Later that night...
At the Elf palace, facing the doors to the king's chamber, I, along with Shara, came to seek the blessing of her parents. *Gulp! I'm doomed!*
Shara looked at Raqnid's nervous face and asked, "Raqnid, are you okay?"
"Is the Elf king a kind person?" Raqnid asked.
"Pfffttt... Don't worry, I'm with you!" Shara chuckled softly.
They both entered the chamber. From afar, King Nolan was seated on his throne, accompanied by Shila and Wells by his side.
Raqnid had dealt harshly with Wells and Shila before, and King Nolan, who didn't like people like him, made it feel very heavy for him to meet Shara's family. *Hah, the three people I most wanted to avoid in this world are now sitting together and about to become my in-laws! Arghhh, what a disastrous night!*
Raqnid and Shara approached King Nolan. They both bowed in respect to him. "Good evening, my majesty!" Raqnid said.
King Nolan, with a stern and arrogant look, interrogated, "So, are you the one who ruined all of my plans?"
"Plans?"
King Nolan slammed his hand. "My plans to marry off Shara! She ran away from the wedding because of you! You know how embarrassed I am in front of other kingdoms."
"Father!" Shara spoke up after hearing her father still harping on the afternoon's issue.
"SHARA, BE SILENT!"
Seeing King Nolan scold his own daughter like that made Raqnid feel even less confident. *Gulp, Auntie! The old man! Say something, this was all your idea!* Raqnid thought to himself.
"Tell me why you are worthy of marrying my daughter!" King Nolan demanded.
Raqnid was stunned, not sure what kind of answer King Nolan was expecting.
DOOM! The door to the chamber burst open. In came Ray, Fat, and their other classmates.
Raqnid only glanced slightly to see who had come. *Ray! Fat! What are they all doing here?*
"Huh? What's going on? Why did Ray call us here?"
Their other classmates noticed Shara from afar and couldn't help but comment on her beauty. "Huh? Isn't that Princess Shara who ran away earlier?"
"Yes, it is!"
"Who's the guy facing the king?"
Their classmates started gossiping.
"Silence! What are you all doing here? This is the royal chamber!" King Nolan shouted.
Ray stepped forward, "Forgive me, my majesty! This is all my plan!" Ray replied.
"Huh? Hero Ray! What are you trying to do? If it's about the incident earlier, I apologize! I will give you a suitable reward!"
"That's not why I came here, my majesty!" Ray replied.
"So, what is your purpose here?" King Nolan asked.
"I came here to support Raqnid's marriage to Princess Shara, my majesty!"
"WHAT!" King Nolan was shocked by Ray's actions.
"Raqnid?" their other classmates started looking at Raqnid.
Many of them didn't know that their classmate was still alive because Raqnid disappeared after the funeral. "Isn't Raqnid dead?"
"Yes, he died when he was returning to the Human country!"
Zack rushed towards Raqnid and pulled him to make sure it was really him. "Hurhhh, Raqnid! You're still alive!"
"Ah! Long time no see!" Raqnid replied with a smile.
"It's Raqnid!"
"Raqnid is still alive!"
"So, Princess Shara ran away because of Raqnid?"
"Ehh, impossible! Raqnid is nobody!"
"I only see him as an ordinary classmate!"
"But why did Raqnid come to meet the Elf king?"
"I know Princess Shara is beautiful, but he doesn't need to go this far!"
"Silence! We should be grateful that one of our friends is safe. We should welcome him back instead of cursing him!" Sofia shouted.
Everyone fell silent.
*Raqnid with Princess Shara!* Fat and Sora were shocked. They knew Raqnid was still alive but didn't know about Raqnid's relationship with Shara.
*Raqnid!* Shara felt hurt seeing Raqnid being treated like that. When Shara was about to speak up, she saw Raqnid's facial expression telling her not to.
"My majesty, you may not know! If it weren't for Raqnid, I might not have been able to kill the Demon King!" Ray informed King Nolan.
"What do you mean?" King Nolan asked.
"Raqnid fought the Demon King, not me. He created an opportunity for me to make the final strike," Ray answered.
"WHAT!" King Nolan was shocked.
*What have you done, Ray!* Raqnid was also surprised when Ray told King Nolan about it.
These words also surprised their other classmates. They had thought that Ray had killed the Demon King alone. Moreover, what was even more surprising was that Raqnid had helped Ray. Raqnid, known as a commoner, was completely unrecognized.
"Is it true what I heard?"
"Impossible! Raqnid can't be that strong!"
Sora is surprised. *Raqnid fought the Demon King!*
"What nonsense are you spouting, Ray!" Jilk shouted.
"Is what you're saying true, Ray?" Sofia asked.
"Yes, it's true! Raqnid should be the one receiving the praise, not me!" Ray replied.
Everyone in the room was shocked by the news.
Zack, who was beside Raqnid, then grabbed the collar of Raqnid's shirt. "Is what Ray said true, Raqnid?"
Raqnid remained silent and avoided looking at Zack, not wanting to answer the question. Zack was surprised by Raqnid's reaction, usually, people who avoid answering such questions are either telling the truth or uncertain. "So it's true, you helped Ray!"
Jilk, with anger, rushed towards Ray and grabbed his collar. "Ray, what nonsense is this, who would believe that Raqnid fought the Demon King? Don't joke around!"
Ray didn't say anything but looked at Jilk with a serious expression to indicate that what he was saying was true.
"Do you think I'll believe you just by looking at me like that? No one in this room would believe your words!" Jilk shouted.
"Not only that, Raqnid killed Demon Vishnal! He also destroyed the Demon country's fortress!" Ray added more unbelievable stories.
Their other classmates began to draw different conclusions about what Ray said. "If what Ray said is true!"
"Meaning, Raqnid is stronger than the Hero!"
"So, all this time we've been following the wrong person!"
"Huh, what's going on?" Sofia began to confuse and gradually swayed by the conclusions made by their other classmates.
King Nolan just watched the situation in silence, *Heh, what are you going to do now, Raqnid? Because of you, your friends are fighting!* King Nolan thought to himself.
## Before that ##
"So, you're saying this kid named Raqnid saved you!" King Nolan asked his wife, Shila.
"Yes!" Shila replied.
"Not only did he save Shila, Nolan! He also destroyed the Demon country's fortress! Father is embarrassed to admit it, but he also managed to defeat me in archery!" Wells said.
"So, this kid is very strong! But it doesn't mean I will allow him to marry Shara!" King Nolan replied.
"Nolan!" Shila and Wells exclaimed.
"I need to test him first if he passes my test! Only then will I allow him to marry Shara!"
"Test?" Shila and Wells were confused.
"Yes, I will test him! So I want Shila and Father to quiet and don't try to defend this kid!" King Nolan said.
#####
*Nolan, is this your test for Raqnid!* Wells thought to himself.
*Your test begins, Raqnid! Hehh (smirks)!* King Nolan thought to himself.