me. What’s this?”

Ethan pointed at a bowl filled with what looked like some kind of rice with spices and meat, but he was completely sure neither of the ingredients could be found on his world.

The rice was red and green, yet it didn’t look gross but nicely prepared as if it was colored during the cooking process, the meat was ground and roasted in a spiral shape, it had a nice smell that made Ethan overcome the initial aversion to the strange orange color of the meat.

“This is called Fire Drill Rice, it’s one of the local specialties, want to try it?”

“Yes, please.”

Kareb signaled to one of the attendants standing away from the table to come forward. The young men and women dressed in black-and-white tunics were maids and waiters working directly for the City Hall of Lauhr City, they held a respectful distance from the table to give privacy to the dinner guests, only coming close to attend them when they were called.

A young woman with olive skin and brown hair tied on a ponytail quickly walked over and Kareb asked for some of the dishes, she served the food with practiced ease.

“Do you have some juice or a non-alcoholic drink?”

Ethan asked the woman.

“Yes, sir. Which juice would you like?”

The woman answered with a polite smile.

Ethan briefly wondered about it, but he guessed the fruits from his world may not be found here, if the food was any indication.

“Anything fresh that can quench the thirst. Better if it’s sweet, thank you.”

“Right away, sir.”

The woman bowed and turned around, walked over to another table with decisive steps and returned with a glass jar full of a yellow juice that reminded Ethan of mango juice.

The maid served a glass of juice and put it in front of Ethan, next to the plate full of Fire Drill Rice.

“Thank you very much.”

Ethan said to the woman.

“At your service, sir. Let me know if you need anything else.”

She bowed and returned to the line of standing attendants.

“You are more courteous than most of the people I know, lad. You say ‘thank you’ a lot of times.”

Kareb commented a bit amused.

“Hmm, it’s just the way I was raised.”

Ethan answered distractedly while taking a sip of the mango-like juice. It was very good, sweet with a bit of citric taste to it.

He smiled and took a large swig of the juice. He proceeded to take a mouthful of the rice along with a bit of the meat; it was a bit spicy, with a taste like pepper with other spices he couldn’t identify.

“It’s very good, delicious.”

Ethan said between bites, enjoying the taste of this new and foreign delicious food.

“Hahaha, where’s the courteous and well-mannered kid from a while ago?”

Kareb laughed and took a bite from the steak on his plate.

Ethan laughed a bit too but focused on eating this exotic food. During these past few days he had been eating food provided and cooked by his Master, it had been the best meals he had ever tasted. But he liked new stuff, even if his Master’s cooking was better than this, it was still very delicious. He attributed Navin’s godly level of cooking to the fact that his Master was, as a matter of fact, godly.

Ethan was wondering if it was okay to ask for another dish, he was very hungry, and with the Qi running through his body he could eat and digest food a lot faster than normal.

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They were finishing their first dishes when Amir and his team of eight guards entered the plaza and walked to their table. The guards spread around, only Amir would sit to eat now. They had already eaten before and Amir had arranged for individual portions of the dishes here to be put away for the later enjoyment of his escorts.

Ethan and Kareb stood up as the prince approached.

“Greetings, Your Highness.”

They said almost at the same time.

Amir let out a chuckle

“I’m still surprised at how you can speak so fluently our language, is it a skill or an enchanted item? Ah, please, sit down. I’ll also enjoy this feast.”

Amir sat with them and signaled for an attendant to serve him food. This time a man approached swiftly, the woman from before was serving another table. Ethan took the chance to ask for a new dish and Kareb did the same.

“It’s a translation spell, Your Highness.”

Ethan answered when the waiter was gone.

“Ah, very convenient, very few people are actually able to use that spell, and even then it’s of short duration and with only one or two languages. It’s impressive that you are such a capable mage at your age, I thought you were a warrior.”

Amir spoke half musing, half proving. There was an implicit question in his tone of voice. Ethan noticed but decided it was alright to answer a few of his questions.

“I didn’t cast the spell myself, Your Highness. It was my Master who did it.”

Ethan answered with the truth, but he didn’t speak about him being a warrior nor did he deny being capable of using magic.

“Oh, for your spell to be still active after all this while, it seems to have a very lasting effect, surely your Master is quite a talented mage then.”

Amir asked in a casual tone as if it wasn’t important, but he kept his eyes fixed on Ethan’s face.

“I think so.”

Ethan smiled and took a swig of juice. It was very good, he thought of finding out what fruit was used and maybe buy a few to eat tomorrow.

Amir didn’t seem to take offense for Ethan’s ambiguous answer and decided to let the matter be for now.

“Your Highness, where’s General Jiten?”

Kareb asked after swallowing a mouthful of something that reminded Ethan of a boiled cassava but tasted a bit different. Ethan turned to look at him while biting on a fried version of the cassava look-alike.

“He is interrogating the Feld-Ehian Commander; I believe he will be back soon.”

Amir answered with a smile and served a cup of wine for himself.

They continued talking and eating for a while until a group of people marched up to the front of the tall wooden structure inside the circle of sand.

A mage cast a fireball, setting it ablaze.

The mage cleared the area immediately and went to sit on one of the tables.

Four people stood in front of the huge bonfire, they were wearing light clothes from fabric of different colors, they all held swords in their hands. No armor, no shield; the clothing they wore didn’t look like a fighter’s outfit, more like an acrobat’s or a dancer’s.

And yet, they gave off the distinct aura of a warrior, they took stances with the fire on their backs and the plaza fell silent.

Suddenly, music started.

Drums sounded and the red fire burning behind the performers turned into a deep blue, burning brighter and making shadows dance around at the rhythm of the flames.

“Prepare yourself, lad. You are in for a great spectacle. The sword dancers are quite a sight to behold when they show their traditional arts.”

Kareb whispered to Ethan, he nodded, his eyes fixed on the four performers.

“He is right, Ethan.”

Ethan heard his Master’s words, somewhere between a soft voice by his side and a thought in his own head. A strange sensation.

“Watch the performance carefully, it will be a good show for you.”

The music changed, and the four people started moving at the same time.

This night, for the first time in his life, Ethan witnessed the dance of the swords.