Armad's remaining days on the ship weren't very pleasant. Everyone seemed to be afraid of him. They walked on their toes so as not to disturb him. He told them to treat him as before but to no avail. To make matters worse, Miki Inara always slept outside his room at night, saying a student should always be with their teacher. Armad said everything to discourage him but the boy didn't stop. Even the ship attendants had to ask Armad for permission whenever they wanted to do something. It was vexing.

They arrived in the kingdom of Sisiya after another week. Armad was happy to leave the ship. At least, he would be treated as a man outside the ship.

He felt some relief as he looked at the kingdom in the distance, which was surprising since he was nervous all along about going there. He sighed and closed his eyes. Gradually, the ship landed on the northern shore of the fourth world where the kingdom was located.

The shoreline was packed with businessmen and families of passengers who had come to meet them. The passengers quickly greeted each other and thanked Armad for everything before they left. Inára had already reached a consensus with the ship attendants and paid them their dues. He told them he wouldn't be sailing any time soon so they should all look for another job.

Everyone left except Armad and Inára. The boy asked permission to go and keep the ship somewhere safe. Armad told him where they would meet after he was finished.

They arrived in the kingdom at midday but it was dusk by the time Inara met up with Armad. He found Armad in one of the hotels on the beach. Armad was collecting data on the empire and was waiting for Inara to compare the information since the boy grew up there.

"Is everything done?" Armad asked.

He nodded. "It's done, teacher. I've got someone to keep the ship safe until I get back."

"Well done," Armad said. He gave him the papers he'd written about everything he was able to find in the kingdom.

The kingdom had a population of five hundred to six hundred million. This population was divided between twenty-nine 'crowded' cities and villages, and a capital city called Jékis. Every one of these twenty-nine cities had a king that ruled over the surrounding villages, and all of them were under King Bihanzin who ruled the capital.

Armad and Inara were currently in Fentirl. From there to Jekis was one month ride even in a modern wagon.

"But I have a horse that will shorten the journey," Armad told Inara. He brought Ubbaru out of the ring.

Inara was amazed at both the ring and the horse. He kept staring at them.

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Armad ignored how his mouth remained open and went on, "my business is in the capital and this horse will help us reach the capital in time."

After explaining everything to him and making sure he understood, they left Fentirl and went to a neighboring forest where they rode Ubbaru and set off. They arrived at the capital at midnight, meaning Ubbaru had shortened the journey from a month to only a few hours. Inara was surprised at how he could see people and towns passing by but they couldn't see them. And despite the speed, the air didn't bother him.

"They closed the gates at night. We have to wait until morning."

Armad agreed and they slept under a tree until morning. In the morning, they continued to the gate on foot. It was the early hours but they still found a line of people waiting at the entrance gate. A giant wall could be seen around the city with guards at every entrance. Anyone going in would pay fifty ayrids as an entrance fee. And the amount climbed to one hundred ayrids if the person didn't have citizenship with the kingdom.

Ironically, Armad had a bounty of 1.5 million ayrids but he had nothing on him. Inara realized it and retrieved one hundred and fifty ayrids out of his pocket. Armad just looked at him and smiled.

Gradually the line began to shorten, leaving thirteen people in front of them. It was at this point that Armad spotted two young men at the front of the line. One was fatty and the other was slim and carried a sword. They were covering most of their faces with turbans but Armad felt like he knew them. Perhaps, it was their built and how they moved their limbs, or maybe something else. There were just ten people between them. If he could just get off the line to reach them... He looked behind him and realized that wasn't possible. Someone would just step forward and replace him if he left. So he familiarized himself with their pol and decided to follow them afterward.

A few minutes after the two men entered the city, the line reached Armad and Inara. There were twenty guards at the entrance. Half of them held arms and the other half counted coins. They were all dressed in yellow and had black ribbons on their arms.

Inara handed the money in his hands along with his citizenship card. "Fifty for me and one hundred for my teacher who doesn't have a citizenship certificate yet."

The guard gave Armad a long look like he was looking at a suspect. Then he frowned. "What kingdom are you from?"

"Han of the third world," Armad said. It was always better to mix some truth with a lie if you wanted people to believe it.

The guard moved closer as if suspecting Armad's appearance. He opened a large book by his side with pictures of criminals and their bounties.

As he opened the page with Armad's picture, Armad's heart pounded. He knew he was looking different now but it was still unnerving.

The guard stopped and asked Armad again, "what is your name again?"

"Han Djinn," Armad said.

The guard took a deep breath and opened the next page but then Inara reached into his pocket and offered him a hundred more ayrids. His face changed into a smile and he opened the gate for them.

Once inside the city gates, Armad quickly looked for the two young men by searching for their pol. He was able to immediately identified them a little further from where they were. He asked Inára to wait for him and he used photon jump to appear behind the two young men.

They turned around and Armad saw them. His heart was suddenly filled with joy. Laughing and smiling he called their names. "Ilias... Spoon... where's Nusi?"

Ilias jumped forward gracefully and placed his sword on his neck. "Who are you? And how do you know our names? If you do not answer me quickly, I will cut off your head."