King Krianes tiredly groaned while looking at Davey’s party. Meanwhile, Queen Lynesse was behind him with a bright smile hiding her true intentions. The First Concubine, Anisha, was with her. Among the many other nobles behind them were Duke Bariatta, the head of the nobility, and Marquis Paletris, the swords master and knight commander of the palace.

“I meet the Sun of the Kingdom.” Davey bowed his head and spoke quietly, then Baris and Winley followed. They all showed their respect.

“I meet the Sun of the Kingdom.”

“I meet the Sun of...”

King Krianes seemed indifferent, and almost disinterested. He cut straight to the chase. “At ease. Are you confident?”

“Yes, Your Majesty! I will make sure to win and raise our nation’s prestige!” Baris answered as energetically as always.

Perhaps finding the response quite pleasing, King Krianes nodded while stroking his beard. Then, he let out a short sigh. “Come back safe.”

Looking at Baris’ faint smile, King Krianes managed a grin and patted his shoulder. He then turned to look at Davey. There was a mix of emotions on his face and Davey, who was usually very good at reading emotions, could not figure out what he was feeling. Maybe it was the king’s dignity; even though he was an old and weary lion, it seemed that his dignity wouldn’t just disappear into thin air. “I’m sorry.” King Krianes said nothing more.

Davey had no intentions to appeal to pity at this point, so he just bowed his head.

“Let this be heard! The Fourth Prince Baris’ participation in the continental swordsmanship competition is a joyous event for the kingdom! So, We declare this day to be a festival and relief shall be provided to all citizens!” King Krianes gave a grand speech.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” All the nobles responded in unison.

“And amnesty shall be granted for those with light crimes!”

There were a few dissatisfied expressions at this proclamation, since this was done only when there was an extremely large celebration in the country. However, no one opposed the command. Granting amnesty was also a law that Davey never really understood.

“Go and heighten the prestige of the Rowane Kingdom!”

At the end of the speech, Baris slowly rose and nodded.

“The gate will now open!”

Buzzzz!!! As the mage operating the mana gate shouted loudly, the enormous blue circular structure behind Davey began to emit light. Waves of a strange power gradually whirled and created a large opening. It began to shine bright enough to overshadow the altar, where the party headed to the Duchy of Felicity was standing.

Shshshshsh… The mage uttered the initiating phrase not long after. The party disappeared, as if the enormous waves of power had engulfed them. Through the light, Davey saw in passing King Krianes’ indifferent expression, and the mysterious face of Queen Lynesse; watching them, Davey closed his eyes in silence.

* * *

It was a small party heading to the Duchy of Felicity. It consisted the Fourth Prince Baris, who was at the head of the party for his participation, as well as Winley and Davey who were accompanying him to cheer him on. With them were also five or six servants and ladies-in-waiting for chores, and five knights for protection. Of the group, four people were at the highest level of ‘sword expert’.

Considering that each of them were skilled enough to be regarded as strategic weapons, the three royals seemed to be safe for now. The aura they emitted would unknowingly reduce their enemies’ hostility too. Perhaps, thanks to that, it was a boring journey with no baby animals, much less bandits, in sight. Even the mountains were safe.

“Ugh… So boring.” Baris, who had lived quite roughly, seemed incapable of enduring the boredom.

“Hey, stupid! Boring is good!”

“Do you enjoy this dullness?”

“Of course, not?! But do you want someone to attack us when Davey is with us, stupid?” As Winley criticized him, Baris seemed guilty and started walking on eggshells as he observed Davey’s reaction.

Normally, they would have to travel by horse, but Baris, who realized that it hadn’t been long since Davey was bedridden, insisted that Davey travel in a carriage. The journey became even more boring thanks to that, but his consideration made Davey feel better.

“It seems like we will have to camp here for today.” Sir Blacano, the knight leading the way, gave a report.

To arrive at the Duchy of Felicity, they had to travel by horse for at least another day. They would usually use a mana gate, but unfortunately, the Duchy of Felicity was one of the smallest countries. In the end, they had to take the mana gate that was closest to the country and travel by road to get there. Fortunately, the territory of the Duchy of Felicity was very close to the Rowane Kingdom.

While the servants and ladies-in-waiting prepared the camp, and the knights scattered for protection, Baris asked as he threw twigs into the bonfire. “Big brother, how is it so far?”

“Yeah. Brother, do you like the present we prepared for you? You used to say that you wanted to camp-out like this, as if you were on an adventure. We even reduced the party as much as possible just in case you would be overwhelmed.”

As the two smiled and spoke, expecting his praise, Davey couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, okay. Thank you.” Although it could be annoying to take care of him, someone not related by blood, Davey found it quite wholesome just how Baris and Winley took care of him.

Excitedly, Baris chit-chatted about the time they used to play together as children. Winley, who was picking at him, also had a smile on her face. She looked as if she was somewhat enjoying it.

“Big brother?”

However, despite their conversation, Davey could not take his eyes off the other side of the forest. Noticing the strangeness in Davey’s gaze, Winley cautiously asked, “Brother?”

“Oh… Hm?”

“You should try some of this.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“What are you looking at so closely?”

“Yes, big brother. Is there something there?”

Davey intentionally left that question unanswered. He just stared blankly at the other side of the forest. Baris and Winley watched him warily, seemingly worried.

“It’s nothing. I’m going to go and rest since it’s late. Do you guys want to rest in the carriage, too?”

They shook their heads at Davey’s offer.

“The tent is more comfortable for me, big brother.”

“Me too.”

Davey wondered who would ever think that Baris and Winley were a part of the prestigious royal family. He began worrying that nobody might want to marry the tomboyish Winley too.

Baris teased, “Heh. I guess camping is a good fit for someone as tomboyish as you. I wonder who’s gonna want you.”

“Heh! I’m going to live with Davey! Why don’t you mind your own business?” Winley stuck her tongue out at Baris and went into Davey’s arms. As Winley giggled when Davey quietly petted her head, Baris clicked his tongue.

“Okay, get off of me, you.”

“Hmph!”

The camp fell into silence when Baris and Winley reluctantly stepped away from Davey, looking somewhat dissatisfied. They went inside the tents the servants had put up. The conversation and banter ended, because the two who mainly led the conversation went to rest.

“Would you like to go inside and rest, Your Highness?” Amy cautiously asked.

Davey quietly admired the sky, then said, “It’s a nice day for a walk.”

“Pardon?”

Responding to Amy’s question with nonsense, Davey rose from his seat.

* * *

When everyone was asleep, Davey sat on a branch not too far from the camp and was reading a book. He glanced up from his book to look towards the sky. It would cause a huge commotion if they knew that Davey was gone, but illusion magic wasn’t there for nothing.

Recently, Davey had been reading about the state of affairs of the palace while he was gone, and books about medicine. Training and practice were essential even for the art of medicine, since new diseases arose constantly, but medicine couldn’t develop that quickly. Of course, since Davey was the God of Medicine Hypocria’s student, he was confident he could surprise everyone with his medicine.

“At least the night sky is nice to look at,” Davey muttered, with no one around to hear him.

A red and blue moon brightly lit up the dark night sky, as if boasting its presence. Syras, the moon that lit up the beginning, and Cryas, the moon that reflected upon the very last. There were many tales about the moons Syras and Cryas, but since they were just stories blown out of proportion, they weren’t all that interesting. They just felt like pretty moons.

From the two moons to the vast number of stars and galaxies that filled the night sky, it barely felt like nighttime. It was all so bright. This beautiful scenery couldn’t be seen on Earth or the Hall, since the night skies of both Earth and the Hall had nothing decorating it. Davey thought for a moment that maybe the two kids brought him out here so that they could show him this night sky, which had a different charm from the palace’s view.

Swoosh. Although the only sounds were those of insects and owls, Davey casually put down his book and simply broke off a twig from a nearby branch. He swung it in the air. Swish! Swish! With a light flick, the thin twig cut through the air.

‘Hm. Pretty good.’

“Now… Since I’ve enjoyed the scenery, it's time for some late-night exercise.” Davey’s unwavering gaze was focused on one place. He could see assassins in black uniforms moving around.

‘Necromancers can naturally see better in the dark.’

There were about twenty of these professional killers, all of them hiding their desire to kill. They were very skilled assassins who could carry out their mission in even the worst conditions. If Davey was just a normal human being, it would’ve resulted in a horrendous killing.

Anyone could see what was coming. A single opportunity to rid them all had presented itself, so Queen Lynesse chose to send assassins to rid all three of the royal descendants at once. She did not want to leave any loose ends that could cause a headache for her later on.

To be honest, Davey wasn’t too fond of the idea of possibly revealing his powers, but he soon shook off that thought. He didn’t even have to worry in the first place. “How are you going to make a living in this profession if you’re that slow?”

Since there would be no one…

“Huh?!”

“Keugh?!”

[Mountain Crush]

…to see Davey handle them, the thin twig he flung out seemingly became a huge mountain. It sliced the body of an assassin who was moving in secret. Dark red blood splattered all over the night sky.