"My name is Fonso Hall, and this is my partner, Vilhelm Sauter. We are proud advisors of the king of Sar." the black-haired one spoke.
It wasn't just the two advisors there. Several others were behind them, in heavy armor, with large weaponry. But to Oscar and Yezekael. They were light work.
"Why wasn't the actual king brought here?" Caelum asked, quickly observing the room. He counted the number of guards in the room, seeing if it would be a challenge to take all of them down.
"Lord Elouan is busy with significant matters," Fonso said.
"More important than discussing what could cause a possible war?!" Yezekael interjected.
He replied calmly. "More important than discussing what could cause a possible war."
Vilhelm looked at Yezekael with a cocky smirk still plastered on his face.
"But anyways, do you know what land we are currently on, young King?"
"The island between our two kingdoms."
"I believe you know what lies in this land too, correct?"
Caelum nodded.
"So, I am here to propose an idea. With your young age, looking over more land would be extremely troublesome. I believe you should hand it all over, in our care."
"Do you take me for a fool?"
"Why, of course not, sir. I fully understand your capabilities. You must think logically."
"..."
"As Anore is the larger kingdom, there is so much more to take care of. Since you have been recently brought up to this role, it would be a hassle to start with so much, no?"
Yezekael chimed in. "Be serious-"
"Is there any reason why a simple escort is speaking? You have no say in diplomatic matters." Vilhelm quickly put Yezekael down. He was right. As an escort, he was nothing like an advisor. He had no say in anything.
"Like I was saying, it is far too much work for a young boy like you."
"You're looking down on me because of my age."
"I am doing no such thing. I am wishing for the best interest of this region."
"So, what you're saying is that I should hand over all of this land to your king?"
Fonso nodded a light smile on his face.
"No. It's not happened. You didn't even suggest splitting it 50/50."
"That's because we have no intention of splitting it 50/50. We want all of it. You really don't understand what's exactly on this island, do you?"
"Well, now I know it's something important. And I'll find out."
"Ah, goodness. You aren't gonna start a war over such a small island, are you?" Vilhelm chimed in, with the cocky question.
"I won't. I'll drive all of you smelly Sardines out of here, and claim this island for my kingdom."
"S-smelly sardines...?" Vilhelm's fist balled.
"Hmph. As expected of a child like yourself."
"This is unmarked territory, after all. As long as it doesn't happen in our kingdom, no war can be started, right?" Caelum said.
"You're right."
"If you want to truly understand why I'm the king, we should settle for a duel, no?"
The room went quiet.
Oscar and Yezekael looked at each other. Fonso sighed.
"There's no need. I guess we won't be able to properly discuss with someone as young as you."
"Everyone, we shall be on our way. This was a good chat, young king."
. . .
. .
.
In minutes, the log cabin was cleared. The trio of Anore stood there, a little confused.
"So, what does that mean, your majesty?" Oscar asked.
"What does what mean?"
"Is it war?"
"The king of Sar knows very well. If we were to go to war, our forces would dominate them. Our numbers are much larger. With a holy priest on our side too, it'll be easy to gather even more support."
"Hm."
"But that's the least of our problems. You guys might have not noticed it, but the concealing cast left on the log cabin is gone now."
"Eh?" Yezekael and Oscar scratched their heads.
Yezekael asked. "What does that mean?-"
Crsh!
Mana-beasts crashed through the log cabin. It was around 40 of them, all different types. Canines, reptiles, all of that.
"Ack!" Oscar yelled, unsheathing his sword.
"Keuk!" Yezekael quickly took his spear out.
"Heh!"
[Cast: Enhancement x10]
A light blue energy surrounded Caelum.
"You two, think of this as training. There's a lot of them in this wreckage of a log cabin, but there's more throughout this island. Your goal is to reach the eastern point as fast as possible!"
"Wh-what?" Yezekael exclaimed.
"C-come on!" Oscar whined.
Caelum zipped through the room, bouncing off mana-beasts. He managed to take out around 15 of them in one go, before making it out of the log cabin. To any normal eye, he would have looked like a blur.
[Cast: ???]
Ice formed in Oscar's hair, and his skin became pale.
"It's so unfair. I wish I had something that would boost me like that."
Yezekael whined.
[Cast: Pyro Whirlwind]
The tip of Yezekael's spear began to ignite, as he spun, faster and faster. The room's temperature was starting to rise, and the creatures inside were slowly being incinerated.
In a short time, the mana-beasts were taken care of.
"Come on, Oscar. We need to get out of here."
"You don't have to tell me."
[Cast: Flash step]
The two of them dashed over the burning rubble, continuing eastward.
"How much time till you can summon that dragon of yours, Oscar?"
"If I don't use any [Casts]... 30 minutes or so?"
"Then... I'll protect you until then."