Collective gasps rang out from the kneeling Sentries, who did nothing but drop their jaws with a hidden smile and let their glittering eyes express themselves to their master. The throne that this young man sat upon with such influence was made of even finer ivories and gems than the Queen's. Its darker tones indicated that the owner of the throne did not express positive feedback, although his subordinates' faces said otherwise.
Flames upon candles, torches, on chandeliers, and in lanterns lit up all around the throne room, finalizing with the big double doors in the back closing silently. With the chance to take in the full appearance of the throne room, the gathered individuals scanned their eyes over the environment they were in, taking in every last detail.
Dark stone bricks made up the walls, floor, and ceiling, while big red banners numbering 12 on each side (from the throne's perspective) ranging from the doors to the throne itself faced inside of the space. On the ceiling, chandeliers hung, contrasting to the torches placed on the walls, which were not veiled by the huge cylindrical pillars that supported the construct.
A rich, unblemished crimson carpet laced with gold patters and edges stretched from the entrance to the throne. This space was undoubtedly made with the intent on illustrating the owner's power and authority. It was a residence deserving for a young lord.
As if this was not enough, the steps leading up to the throne numbered in three, expressing how superior the one sitting atop the escalated platform was to the rest of the individuals. Oddly enough, the inferiors seemed to... accept this fact.
The first one to speak up was Cassy, who wore a pouty face.
"My lord, why are you under Grian's technical rule? It is clear you have more power than he does."
The name "Grian" certainly held power in the room, however it was masked by the presence of the gathered men and women. A chuckle escaped from the young lord's lips as he gave her his answer.
"Yes, I am stronger than him, however rule over the entirety of the Sentinel of Hades is only earned through inheritance. In this case, I will never become the ruler. In exchange, he has given me freedom and total influence throughout the organization, so I am the ruler, yet I am not."
"That's so unnecessary when you surpass the organization itself, my lord."
"It is fine. He has given me the leeway of authority that I need in order to do what I wish. As long as that does not change, I will always be your master."
Explaining to the Sentries, particularly Cassy, about his situation was not an easy task, although it was not exactly difficult, either, for they understood well and did not question his reply, excluding Cassy's comment. It was impossible for someone not to feel anything when put in an inferior position than a weaker individual, however the young lord shared no animosity in his words as he spoke.
Slightly eager to shift the subject, the young lord continued with his earlier claims' elaborations.
"Now, then. Michaela, I would like for you to remain in the Sorrow Mountains and stir up some trouble. Just give the Royal Guard and Interstate Criminal Police Organization a reason to investigate there. It'll lighten the load upon my entrance into the Kingdom and the Districts."
"It will be done, my lord."
In an instant, she vanished into thin air. Nobody flinched at the sight of her blinking out of existence in front of them, so correspondingly, no confusion was incurred.
"David, please remain here and prepare the 13 Apostles. They will be busy from here on out."
"Yes, my lord."
Again, he vanished.
"Finally, Quinn... It would be a really big help if you could pay the Empire a visit. Sign up as an Adventurer and report to me every other day about your investigation. You're expected to get much done within this month. Under no circumstances are you to reveal your affiliation. Understood?"
"Of course, sir. Your wish is my command."
After a few words of confirmed pleasure, Quinn's body scattered into small creatures resembling bats. If anything were to give away his specialty in power, that was sure to do it. It would've taken an oaf to not put two and two together in this day and age.
At the end of his series of given orders, the young lord readjusted himself so that his back was erect and professional, suitable for a lord. His opal hair was certainly not natural. Having white hair in the teenage years was a decent indication that the wearer was "cursed" or "gifted", becoming a Witch, since the sudden change in power within the body stressed the areas that controlled hair pigmentation. This didn't occur every time one was bewitched, however the majority of young white-haired individuals were indeed supernatural power users.
Although opal was not so different from pure white, it *wasn't* pure white, so any warrants of arrest for suspicion of being a Witch were risky to try and achieve for the target.
After a moment, a sigh could be heard from the masked young lord as he rested his head on his hand, clearly worn out from the whole ordeal. This sigh turned into a slight groan. The reasoning behind this sort of behavior revolved around Quinn. This sort of uneasiness coming from the lord looked to be normal, judging from the remaining Sentries' expressions, that is. It was obvious Quinn was a man full of mischief, but nothing could be done; he already sent him on his way to the Empire. His mission had started, thus no more actions could be taken.
"Cassy and Aura, you guys go outside and prepare me a long-term fortress composition around the building. I'm going to be out for at least four months. If anything occurs, Communication Magic is your best option of information transference."
--"Yes, my lord."
--"Yes, my lord."
"You're dismissed."
The simultaneous replies from the subordinates preceded their exit via the same vanishing sorcery as the others' disappearances (exclusive of Quinn). With the throne room completely empty with nobody else inside except for the young man who sat atop his throne, all movements that created noise could be heard several times over from the walls' feedback.
Silently, the young man's facial features started to change (only including his hair and eye pigmentation). The eyes converted from a red violet to a cold, dark amethyst that seemed to pulsate, radiating despair. At the same time, his hair's white undertones and opal front shifted into a darker shade of purple until it wasn't purple at all and only black remained. His bangs disturbed some of the cold amethyst in his eyes but did not diminish the presence he had.
'If I couldn't change from my natural hair color, we'd be in a world of trouble right now,' he thought. Implying that his natural hair color would be the cause of the trouble, and from the common belief throughout the world regarding white hair, his hair color when no modifications are made was most likely a very pale selection.
Since they were lost in the screaming crowd, the whispers regarding his opal hair were shrouded, however he knew they were there. Unfortunately, he would be using black hair for his frequent outings and activities. Or, more specifically, he would only be releasing the deceitful modifications once he was completely finished with his activities.
Plus, making it purely black was much easier than the opal hair pattern. Making it red or green would have worked but the young man wanted the name "Alan Clementine" to be remembered not just for his prowess but for his uniqueness in style.
According to the general public's reaction, it was effective.
His deep, freezing amethyst irises burned brighter than the torches peppering the throne room. Nothing but death and misery resided in them. The wearer of these eyes was not human.
These eyes closed for a moment before opening back up, narrowing in a dangerous way that did not emit positive vibes in the least.
'I guess it's my turn.'
With this thought in his mind, he lifted his head off of his hand and reached for the piece of cloth that veiled the majority of his face. Snatching it, he gently pulled it down, letting it fall soundlessly onto the floor of the platform the throne sat atop of. Without picking it up, the young lord stood himself up and walked slowly down the three steps before stopping at the base and looking upwards by a decent degree. It wasn't as if he was gazing up at the sky, for there was a ceiling and roof, however he was definitely looking *up*.
The edges of his lips tilted ominously.
In an instant, the world felt it.
The world felt the gust of wind... the spirit of another... the presence of something beyond their comprehension.
The planet was overcome with a suspicious feeling; it was the feeling of impending doom.
Nothing good was coming out of it.
Something lied in wait.
Men and women, innocent and evil, faced an enemy.
Unity was the only chance for such prevention to take place.
Adventurer, ninja, magic caster, mercenary, Witch... everyone felt it. The presence of the embodiment of Hell.
Death was coming.
Revolution was commencing.
The only thing to do was follow the enemies' orders; to prepare.
Through the sky... up into the clouds... down into the planet... striking the men and women all over;
this was what the young lord was capable of influencing... with his presence alone.
It was not as if he wanted to do things discreetly without any casualties.
In fact, it was the opposite.
He wanted to challenge the world.
He wanted... a war. A war to end all wars.
A war to decide it all.
Nothing was of more importance.
Blood would be spilled,
and he would witness every second of it.
It wasn't just that he had no intention of being defeated, he *knew* he wouldn't be defeated. The very thought bared no significance whatsoever.
He wanted the world to know this, and he succeeded.
The ignorant night festivals occurring all around the world were not aware.
Give them mercy the young lord did not plan on doing.
The fight he would give would be overwhelming yet effortless.
By exiting the throne room, and then out into the mountainous terrain that surrounded a magically-veiled building, the young lord took in the scenery, and his refined, striking face released a mild expression of satisfaction. He could hear the squabbles of two females as they performed the task that they were assigned.
The thin air that encased him did not affect his breathing. Although it had been a couple days since the revelation of "Alan Clementine", it was still odd how he had adapted to the mountains so easily. He also found it odd how the Queen immediately deemed him worthy of being hunted. Changing his appearance did not emit any waves of energy that were detectable by normal means, however he thought the Queen was not letting out all she had at her disposal.
'You are indeed a smart woman, Your Majesty... I wonder what made you think I was a Witch, but I wonder even more about why you made the excuse revolve around me being potentially manipulated by other powers...'
He had read through her like a book. His familiarity with her could have been questioned.
As those thoughts ran through his head, all the way back in the Kingdom, the Queen was barking orders. Men in suites and very expensive attire sat in what looked like a conference room, circular around the table at which they were holding an important discussion. The Kingdom itself was drinking the night away and dancing to it's content. Ignorance was bliss, after all.
After the night had rolled over the sky, only three more days would remain for the Kingdom. Their walls were fortified, imperial knights were recruited and trained, and the Royal Guard was already on its way back to the castle, regrouping after the Third Sector Massacre. All bets on Alan Clementine were off. No doubt the disappearance of him and the reappearance of Lucifer would raise some questions, however the young lord himself planned to prevent that.
Tomorrow, he would sign up as an Adventurer in the Kingdom. That would be the start of the interior warfare against the Kingdom.
It was only a matter of time; a matter of patience... The young lord's eager smile, however, was unsettling enough as it was.
———————————————————————
The sun was blazing down upon the people of the Kingdom. Dark storm clouds threatened the Kingdom from miles away, and they were definitely coming toward the Kingdom, but nobody seemed concerned. The state was full of life, consisting of shop owners, merchants, and imperial knights wandering the streets and just having a blast. All the way in the Sixth Sector, the Third Sector's troubles did not affect the people, thus no negative emotions radiated from the inhabitants. Unlike the Third Sector, it was not especially rich, just middle-class, so the average luxuries in the sector were average in global standards, as well.
Smelling food being cooked, inducing a watery mouth, the opal-haired teenager weaved through the crowd like a snake, following the scent of meat being cooked. Of course, this was expected, for the time it took to travel to the Kingdom on foot was enough to make the young man pull an all-nighter.
'I swear if I could have at least one more ability it would be the utility of Teleportation Magic. Using *that* would be too suspicious, so I'm kind of screwed in the transportation department...' he complained silently, ignoring the smelly old man he accidentally brushed passed. Without apologizing, he dipped into the crowd and lost sight of him. Manners were a big deal in the Kingdom, and if one wasn't able to uphold them through interactions, then they were to be called out or worse depending on the person they didn't follow through with regarding etiquette.
The majority of the individuals who took it as far as reporting to law enforcement consisted of elderly men and women.
By hiding his features with a cloak, which was accompanied with a hood, he effectively veiled his identity as "Alan Clementine, the young man who took down Michael Doreno in a duel." Infamy was normal when it came down to fighters, Adventurers, ninjas, and other specialized forms of contribution to the world, or in this case, the Kingdom in particular.
Most people in the Kingdom were plenty capable of obtaining information regarding these things. A small percentage of them decided to make a business out of their specialties and become information brokers, selling information for money, rare items, gemstones, unknown information, and food among others.
That being said, he had to try his best not to be spotted, as well as labeled suspicious by law enforcement or nearby onlookers. Archers and spotters were located on the rooftops, however due to his utility of the dense crowd of people, he was able to bypass their vision and easily make it to the source of the mouthwatering scent traveling through the streets.
On the other hand, the place was not as busy as the young man had anticipated, probably meaning his keen sense of smell indirectly encouraged him to take a mistaken approach.
The building was not the biggest, however its wooden structure was very comfy and having the kitchen nearby the tables made the smell more potent. Out of the 16 tables of four, only three remained fully seated, while another two tables consisted of two people each, one of those probably being the location of a date.
Needless to say, the plates of food sitting before the customers made the young man even more impatient. Out of all the years he had been in the Sentinel of Hades, he had never smelled such an exotic smell. It was clearly a meat-specialized dining space, but out of all the meats he had tried in his lifetime, he hadn't smelled one like the one he was smelling right now.
Two fully-seated tables were quite far away from each other, both on opposite sides of the composition, while the third was located in an opposite corner away from the two others near the kitchen. Closest to the entrance was one of them, numbering in three guys and one girl. Under normal circumstances, this sight would've raised some eyebrows, but the way they looked at her did not express lust or dominance in any way. In fact, they seemed to be a group of genuinely good friends.
Upon his entrance, one of the guys, one with short blonde hair that was styled in a "bad-boy", messy fashion, followed the hooded young man with his eyes in a suspicious way. It wasn't as if the young man could blame him. He looked suspicious even to himself.
Right before he reached the counter where orders were taken, a voice called out to him. Everyone in the eatery swiveled their heads toward the cloaked teenager and the young adult who spoke. Alan kept his head low, ignoring the waitress' and customers' gazes.
"Aye, bud, do me a favor and pop that hood off of ya head for a sec. Y'know wearing a hood indoors is *impolite.*"
After a moment of silence and immobility, the guy who spoke up pushed his chair out and stood up, measuring six feet--two inches in height, about three and a half inches taller than the hooded young man.
His boots creaked the wooden floor as he stepped slowly toward the suspicious young man. Whispers from the table he was sitting at called out to him in embarrassment.
"Ryan, what the *hell* are you doing?"
"C'mon, little man, show yourself."
Ignoring the girl's question, he proceeded onward. When he reached only a few feet away from the person he was asking to reveal themselves, the latter turned slowly and reached for his hood. Gradually, the air got tense as he lifted the clothing.
A face of embarrassment flushed over "Ryan's" face as normal, handsome, black-haired young man with vibrant amethyst eyes stared right back at him stoically.
"But... Uh..."
"Ryan, you're an IDIOT!"
*BANG!*
"OW!"
From behind the blonde gentleman a teenage girl, definitely around both of the young men's ages, snatched her empty food tray, called out Ryan's name, and slammed it onto his head, no doubt knocking his thick skull back into gear from his earlier "flabbergast" moment. The noise the collision made was loud enough to get everyone's attention... which swiftly dispersed and conversations resumed as if nothing happened.
Clearly scenes like this were normal in this place.
Wearing a face of embarrassed apology, the young women gave Ryan's victim the most genuine smile she could.
"Sorry about him. He's been searching for Alan Clementine for the past couple days and he's been searching everyone that has themselves covered the way you do. He didn't mean to be such a dick."
"It's okay. I was just trying to get food and this was the closest eatery to where I entered the sector from. First time coming here."
"Oh? Wanna eat with us? We're almost done but I could snatch a chair and you could hang out."
Compared to the way he spoke to his Sentries, the young "lord" spoke in a rather casual way that reminded the young women of a normal teenager. Yet, she couldn't shake the feeling he wasn't normal, for not everyone travels with their features covered unless they had something to hide. Of course, it wasn't like she had tangible proof of anything of that sort so she couldn't take action.
Upon his response to her apology, Ryan stood still, staring at her in silent rage, holding his head tightly with both hands.
She didn't even give him a sliver of her attention.
By looking behind her, the young man spotted the two men sitting at the table, who were watching the scene with amused expressions on their faces. With one of them having long orange hair with black eyes and the other having medium-length brown hair with lighter brown eyes, reading them swiftly but deeply, he saw no reason to refuse. Their average, sufficient leather armor and sheathed daggers did not impose malicious character upon themselves.
He turned back to her.
"Sure. I'll be one minute."
"Roger that... Now Ryan, how about apologize for being an inconvenience,"
"Sorry, man. I-."
"That's good enough."
Giving the black-haired teenager a playful assurance, she instantly converted to a demonic demeanor as she grabbed Ryan's ear and dragged his face down to her level. His apology was followed by the not-so-real smile the young "lord" gave and a journey to the table via ear pulling. Complaining like a child, Ryan was forced to sit as the young man approached the counter where orders were taken.
"How may I help you, sir?"
"I'll take whatever meat's being cooked that smells like heaven."
The young man's request for food was nonchalant and very amusing to the waitress as she giggled and wrote down something on her notepad. Her outfit corresponding to the business she did in the eatery consisted of mostly white with blue patterns, and her red hair was put up in a ponytail. Appearing to be laid-back and knowing what the young man was talking about, she confirmed his order.
"Alright. Cerberus tongue it is! That'll be two silvers, please."
"Yes, ma'am."
'What the hell is cerberus tongue?!'
Shortly after his arrival to the sector, he bought black and red armor that emphasized mobility and comfort. Considering the clothing that the Sentries of his wore, and then comparing that sort of attire to the general population in the Kingdom, it seemed that the Sentries' clothing were more modern and unorthodox, since denim was not seen very often in the outside world.
Recognizing this fact, the young man bought ordinary clothing, which in the Kingdom's standards was leather and breathable mobile suits, although the young man's in particular was made an unknown, flexible but sturdy material. He didn't know if it would stand out, and considering he was about to sign up as an Adventurer as someone else, he decided to keep the cloak on around himself.
Judging from the waitress' undisturbed encounter with him, no abnormalities were spotted in his character.
Reaching his hand inside of his cloak, he placed two silver coins onto the counter in front of him, where the waitress happily collected them and jogged into the area behind her blocked by a door, which was most likely where the kitchen was. It was also the place where the scent was originating from.
Fortunately, he swiped some money from the old man from earlier.
Walking over to the table the young woman invited him to sit at during his meal, a fifth chair was stationed next to her and the brown haired young man. Silently, the young man sat down and the conversation about what seemed to be labor flowed to a conversation regarding the new addition to their little group. They didn't seem irritated or negatively impacted by the young man's intrusion, displayed by their interest in him, which was very friendly and casual.
With smiles on their faces, they were introduced by the young woman and welcomed him into the group, although it wasn't as if he was staying forever.
"My name's Amber," the young woman said cheerfully. Her short black hair had uneven bangs and edges, however in conclusion it was a neat hair style.
"His name's Ryan, but you already know that. The one that has hair longer than girls' hair is Ethan, and Mr. Quiet over there is Spencer."
"Yeah, take out your jealousy on the hair. Nice one, Amber."
"Hey."
When introductions were done, the one named Ethan groaned and waved his hand with a complaint, and Spencer, corresponding with his nickname, let out a single word of welcome. As the exchange of words escalated to a full-fledged conversation, the young man was forced to make up a name for himself. "Alan Clementine" was associated with the masked, opal-haired adolescent, while his real name "Exul Valentine" was kind of out of the question...
"My name is Zaza."
The words that came out of his mouth were partially unintentional while he did intend to give a name, so his tone was mildly uneven as he spoke. Fortunately, it was not read into and moments later his food arrived. Indulging in the amazing exotic flavor of his meal, carving the juicy tenderness of the meat into his brain, "Zaza" ate silently while the group of individuals around him joked, goofing around.
At one point, he even let out a smirk, which was caught by Amber who teased him a bit.
"Oh? Zaza can smile? WOW!"
"You're nuts."
The quick, flat response given by Zaza was humorous enough to spill some laughs. About 20 minutes after receiving his food, he had finished it and hung out some extra minutes with his acquaintances. When Zaza was asked what he did for a living or was planning what to do for a living, he took a shot in the dark for anything except for the word "Adventurer".
"I'm planning on becoming a mercenary."
A mercenary and Adventurer differed slightly in morality more than function. They both got paid for completing assignments that required physical labor regarding construction, elimination, bodyguard duties, messaging, and among others. The real difference lied between several smaller aspects to the occupations, such as methodologies. Mercenaries were mostly ruthless and the high majority were given duties relating to elimination of monsters, organizations (mostly organizations regarding drug distribution), and even people. The Mercenaries' Guild was slightly lenient with their duties, only regarding elimination toward monsters and criminals instead of any individual a client suggests. Due to these circumstances, although it isn't absolutely necessary, the Mercenary's Guild was, mostly in falsity, associated with the corrupt duties of mercenaries around the world, so the guild itself hid away in the states they were made in. The biggest and most profitable Mercenary Guilds resided in the Second District, the Fourth District, and the Kingdom, in which that one was specifically located in the Seventh Sector. Adventurers and mercenaries had always been on hostile terms with each other, and the Adventurers' contribution to the world revolving around not only elimination but support as well was the reason why the Adventurers' titles were capitalized in textbooks and mercenaries' titles were not. Becoming a mercenary was usually the result of very capable men and women that simply didn't have the influence to become a successful Adventurer in the Adventurers' Guild, so it was easy money for something a worker was good at doing. Mercenaries were never really in history books as much as Adventurers, and because of the large number of corrupt ones roaming the surface of the planet, the Mercenaries' Guilds were driven out of their states by the people, and the Adventurers were worshiped. The only other option for the guilds was to go into hiding.
And that's what they did.
Law enforcement didn't exactly seek out the guilds, however their clear hostility toward the Mercenaries' Guilds only resulted on biased judgement and conviction when one was caught doing an unsightly act, be it as petty as stealing food to something as crazy as indiscriminate murder. On the other hand, Adventurers were almost buddies with their states' law enforcement, only exceptions being the lowest-ranked Adventurers who accomplished nothing. Yet, even *they* were given respect associated with human beings.
This being known, Amber begged the question that everyone at the table was wondering.
"A mercenary? Why?"
"Well... I may not look like it, but I'm capable in that field of work."
The look that Zaza gave was that of a confused child, however the calculative irises that lingered in his gaze were not to be ignored. That being said, only Amber and Spencer seemed to catch on to the enigmatic air that surrounded their newly-made acquaintance. Also, almost all mercenaries had reasons for becoming who they became that they did not desire to expose, so when Zaza did not continue, Amber narrowed her eyes slightly while everyone else just sighed without any particular comments on the subject.
Yet, Spencer remained gazing at him in a quiet manner that screamed analysis.
'This guy...'
Zaza couldn't help but be wary of him, even if he was from *here*...
"If you ever need a team to join then let me know."
"Huh?"
"I know it's kinda unexpected, but we're actually a team of mercenaries from the Second District."
Amber's first statement surprised Zaza enough, but the second one couldn't veil his reaction as he realized that one of the locations responsible for nurturing the most successful mercenaries was brought up casually by a young woman he just met about 30 minutes ago. Not only that, but she was claiming association as well.
"We can always use an extra set of hands."
After giving him an innocent wink, Zaza couldn't help but force down his expressions. Thoughts regarding how small the world really was relentlessly played in his mind.
'Everything's connected.'
An unnoticeable smirk emerged from his lips as his eyes narrowed in a rather dangerous way. For Amber, the eyes sparked something inside of her that she herself couldn't explain. In her opinion, albeit this wasn't Zaza's intention at all, they were rather... attention-grabbing. She didn't know what was going through his head, but whatever it was that triggered the slight but loud conveyance of unreadable emotion from an apathetic guy like him must've been quite a discovery.
She restrained the urge to gulp.
"I'll consider it. Thanks for the offer. Well, I should get going. We can talk sometime soon."
Standing up, Zaza slid his chair under the table, not worrying too much over returning the furniture. Grabbing his tray, he walked toward the door, where the garbage can awaited for his disposal of dirty utensils. Before he did so, Ryan called out to him.
"Nice meeting ya."
"Likewise."
With a one word response, he left the eatery.
———————————————————————
"So Quinn, how are things over there?"
"Sir, the people hold their emperor in the highest of regards, however they are certainly fearful of him. It seems that he previously ran an oppressive rule over the people, which was one of the causes for the Kingdom to go to war with them over the years. On the other hand, he has brought an end to such means and has been trying his absolute best to let the Empire prosper."
"I see. What about their economy?"
"They are plenty wealthy and have enough rarities to last them centuries. Every Division, or 'sector' according to the Kingdom, has enough money to challenge the Queen in terms of economical warfare. It seems that at this state, Adventurers and mercenaries are paid very highly here, but taxes for them indeed leave big Mercenary Guilds like the Fourth District's ahead in terms of payment."
"So you're saying unlike the Kingdom, they aren't struggling in equalizing the state in economical regard?"
"Yes, sir. Every Division is exponentially richer than the richer sectors in the Kingdom. This is because they have established a sort-of friendship with the 'country' Lidan."
Lidan was an exceptionally powerful country. Because of the term "country" that Quinn used deliberately, it was clear that this "country" was located in the Eastern Lands. The Eastern Lands were definitely richer in resources than the Western Lands, so a Western Land allying with an Eastern one was not as surprising as it first sounded.
What was unexpected though was how the Empire was allied with *Lidan* specifically.
Lidan was, again, a powerful country, and their reserves of resources and materials were so vast that even the Domain feared them, the Domain being a mighty militaristic country. Going to war with Lidan would risk potential future opportunities for trade as well as a war with almost the entire Eastern Land populous due to their influence. Yes, the Domain was influential, however Lidan's secure hold of many resources and materials was one of the chains that held down the Domain's rise to omnipotent power.
For the Empire and Lidan to ally enough to freely trade and be called "friends" was more than just an "important aspect". The Empire had almost infinite military might, while Lidan had almost infinite resources and wealth. By swapping a portion of these things, even if it was just a little, both state and country would undoubtedly flourish until an unrealistically powerful force overwhelmed both of them at once.
Of course, this wasn't impossible.
The young lord's lips contorted into a wry grin.
"Very interesting, Quinn. How is their military might?"
"It is not the peak of perfection, if I do say so myself sir, but it is indeed enough to challenge the Kingdom as well as a handful of Districts."
"So if, let's say, a random man in a striking blazer were to attack the emperor's military without being detected as a display of how screwed they are, what would they accomplish?"
Both guys wore evil smiles on their faces.
"Absolutely nothing, sir."
"I'll leave it to you, then."
"Oh, sir, I just have one question."
"Hmm? What's that?"
"I am kind of interested in how you managed to sign up as an Adventurer with your alias without causing a commotion. How did you do it?"
"Ah, suppressing one's presence while cloaked is no hard feat, and reminding the guild managers to stay silent during my registration was also quite simple. If there's anything to be astonished about, it's how the geezer behind me didn't notice how suspicious I looked since he was the only person close enough besides my registrar that could see me. You should've seen everybody's frustration seeing him stand still like that."
A laugh erupted from the two.
"I can only imagine, sir. I must return to my duties. Stay well."
"Of course, Quinn. Ready yourself."
"I already have."