Arc#4 Chapter 6: Departure (Patreon)

'Oh. Well, this is very convenient.'

Reivan tried not to smile in triumph when the man he planned to coax slowly suddenly went up to him looking for employment.

In truth, Reivan was trying to be considerate by not extending an olive branch the moment they met. After all, the man had gone through a bit of an emotional roller coaster today and even obtained the freedom that he no doubt wanted for a long time. Reivan didn't want to make Filth feel as if he had to serve Reivan simply because he had been saved.

That's why he had planned to give the poor guy a break. Over the next month or two, Reivan would just throw hints that Filth's skills were welcomed.

Naturally, since Reivan was slated to leave for the republic on the next day, the bulk of the coaxing process would have to be left to Gwen — like a whole bunch of other stuff. Gwen was a very attractive young woman too, so without a doubt, she would do a much better job of recruiting a young man like Filth.

At least, that's how Reivan saw it. Undoubtedly, he acknowledged that while he wouldn't blindly agree with whatever a charming woman said, if given the choice between conversing with a handsome man and a beautiful woman, obviously he would choose the latter. That was just how things went. And he was sure Filth was of a similar mind.

'Great. I won't have to add to Gwen's workload.'

His very capable secretary never lied when she said she liked working and found fulfillment by doing well at her job, but Reivan still felt extremely guilty about leaving her to deal with so many of his duties. She could do them much better and faster than he ever could, and the entire country would benefit from her doing them instead of him, but it didn't change the fact that it left him with a heart full of guilt.

"Are you hungry? I'm famished and my friend over here is too." Reivan, in a very good mood, placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Let's talk things over with a table full of food between us."

Filth's eyes widened at being accepted so easily, then he nodded vigorously. "Yes... Y-yes, Your Highness."

"Great!"

'Haha. Why does he look so surprised? Who wouldn't want a guy who can literally turn invisible and undetectable on his payroll? Is he dumb?'

"Alright then! Let's go... is what I'd like to say, but I just remembered that I have some business to attend to before I go anywhere else." Reivan chuckled sheepishly before playfully patting the man's shoulder slightly harder. "Don't think I'm blowing you off with some made-up excuse though, okay? I'd love to take you into the fold. Go and follow the peacekeepers for now. I'll find you tomorrow. When you've calmed down and maybe had a night to rest."

"O-okay... I mean, yes, Your Highness." Filth bowed low, at almost a ninety-degree angle.

"Get up, get up. You have to take care of your back." Reivan helped the man straighten up and then smiled widely. "See you tomorrow... Oh, wait a minute, I'm leaving tomorrow..."

'Fuck me. Should I delay the departure?'

That didn't make much sense. He'd already alerted all the personnel involved that he would leave tomorrow.

'Eh. I'll just take him with me. He said he wanted to work for me anyway.'

Furthermore, Filth was of Arkhanian lineage. So it made sense that he would be best put to work in his home environment.

'Hm... It sounds a bit wrong to just throw him into a ship this soon, but my hands are tied here.'

"Just to confirm," Reivan said, looking Filth in the eyes. "You're sure about wanting to work for me, right?"

Filth nodded. "Y-yes, Your Highness. If you'll have me..."

"Excellent. You're hired." Reivan laughed in glee at the unexpected harvest of a capable subordinate. "We'll iron out the details tomorrow. For now, just go back to the warehouse and follow the peacekeepers. I'll have someone pick you up. See you tomorrow."

"Uh, alright... I mean, Yes. Yes, You're Highness!"

"Great. Alright then, Helen, let's go do some work."

"Mhm." Helen nodded, but for some reason, she had her head turned away from him. Her lower lip was also sticking out a little and her arms were crossed.

'What's wrong with her? Did she hit her head without me noticing?'

Reivan decided not to pay her any mind for now. He gave his future subordinate one last smile-and-wave combo before fully turning around and heading for the warehouse district's entrance — where the peacekeepers' presence had likely gathered a crowd of curious onlookers.

"Hey." Once they were far enough away, Reivan nudged Helen with an elbow as they walked side by side. "Why are you like... that? What's wrong with your face?"

Helen whipped her head toward him with a narrow-eyed glare that carried little hostility. "I didn't like how you talked about me back there."

Reivan's forehead creased as he thought back to his earlier conversations. His puzzlement only grew when he failed to remember anything. "Okay, I give up. I can't remember what you're mad about."

The young woman glaring at him clicked her tongue before sighing. "Friend."

"What?"

"You said I was your friend."

Reivan's headache intensified but not out of confusion. "You get annoyed about the strangest things... So annoying."

"You don't kiss friends, do you?"

"You crazy little..." Reivan's head swiveled left, right, back, and front, looking for anyone who might have overheard — other than Valter, who had definitely overheard since he was right below them, hidden in Reivan's shadow. "W-We don't kiss that often... Also, don't just say it so loudly in public. What if there's a scandal or something?"

Helen snorted, shaking her head in exasperation. Her steps grew faster and her footfalls heavier, as if in anger. "We're betrothed. What scandal could we cause? And it's just kissing too."

"You know, my mother and Stella aren't the best paragons of this virtue, but Aizen is pretty conservative, you know...? Physical relations before marriage is frowned upon..."

"Times are changing."

"Times haven't finished changing yet." Reivan shot back. "Act accordingly."

Helen remained silent and her pace slowed, falling into step beside him. Her head was hanging low and she spoke in a small voice that even he could barely hear. "Then am I just a friend to you...?"

Reivan held back a groan. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "This isn't a conversation to have when we're getting back from a raid."

"Really?" Helen stopped and turned to him, her pretty little brows furrowed in true anger. "Then when are we supposed to have this conversation? You dodge the subject every time it's brought up."

'Ugh... And to think just a couple of years ago, she barely said a word...'

Perhaps it was because she had actively tried to improve herself in all sorts of ways, Helen had shed her previous ways. She wasn't some kind of social butterfly, but she also didn't shy away from conversation — or in this case, confrontation. It made things really hard for Reivan since she was far more vocal about her thoughts and her affection for him.

He also had to admit that it was kind of fun to see her growth as well.

Helen had always been someone he competed with — chased after, even. Through thousands of sparring sessions, they had punched each other in the face more times than they could count. They were used to being in physical conflict with each other, but rarely, if ever, did they ever argue with words. It was a new frontier for them.

Reivan didn't want to admit it, but he could only have these arguments with Helen — for she was the only one who didn't give a single fuck about him being a prince. Elsa would always be agreeable and generally obedient. And while he appreciated and loved this aspect of her, he couldn't help but doubt whether she was holding back for his sake.

He had no such doubts for Helen though. She was blunt as a rock and would call him out to his face nowadays.

'It's fun... But in this case, it's really troublesome. Damnit, Helen...'

They were supposed to show up and smile for the crowd a few minutes from now. Reivan would be the main star, but some publicity for a prince's potential spouse wouldn't be so bad. Right now really wasn't the time for an argument, but Helen didn't seem keen to back down.

Hence, Reivan was now in a bit of a dilemma.

"Fine..." Reivan sighed in resignation. "But not now. We'll settle this tomorrow."

Helen scoffed at this. "But you're leaving for the republic tomorrow."

"I mean, yeah..." Reivan tilted his head, not seeing how she would react that way. "We can talk about it on the way there."

"On the way... So you're taking me with you to the republic?"

"Huh? Of course... Did you not want to come?"

"I do." A smile finally graced Helen's lips. For a moment, even the night's darkness was illuminated. It was a beautiful sight that Reivan would have wanted to admire more if she hadn't just suddenly punched him in the gut. "You should have invited me sooner. Making me so worried..."

Reivan doubled over in pain, rubbing his stomach. It didn't hurt that much, considering his defense. Even though a normal man would have had his internal organs turned to mush by the impact, he wasn't so fragile.

It still hurt like a bitch though.

"Ugh..." Reivan groaned as he watched her walk ahead of him, a bounce in her step. He observed her ponytail sway left and right before his gaze was eventually pulled down by gravity, resting on her perky butt.

'Damn.'

It was only after a few seconds passed that Reivan managed to pull his gaze away, cursing the genius who had come up with the female knight uniforms a long time ago. He was slowly starting to like riding breeches and wondered how he never saw their appeal before he woke up in this world. It was a particularly devastating piece of clothing when Helen wore it, especially since despite her physique being far from voluptuous madams like Vianna and Elsa, she was very fit and had tight curves.

Her long healthy legs and shapely butt also drew his eyes more than he cared to admit.

'Luckily, she's never in a position to catch me staring when I do.'

It was truly a great coincidence that the butt was behind.

Reivan shook his head of his lecherous thoughts. Perhaps it was because the mating season was drawing near yet again, or because he hadn't gotten some action in a while, he couldn't stop leering these days. It was at these moments that he cursed how the Aizen Kingdom didn't have any brothels. No doubt, his status alone would help him find a few women willing to help him vent his lust, but he wanted something with no strings attached at the moment.

'Fuck my life. Maybe I should just throw away my morals and officially take in all my concubine candidates.'

He had been holding off on them since he felt a bit complicated about the matter, but his lust was starting to erode the resistance in his heart.

'A matter to consider in another time.'

Reivan took a few deep breaths to calm his heart before running after Helen, careful to only walk beside her or in front of her.

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Gwen was waiting for them just outside, having already gathered a crowd for them — although some people were more concerned with the pretty blonde knight than what was going on. There were even some bards and minstrels on the scene, as well as journalists. These people worked for newspaper companies that, despite Reivan's exasperation, existed. The first king truly destroyed this world's medieval society by dumping so much information before he died.

As for Reivan, he and Helen appeared before the crowd, smiling and waving and generally looking important. The peacekeepers were in charge of escorting the freed slaves out of the district and cleaning up the warehouse. Spacial storage rings existed, so there was no need to show off the contraband to the general public, but this was enough for everyone.

Reivan followed Gwen's prepared speech and said nothing else. Some asked questions, but he only answered with a smile while saying nothing else. It was better to be doubted as a fool for his silence, than to confirm his stupidity by saying something idiotic.

And with that, the night ended peacefully after he went home, having escaped Helen's hints at wanting to come along.

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The morning of Reivan's departure arrived with the dawn of a new day and a pleasant surprise.

His parents had returned.

"Hey. How've you been, son?" Rodin greeted him with a smile, sitting at their round breakfast table. "It's been a while, hm?"

"Yes..." Reivan vacantly looked his father up and down, noting the former king's tan. "You sure had fun, Father."

"Haha. We did, we did... Your mother and I toured the kingdom's beaches. I also improved my swimming skills immensely."

"Sounds nice. Brother's dying, by the way. He's not even here for breakfast."

"That's what happens to all kings. He'll get used to it."

Reivan rolled his eyes and sat down at his usual seat — a position that had shifted oh so slightly when they switched to a bigger table after Stella pumped out two babies. He then turned to the white-haired woman with wolf ears atop her head, burying her face in his eldest niece's stomach.

"Good to see you, Mother. Please don't tickle Lisa too much. She's prone to leaks."

Vianna released Lisanna and the small girl hopped down and ran to Reivan for cover. "I can't resist. I always wanted a daughter."

Reivan picked up his niece and placed her on his lap. "Sorry for being a boy, then?"

"Granddaughters are fine too. How is that going, by the way?"

Reivan's shoulders drooped and he hid his face behind Lisanna's head. "I'm still working on it..."

Vianna clicked her tongue much louder than a normal person ever could. "Useless."

"Ugh..."

"In the meantime, my precious daughter-in-law has had two! And another one is on the way!"

Reivan could say nothing to that. He knew his mother would scold him when they met.

"Gramma!" Lisanna suddenly chirped loudly, raising her arms. "You're bullying Bubby!"

Vianna's voice softened noticeably as she cooed. "No, I wasn't. Grammy was just scolding Bubby for being a wimpy wimp."

"Bubby's not a wimpy! Stop it!" Lisanna stood on Reivan's lap and hugged his head to her chest. "Leave Bubby alone!"

"Lisa..." Reivan looked at his little niece and felt a tear in the corner of his eyes. He hadn't expected to find an ally this late in the game.

"Fine, fine. Grammy will stop." Vianna snorted and put a rest on it. "But only if you come back here and let me hug you!"

Lisa seemed to hesitate for a moment before she bit her lip with a determined gaze. She then hopped off from Reivan's lap and marched off to the former queen with a brave face. "O-okay... Lisa's ready!"

"So cute!"

Vianna wasted no time in snatching her up. In no time at all, one could barely even see the little girl buried deep in the former queen's arms and tail.

Reivan knew that his mother missed his niece very much, so he didn't bother to come to the rescue. A few servants entered through a side door to serve him some food and he waited for them to leave before talking.

"Father, did you know I'm headed to Arkhan later this morning?"

"Of course, I know," Rodin answered as if it was a matter of course. "Even though we left, we've been keeping tabs on the palace. And naturally talking with Lisa from time to time too."

"You didn't even talk to Brother and me though..."

"In any case, it seems your brother is going in a direction slightly different from mine." Rodin ignored Reivan's small protest and smiled. "I'm looking forward to seeing the results of his endeavor. Work hard... is what I'd like to say. But in this case, all you really have to do is be present over there. Don't do anything stupid."

"Wow. Thank you for the trust you've placed in me." Reivan rolled his eyes with a chuckle, spearing a juicy sausage with his fork. "I have my own plans there, so I likely won't be physically present at the embassy if all goes well."

"Hm?" Rodin raised an eyebrow in interest. "Care to elaborate?"

"No," Reivan answered with a sneer.

Rodin grimaced but didn't dig any further. "You're an adult now, so just make sure you can own up to whatever it is you're planning to do. But as a member of royalty, make sure that there are little to no repercussions on the kingdom."

"I am being very careful, Father."

"Very good. I trust you."

The two exchanged meaningful glances for a moment before both breaking into smiles and directing their attention to their food. They relished the first meal they had shared in a while.

"Father." Reivan cut up his scrambled eggs, letting the gooey yolk stain its whites. "Are you and Mother planning to seclude yourselves soon?"

"That was the plan..." Rodin threw a glance at his eldest granddaughter and smiled. "But I think I'll wait until all my grandkids are a bit older. Perhaps it is time to enjoy life and all it has to offer for now. I'm still in my nineties, so even with my talent, I believe I still have some leeway."

"That's good." Reivan nodded, also gazing warmly at his niece, who was being fed soft sugared bread by his mother. "She gets lonely rather easily."

Aside from Lisa's cute noises, silence hung in the room for a moment before Rodin put down his spoon. Something shiny appeared in his palm as he spoke. "Before I forget, take this."

Reivan didn't even bother catching the object his Father tossed at him, merely stopping its movements in the air with his [Formless Will]. He observed it for a moment and realized what it was. "The Sword Star's bells? Why give it to me? I already asked for one."

These small spherical bells that looked to be made of silver appeared ordinary to the uninformed, but they were actually fraudulent teleportation items that could not be restrained by walls or distance. Only three of them could exist at a time, but that didn't detract from their utility.

Obviously, Reivan had asked for one from the old Transcendent a long time ago. Not only because of his recent mission but also because he spent a lot of time out of the country in secret.

Deep into the night last evening, Reivan had asked the Sword Star to refresh the power within the bell to extend its expiration date, as well as to confirm something regarding Filth's special ability.

'Even the old man couldn't perceive Filth, huh? That's... Actually, that's both alarming and impressive.'

It proved that he absolutely had to gain Filth's loyalty — or dispose of him to get rid of such a potentially dangerous entity.

'Well, the guy joined in, so there's no problem.'

Reivan plucked the small bell out of the air as he chewed on his breakfast, throwing his father a questioning glance.

"It's for your sister." Rodin smiled before walking over to Lisanna and trying to get her to eat the slice of pudding he was offering.

"Sister... Which one? Surely not Mimi, right?"

"Of course. I meant the smart one."

Reivan nodded, chuckling at their inside family joke. Too bad the person herself wasn't here to playfully get mad. He rolled the small silver bell in his palm before asking. "Why though? She's not part of my retinue."

"That's what you think," Rodin smirked, only to cheer when Lisa glomped down on his offered spoon. "Do you like that, Lisa? It's called pudding."

"Pudding..." Lisa repeated the word a few more times, practicing it quietly before she nodded. "Lisa likes pudding. Lisa's going to eat pudding every day from now on."

"You can't." Rodin shook his head.

"Why!?"

"Because it's bad for your teeth."

"Lisa doesn't care about teeth! Lisa will just borrow someone else's!" Lisa waved her arms around in a tantrum, but Rodin and Vianna only seemed to be relieved.

"Goodness, why is this so calming?" Vianna giggled, smiling at her husband.

"Right? Perhaps it was because both of our sons were strangely mature for their age. Roland was less so than Reivan, but he still didn't throw tantrums like this."

Reivan watched the weird scene for a moment before looking around in suspicion. While Jiji was busy as well, she wasn't so busy as to miss breakfast on such an important morning as this one. It was only now that he realized a possible reason why.

'It can't be...'

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Aizen was the first nation in the continent of Sentorale to conquer the sky, in the sense that even mortals could fly with relative ease. And they had achieved this feat with sky arks.

The first king had researched the concept extensively, almost to an obsessive degree. Many subjects were tackled by the first king's notes — which weren't really notes at all, seeing as there were multiple thick tomes worth of pages — but a noticeably large number of pages were dedicated to the sky ark, further emphasizing to future generations just how important conquering the skies was.

And the people of Aizen rose up to the challenge.

More than a thousand years later, civilian-grade and commercial-grade sky arks were generally accessible for purchase as long as your ancestry and citizenship were approved. Naturally, you would also need to fork over a small fortune for one, but for those with the coin to spare, such an expense was seen as nothing in the face of lording over the clouds.

These Sky Arks would be made with older technology though, and were more akin to blimps — allowed to fly mainly with a football-shaped balloon full of helium gas and supported by some native enchantments to help it support a much larger gondola — than boats that sailed across the air, but few owners cared for that. In any case, they wouldn't be using these not-so-small vehicles to venture into other countries or go on an adventure beyond the seas.

The bourgeois just had fancy luncheon parties with their friends while admiring the view above the clouds. As for merchant families, they used commercial airships for freight purposes before trains came along, but now only used them for a more expensive, but also more scenic mode of travel. Some companies had even elected to fashion their commercial airships into flying restaurants or hotels.

Now, military-grade sky arks were very different from the previous two types. They were obviously much bigger, One look at them would make it obvious, even from a modern Earthling's point of view, that they were supernatural — that they were magic. Unlike civilian or commercial-grade sky arks, military-grade ones actually looked like massive hunks of steel made to look like a ship. There were no sails or turbines, just a massive piece of metal.

Obviously, some modifications were made for aesthetics too, but in their essence, military-grade sky arks were flying metal fortresses.

Reivan himself didn't have much of an idea how they got such massive pieces of metal to float in place with such stability. All he knew was that there were a bunch of glowing carvings along the inside of the ship and a few other carvings behind it responsible for omnidirectional movement.

'It's more like a spaceship rather than an airship, to be honest...'

Reivan looked up at the towering form of Fenrir, the royal sky ark that was constantly upgraded whenever someone thought of a new addition. The white and gold sky ark was so large, that if someone claimed they could fit a football field inside the Fenrir, Reivan would have to agree. Parking it anywhere in Aizen would likely inconvenience many people, so it was normally kept moored at Lightharbor City, where it was somewhat of a tourist attraction for people who lived on the other side of the nation.

Apparently, there was even a rumor that if you looked at it while confessing your love or proposing, the other side would be more likely to agree.

'Silly rumors.'

Chuckling to himself, Reivan stopped admiring the sky ark that was about five times bigger than his personal sky ark — which was already considered a "large" military-grade sky ark. He then looked around at all the people who had shown up to send him off or come with him.

Reivan smiled when he saw his friend casually walk up, leaving behind a gaggle of curious young men and women. It seemed his subordinates had come to see him off, so he gave them a wave while restricting the urge to flip his middle finger at them.

"Hey." Hector, who had grown a head taller than Reivan after a significant growth spurt, immediately resorted to violence by slapping Reivan on the arm. "Stay safe out there."

"It's me we're talking about here." Reivan slapped him right back, grinning. "You and the others can come too. There's still more than enough room on that massive thing."

"Nah, sounds like a big pain in the— I mean, this humble knight and the others have agreed that our skill sets are unfit for the task our respected team leader will undertake, so we have elected, against our will, to stay here and pray for your success. We wish you good luck."

"All of you are assholes."

The two laughed for a few moments before Hector stepped forward and gave Reivan a one-armed hug.

"I mean it, Rein. Stay safe out there."

Reivan returned the hug and then tapped his best friend's back. "I will. You too. And you should use a birth control potion when you..."

"Don't ruin the fucking moment, man."

The two parted with big grins and Hector walked off without saying anything else. There was no use for more words. They would surely see each other again soon.

Roland, together with a thickly-veiled Stella who probably didn't want to show off her unhealthy visage to the public, waved at him from afar. They had already spoken on their way here, and they didn't want to spread unease with the presence of the royal couple. Everyone would be obligated to stay on their toes around them after all.

Reivan spent a few more minutes saying goodbye to a few other ministers before heading off to Fenrir. With how the sky ark's bottom was as sharp as a blade, the vessel was perpetually floating above ground if it wasn't resting on the water. To make it harder for intruders to infiltrate, entrances were limited and they were placed at the top of the ship.

This meant that, ironically, you couldn't get into the flying ship unless you could fly to the top and board it.

Or that was how it would have been if ladders and special boarding structures didn't exist. Reivan thought that all of that was too much trouble, so he elected to just fly there with Valter's help.

'Come to think of it, this is the first time I'll be leaving the kingdom without having to sneak out of it, huh?'

Strangely, Reivan was excited.