Arato watched as Reinheart walked out of the palace gates and disappeared. He went for his yearly visit to his master; the former Knight King's grave. He would go there with nothing but his sword and come back the next day exactly at sunset. This was a tradition he kept for thirty-two years.
Arato went to the innermost part of the garden for breakfast with Isla. He sits on a seat opposite her as a maid brings their food and sets it on the table. After that, the maid bows and leaves.
Arato and Isla stare at each other for a while in silence till they burst out laughing.
'Why were you staring at me for so long?'; Isla says while wiping a tear.
'You started it.'; Arato says while letting out a sigh.
Eric who is behind Isla looks at them with a puzzled look on his face. 'I fail to understand your sense of humour at times, princess.'
'Well, that's because you're a stiff guy without any interests apart from training and protecting me all day. You're very boring actually.'; she says while winking at him and smiling.
Arato snickers as Eric looks away in embarrassment. He then clears his throat and sits down beside Isla. 'I'm not a stiff guy.'
'Sure, you aren't.'; Isla says sarcastically.
Arato watches Isla and Eric argue as he starts thinking about how to use his divinity. He read from the library that mages and magic swordsmen have a mana heart, swordsmen and knights have an aura heart and holy knights have a holy heart. These hearts were a way for them to manifest their respective elements like an aura or holy energy.
Arato reasoned that if he could concentrate his divinity in his heart, he could manifest divinity. Another thing was manifesting aura; but to do that, Arato had to balance it with divinity so that the two powers won't go out of control. Another problem was manifesting aura; to manifest it, he would have to experience constant near-death experiences or wait for it to manifest on its own. But of course, the option with near-death experiences was faster, and that was the option he had since he wanted to get as strong as possible in a short period.
Arato was still thinking about his situation when Isla called his attention. 'Hello, Arato?'; Isla says with a raised voice.
Arato looks at her and smiles; 'Sorry about that, I was thinking about something.' The three of them continue to talk till noon. Isla stands up and looks at Arato;' Let's go.'
'To where?'
'To meet my father, Raymond Fierra.'; Isla replies with a smile.
Arato and Isla are moving across a corridor with Eric close behind. Arato glances at her and wonders how she changes her behaviour so quickly. The side she showed in the garden is only known by a few people; he and Eric included.
They stop in front of a door with golden designs engraved on it. Two elite knights stood in front of it holding spears. Once they saw Isla they went to one knee and laid their spears on the floor.
'His highness awaits Princess.'; one of the knights says.
'Go ahead.'; she replies.
The knights stand up and open the door as the three of them go in.
The King's chamber was not as impressive as Arato expected. It was a little larger than his room and that was all. The King gets up from his bed and comes to hug Isla as she hugs him tightly.
'I missed you, father.'; Isla says while still hugging him.
'I missed you too.'; he replies while gently stroking her hair. He is a tall man with long blonde hair and blue eyes. He looked frail and his once vibrant blonde hair had become a dim yellow.
Isla finally lets go as the king looks at Arato. 'You must be the hero.'; he says as he walks towards Arato and stops in front of him.
'Yes, sir.'; Arato replies while feeling intimidated.
The King continues; 'I heard you couldn't even stand well when you came here and honestly, I was extremely disappointed.' The King looks down at Arato with his cold blue eyes as the air around them becomes tense. Suddenly, the King starts laughing as Isla and Eric chuckle lightly.
'You should've seen your expression.'; Isla remarks.
Arato chuckles nervously as a cold sweat trickles down his forehead. 'So you were joking, right?'; Arato asks.
'I was half serious about that.'; Raymond replies. He continues; 'I was indeed dissatisfied with your innate capabilities when you first arrived, but I'm also greatly impressed by how much you've grown in two months.' He then pats Arato's shoulder as he says with a smile; 'You're doing well, hero.'
Arato immediately bows to the King; 'I won't fail to meet your expectations sir.'; he says.
'I know you won't.'; the King replies. He then looks at Eric who's leaning against the wall in a corner folding his hands. 'You seem well, Eric. Are you still shy towards my daughter?'; he asks with a smirk on his face.
Eric looks at the King in surprise as he looks away, trying to hide his red face. 'It's not like that. I and the princess have a normal knight-to-princess relationship.'
'Hmmm, it seems your charms are not working Isla.'; the King says while turning to look at her.
'Of course not father. They're working well actually.'; she replies confidently.
He then gives her a look of approval as Eric hides his face in embarrassment. The King goes to sit on his bed as Isla sits beside him. He tells Arato and Eric to bring chairs over to sit down; they then talk for a while.
After some time, they stand up to leave but the King tells Arato to stay behind. Once Eric closes the door, the King's expression changes to worry.
'I don't have much time left.'; he says.
'What do you mean?'; Arato asks in confusion.
'Let me ask you a question.'; the King says while getting up from his bed and walking towards an ornamental sword hanging on the wall.
'Do you really want to protect this world?'; he asks while touching the sword.
'Yes, I do.'; Arato replies immediately.
The King chuckles at his response as he removes the sword from where it was hanging. 'And you expect me to believe that? You were taken from your world to another one and was forced to train tirelessly every day to save and protect people you don't even know. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't care less about the fate of this world.'
Arato takes a step back as the air suddenly becomes tense. 'I really want to protect this world. You have to believe me.'
The King is suddenly behind Arato as he puts the blade against his neck, causing him to bleed a little
'Alright then, I'll give you two options. You'll either admit to your lies and walk away safely or you'll convince me by cutting off your arm with this sword. If you don't accept any of the two, I'll kill you where you stand.'
Arato sensed the seriousness in his voice. He knew if he took too much time to answer, he would die; so he quickly reasoned his options. The safest option was the first one but something in him didn't want to choose that option. So he went with the second one.
Arato took the sword from him and placed his hand on the table. 'The healers can fix lost limbs, right?'; he asked with fear in his voice. The King nods in affirmation.
'Alright, that's good.'; Arato says while looking at his left hand. He couldn't believe he was going to go through with this, but his life depended on this decision.
Arato raised the sword above his head. He looked at his shaking hand as he steeled his resolve, and with a deep breath, he swung downward.