Arc#4 Chapter 12: Into the Den (Patreon)

The journey to Arkhan’s capital was supposed to last for three days, even when intentionally slowing down. However, it stretched to four days and four nights because Reivan had to make a number of secret stops along the way.

Despite that, everything went very smoothly.

By day, Reivan enjoyed the general atmosphere and grandeur of being in such a massive flying vessel, all while getting a bit closer to the people in his retinue. He had checked in on Filth as well, but it seemed the man was doing just fine on his own, enjoying the opportunity to rest on — in his words — a bed that didn’t smell like someone died in it while vomiting and pissing at the same time.

There were minor scuffles at night because Helen was hell-bent on throwing caution to the wind just to get pregnant. Reivan barely managed to avoid a scandal by pulling away in time. Come morning, they trained together and Helen even gave Reivan some advice that wasn’t very intuitive. Helen was more of an instinctual learner, and because of that, was a horrible teacher.

Her explanations always made no sense from a normal person’s perspective, and even though Reivan wasn’t normal, he still wasn’t abnormal enough to be on the same brain waves as the girl genius herself.

As for Jiji, she was still somewhat cold to him on the second day. But there wasn’t much he could do about that fact and no apology would probably work. In the first place, he didn’t feel apologetic anyway. Rather than offering insincere apologies, he chose to shadow her and patiently waited for her anger to dissipate.

It worked.

“Oh, Yani! I can see Arkhana from here!”

Reivan looked toward his excited younger sister as he sat at one of the Cloud Chamber’s many seats, with Helen sitting right beside him idly snacking on some cookies. The hall’s transparent walls made it the perfect place to get a good look at their destination before actually arriving.

Helen stood up and strode right next to Jiji, seemingly also curious about the republic’s capital. After only a few seconds though, she returned to her seat with an impassive expression.

“So?” Reivan raised a brow. He had visited Arkhana a number of times in secret, so he wasn’t particularly interested in the view. But he was interested in Helen’s impression. “What do you think?”

She shrugged, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear and reclining on her chair. “It’s small. Just a bunch of buildings inside a wall… There aren’t any buildings outside of it or anything. It makes me wonder how they manage to squeeze so many people in such a confined small space?”

“And?”

“The forests near the city look like they’re really thick. It feels like it’d have a lot of critters in it.”

Reivan chuckled at her words. “Oh, those forests have more than just critters.”

The kingdom had completely exterminated the dangerous wildlife in its domain about two thousand years ago, and all that remained were monsters that Aizen strictly managed, either used as food or labor.

In contrast, monsters still thrived in Arkhan.

Large huskies — like the one Reivan and Hector took care of since they were kids — were classified as mystic beasts, not monsters. Those noble creatures had been allies of Aizen from the start and didn’t have the malevolent tendencies that monsters had.

Monsters and Mystic Beasts.

Only the Aizen Kingdom classified monsters into two categories, confusing other nations as to what the difference between the two was.

It wasn’t that hard to understand though.

Mystic beasts were simply monsters that weren’t outright wicked and could be domesticated or communicated with. While they were undoubtedly dangerous, the same could be said for humans.

Conversely, monsters were mystic beasts with either minimal intelligence or those who employed their higher intellect for malicious purposes. Numerous fairy tales circulated about these fiendish beasts, illustrating instances of such cruelty.

One tale told of a young three-horned lion who, after being defeated by a passing warrior, surrendered and tried to garner the warrior’s pity. The warrior released the young monster, only for it to return with a large flock of winged lions, following the knight’s scent all the way to a human village. Leaving the knight last so he could watch, the monsters feasted on the villagers’ flesh before returning to their domain.

Another tale recounted a story about how a talking tree monster gave passing travelers wrong directions using a hypnotic voice, leading them into a more dangerous monster’s territory. Apparently, the tree could also move from its location, so it managed to survive for decades before it was eventually slain and turned into the king’s office desk.

There was also a particularly chilling tale of a monster that appeared like a strange mix between a velociraptor and an eagle. It had been active long before the kingdom was established, so many areas had stories about it. Rather than simply wiping out a village and becoming wounded, it promised to protect villages in exchange for the monthly sacrifice of an adult man. Years later, once weakened enough, the village was easy prey.

In essence, the first king gave monsters the name because it was deserved.

They were monsters in every sense of the word. They were completely irredeemable assholes that saw everyone and everything that didn’t belong to the same species as food or tools to acquire it. Making peace with them was essentially a temporary measure, for when the monster knew it could eat someone without much repercussion, they would not hesitate to do so.

While mystic beasts could be befriended, only a dead monster could ever be a good monster.

Now, how to tell when a creature was a monster or not was the hard part. One could never be sure until fangs were bared, so to speak.

‘Aizen adopted a kill-everything-that-doesn’t-surrender approach. And that seemed to have worked out somehow.’

“Oh, I heard about the republic’s monster problem too.” Jiji cut into the conversation, sitting down beside Reivan. “I have no idea why they haven’t just cleared them all out. I’m sure the republic has more than enough power to exterminate the monster population.”

“You’d think so.” Reivan smirked, proud that he was actually quite knowledgeable about Arkhan because of all the research he did on it, not to mention how much time he spent in the nation recently. “But the monsters they haven’t gotten rid of don’t belong to the dumb variety, like some of the ones we keep for food or material production. They’re all wily bastards.”

“But they don’t have a lot of places to hide, right?” Helen asked with a raised brow while polishing off her plate of snacks. “I would just go in and take them out. Monsters are tricky and huge public safety hazards.”

“Agreed. I hate them too..” Jiji spoke calmly, but her slightly shivering ears revealed some trauma hidden underneath. “There was this one time before we came to Aizen. We were running away from the Torhu Dynasty’s hunting dogs, but I think most of the casualties actually came from monsters. Some of them even tried to trick us into resting in their forest… It’s a good thing we got away in time. Well, we received help from some good mystic beasts too though, but those were rare. I still think all of them should be subjugated just in case.”

“Not everyone shares your thought processes.” Reivan shook his head and wagged a finger in the air. “Some monsters here in Arkhan have grown strong enough that even a team composed of a dozen Ascendants should be prepared to have most of their members killed in the subjugation attempt. And let me tell you — nobody wants the fate of a person who obtains an ageless body only to end up getting eaten by some beast.”

“Can’t they just mob the monsters then?” Jiji frowned, still unable to understand why such a simple thing as exterminating a powerful species living within the nation’s domain wasn’t easy.

“The really powerful ones in Arkhan are apparently very good at sensing danger and escaping.” Reivan yawned and stretched his arms upward. “And the weaker ones follow their lead — kinda like monster lords or something. So if there are too many people in a raiding party, they bolt for it, taking over a new forest as their home instead. Or worse, they sack a town or village in retaliation.”

‘Well, the smart ones don’t retaliate at all, but not all monsters are that smart.’

“Then they should just let their Transcendent handle it.” Helen scoffed at the Arkhanians’ cowardice. “There’s that guy…The witch… No, the Sa-something. The Sand Witch?”

“The Witch King, otherwise known as The Sage King.” Reivan corrected, taking out a sandwich from inside his storage ring and stuffing it into her mouth.

Once he saw that she was happily chewing away, he left her alone and continued.

“That respected personage generally doesn’t come out of his tower unless the empire’s Transcendent makes any moves. Especially since most of the beasts don’t actively attack unless provoked or their territories are trespassed upon.”

‘For now. But who knows what’ll happen if one of them suddenly becomes a Transcendent?’

It was an absurd idea since there had never been a Transcendent monster. But in the first place, The Sage King’s sudden emergence was the main reason why the republic wasn’t Aizen’s puppet nation. So the kingdom’s higher-ups were keeping the possibility of a Transcendent-class monster at the back of their minds.

Helen chewed thoroughly and then swallowed, her eyes brightening. “Then won’t it be great if we kill those mystic beasts? It’ll make for good training, at least.”

“You know, that’s what a lot of our knights would think too.” Reivan grinned. “And that’s precisely why the rest of the world thinks we’re nutjobs.”

“Fighting stronger foes helps in making you stronger though, so doesn’t it just make sense?” Helen tilted her head with a confused frown. “We should stay away from the ones with Ascendent-class ones, but the rest are free game, right?”

Reivan's grin widened until he just laughed. “Yup. My thoughts exactly. I already have a few locations in mind, actually.”

‘I guess I’m also a nutjob now.’

Jiji also seemed to agree. "It would be great if we could secretly take home a monster species as useful as White Stone Tortoises or Tasty Lizards, huh?

Reivan chuckled and shook his head. "Now, now. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here."

While Aizen secretly kept many monster species since the early days of its conception, two monsters stood out more than others.

The White Stone Tortoises were giant tortoise-like creatures with draconic heads and deadly talons. Its most noticeable feature, of course, was its shell, which continuously produced a protective coating of white stone that resembled marble. Easily enchantable, incredibly durable, and practically invulnerable to the passage of time, the white stone it produced was an incredible building material that no normal earthquake could topple. Most of Aizen's most important buildings were made from the stuff.

As for the Tasty Lizards, it didn't take a well-developed imagination to tell what they were used for, just from hearing their names. The twenty-foot-long lizards with spiky scales regenerated incredibly fast, to the extent that they could recover all of their limbs within a day's rest. Their meat also tasted very good once it underwent the necessary processes to get rid of the monster's toxic blood, but the creature could be continuously harvested for meat in the entirety of its fifty-year lifespan. Its taste made it nearly indistinguishable from pork once the meat was ground. These wonderful creatures didn't even need food — just feeding them their own severed tail seemed to tide them over for an entire week for some reason.

'The kingdom sure is lucky that this world doesn't have a PETA.'

Of course, while this was incredibly cruel in the eyes of some people, one must not forget that these creatures were responsible for widespread destruction.

White Stone Tortoise hordes slowly ruined entire nations by turning everything, even people, into stone. Their slow march was a form of mental torture in itself, filling their eventual victims with dread as they watched the massive creatures approach from a distance.

Tasty Lizards, on the other hand, — once called Immortal Salamanders — would trample on armies, depending on sheer numbers and their near-invulnerability to mortal weapons

In a way, humanity simply found a way to enact vengeance against centuries of tyranny.

'Man, I haven't had lizard meat in a while... Maybe I'll request for some to be sent here.'

“Anyway, we should get ready for landing.” Jiji reminded him, standing up and leading the way herself.

“You're right. We can't keep our hosts waiting for too long.” Reivan nodded before taking Helen’s hand and following after his sister.

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As tradition dictated, the most important personages in a delegation usually got off the ship first.

Initially, this would have naturally been a position for Reivan to assume. However, with the presence of two royals, they now needed to disembark together.

One could argue that Reivan held a higher position due to being a royal by blood, while Jiji was adopted. Still, no one dared to voice this sentiment aloud, understanding that such a statement would likely incur the wrath of all royals by blood.

The tight-knit bonds within the royal family were widely recognized, and anyone familiar with the kingdom's affairs knew better than to question their unity.

“So,” Reivan looked up at the small sky ark that wasn’t really small. “We’re going to ride this to get off Fenrir, huh? Classy. I like it.”

In Fenrir’s inner hangar, Reivan chuckled as he marveled at the opulently decorated mini-sky ark. The vessel, unlike Fenrir which did not look anything like a boat, was a faithful replica of the true sky arks of old. Simply put, it was a thirty-meter ferry that was painted in the white-blue-gold color scheme that Aizen was known for.

‘Whoops, that’s not paint. That’s real gold, I think.’

Even though the vessel floated because of some magic mumbo-jumbo that Reivan didn’t fully understand and had no intention of delving into, the seacraft-shaped aircraft had a blue sail, pointlessly flapping majestically in the breeze. Using golden threads, the Aizen Kingdom’s wolf motif was embroidered in all its glory.

Barely, the vessel’s size classified it as a small sky ark.

And in contrast to Fenrir, this vessel was made purely to look good and had almost no defensive capabilities at all. That’s why the ship was named The Golden Wolf — a name that suited it perfectly. Gold looked pretty, but it was an incredibly weak metal that was unsuitable for combat purposes.

All around The Golden Wolf were smaller ones meant for the rest of the diplomatic retinue and the servants that would be attending to them.

“Who are we riding with?” Jiji asked as she hooked her arm around Reivan’s. Her white cat ears were pointing straight up and her tail was hypnotically swaying from side to side as she bounced on her feet. “There’s you, me, Grand Minister Greteliana… Of course, Sir Valter too, though, he’s a secret passenger.”

Helen tapped her from behind. “Me. I’m on guard duty.”

“Oh.” Jiji clicked her tongue, not even looking. “Right.”

“Hey. Be nice.” Reivan pinched her cheek and then led their tiny group into the ship.

The vessel appeared to have a set of steps integrated into its design, disappearing into a spatial storage space when not in use. While using the stairs might have slowed them down – as Reivan, Jiji, and Helen were all powerful enough to effortlessly leap onto the ship in an instant – they undoubtedly proved useful for ordinary individuals, such as the Grand Minister who waved at them from the deck.

“Good morning, Grand Minister.” Reivan reached forward and shook her hand before she could bow. Starting today, rather than liege and subordinate, he intended for a more collaborative relationship. “Please help me not make a fool of myself out there.”

The older woman looked startled for a moment before she giggled, grabbing his hand more firmly. “I will do my utmost.”

“I’ll help too.” Jiji waved at the Grand Minister, a graceful smile on her pretty face. “For as long as I’m here, at least.”

Helen climbed aboard as well, but she stood aside with no intention to join the conversation. For the duration of the trip, she was outwardly Reivan’s personal guard — with Valter being the true guard.

Reivan caught someone at the edge of his vision and then turned to others. “We’ll be departing in a bit, but I want to get a look around the ship first. Alone.”

“I’m coming wi—” Jiji stopped in the middle of her words, catching the meaning behind his gaze. She nodded in understanding. “Actually, I’d like to discuss some things with Grand Minister Greteliana. Is that okay?”

“Oh my.” Greteliana covered her mouth with her fan. “I would welcome a discussion with Her Highness any day.”

“Great.” Jiji nodded, then took Helen by the hand. “You'll come with us too.”

“What? But I—”

“Dame Helen. Please come with us.”

Helen frowned for a moment but couldn’t outwardly refuse a royal’s direct request. “Yes… Your Highness.”

Reivan waved at them as they went deeper into the ship, before beckoning the invisible man over.

Filth — with his special ability and the black bandana’s effect activated — walked forward and bowed.

“Good to see you didn’t sleep in despite the good bed. Oh, and it’s safe for now, so deactivate your ability so we can actually talk. Your skill cuts off your voice too, after all.” Reivan chuckled and lightly slapped the man’s upper arm. “So? You spent most of your life on a ship. What do you think of this one?”

Filth didn’t really change in Reivan’s eyes, but his presence returned. The man scratched his cheek with a sheepish smile. “With all due respect, Boss. The other ships I’ve been on might as well be scraps of wood compared to this thing.”

“I can imagine.” Reivan grinned before taking out a box. “Here. For self-defense. Open it here.”

“Understood…” Filth carefully took the box and opened it, his eyes widening at what he saw. “This is…”

“I’m sure you’ve encountered them once or twice. Or at least heard of them.”

Filth nodded blankly, retrieving the silver pistol from within the box. “A gun… I’ve never used one before, Boss.”

“It’s not that hard. Make sure it’s loaded and the exploding end is pointed at the other guy. Then just click, and they die. Hopefully, that is.”

“Right…”

“There are five magazines… That’s what the things holding the ammo are called, by the way. The four black ones have been imbued with a very small storage space, so they can contain up to a hundred bullets. All the black magazines have been loaded. You are free to use two magazines to practice your marksmanship in your spare time. Leave the last two for emergencies.”

Filth looked horrified, the hand grasped around the gun shaking slightly. “Doesn’t that make this extremely valuable? The magazines too…”

“Indeed. So I’d like it if you didn’t lose the magazines.” Reivan smirked. “You may have noticed the white magazine. That one is loaded with twenty Spellbane bullets — otherwise known as anti-magic bullets — in case you have to fight a sorcerer. I cannot stress enough how much I don’t want you to provoke one though. These bullets are for extreme emergencies. Don’t tell anyone that you have them, either. Spare yourself the trouble of provoking all the sorcerers around you.”

“Understood.” Filth nodded vigorously.

Reivan smiled and then gestured toward the gun. “By the way, the gun itself has been enchanted for increased durability among other things, so you don’t need to perform any maintenance. As for the bullets that aren’t the special ones, they’re common fair, so you can procure them locally. I have no idea where, but there must be an underground arms dealer somewhere. That’ll be your first assignment, I think. Finding where the hell that is.”

“I’ll do it, Boss.”

“I like your enthusiasm, Mr. Filth. Anyway, I’ll expedite your expenses for ammo. Try to get a receipt for your purchases or something. I don’t really care how much money you sink into this as long as you don’t buy up a warehouse full of bullets. Just make sure to use it to practice your marksmanship when you can.”

‘Since the guy’s so weak, this is pretty much the only way for him to defend himself… And that gun can’t help him against people who’ve unlocked their qi.’

Most of Arkhan’s sorcerers were still vulnerable to guns as long as they were caught by surprise and didn’t have automatic defense artifacts equipped.

The anti-magic bullets would help nullify those. But if Filth couldn’t clear the room in time, he would die without question. There was a reason why sorcerers made up Arkhan’s core forces, not gunners and marksmen.

“That’s all for now.” Reivan patted the man’s shoulder before walking past him. “I don’t have anything else specific for you to do right now, so just leave the ship unnoticed once we land and find an inn to hole up in for a while. Stay in the republic's capital for now. Practice while you can and find that arms dealer. Maybe ask if they know places to buy ammunition in other cities in the republic. That kind of thing.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“Otherwise… Well, just stay out of trouble. Try to get some food in you. Because by Sormon’s pink teacup, you look like a skeleton, man. No offense, of course. I know what you’ve been through.”

“...Understood, Boss.”

Filth still seemed a bit dazed at all the valuable things he was getting, but he nodded all the same.

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It seemed that the republic wanted to make a show of welcoming the diplomatic party from the Aizen Kingdom because there were quite a few people to welcome them.

‘What a crowd.’

Reivan smiled and waved at the throng of people numbering in the hundreds. His other hand was occupied, gently guiding his younger sister, who had traded her knight uniform for a frilly white blouse and a high-waisted long blue skirt. The entire outfit was ridden with lace, but somehow still elevated the young princess' elegance by multiple notches.

‘A virgin-killing outfit…’

It was an outfit that Reivan was absolutely sure that the first king introduced into the world. Over time, Reivan kept on uncovering more instances of how his ancestor infused his personal tastes into the kingdom’s traditions.

‘Or wait. Maybe he just meant for his wife to wear these kinds of outfits, but the rest of the kingdom somehow found out about it, and he was unable to stop it from being adopted by the populace.’

Reivan could envision such a result rather easily for some reason. Perhaps it was his intuition at play, but he was somehow certain that these types of outfits weren’t intentionally normalized by his great ancestor. Suddenly, he felt that the man he'd never met was somewhat pitiful.

“Yani.” Jiji telepathically spoke through their communication crystals while also smiling at the crowd. “Don’t make it too obvious. But look at that person wearing the fancy dress robes.”

“Which ones?” Reivan answered back, trying to act normal as he continued descending the steps. “There are quite a lot of them.”

Naturally, he had familiarized himself with the faces of key figures within the technocratic republic long ago. Even from a distance, he could identify the president, the vice president, several senators, and a few other significant figures among the welcoming committee.

However, Reivan knew that Jiji wasn’t referring to those individuals, as she understood his awareness of them.

Jiji confirmed his suspicions. “Look for someone wearing stars on their robes.”

“Stars…” Reivan searched through the mob.

A nation supported by the work of sorcerers, high fashion inevitably leaned toward their influence as well. Consequently, formal attire in the republic often mirrored the wizardly robes favored by sorcerers – featuring long, billowy sleeves and flowing hems that extended well beyond the knees, with certain robes even trailing along the floor.

Even those who weren’t sorcerers themselves wore dress robes during important events. It was actually an unspoken statement of how rich or important they were when they chose to wear colorful dress robes at all times.

That was also why it was rather easy to tell the officials apart from the common rabble — who were generally dressed in different kinds of white tops and dark-colored bottoms, with a hat or a dark coat to finish the ensemble.

‘Man, everybody’s dressed the same, so the fancy guys stick out like sore thumbs…’

Reivan continued scanning the crowd, discreetly observing the elegantly clad figures. His eyes finally rested on a slightly rotund gentleman, adorned in a simple but expensive-looking black robe with golden stars depicted here and there.

“Ah, I see him,” Reivan acknowledged silently, still maintaining his composed descent down the steps. “Mustache looks like a brush. Wearing a tall silk hat. Black cane. That guy?”

“Yep. That’s the one.”

“What about him?”

Jiji's mental voice conveyed a mischievous tone, “He’s the thirty-fourth son of someone very important.”

Reivan held back a frown, not forgetting to continue waving at the people who were likely paid to show up. “You know I don’t study these things that far. C’mon. Give me a break. Who is it?”

“The Star of Fortune.”

“...What?”

“He’s the thirty-fourth son of the Star’s chairman.” Jiji’s giggle rattled his mind.

‘Wait, you can send your laughter through thoughts…? I didn’t know that was a thing…’

Reivan shook his head free of the sudden discovery and nodded. “Thirty-fourth? That’s so far from the line of succession, though. Is he important?”

“It’s cute how you say dumb things sometimes, Yani. Why are you thinking about this like they’re a noble family? They’re merchants. The biggest conglomerate in the continent. Do you think they’d let anyone but the most competent successor inherit it all? And that guy just happens to be the most likely successor at the moment — which holds much more weight since the current chairman’s in his fifties and isn’t doing so well.”

“Really…?” Reivan controlled his expression, taking care not to let the man on the ground notice his gaze. “Are you sure that’s him? Maybe you saw a portrait of him when he was thin, and now he’s fattened up a little…”

“I met him a few months ago. So I’m sure.” Jiji’s annoyance was conveyed through their telepathic link. “Wily bastard. Thinks he can just bribe me with money, of all things. Hah! The nerve of some people. He doesn't know that my Yani is very rich and will give his adorable sister all the pocket money she could ever want! Right, Yani? Hey... Hey! Answer me~!”

The Star of Fortune.

There were three main powers in the Sentorale Continent, with three smaller forces hiding the existence of their Transcendents.

One of these smaller forces was The Star of Fortune — also known as The Golden Star.

An intercontinental conglomerate that had its reaches spread all over the republic, the empire, and the entire Pentagoria Continent. And if Aizen hadn’t been such an isolationist during the past few regimes, perhaps The Star would have spread to the kingdom as well.

It was the embodiment of capitalism in this world and even had a Transcendent under its payroll.

‘A big fish came out to play.’

Despite the slight shock, Reivan didn’t actually care much about The Star. They were eternally neutral during conflicts, fairly providing anyone — even all sides at once — with what they paid for. And with Aizen’s wealth, if the continent erupted into war, they had enough resources in the vault to hire the Gladiator King — the Star of Fortune’s Transcendent.

‘Hm. It wouldn’t hurt to try draining the republic's funds just so they can’t compete in the bid for The Star’s aid.’

This could easily be achieved by dangling some benefits in front of these greedy politicians. Those fools had already proven that they could be bought for much less.

Reivan and Jiji's secret conversation lasted only for a short few seconds, but by the end of it, they had reached the bottom of the stairs. He stepped off and made a show of his gentlemanliness by holding Jiji’s hand as she got off — even though she was strong enough to destroy the ship in a short few moments.

Right behind them was the Grand Minister, escorted by his very handsome fiance, Helen.

“Your Highness, Prince Reivan Aizenwald.” A dapper gentleman who seemed to have aged like fine wine stepped forward and greeted them all in fluent English, his dark purple dress robes dragging across the port’s tiles. “The republic welcomes you with open arms.”

“President Severan Netral.” Reivan shook the man’s hand and smiled, responding in purposefully worsened Arkhanian. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

The man seated on the highest political seat in the nation returned the smile. "What a wonderful surprise, for you to learn our tongue."

"It's rough around the edges now, but hopefully, I can get better."

"With time, I suppose. I certainly hope your stay here in our humble nation will help with that.”

”I hope so as well.”

After holding the handshake for a few more seconds, they parted, as the President proceeded to share a few words with Jiji and Grand Minister Greteliana. All the while, Reivan recalled the man’s profile report.

‘Severan Netral. Halfway into his third ten-year term as president of Arkhan. No scandals. No big mistakes. There is a baseless rumor that he manipulated the votes, but that's all it is for now — just rumors. He has a clean record as long as you ignore the fact that he also doesn’t have any big wins. He has also been neutral in his stance on which nation to build an alliance with. Possibly a vulture that will prey on the weak and side with the strong.’

Reivan momentarily watched Jiji act like the elegant social butterfly that she never was when they were alone together, sending a glance toward the man who had accompanied the president.

An aged gentleman with a slightly hunched back stepped forward with a very welcoming smile. “It is my greatest honor to finally meet with the renowned Prince Reivan Aizenwald.”

“Oh?” Reivan raised a brow before shaking the man’s hand as well, grinning at the old man’s words. He reverted back to English to keep up the act of having little skill in Arkhanian. “I’m flattered that the republic's esteemed Vice-President knows something about me. Well met, Mr. Naldar.”

“Please, Your Highness. Just call me Iseus.” The Vice President laughed while slapping his balding head. “Mr. Naldar is my father. And he’s dead! Don’t call him back here, or we’ll all be stuck hearing his war stories for ages. Why, you might be as old as me by the time he’s halfway through!”

“He sounds like my kind of drinking partner, Mr. Iseus.” Reivan faked a chuckle in response as he replayed the short lecture his sister put him through about the man in front of him.

‘Iseus Naldar. Has been the president’s running mate from the start. Part of an upstart family of politicians that started two generations ago. Shares the president’s neutral stance for the most part, but has been steadily showing support to the small pro-Aizen faction within the republic, eventually becoming the faction's head.’

One of the things on Reivan’s list of tasks was to make sure the Vice President fully committed to supporting Aizen, so Iseus Naldar had a big fat target on his forehead from Reivan’s perspective.

‘Let’s start by lightly buttering him up.’

“Your English is so good, Mr. Iseus,” Reivan said, acting amazed. “It’s almost as if you’re one of us.”

“Goodness. You flatter this old man.” Iseus shook his head with a laugh. “I merely visited Aizen a lot in the past few years. I just picked it up from the locals, so to speak. I’ve heard many things about your nation, but truly, seeing is believing.”

“Good things, I hope?”

“Very good things, Your Highness. I just hope I got to see more of it before my visa expired.”

“I see...” Reivan nodded and then slightly lowered his voice. “Then perhaps if our friendship deepens, I can take you to better places in my country. And for longer stays, too.”

Vice President Iseus’s brows twitched but soon, the aged gentleman’s smile deepened. “Certainly. I’m sure that with the cooperation between your respected self and this humble one’s efforts, we can achieve great things.”

Reivan laughed. “Cheers to that.”

“Speaking of cheers, Your Highness.” President Severan Netral cut into the conversation, apparently having finished his greetings with the other core members of his party. “We have prepared a small celebration to welcome you as our guests. Come, please let me escort you there.”

“By all means, lead the way.”

Reivan threw a glance at the two girls and one elderly woman behind him, seemingly expecting him to lead the way. Maintaining his smile, Reivan fell into step beside the President as they chatted about mundane things.

All the while he sensed the gazes of countless people, sizing him up and looking for a weakness to exploit. He would be damned if he let them find any, but he was terribly out of his element and had to depend on the very capable women following him, as well as the small group of ministers that were filing out of the other sky arks.

‘Man, looks like being a figurehead isn't going to be as easy as I thought…’

Reivan tried his best to ignore the blatant scrutiny, but as he confidently strolled into what was supposed to be a welcome party, he felt as if he was marching into a den of snakes instead.