After hearing what the leader said, we all realized that the leader had one more idea.

“I think the Leader has an idea,” Hiroshi said.

The leader sighed. “We could try to convince the first king, but I’m not sure if he’ll be swayed. And time is running out. War bells could ring at any moment.”

I considered our situation and the leader’s proposal. It made sense, but if it failed, we would lose precious time and it would be dangerous to approach the king’s residence. I looked at the leader and asked. “Are we sure this plan will succeed?”

“None of us can predict the outcome, but if we go to war in this situation, our chances of victory are fifty-fifty,” the leader replied.

Hiroshi spoke up. “Suppose we get lucky and convince the king. What then? What are our chances of winning?”

“If the king is on our side, we have a much better chance of victory. After all, he knows this land well and his army is as large as my bloodline. With his support, our army would be even stronger than we anticipated.”

It was a risky plan, but we were running out of time. We had to take every opportunity to win.

“How much time do we have for war?” I asked.

“You must return within four days. Otherwise, it won't be long before they find our home here,” the leader said.

Lezlie looked surprised. “Four days? It won't be easy to convince the King on such short notice.”

“We have nothing to do, I'm sure the enemy has already realized that we are preparing for war. If we want to choose the battlefield before them, we must make the first move.”

”It would be bad if all this effort for nothing is in vain,” Hiroshi said.

“Having limited time to seek help is a disadvantage for us, but it also applies to our enemies. They won’t have time to seek help either.”

“Leader, how far is the first king’s castle from here?” I asked.

“If you leave now in horse-drawn carriages, you’ll arrive by noon tomorrow,” he replied.

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I said, “All right then, my friends and I will go convince the King. I’ll meet you in three days where the war will take place. Until then, try to make the necessary preparations.”

“Then we have a deal.” the leader said.

The leader turned to his man and said, “Tell your men to get the horses ready."

“Yes, sir!” replied the soldier.

The soldier left the room on the leader’s orders to prepare the horses.

As we left the room, the leader grabbed my shoulder and said, “I trust you all on this. I cannot afford to lose any more men. I have to win this war for the sake of Xolis and my people.”

I nodded and replied, “We’ll do our best.”

After talking to the leader, we soon arrived at the area where the horses were. Before I got on my horse, Hiroshi called out to me, "Listen Ryuu! Are you sure we should ask the king for help? We might waste our time and we might not be able to convince him."

Hiroshi might have been right, but it was hard to say without trying.

"I understand what you're trying to say, Hiroshi, but we have no choice but to try," I replied.

Hiroshi lit his cigar and said, “Okay, have it your way. But as I said, you have to be prepared for any situation. We’re talking about the king here.”

“We'll do our best,” I said.

As I thought about what Hiroshi said, I realized something. He didn’t want to lose anyone like he did in his past. Although he was the least obvious among us, he cared about us the most. The more I thought about it, the more peace I felt because it showed that there were still people who cared about others’ dreams. It was good to have someone like that on our side.

Lezlie shook me slightly as I was lost in thought and said, “Ryuu! Did you hear me?”

I turned my head and replied, “Huh?”

“I asked how we would convince The First King. Do you have any ideas?” Lezlie said with a smile.

“I don’t have an idea yet. I think we’ll improvise as usual,” I replied.

Lezlie smiled and said, “I actually have an idea! I went there with my mother a long time ago. The houses are quite tall. If we go through the rooftops to the castle, we won’t stand out.”

Babu scratched his chin and asked, “But Lezlie, what is the distance between the houses?”

“Not much. It can be easily jumped,” Lezlie replied.

“I’m really relieved that you said that,” Babu said while touching his belly. “I don’t want to get too tired before the war. I’ve lost a lot of weight since I met you guys.”

Hiroshi, standing next to Babu, slowly raised his head and said, "You look to me as you did the first day."

“Ah! Because I had a little snack before I left. So it may seem normal,” Babu replied.

“I think that’s a good thing. That means you’re on a panda diet, right?” Hiroshi said.

“Pandas do not diet. According to pandas, diet is officially madness,” Babu replied.

It was heart-warming to see Babu’s positive energy covering everything around us. Hiroshi puffed on his cigar while Lezlie and I listened to Babu with smiles.

Our journey was going fast, but I realized that we were warming up to each other a little bit more as if we were getting to know each other more and more as we had adventures.

After traveling for quite a while, we came across an incredible view. We were on a hill overlooking the entire kingdom. The four of us lined up side by side and looked at the kingdom.