"Name your price."
Jack looked away from the prince, acting like he never heard the question.
The old woman was worried, but she hid her emotions the best she could and hoped that Jack would cooperate. Rydel smiled and shook his head when he realized how stubborn and immature the crown prince was.
Still redder than a tomato, be it from anger, embarrassment, or both, the crown prince repeated himself. "Name your price adventurer."
"You can't afford it."
The calm, hushed reply caused the prince to choke up and freeze awkwardly. The guard in charge of protecting the prince spoke up, "Please adventurer, the prince has always liked to collect rare beasts of all kinds. Truly you can ask any price and the Royal Court shouldn't have a problem acquiescing."
Jack chuckled; his patience was growing thin and he only wanted to hurry the bloodline test. "I'm being honest, you can't afford my fox. Though I'm unsure of the breed myself, I've seen what it can do so I know that it's extraordinary. The only thing that might tempt me would be the throne your king sits on, but maybe the Royal Court can ask on my behalf."
That guard wanted to cough blood after hearing Jack's response.
For him to ask for the throne, it was clear that Jack was never going to give up the fox and that Jack had a deep enmity for the royal family. This was obvious to anyone who realized the meaning of Jack's phrase, "your king," which meant Jack didn't consider King Leodoro as his king.
"You ungrateful—" the prince was about to return Jack's insult but was interrupted.
"Please madam, hurry and take us to the bloodline test. I'm disgusted by the company here and no longer wish to smell their undeserved arrogance." Jack's words were polite and respectable, yet they cut to the core like daggers. The woman sighed and turned to lead the two adventurers away.
"Wait, I didn't give you permission to help them. By royal decree, this Royal Court office will be temporarily shut down as we comb its records and perform a screening," said the prince with a wicked smile on his face.
Everyone looked at the crown prince in shock, not expecting the prince to be so brazen or hot-blooded.
Once a year there was a screening of each office to verify all records and weed out any potential spies in the ranks of the Royal Court.
Usually, such screenings are scheduled and announced beforehand to the public so the public can plan trips and errands around the weeklong screening, even in "A Hero's Tale." Once a screening was announced, there was always a boom of customers that would do their errands a week early.
Also, the office workers were paid on commission, only getting paid a portion from every transaction they made. They would also have to plan their spending around the scheduled screening so they could afford to live, but a surprise screening was a possible financial suicide.
Hearing this, the old woman's fury was directed at the prince. She understood that he had power and would typically get what he wanted, but it was clear that the prince couldn't exploit association members so easily and it was futile.
In a childish fit, the prince had acted against everyone's interests and gained everyone's enmity. Even the guards were mad now that they had to perform a screening and level up the prince, knowing they wouldn't be paid any extra.
"Are you really so childish and immature? It's not their fault that you can't have my fox, yet you're causing them more problems than anyone else," said Jack, motioning towards the maid and the guards. "If you're the crown prince, then surely the Reinolt Kingdom won't last even half a century more."
"You!" This time the prince acted personally, lunging towards Jack before his guards could stop him.
He was wide-eyed and anxious to strike Jack down but was sent flying backward before he remembered Rydel standing beside Jack.
"Wow, I guess the Royal Court no longer gives any face to the Adventurer Association. I'll make sure to fill in Zariff once we get back to Reinolt City," commented Rydel.
"Please adventurers, don't take offense. His highness—"
"Your king has already offended me before I joined the association, so don't go on telling me that this was an accident. We all know how spoiled and corrupt the royal family is, I'm just not afraid to admit it," answered Jack. "If he had stopped persisting after one of the many times we stated our case, then I'd be willing to chalk the experience up to the prince being young and naïve. But if he seeks my blood just for not giving up my fox, his arrogance knows no bounds. Even the ancients gods wouldn't act so arrogantly."
"Come on kid, it looks like they'll be busy here for a while. Let's give the prince and his servants room to play," said Rydel, turning and leading Jack back to the lobby.
"Come back here you cowards! You'll pay for striking the crown prince; you'll be dead the moment you step into Reinolt City!" Fuming, the prince slandered the two silent adventurers leaving the office. All guards and workers were silent, not wanting to receive the punishment for talking back to the royal family.
In the lobby, everyone was able to hear the many yells from the crown prince. They all lowered their opinions of the royal family, especially when they heard that the prince acted against association members.
It was obvious to most people that the prince wanted this exiting adventurer's beast and threw a tantrum when he didn't get it.
From that day onwards, new rumors of the pampered royal family would spread like wildfire.
Also, everyone's opinion of the Adventurers Association went up when they saw the adventurers leaving calmly like it wasn't worth their time to argue. The woman who worked as the receptionist at the royal court would even share how the association members respected and defended her when the prince announced the screening.
This small event would be a silent wave of commotion that would later lead to the neighboring towns to favor the association over the Royal Court.
"Now what? Is there another way to register Bowser?" asked Jack once they were outside.
"Hmm, it's not like there aren't other options but I'm not sure what's best. Let's ask Vaul, he'd be more familiar with this region than me," answered Rydel.
The hunter duo entering the neighboring association office and saw Vaul sitting in deep thought. Vaul looked back at them and yelled, "Who are you? What are you?"
"Whoa, calm down." Jack put up his hands and leaned back like he was innocent of the accusation. "I'm just a summoned hero that the king pissed off, so I joined the association instead. Before I came here I had interacted with ancient Kartonia but right now I'm just a lv. 1 trying to register my beast companion, got any tips on how I can do that?"
Vaul took a moment to respond, thinking over Jack's words. "Okay, I believe you since that's the only way Rydel would look up to you so highly. As for registering your fox, what happened at the royal office?"
Rydel was about to explain when Jack briefly summed it up. "The crown prince was too immature and announced a surprise screening after I refused to give up Bowser. Know of any other ways to register it?"
"Well," laughed Vaul, "in most nations, you can even register a beast with the association, it's just that the Reinolt Kingdom has a law saying that any beast in their country must be registered by them and they only accept international beast registrations for temporary residents."
"So, how does that help me here?" asked Jack.
"There are other places you can register your beast within the country, but they're going to cost you. The Royal Court has placed massive taxes on practices like the bloodline test and the materials used for it. Any third-party service to register a beast will cost more than triple what the Royal Court offers." Vaul explained it simply and shrugged.
"That much?" Jack was startled by the insane price, realizing how the Royal Court easily gained influence. "Where can I find a place to do this?"
"There's one here in town. Baltwood is technically under the Royal Court's protection as a town neighboring the capital, but the Balt Guild has been the real strength and protection of the town since they founded it," said Vaul.
"Balt Guild, huh? I knew they were from here, but I didn't know Baltwood was named after them, I thought it was the other way around," stated Rydel.
"The Balt Guildhall is like a second town hall and they offer all the same services as the royal office, only at a much higher price. Knowing Rydel you guys are probably staying at the Boar's Inn, the guildhall isn't too far from there." Vaul smiled, knowing that he had guessed correctly from the smirk on Rydel's face.
"Thanks, Vaul, we'll come by again when we need more information," said Jack, bowing his head to the man behind the desk.
"Then make it fast, I get lonely here," joked Vaul. Both Jack and Rydel nodded and left quietly, leaving Vaul to return to his boredom.