Arc#4 Chapter 9: New Winds (Patreon)

[Author's Note]

There is an ongoing problem with Patreon at the moment, where pages turn unresponsive when the creator(aka me) tries to edit a post in any way.  Creating text posts(Like this chapter) seems to have some problems too.

I took a look at Reddit, curious to see if I was alone in this and perhaps my crappy laptop was at fault.

But nope.

There is a very angry post on Reddit from someone who's in the same situation as me. lol

Because of that, I will be unable to edit the table of contents post or any typos on any posts until Patreon decides to fix it. Hopefully soon. It's really frustrating because I've actually found some small typos in a few old chapters, but I can't do anything about it for now. Sorry for any inconvenience this will cause.

For patrons who follow other creators, has any other author complained about this? 

Just curious.

PS - This is a long chapter, so strap in.

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It had all begun as a tiny little experiment.

The king of that time had also been curious about how democracy — a system of governance that the First King spoke highly of in the notes he left behind — would be received by the people of the world.

As such, the king of that time thought it would be a good idea to test it out in another place, all so a future king could decide whether it was a good idea for the kingdom to switch to a democracy one day. If things went south and the dog they raised tried to bite the hand that fed them, the Aizen Kingdom of that time could easily crush a small country that barely even had any Ascendents — with or without the Sword Star's aid. And if the experimental country did well, Aizen would extend a helping hand in its time of need before building positive relations.

For multiple regimes, things had gone well.

A small country at the southern edge of the continent with a unique way of doing things flourished. The nation suppressed mortal armies that came to attack it with gunfire, a revolutionary weapon brought by merchants from a large kingdom beyond the Wolf's Jaw mountain range.

The thought that even the weak had a voice — that they had power — was something any commoner would support, so more and more peasants rose up in support. For them, the republic was living proof that they could be something so much more than what they were born as.

No nation could truly exist without its people's support. Castles would not last in a siege if the villages around them refused to supply them with food. And furthermore, armies were made of men — and men had families, families that may or may not support democracy.

For a time, rebellions raged across the lands as the republic grew larger and larger, supported by the common people. Typically, conquering new territories required caution because peasants uneasy about their new rulers could orchestrate uprisings.

But that was not the case for the republic; it was embraced warmly by all, and some rulers even surrendered willingly before anything happened so they could keep some of their wealth.

From the shadows, Aizen secretly supported the republic by having their spies serve as advisors and weapon suppliers. Not wanting to affect the "experiment" too much, none of the spies were allowed to be politicians. All they were allowed to do was to gently nudge the republic in the right direction. And for the foreseeable future at the time, it seemed as if everything would work out well.

But then the Sage King Antonnel appeared from the republic's lands.

It wasn't as if the newly risen Transcendent did anything directly. The scholarly man — born and raised in the republic — actually protected the country while having no ambition to rule it. Antonnel kept to himself most of the time and showed clear disinterest in authority. He refused to use his power to coerce, providing services in exchange for aid in creating and maintaining the Spirit Tower.

That said, the Sage King's presence alone inspired many changes.

No matter how the weak liked democracy, ultimately, the world relied on power. Authority, wealth, and beauty were great weapons when the other party couldn't use brute force to just take everything from you. And that was exactly what the Argonia Empire — a small but rapidly expanding empire at the time — offered.

Overwhelming violence and coercion.

Even though the budding republic was supported by the Aizen Kingdom, the people themselves didn't know that. Argonia at the time already had a Transcendent by the name of Leonel, so unless the republic obtained one as well, they would eventually be swallowed up.

Antonnel's appearance was a godsend to them — almost as if it was fated.

As time went on, the things that Aizen's spies offered became more and more obsolete. The ideas they whispered into politicians' ears were unheard. The letters and books they wrote were ignored.

The people of the republic screamed for change, and change arrived right on time.

After that, the republic then started building itself around Antonnel the Sage King. They absorbed the knowledge and power he offered his countrymen, gaining powers nobody else in the continent possessed — powers that even Aizen could not fathom at the time.

Unless Aizen gave away access to its vast library of Aetherblade arts and the knowledge left behind by the First King, they could not compete. They would lose control over that which they created.

And lose control they did.

Their spies lost the voice needed for the republic's leaders to hear them. The things that the merchants could offer weren't valued as much, instead being taken, reverse-engineered, and transformed into something else entirely.

By the time the homeland realized how much the republic grew, it had already grown to a state that Aizen couldn't get rid of too easily. Even the wisest king would have no answer. The king that started the experiment likely never anticipated a Transcendent being born from the republic's citizens — and really, nobody would fault him for it. Transcendents were so rare that it was hard to fathom one spawning.

Simply put, it was a highly unwelcome change.

The king of that time immediately could not destroy the republic without sending out the kingdom's trump card. But it was a high risk for very little reward.

If the Sword Star kills the Sage King, then the kingdom wipes away its mistake but gains a negative reputation after attacking a nation unprovoked.

If the Sword Star and the Sage King kill each other, the kingdom now loses their trump card and gains a negative reputation. The likelihood of being absorbed by the empire would also become a certainty.

If the Sword Star loses, they would lose their trump card, gain a new enemy and a bad reputation, and likely be absorbed by the empire or the republic.

And the mere notion of the Sword Star departing from Aizen would put the nation at risk from the empire's Transcendent.

Faced with such undesirable choices, the kingdom only had two choices — leave the republic alone or support the empire in destroying it. Befriending the republic at the time wasn't an option because although the Sword Star knew that he could defeat Leonel as long as the Imperial Transcendent left the imperial capital's vicinity, the same could not be said about the Sage King. Nobody knew anything about the new Transcendent, which made Antonnel a greater threat.

And so, the kingdom chose to leave the republic alone to its fate.

Though large for a country, the republic at the time was still much smaller than Aizen. Outwardly, the two nations lacked a connection and were separated by numerous smaller countries and the Wolf's Jaw mountains.

At the time, the king of Aizen thought that the budding republic would be devoured by the empire and the Sage King would fall.

But it didn't.

Kings passed, countries rose and fell, but the republic kept pushing back the empire's attempt to expand to the south. Eventually, it became the leader of a grand alliance made up of countless city-states and small nations, all united in a desire to resist imperial rule. And after a few more generations, the alliance was united into one giant country that exceeded even Aizen's size.

The Magitechnocratic republic of Arkhan was born, becoming the Sentorale Continent's third great power.

It took the sorcery that the Sage King offered as well as everything that Aizen gave them, to create their own identity as a nation.

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'That guy really screwed the pooch by trying to make a country as an experiment... Who the fuck even makes a country as an experiment!? Man, the shit people do when they have too much money and power...'

Reivan shook his head in exasperation at the actions of his ancestors. He couldn't really blame them though. A Transcendent suddenly popping out of nowhere isn't something anyone would expect. Still, he really wanted to give them a good hit to the head — while they were out there enjoying the afterlife, Reivan's generation had to clean up their messes.

"Yani, look at this one!" Jiji pulled him out of his reverie by pulling on his sleeve. She excitedly pointed at an incredible painting of a scantily-clad woman holding a sword.

Reivan stopped walking for what was probably the tenth time on their way to where Filth was. The sky ark Fenrir was basically a museum with all the relics adorning its interior. Even seemingly ordinary hallways leading to mostly unused bathrooms had priceless artworks as decorations, and he found it fun to have more time to admire them — though, most of the fun he was having was caused by how excited his adorable little sister became whenever she saw an artwork she liked.

"The Night Before Battle... This was painted about 1500 years ago, dedicated by King Caspian to Queen Mirabelle..." Reivan squinted at the small gold plaque that offered a few bits of information about the painting. "They sure liked painting half-naked women back then, huh? Pretty damn good at it too... Wait a minute, is the sword the woman's holding supposed to be that kinda sword..."

"That's what you focus on?" Jiji coldly sneered at him before shaking her head and gesturing at the painting. "You really are a brute, Yani. Can't you see everything else? Like in this part here, the attention to detail is immaculate... And here, his strokes are broader and stronger. You can feel the intense emotions that the artist felt while he was creating this. It's almost as if I'm looking through a window that lets me glimpse the past..."

'Woah. She's a fancy one, huh?'

Reivan couldn't see whatever it was she meant. All he knew was that it was a good painting. He gave up on understanding the depths of the art or whatever it was that his sister saw.

Jiji stood there admiring the painting for two whole minutes while Reivan was taken with the marble bust of a particularly ugly woman with one eye bigger than the other — apparently, a female knight that had died to save the king two thousand years or so ago.

'Holy crap. Looking at all these things really makes it sink in that the kingdom is old as hell.'

It was much older than any country on Earth, that was for sure. And yet, Reivan wondered why it hadn't advanced to rival Earth technologically. But after thinking about it, he could somewhat understand.

'Earth didn't have supernatural powers. They didn't have any other path forward other than science and technology.'

On the other hand, this world was much different. Rather than throwing all of a nation's efforts on improving technology — which they weren't sure would have a payout at all — they would rather have them chase after Ascendance or Transcendence. After all, immortal beings who wield overwhelming power existed. And few people wouldn't want immortality and overwhelming power.

It was a bit unfortunate.

Reivan looked away from the well-sculpted depiction of an ugly person, clearing his throat. "So, dear sister. What have you been up to?"

"Hm? What I've been up to...?" Jiji had moved on from the painting of the naked queen holding a sword. She rubbed her chin while closely inspecting a different painting. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"Curious, huh…? Well, it’s nothing much. Just normal every-week kind of stuff. Grand Ministers trying to one-up each other so they can snag more resources for the development of their own cities. Merchants being merchants. And some other things... Important work, yes, but nothing too big."

Reivan smiled. "That's good. It's better when things are boring and at peace."

“I’ve been put in charge of a somewhat big change though. And I’m also doing surveys for a proposal I’m planning to submit.”

“Is that right? Is it something I can’t know about?”

“Not really. I can tell you…” Jiji tugged at his sleeve and signaled for them to get going, apparently having grown tired of looking at the nearby works. “The project His Majesty has left to me is actually something that F-Fath… Father planned to do, but thought better to leave to his successor.”

“It’s cute how you still feel embarrassed to call him that.”

“Shut up. Anyway, it was to give commoners last names.”

Reivan raised a brow as he followed her. “Last names…? Like the ones we, the duke houses, and knights are using?”

Jiji nodded. “We were the ones who gave the republic the idea to give everyone last names for ease of identification, after all. And it has shown no particular negative results, so it has finally been cleared to be used on the motherland.”

“Neat.”

“It’s also because we’ve started running into problems with too many people having the same names in the same places.” Jiji placed a hand on her forehead as if remembering a bad memory. “The kingdom’s population density has always been high but people have been generally good at adding their own spin to the mainstream names, but with how easily transportation has become in recent decades…”

Reivan chuckled. “But there’s a limit to how much someone can change a mainstream name but still have it sound decent.”

“Right. There’s been an increase in too many people having too similar names in the same general area. I believe there was a wood workshop over at Shinobu that had three different people from three different cities employed, and all of them were named Viktur.”

“I’m assuming their parents were my uncle’s admirers.”

“Obviously.” Jiji sighed. “That’s why we’ll slowly implement them soon. We’ll start with the older knights that aren’t descended from House Mercer. They usually have the largest family trees. Oh, but from now on, anyone who becomes an Ascendant can choose to leave their clan and start one of their own, becoming the progenitor of their own bloodline.”

“Knights…? Don’t they already have last names?”

“The last names will be for their progeny. Knights will still have Suprana as their last name.” Jiji seemed to remember something. “Oh, and we — the royal family — will be getting middle names.”

“Huh?” Reivan unconsciously rubbed the back of his head. “How does that work, exactly?”

“Ours work a bit differently…”

Reivan noticed her reluctance and spoke up. “Am I not allowed to know?”

“No, no…” Jiji took a deep breath before speaking. “Each royal family member’s middle name will be a modified version of their parent’s first name. The one with the same sex. They’re also the ones who’ll choose how their name is modified. This essentially means that even if a future royal is named after you, the chances of having the exact same name are lowered. “

“That’s… nice, I suppose. I should have asked Father about it then.”

“Your new name will be Reivan Rodinus Aizenwald. Father said that’s how he wants his to be used. It’ll be Rondinas for His Majesty, King Roland, by the way.”

“Oh… I like it.” Reivan felt a smile creep up on him. His first name and the royal family’s last name were things he inherited from his ancestors. But that middle name was something his father gave him, so it was impossible for him not to look at it in a positive light. “Reivan Rodinus Aizenwald. Nice. I’ll introduce myself like that from now on.”

“It hasn’t been implemented yet, so don’t.” Jiji pinched his arm but a smile was on her face. “And also… Mother said she wanted me to use hers.”

“Oh…”

‘She’s adopted, so… I can’t really predict how she’d feel about it.’

Would his little sister want to use the name of the mother who birthed her or the current one? Honestly, no matter which she chose, Reivan wouldn’t find it strange.

Reivan’s questions were answered when Jiji covered her blushing cheeks. “I was actually wondering what to do about it, so I’m happy she said it was okay. I might have had to use my real mother’s name if she hadn’t.”

“Why not?”

Jiji shook her head and gave a surprisingly pragmatic answer. “I can’t use my real mother’s name. Nobody knows who she is and it would emphasize my position as an adopted child even more, potentially undermining my authority.”

“Your answer is terribly uncute.” Reivan shook his head and chuckled.

“Besides…” Jiji pinched his arm and glared at him for a moment before smiling. “I’m thankful for the mother that birthed me. But I also want to honor the mother who picked me up and gave me the life I have right now.”

“I see…” Reivan reached forward and stroked her head. “So what’re you going by from now on?”

“Jiji Vannasfel Aizenwald. Oh, and my sister’s going to be Mimi Vannalein Aizenwald.”

“I like it.”

“Right? Me too.”

The two siblings from different mothers shared a smile as they momentarily celebrated the gifts they received. Perhaps it was because they had every material desire satisfied, they found more joy in receiving these kinds of things.

Jiji soon cleared her throat, sounding serious as she spoke up. But her tail happily swayed from side to side. “Once the Royals and all the knights set a good precedent, we’ll start inviting civil officials and royal having commoners participate.”

Reivan hummed in thought. “I can understand how ours are changing, but what kind of last names are the others getting?”

“That’s the thing, we don’t know yet.” Jiji bit her lip in frustration. “The worst thing is, no matter how our suggestions suck, a lot of people will still accept them just because they come from the royal family.”

“That’s true…”

Jiji shrugged. “If I get pissed off, I’ll just have them all come up with a last name that they like… Actually, that’s probably exactly how it’ll end up.” She stopped to think about it, crossing her arms while muttering to herself. “I can just include some examples so they’re not completely clueless… and I’ll have to ban some words for obvious reasons, but this is the best way to do things, I think…”

Reivan left her alone to her thoughts and only spoke up when she seemed to be finished. “What about that other thing you were doing? Surveys? I’m curious about that too.”

“Oh, that.” Jiji looked up at him for a moment before she stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. “Come to think of it, I haven’t asked Sir Valter for his opinion, so can I talk to him for a bit? We’re in a hallway right now, but it’s private enough and there’s nobody around.”

“Huh. Sure thing…” Reivan looked down at his own shadow. “Valter~ you usually tune out my conversations while guarding me, but did you happen to hear that?”

His shadow grew pitch black as sludge surged out of it, eventually forming a humanoid mound beside the two royals. The black ooze seemed to harden and gain color, revealing a tall, dark, and handsome knight with dark purple hair and eyes.

“Forgive me, Your Highness.” Valter saluted with a stoic expression. “I only started listening after you called my name. I feared you might talk about something I was not allowed to hear.”

Reivan pointed a thumb at Jiji. “My sister wants to ask you something. Kindly cooperate to the best of your abilities.”

“Understood.” Valter turned to the white-haired warbeast lady and smiled. “How may I help you, Princess?”

“First of all, I am glad to see you are in good health.” Jiji curtsied, somehow managing to look elegant despite the lack of a skirt. “You see, I’ve been asking other Ascendants for their opinion before I submit a certain proposal. I would like to ask for your thoughts as well, as a knight who has devoted himself to this nation for such a long time.”

“I see. If my opinion is of value, I would be happy to share it, Your Highness.”

“Thank you.” Jiji smiled. “Ah, please answer honestly. This proposal, in essence, is for the sake of knights like you. It would be completely pointless if it is passed when those affected won’t actually like it. No lip service, please. Just truth.”

“Understood. I shall comply.”

“Great! Well, cutting right to the chase — would you be open to having your title as Knight upgraded to something else?”

“Upgraded, you say…?” Valter couldn’t help but frown at the seemingly unexpected question.

Reivan chose this time to cut in. “Why upgrade it at all? It’s worked well enough as is, no?”

“Because.” Jiji raised a finger in the air. “Please think about it. The Argonia Empire separates mortal and Ascendant combatants into Imperial Vanguards and Imperial Master Vanguards. The republic has Bronze Cloaks and Silver Cloaks. Even the leaders of their Ascendents have a separate title of The Grandmaster and The Gold Cloak.”

“And…?” Reivan urged.

“We’re the only nation in the continent that just dumps all of our combatants into the general term of Knight. Even the leader is just referred to as Knight Commander.”

“I see…” Valter crossed his arms and nodded. “You believe it is too simple?”

Jiji pointed at him. “That too. But I also feel that it lacks a bit of gravitas… I mean, these are Ascendants, you know? Great beings that find flying easier than walking. Powerful beings that can scatter mortal armies. Sure, Transcendents are still at the top of the food chain, but Ascendents are predators of the world too. I just thought that they needed a corresponding upgrade… Like, when a mortal ascends, their title should rise too — not just stay the same.”

‘Well, I can see her point…’

Honestly, Reivan thought the names other countries used were a bit… cringy, while “Knight” sounded ridiculously cool. That may have been the patriot inside him speaking, but he felt a bit complicated about the subject.

‘Now that I think about it, those titles are just the English translation, huh? In Arkhanian tongue, Bronze Cloak, Silver Cloak, and The Gold Cloak would be… Varsh Balvar, Torgask Balvar, and Si Jiyak Balvar… Which doesn’t sound that bad?’

His accelerated studies of the republic’s language through [Glimpse of Eternity] made him better at the language than some natives, but he didn’t know a lick of the imperial tongue. For now, he couldn’t judge if the empire’s titles sounded cool in their language.

‘Hm. Well, in the end, this isn’t my business.’

Ultimately, Reivan didn’t think he should even have an opinion on this. After all, he wasn’t even an Ascendant yet. So he chose to stay quiet and let his guardian knight speak for himself.

Valter hummed to himself and stayed mostly silent for a few moments, seemingly giving the subject considerable thought. “Princess, I believe that the title of Knight itself carries with it a certain weight in the continent. It is a word that never existed before The First King used it to create an entirely new class of warriors. The word itself belongs to the kingdom — belongs to us. And although not everyone in Sentorale knows how to speak English, everybody knows what a knight is. That is just how loud our predecessors’ actions have been, spreading the name of our order throughout the realms.”

Jiji nodded with her arms crossed. “That’s true.”

“That’s why there is no need to add further gravitas.” Valter politely continued in a firm, but non-combative voice. He knelt on one knee and met Jiji’s gaze with a smile. “Our reputation precedes itself. As far as most people are concerned, the word Knight is synonymous with a person who wields great strength and skill. It is not just a title, but a way of life.”

“I am convinced, Sir Valter. Thank you very much for your opinion.”

“I am glad to be of service. And thank you for thinking about us, Princess.”

Jiji giggled. “It’s nothing. But that’s surprising. I’ve asked over one thousand Ascendants and they all found my proposal agreeable.”

“E-Eh?” Valter’s jaw slackened for a second before he caught it. “I… I find that incredibly… shocking. I do not wish to doubt your words, of course, but…”

“Yes. When I said that I’d propose to give them the title of Sky Knight, they all said they liked it.”

“Oh.”

‘Oh?’

Reivan’s brows shot up as he watched Valter’s reaction.

‘He likes it.’

Valter was similar to the past Helen — their faces weren’t very expressive. The past Helen just hadn’t been very good at showing emotion, while Valter had been so good at hiding them that they were hard to notice.

Still, Reivan had been with the man for a long time, so he could somewhat tell.

He could tell that the thousand-year-old knight liked Jiji’s suggestion.

‘Sky Knight, huh? I guess it’s nice because the original title is still there…’

The gravitas and reputation that the knights racked up throughout thousands of years were still on display. But a new word was added to add additional gravitas.

It was literally an upgrade.

If Jiji noticed the knight’s elation or not, she did not show it. She tapped her chin as if speaking to nobody in particular. “I also thought that Heroic Knights or Knight Champions sounded nice, just in case everybody hated Sky Knights.”

‘Oh! He likes those too…’

It seemed Jiji had given this considerable thought. Perhaps it was no wonder why all of the Ascendants she’d asked found the proposal favorable.

Suddenly, Reivan noticed something. “Wait a minute. Hey, you. You’ve asked more than a thousand Ascendents…? Did you go to the mountain and knock on every cave-dwelling? You know we shouldn’t disturb the reserve forces, right?”

“Relax.” Jiji rolled her eyes. “I contacted their kin and only asked those who weren’t secluding themselves. I know the unspoken rules… More than you, at least.”

“You little…” Reivan tried to grab her tail but she managed to evade in time.

Valter cleared his throat and stood up. “Perhaps I spoke too soon, Princess Jiji…”

Jiji smirked as if she’d anticipated her victory from the very start. “So you would not complain if your title became Sky Knight instead of just Knight…?”

“Yes…”

“Are you sure? I asked around for alternative suggestions, and I gathered quite a few. Things like, Heaven Soarers, Horizon Guardian, Celestial Enforcer, Cloud R—”

““Sky Knight is good.”” Reivan and Valter cut in, almost in perfect sync.

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The journey to Filth’s room was further hampered by Jiji stopping to admire some ancient artwork, but Reivan didn’t mind the detour. In any case, they were out here in the sky with nothing else to do and his new employee could afford to wait in his room for a bit more.

Besides, when he asked Valter, Filth was apparently enjoying his time by eating some good food and rolling around in his soft bed.

‘It really speaks of his past experiences when this world’s equivalent of airplane food and accommodations gets him so excited.’

Everything inside Fenrir was top-of-the-line stuff, but still.

“Well, this is where we part ways, dear sister.” Reivan turned to Jiji when they were close to Filth’s room. “Fuck off. Please.”

“How cruel.” Jiji placed a hand on her chest. “You would push me away? Right after I offered you company for the past few hours? The nerve of you!”

“You’re just bored after looking at so much art.”

“That’s true.”

Reivan closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose before eventually sighing. “Fine. You can come. But behave.”

“I’m always behaving.”

“Stowaways such as yourself don’t get to say that.”

“I didn’t say I was behaving well.” Jiji grinned mischievously. “English is a wonderful language.”

Reivan grabbed her tail and didn’t let go until she begged for forgiveness. A few red marks on his arm stood as his badges of honor. “Come along then.”

“I hope you go bald.” Jiji glared at him while rubbing her poor white tail.

“It’ll never happen, so give up.”

Reivan strode forward and knocked on Filth’s suite. “Mr. Filth? It is me. May I come in?”

There weren’t enough suites inside the ship to accommodate everyone, but there were a lot of them since the vessel was meant to serve as transportation for weaker royals in case they had to flee the kingdom.

Filth had secretly been given one of the smaller ones, but it was still a huge upgrade to the lodgings provided to most of Reivan’s retinue and even Fenrir’s crew.

It was blatant special treatment and an attempt to increase Reivan’s newest hire’s opinion, but there was ultimately nothing wrong with it. Treating your subordinates well so they were more motivated to serve you was a basic tactic as old as time itself.

Some ancient Chinese guy probably had a quote about it too.

‘Oh, he’s noticed.’

Reivan chuckled as he perked up his ears. There were sounds of movement from beyond the door. The suite was much smaller than the royal suite and was meant for important guests or personnel, so it was just one room with a combined reception area and bedroom. But it was still fairly large, and the bed Filth had been lounging on was probably at the far corner of the room.

It took a few seconds before the door opened and a very disheveled man peeked through, a sheepish smile on his face. “S-Sorry about the delay, Your Highness…”

“It’s fine.” Reivan smirked and shook his head, noting Filth’s lack of stubble and how much cleaner the man was. “There was no need to open the door yourself. That’s why I asked if I could come in, no?”

“Oh…”

“So? May we come in?”

“Ah. Y-yes! Of course!” Filth pulled the door open all the way and stepped aside, letting Reivan and Jiji inside. His eyes seemed particularly taken by the cat-eared young woman. “Oh…”

Jiji waved at him and smiled sweetly before choosing to seat herself on a nearby sofa.

‘This little vixen…’

Reivan didn’t miss the subtle gestures that Jiji made to appeal to herself. He sighed and let it be, sitting down beside her. “Please, sit. We have much to discuss.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” With a slight crouch, Filth made his way to the sofa opposite the one the two royals were sitting on.

The man’s eyes kept flitting over to his sister so much that Reivan felt like he would be unable to hold back his laughter. “Introductions are in order. You already know me, of course. This lady here is named Jiji Vannasfel Aizenwald, and she is my adopted little sister. I’m sure you find her very strange since there aren’t any warbeasts in the republic or the Pentagoria Continent.”

“Oh!” Reivan’s words seemed to awaken Filth to the fact that perhaps his previous actions were rude, potentially provoking a member of the royal family. “Yes, Your Highnesses. My apologies for staring… You were just too beautiful.”

“Oh my...” Jiji giggled, covering her mouth with a fan. “I don’t mind.” she then turned toward her brother. “You hear that, dear brother? He said I was beautiful. Aren’t you glad to have a sister like me?”

“My sister’s beauty has zero impact on me as a person.” Reivan rolled his eyes and then elbowed her arm. “Behave.”

“Fine fine…”

“Now, Mr. Filth…” Reivan spoke in Arkhanian and clapped his hands to get the conversation back on point. “Speak comfortably. I see that you have shaved and washed up. I hope you had a comfortable night.”

Filth lowered his head. “Yes, Your Highness… I thank you once again.”

“And what about your current accommodations here? Any complaints?”

“I have absolutely no complaints. It is far better than anything I deserve.”

“I’m glad that it is to your liking.” Reivan smiled and then took out a bottle of wine, pouring a glass for everyone. “Before we talk about anything serious, I’d like to first get to know you, Mr. Filth. I do not wish to hire a stranger, after all.”

“Get to know me…” Filth looked at the glass of wine on the table between them and sat in silence for a few moments before speaking in a small voice. “You may be disappointed, Your Highness. There is not much to know.”

“What did he just say?” Jiji whispered to Reivan. “I haven’t studied Arkhanian yet…”

Reivan grimaced at her. “Why did you think I told you not to come? If you’re going to be a nuisance, just get out of here.”

Jiji pouted at him and crossed her arms but stayed put, seemingly choosing to stay silent.

“Filth…” Reivan sighed at his sister before returning his gaze to the slumping man in front of him. “Everyone has a story worth telling. But I can understand if you do not wish to tell me. I know you’ve lived a hard life and recalling certain things may cause pain. Let’s just talk about something trivial then, like what kind of food you like or your taste in women…”

Filth looked up and met the prince’s gaze, but quickly looked down and bit his lip. “If… If you truly wish to know, Your Highness, then I do not mind.”

[Lie Detection has activated!]

[The sub-skill [Truth Buried in Lies] has revealed the target’s secrets!]

Reivan winced at the sudden pain caused by years' worth of memories pushing their way into his brain. He had intended to embark on small talk to get closer to his new subordinate, but now, he suddenly found himself knowing an uncomfortably inappropriate amount of information about the man. The chances for [Truth Buried in Lies] activating were so low that he usually had to coerce the target to tell multiple lies again and again, so it was an unexpected stroke of fate when it activated suddenly like this.

‘This guy’s life is significantly shittier than I ever expected… Actually? Isn’t his life way worse than mine? Christ on a stick…’

It wasn’t as if he’d lived through Filth’s life himself, so Reivan wasn’t about to have some kind of identity crisis. But the feeling was like watching and immersing oneself in a very very long movie. And since he had just watched it a few moments ago, the sensation was still strong.

‘Fuck my head… Agh.’

His fingers gripped his thigh tightly but he managed to keep the pain from staining his face. Reivan smiled and began asking about inconsequential things as he digested the information he’d just gained.

‘Poor guy… The horrors this man calls life.’

The memories were already horrible to see, but they must have been unbearable to live through. Putting himself in Filth’s shoes, he would be unable to stay sane if he had to watch, his lover getting passed around until she perished, before being butchered and fed to dogs — only to serve the person who did it the day after, as if nothing ever happened.

That wasn’t even the worst of it.

Filth’s life couldn’t just be called shitty. Reivan didn’t know any words that could aptly describe the depths of its gloom.

‘Worst of all, he didn’t do anything wrong to land himself in that kind of life.’

In his past life, the reason Reivan fell into such a despairing situation was no choice of his own as well. A supernatural creature he could not resist just barged into his life and messed it up.

But still, if Reivan traveled back in time, right before he was faced with the choice to save his sister or not, then he would make the same choice.

Could Filth say the same though?

Born into the world without his consent, Filth quickly became alone as his mother died. A heartless thug finds him and sells him into slavery for a single beer. From there, it was a miserable life as a slave in the criminal underbelly of society, used for everything that he was.

Where were his choices?

Filth had made no mistakes for he never had a choice.

Reivan’s heart felt heavy. Perhaps it was a side effect of the memories, but he felt a boundless pity for the man, and recognized him as a kindred spirit.

They were both just small and powerless when the world decided to be unkind to them, dropping them into a pit of despair.

‘Let’s… Let’s help him out.’

Just as in Elsa's case, Reivan felt compelled to offer a helping hand, reminiscent of the assistance he received in his previous life. Whether or not he gained anything from this relationship was inconsequential. What truly mattered was giving someone the opportunity for a new life, similar to the chance he had once been given — the chance that he was still playing out.

“Mr. Filth.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Filth raised a brow, his back slightly crooked.

Reivan smiled and took out a rolled-up piece of parchment. He had initially wanted to use something more… magically binding to make sure Filth never betrayed him, but decided otherwise. The man deserved freedom. And Reivan would not deny him such a simple thing.

“This is your employment contract.” Reivan laid it out on the table and faced it toward Filth. “Can you read it? I had it written up in Arkhanian just for you.”

“A little…” Filth pursed his lip as his gaze fell on the contract, but soon, sweat formed on his forehead.

‘Guess, I’ll have to explain it after all…’

Reivan smiled and leaned back. “The contract basically states that as long as you work diligently for me, you will receive a negotiable salary at the start of every month. The current amount set in place is a quarter of a knight’s salary — taking inflation into account.”

Filth gulped, wide-eyed. “A k-knight’s salary?”

“It is still quite a lot. Knighthood is one of the highest-earning professions in Aizen, after all. Are you unsatisfied?”

“Of course, not…!” Filth hastily shook his head. Going by his face, he still seemed to be in disbelief. “I don’t deserve this much, Your Highness.”

“That is just how much I value your skills.” Reivan reached forward and patted the man’s shoulder. “But if that is what you think, then I hope you work hard to deserve it.”

“I…” Filth placed his trembling hands on the piece of paper that would change his life.

“You don’t need to decide right this instant. This vessel is quite fast, but we’re intentionally slowing down for fanfare so that the Arkhanians can gawk at the ship. So we still have around three days until we reach the republic’s capital. Think about it until then. And if you decide that you don’t want to work with me…”

Reivan stood up with a smile.

“Then you can tear that contract up and get off the ship at Arkhana. I won’t chase after you or tell anyone about you.”

“That’s…” Filth bit his lip and stared down at the contract, his long bangs falling over his eyes to hide his expression. “What would you have me do?”

“Your… gift is the real deal, but I — or rather, my advisor — cannot integrate you into our plans just yet.” Reivan shrugged. “For now, I plan to have you follow key personnel or investigate sensitive areas that would not want our kingdom snooping around. Nothing too dangerous though. And I plan to equip you well for it.”

“I see…”

Filth sat in silence, only staring at the contract.

Reivan signaled the very confused Jiji with his eyes and they both walked toward the door.

‘Gotcha.’

But just as he was about to leave, his precise hearing caught Filth taking a deep breath and heaving a very long sigh. With a surprising amount of strength in his voice, the man who didn’t know his own name called out.

“How do I sign, Your Highness? Can I just write my name?”