*Knock, knock, knock!
'...'
*Knock, knock, knock!!!
'...'
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
'Who in the world is knocking on the door??!'
Rem got up from the couch, walking towards the door. Izel and Chloe slept on the bed while Rem and Alex slept on the couch. The banging surprisingly didn't wake anyone except for Rem up.
*KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!!!
Rem groaned, feeling a little grumpy. Rem was never a morning person in the past. This applies to now as well.
"What?" Rem asked, sounding annoyed.
The moment she opened the door, she faced a person she never wanted to meet again.
'Why is he here??? I'm sure I hid my tracks. Did someone tell him my location...?'
Rem's brows furrowed.
"What do you want?"
Anyone can tell how annoyed Rem was by just hearing her tone. Obviously, she looked annoyed too.
"I think it's about time you go back to Orthio City with me. I can't let a monster like you roam around any longer." Lawrence said sternly, crossing his arms as he looked at Rem with a serious face.
"How did you find me?"
"I have my ways. Now, come with me." Lawrence demanded.
"What if I said no? What can you do?"
Rem raised one of her brows as she waited for Lawrence's response.
"I would have no choice but to get you there forcefully. You wouldn't want to get hurt, do you?"
"You can't fight with me here. I have the Elven King's protection."
"I'll make you leave this place."
"And how would you do that?"
"You'll see... Answer my question. Will you go back with me willingly?"
'I'm still healing from yesterday's fight. I can't fight him head-on but... I absolutely can't go back yet.'
"No, I'm not going." Rem finally answered.
"You'll regret your decision."
Lawrence looked at Rem one last time before leaving the inn.
'Oh well... It's almost the afternoon.' Rem concluded after she looked out the window.
She opened the curtains, letting all the light spread into the room.
"Wake up. It's time for brunch." Rem said loudly.
...
"Your Majesty. What do you say we work together? I know you want to get revenge on that monster. Just let me bring it back to Orthio City. I'll report back once we arrive and take care of a few matters." Lawrence stated, bowing before the Elven King.
"How dare you speak to His Majesty like that...!"
A knight clenched his sword, almost unsheathing it. The Elven King raised his hand, causing the knight to put down his weapon.
"How would we work together? Tell me in detail." The Elven King ordered.
Lawrence's suggestion clearly piqued his interest.
"Yes, Your Majesty. First, I shall introduce myself. As you already know, I'm Lawrence, a detective. You may think I'm a normal detective. However, I'm not. I have quite a lot of power and people following me. I'm also strong enough that I'm confident I can capture that monster, as long as you allow me to. When I get that monster behind the bars, I'll do whatever you say. We can make a contract about this."
"Oh really? Then let us make a contract this instant. I'll hire the best priests to make the contract. You may wait in another room. Bring him to the guest room this instant." The Elven King waved his hand, allowing Lawrence to leave with a few other knights.
"How amusing..." The Elven King muttered with a huge grin on his face.
...
'Master, I believe the Elven King has something planned.' Roy exclaimed, using telepathy.
'Did you figure out what he's planning?' Rem asked, using telepathy back.
'I don't know what he's planning yet, but he offered me a deal a day ago. You were fast asleep back then so I didn't get the chance to tell you.'
'I see... What's the deal about?'
'It's about helping him with defeating everyone from the dark side. I think he's referring to the Demon King, demons, and all the monsters. Something about joining him.'
'He's going to join the fight?'
'Yes, he probably will. I would like to watch the Elven King a little longer.'
'Hm... Alright. We're going to leave soon. I'll tell you when we'll be leaving.'
'Understood.'
*Knock, knock, knock!
'What's up with all the knocking today???' Rem walked towards the door, even annoyed than this morning.
"Who is it?" Alex asked as he watched Rem open the door.
Rem faced many elven knights the moment she opened the door.
'Why are there elven knights in front of my door...? First Lawrence, now this...!'
"Please come with us." One of the knights spoke first.
"I need to know the reason why you're taking me." Rem argued.
"This is an order from the Elven King himself. Please cooperate."
'What is the Elven King doing? Geez... If it's an order from him, I can't do anything.'
"Please wait a moment. I need to take care of something quickly before I go." Rem claimed, walking back inside the room.
The knight who spoke with Rem nodded. He saw that there were three children inside. Despite this, his indifferent expression remained the same. Rem brought Alex, Izel, and Chloe at a spot in the room where the knights can't see what they're doing from where they were.
"Chloe, take this. Do you know how to use this?" Rem made sure she was quiet enough so the knights can't hear her.
She showed Chloe a pistol.
"A gun???" Chloe was shocked, seeing a gun in this world.
"Do you, or do you not know how to use it?"
"I don't know how to..." Chloe answered.
"Flip this switch at the left side of this pistol if you want to shoot. Here's a stack of magic bullets. There are already a few bullets inside the pistol. This is how to reload it..."
Rem showed Chloe how to reload a pistol.
"How did you—"
Rem handed Chloe the pistol, cutting her off.
"Izel, take this mana bracelet. Remember Alex, to shatter that orb when you're in danger. I need to go now. Don't forget what I said yesterday." Rem reminded the three of them.
The three of them nodded. Rem closed the door behind her, following the knights. Right before dropping dead on the bed, Rem told Alex, Izel, and Chloe what to do when Rem was gone and they were in danger. She had been working on the pistol and bullets ever since she saw how Chloe didn't have any MP or element. The pistol and bullets were made from Rem's creation magic. The mana bracelet she gave Izel was something she recently bought from the shop. The bracelet has Rem's mana in it. The orb was also something Rem bought from the shop.
"We need to leave this inn," Alex said seriously, grabbing his greatsword and bag of money Rem gave him.
"Izel heard what Alex and Rem spoke about yesterday. Izel was awake." Izel claimed, standing still.
"You should know what to do. Let's go." Alex opened the window, climbing down slowly.
When he got down, he helped Izel and Chloe get down.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked, clearly clueless.
"The knights saw us. Rem said if they found us, we need to change locations." Alex responded.
"Who are they?"
"They, as in the Elven King and the knights. Let's just say they're all the people inside this Kingdom. We're not from here. If we're spotted, anyone could report us. We'll be in danger if that happens. We need to hide and leave quickly. This way, we won't get captured or hinder Rem."
"Izel say we leave this Kingdom and hide outside. Izel knows it's dangerous, but they wouldn't find us easily if we hide outside. Izel thinks Izel, Chloe, and Alex are strong enough to fight the monsters." Izel chimed in.
"I'm strong. Let's go." Alex ran towards the direction outside the Kingdom.
Izel and Chloe followed from behind.
...
"Your Majesty, for what reason did you want to meet me?" Rem asked, looking into the Elven's King's pair of green eyes.
"You'll be leaving with Sir Lawrence." The Elven King told Rem in a demanding tone.
"May I ask what the reason is?"
"I'm very disappointed in you. Lawrence told me that you stole our Kingdom's treasures from the treasury. You were once an old friend of mine. Therefore, I'll only ban you from ever entering this Kingdom again."
'Me? Steal something from the treasury???'
"I didn't steal anything, Your Majesty."
Rem glared at Lawrence who stood near the King.
"Where's the proof that you didn't steal anything?" The Elven King asked, looking down at Rem coldly.
'Where's the proof that I stole??! I don't even have any of your treasures or whatever...!'
"I stayed at an inn, Your Majesty."
"I got a report that you left the inn yesterday. The stolen treasures were also stolen yesterday in the afternoon."
"I didn't go anywhere near the Kingdom." Rem protested, unsure of how to prove that she's innocent.
"Where did you go yesterday then?" The Elven King questioned.
'I can't just say I went to the temple secretly. If I did, I would get in trouble either way. Urgh, what should I do?'
{You're getting banned from the Elven Kingdom, duh.}
'That detective is too annoying... I guess it can't be helped. We'll be leaving sooner than I thought.'
Rem remained silent, not saying anything back.
"The conclusion has been made. Either leave the Kingdom yourself by tonight, or I'll force you to leave." The Elven King waved his hand, allowing Rem to leave.
Before Rem left, Rem saw a smug smile on Lawrence's face. There was a subtle smile on the Elven King's face as well.
'Are they working together...? There may be a possibility. Since I have to leave, I might as well take Alex, Izel, and Chloe with me. Hopefully, they went somewhere safe.'
Rem exited the castle.
'Roy, stay here and try to find out what the Elven King is planning. I'll be leaving with Alex and two others. Tell me immediately when you find anything suspicious.'
'Yes, Master.'
Rem activated her Stealth skill as she ran towards the direction where Alex, Izel, and Chloe were at.
'Isn't that the direction outside the Elven Kingdom??? Don't tell me they...'
Rem ran towards the entrance of the Elven Kingdom as fast as she could, hoping that none of them were hurt, or even worse, died.