Just like Lenyas' case, prince Ronald and his underlings had a hard time familiarizing themselves with the different amenities and asked various questions to the innkeepers.
The different meals given to them also surprised them, especially Ronald.
As the crown prince of the Kingdom of Hazol, he has tried many different dishes in the western continent and some cuisines in the east, but never has he tried a powerful dish that contained a lot of spices.
[169th day]
After getting to know Charlie and the citizens of the city, Ronald accomplished his first objective of coming here.
It was then time for him to commence his second objective, which is...
"Surely, other than the wines, there are other products that are not part of your contract with lady Lenyas, right?"
"Of course there are, your highness. It is just that I am not too sure wether it would be worth your time as they are still in the experimental stage"
The two were in a heated talk about establishing commercial relationship with each other.
One wants to have freedom of going in and out of city through trade while the other is trying to reap as much benefit as he can with his silver tongue.
"I am impress, your highness. I suppose I will have to take a tour to Hazol myself in the near future"
"If you send a letter in advance, I will make sure to treat you just as how Heaven Blaze city has treated me"
The two shaked each other's hands as they hide their frustration and exhaustion with their smiles.
Their three and a half hour negotiation then ended with a draw as prince Ronald went back to his room.
Knock, knock.
"Come in"
Marco's secretary came in.
"How was it, sir?"
"He sure is something else. For someone as young as him to be this good at negotiating with someone, I can already see that he will be a great king one day"
"Does that mean you will be going to Hazol two months from now, sir?"
"Hahaha! You sure know me well, Ron"
"I have been working as your aide. It is only natural for me to know this much by now"
Ron said as he placed important and classified documents on Marco's desk.
"The first half are matters regarding lord Aldo's request for you. The other half is regarding about a certain 'topic' that lord Charlie needs an answer with. As for the one inside the brown envelope, that is a request from lord Tony"
"You did well. You can go home now"
"Understood"
...
[170th day]
At the strike of dawn, people gathered at the training grounds as two individuals stood inside the ring.
"I hope you will go easy on a second stage like me, your highness"
"Surely you jest, sir Leon"
Upon his request, Ronald challenge the strongest soul artist, except for Hugo, in the city for a spar.
Meanwhile, five hundred meters away from the ring...
"Who do you think will win?"
"If Leon use his weapon, I belive Leon will win with a hundred percent certainty, teacher"
Tony watched with his binoculars while Hugo looked at the two with his eyes alone.
"You are wrong. Even without any weapon, that Leon guy will win"
"...?"
Tony was confuse how Leon, a second stage soul artist with little amount of knowledge about divine energy, would win against a fourth stage prince who received countless instructions throughout his life.
"Someone like him who messes with world order are bound to show up every once in a while. I am one of those cases, that is why I can tell he will win"
With Charlie as the referee, the two entered their battle stance.
"No weapons allowed. If your opponent surrender, the match will end. If you manage to land three clean hits, you win. If you force your opponent to go outside of the ring, you win.
Am I clear?"
The two said in simultaneously, "Yes!"
"Without further ado.... begin!"
The two charged and attacked with a right swing.
Bam!
The clash of divine energy created a blast that the onlookers had to grabbed onto something hard.
"Aaaaahhh!"
Upon the first exchange, Ronald jumped backward in order to assess the situation after gauging Leon's power. However,
".....?!"
Unlike his intial thought, Leon charged forward without stepping back.
"Isn't it normal to first see what your opponent's level is at, sir Leon?"
"That is true but you see, I can't afford to look weak in front of my son!"
Bam!
This time, their exchange of strikes cracked the ring they were on.
"You can do it, your highness!"
"Go! Uncle! GO!!!"
Ronald's movements lies in counter attacking by using his opponent's attack while Leon's was a relentless barrage like a tsunami.
But then,
"One clean hit"
Ronald was hit on the stomach with a back kick from Leon.
"How is it possible?"
As time goes on it became obvious who had the upper hand.
"Teacher, can you tell me why Leon is winning?"
"That is simple. Us soul artist process world energy known as mana into our body to increase our soul energy after purifying it. That prince is better at managing his energy as he is more familiar at utilizing it than Leon and his moves are well polished for his age. But..."
"Another clean hit"
Pallius celebrated as Leon's victory come closer.
Ronald's knights were cheering for their master without losing any faith on him.
"Leon's application of divine energy is far better. He is continously creating vibrations with his energy. While it is not that much, it penetrates Ronald's defenses, causing numbness and aching pain to his muscles and bones. In this situation, even though Ronald has more divine energy it is useless against Leon"
"But something like that can't be the only reason!"
Tony claimed.
"Five points for you!"
"So there is another reason why he is winning"
Tony stood up from excitement.
"Of course there is. While we call our energy as divine, there are three categories for this. The normal type which varies more base on one's elemental aptitude. The holy type. And the dark type.
I am sure you already know that that guy kills a lot without remorse or guilt, right"
"Does that mean his divine energy is dark?"
"Yes. And dark divine energy has the 'corrosive' effect. But still, you will soon learn more about this. For now, you should stick on the basics"
Just then, Leon saw an opportunity to attack Ronald on his left chest and went for it.
"You should not celebrate unless you are done, sir Leon"
A trap.
As Leon took the bait, Ronald took hold of Leon's wrist and tossed him outside of the ring with all of his remaining energy.
"Leon has stepped outside the ring. The winner is... prince Ronald!"
The spectators cheered for the two for the spectacular fight they have shown, especially Ronald's knights.
"Are you okay, uncle?"
"I will be okay if you hug me"
"Okay"
Pallius hugged Leon tightly.
"Pallius, if you want to learn how to fight, you should learn from Tony and Aldo as well. Do not let one person be enough to teach you"
Charlie went down the ring and squatted down.
"Will that be alright?"
"Of course it is. More importantly, if you see someone fighting, watch them carefully. No matter how strong or weak they are, you will be able to learn something from them.
The strong have ways to oppress their opponents while the weak comes up with plans and tricks to win"
Seeing how serious Charlie looked, Pallius slightly bowed down.
"Thank you for your guidance, uncle Charlie"
"Alright. Now, you should step back, I will talk with your uncle"
"Okay!"
Pallius then went towards Ronald, who was being praised by his knights, to congratualate him for winning.
"Why did you hold back? I thought you wanted to show off to your son?"
Charlie asked with a suspicious look.
"This is just a spar, as if I would take it seriously. Besides, I wanted to show him that there will be times I will lose. If he wants to do something, he must have the power to do it"
"....."
"Have I earn your acknoweldgement for adopting him?"
Charlie sighed in defeat as he can see Leon's sincerity.
"I will kill you myself if you teach him something not good for his age"
"How scary~"