3rd POV
Hajin and Rachel were sitting in a cafe as they sipped through their drinks and enjoyed their meals.
After going to the beach yesterday, all of them were really tired. But the most tired was Evandel, who had been the most active yesterday.
Because of that, she didn't come with them currently. She was still sleeping on her bed soundly. It was 11 in the morning, and they didn't had anything to do at home, so Hajin said that they should go to some cafe.
As Rachel also had nothing to do, she came as well. Evandel was safe at the house, and even if something did happen, she could just teleport to them.... although... Hajin would teleport to her before she had the chance to.
But to the main point, they had nothing to do and Evandel was also sleeping, so they came to this cafe to pass the time.
"..." Hajin looked at Rachel, who was silently eating her meal. However, something was different.
She was unusually off, as if in a world of her own.
She also looked sad and worried for some reason. It was not visible on her face, but Hajin could feel her emotions through the link they shared.
"... Is something bothering you?" He asked carefully.
"..."
"Uh... Rachel? Rachel!" She seemed to not hear him, so he called her again but in a slightly louder voice, just enough to not disturb the other customers.
"Huh? Ah... what...?" She asked.
"Hm... you've been looking sad recently, is something bothering you." He asked once again.
"Mm..." She seemed as if she wanted to say something, but held on to it.
"... It's okay. Don't tell me if you don't want to, just, remember, if something's bothering you, I'm here." He assured her.
"Ah~ It's not that... It's just... I'm worried..."
"About what?"
"Well, we are going to England today... you remember, right... ?" She asked.
"Yeah...?"
"Mm... I was worried that what if my parents don't accept us, or if they don't accept Evandel..." She said while turning her face down.
"I can't and wouldn't possibly go against my parents' will. So if they say that I have to leave you or Ev, even if I don't want to, I don't know what I would do..."
"Ah! So it's that~" Hajin said while sighing.
"What? You don't seem worried for some reason..."
"Nn..." He denied. "It's not that I'm not worried, it's just... there's nothing to worry about."
"... ?" She was confused. What did he mean that there was nothing to worry about? Everything about it was something to worry for!
"Don't give me that look~ It's not that I don't worry about it, but that I trust your parents. I'm sure that if they're like you, and how I have heard about them, they will be understanding."
"And even if they do deny it... there's always the hard way..." He said while smiling at the end.
"..." She received chills from that smile of his everytime she saw it. It was like he had a backup plan for every possible senario. "Please don't, I won't be able to see people from my family fighting each other." Still, she didn't want any fights between Hajin and her parents. She loved them both, so she didn't want any fighting between them as it would only hurt the other side more if Hajin ever fought, something she never wanted.
"Ah, don't worry~ It's not like I'll really fight, I'm just saying in case, I still believe that they will understand. Afterall, you are their daughter, and children are like their parents, so I'm sure that bieng your parents, they are also good people." He said as if it was the most obvious truth in the world.
"..." She stared at him blankly. "Yeah, let's just hope that's the case." She added.
"Well, forget that. This is not the time to be sad, let's enjoy our meal and get home, Evandel would have probably been woken up by now." Hajin said.
"Mm." She noded, her usual cute smile returning to her face.
"Hmm~ That's much better~" Hajin said.
"Ah, right... Rachel, you said someone would be coming to pick us up today, right?" He enquired.
"Yes?" She countered the question.
"That'll probably be troublesome. I think going there by my teleportation skill would be better." He suggested.
"How so?"
"Well, you know that Cube released the exam result publically yesterday right?"
"Yeah..."
"Well... they also mentioned things like us getting unimaginably stronger. It was probably to cover up the more dangerous points, but I think it will be troublesome for the current situation."
"Although they don't know much about me. They do know more about you. And because of that, just like on the island, they will try to eliminate you by sending their even more stronger personels."
"Although you can take care of them at your current level easily, they'll still be troublesome. And if the situation is known to public, especially in England, it would cause a lot of chaos among the citizens."
"Mmm... that's a good point..." She said. Just when he mentioned about the assassins, her expression had gotten serious. She still hadn't forgotten the amount of trauma and stress she received because of them.
"That's why, I think we should directly go through a portal straight to the castle instead." He suggested after explaining his point.
"Yeah, I can see why you said that. Alright, I'll tell Randy about this. I think he'll probably let it go since he knows how many times you have helped me, so him getting suspicious has little chances."
After that, they continued eating their food while discussing about other details and future events.
After eating, they stood up from their table, paid the cashier and walked out of the shop.
As this cafe was just a few streets away from cube, they had no problem in walking there either.
Of course, having prominent features and being well known in the area because of it being closer to cube, standing out was unavoidable.
Still, they didn't mind it and just walked to cube.
After scanning their watches on the devices, they walked inside cube and went straight to their home.
As they entered the house and closed the door, they heard small footsteps coming towards them.
"Daddy! Mommy! Where were you?!" Evandel asked, sounding angry.
"Why didn't you take me with you?!" She demanded.
"Hmm~ You were sleeping, so we thought of letting you sleep after a long day of fun." Hajin said while lifting Evandel up as she punched him with her tiny fists while pouting.
"I'm hungry!" As she had nothing to counter that with, she turned her face around and chose to complain about something else instead.
"Yes, Yes~ Just wait a few minutes, I'll cook you something, sweetheart." Rachel said as she went ahead and changed her clothes to casual wear.
After that, Rachel cooked breakfast for Evandel while she played games with Hajin on the TV.
Finished eating breakfast, she and Hajin kept playing while Rachel just layed down on the sofa besides them as she read some book.
A few minutes passed. Suddenly, Rachel's smartwatch vibrated. She checked and saw that it was a call from her butler, Randy.
-- My lady, please inform me of when I should come pick you up for today. His majesty and her highness are waiting for you.
"About that... I think you shouldn't come here, it will be better if I come to the castle myself." She said.
-- ...? Please explain, princess. I don't think there's any reason why you should not come with me instead.
He asked.
"Well..." She explained the reason Hajin had told her, while changing a few parts accordingly.
-- Hmm... That's certainly possible. But than princess, how would you arrive at England? Your parents won't be happy if you do not come to your home country this year.
"Ah, don't worry about that. Hajin said we can go there through other means." She replied.
-- ... By Hajin, are you perhaps referring to the cadet Kim Hajin that you informed us of a few days ago? The one you were very close to... ?
"Hmm." She confirmed. "Yes, he said we could go there by teleportation."
-- Teleportation... ?
"Yes. Didn't I tell you already about his powers and all?" She asked.
A few days ago when Rady first called her to inform her of the ceremony at Clancey Islet, she had also told him about the recent events and how she and Hajin were close. However, she hadn't mentioned HOW MUCH their relationship had progressed, nor had she told them about Evandel.
"Well, yes, but he is a cadet, therefore, we based his abilities to that of a cadet. And teleporting from Cube to England, such a large distant teleportation is not something on the level of a cadet. Not even the most powerful mages in the world have shown to have such an ability on that much big of a scale."
"Hmm, that's normal, afterall, something like that is logically true. But no, he can indeed teleport over large distances as well. So, I'll come with him instead." She said.
-- ... Very well, I will inform this to His Majesty and Her Highness. Please wait until I then.
"Okay." She said and hung up the call.
"Hajin." She called.
"Hmm?"
"I received a call from my butler, he said that he will tell me if that's possible in a few minutes after discussing it with my parents." She said.
"Ah, sure." He had no problem, nor was he in a hurry. After all, the ceremony itself was a few days later, only reason they were going before that was so that they could prepare for the event accordingly.
Rachel sat up on the couch and crawled towards Hajin, who silently watched her and let her do as she pleased.
She crawled closer and went in for a hug, which Hajin gracefully accepted as he also embraced his arms around her back.
"Don't worry, everything would be fine." He assured her.
"Hmm~" She noded and sat on his laps, still embracing him.
Meanwhile, Evandel, who was crying in the corner a while ago because she lost several matches to Hajin in a row, turned around because of the sudden silence. Seeing Hajin and Rachel, she also ran into Hajin's laps and hugged them.
For some time, they stayed in that position until Rachel's phone vibrated again.
She checked it and saw that it was a message from Randy.
[Princess, I have told your parents about the situation. Although your father was reluctant at first, Her Highness your mother agreed immediatey. In the end, His Majesty also said he could compromise if I accompany you during the process of teleportation. Therefore, I will be coming to cube in most likely a few hours, please get ready in the meantime.]
"Hmm, I'm fine with that~" Hajin said as he read the message.
"Indeed." She affirmed.
After a while, she got up from her positon and stood up. Even if she didn't want to, she had no choice as she also had to get ready.
"Ev, let's go get you ready." She said as she tool Evandel and went out of the living room.
Hajin also stood up and exited the living room to get ready.
After dressing up and getting ready, the waited for a while, passing their time by watching the TV or chatting on different topics.
After some time, Rachel got another message. She checked the message and than noded at Hajin.
"He said that he's outside cube at the enternace, waiting for us."
"Let's go than." He said as he got up and looked at Evandel.
"Ev, turn into your seed form and go in here." He said as a portal appeared in front of him, leading to the inside of his [Imaginary Space].
"I've already prepared some things and modified the space into a room so you won't get bored like last time. Just stay there for some time. Don't worry, time passes differently there, so you can come out in a few minutes." He explained.
"Okey." She noded and followed the instructions like an obedient child she was and went inside the portal.
The reason she needed to be in her seed for to get in was so to protect her physical body from Nihility. Her child form was made and maintained by her endless pool of mana as a witch, but that mana would be erased and consumed infront of the Nihlity that was inside [Imaginary Space]. Thus, her body would get consumed and she would have to make it again.
However, her seed form was different. It represented her existence and concept as a fairy spirit of Nothingness, thus, it was compatible with Nihility, and wouldn't get consumed. Therefore, she could go inside in her seed form without any worry and create a body with the Nihility inside the [Imaginary Space] instead as it was more effecient.
After that, Hajin and Rachel exited the house and walked outside of cube.
After exiting the enternace, they spotted a black lamousine and saw an old looking man dressed in butler outfit wating besides the car.
"There he is." Rachel said as they walked towards the man. But since they were coming from behind, the man seemed to not notice them.
"Good to see you in perfect shape as always, Randy." Rachel said as she walked closer to Randy, who turned around, and seeing the princess, bowed his head while greeting her.
"Good day, princess. I am glad to see that you're safe and fine."
"Hmm~"
He than shifted his gaze to Hajin, who was walking with Rachel.
"Ah, you must be... Kim Hajin-nim?" He greeted him while bowing as well, albeit not as much as he bowed at Rachel.
"Indeed. Just call me Hajin, nice to meet you, Randy." He said as he moved his hand forward. Randy stared at it for a while but soon held it and returned the handshake.
"The pleasure is mine, Hajin-nim." He bowed again, this time, for deeply, "I on the behalf of our country thank you for saving our princess in the past." He expressed with a professional smile.
"Hmm, no worries. Than, shall we get going?" He asked.
"Of course, but here... ?" He asked. 'Didn't one usually need some sort of special device or condition to activate skills like teleportaion?' was probably what he was thinking...
"Yep~ In front of the Court's Royal Palace, right?" He asked.
The English Royal Court was merged with the castle. In reality, the building that was called the "English Royal Court" was only the office, the real guild resided in the castle.
The main reason for that was security. The Royal Castle was covered by a High-Level magic barrier that acted as protection against sudden attacks from Djjins and other enemies.
But since it extented only to the boundary of the castle, the ERC's guild building was merged with the castle so the guild members and other officials, which also included higher ups, some of which were blood-related to the Royal Family, would be same in all cases.
The Royal Palace was the area where the King and the Guild Master of ERC resided, along with the Queen and also Vice Leader of ERC. It was in the middle of the castle, and was the the second most restricted area with the highest security, second only to the Royal Family's personal area.
In a way, the outer and lower part of the castle was used by the guild, while the inner-most part and higher floors were used by the Royal Family.
[A/N : ERC : English Royal Court]
"If possible, yes." Randy confirmed.
"Very well than." Hajin extended his hand outwards as a purple and ominous energy started radiating from his hands.
'Thats... !' Randy was utterly shocked. Not because of the ominous feeling, but because this energy was very similar to what the King and the Queen, Rachel's parents, had received a few days ago.
'There's no doubt! That's the same energy that His Majesty and Her Highness were using recently. But... this energy feels more overwhelming than the energy that His Majesty used... Could it be...'
But Randy's thoughts were interupted by the sudden feeling of space distortion in the area. Soon, a spherical portal manisfested in front of Hajin's hands.
"Let's go." Hajin said as he looked at Rachel, who noded and followed him through the portal.
Randy, realizing that Rachel had went inside the portal and coming back from his shocked expression as realization hit him, hurriedly also went inside the portal. Instantly after, the portal closed, as if it never existed there in the first place.
-- Meanwhile --
--At the English Royal Palace--
A middle-aged man was sitting in an office. He had blone haired and was wearing office clothes, but they had a unique feeling of dominance from them. He had a shaved chin and sky-blue eyes, looking at a document in his hand.
King Louise's POV
We have already finished most of the preparations for the ceremony at Clancey Islet. The president of Rotten Corporation has also finished all the necessary arrangements from his side.
'Although I don't like that man, it's still true that this ceremoney will undoubtly be benifical to us as well.'
The arrangements for one more special guest for the banquet that was tasked by the system has also been finished. The only thing that is left is for Rachel to arrive here. The system said that the other two individuals that we will be meeting will also come along with Rachel.
'... *sigh* I still don't like where this is going, my fatherly instincts are telling me that something will change a lot at the arrival of this "guest"... but my wife on the other hand is excited for some reason...'
*Bing*
I heard a notification sound as a virtual interface appeared in front of me.
[Quest : Extra Preparation.
Reward{s} :
--Heroic Rank Skill[Claimed]
--?????????????
Notification : The second condition, "Meeting with ?????", is approaching.]
Oh, so I will finally meet with this "?????". At first we had a few guesses, but all of them proved false as the system didn't give any reaction to those guessed individuals.
"...!!!" Suddenly, i stood up from my chair as I felt an enormous presence close to the caslte building.
"This is... !" I ran out of the office and ran towards the direction of the presence. Most of the people who had sensed the presense were also running towards the same direction, probably fearing that an unknown monster had appeared.
**
???'s POV
"... !!!" A sudden pressure fell on top of the castle. It was as if someone had increased gravity around it.
I ran out of my room and and ran towards the direction of the presense.
'Is it... that?' I had received a system notification saying that the second condition for the recent quest that it gave us was approaching. Our guess was that it was an individual related to the system that was on this planet. We made a few guesses, but none of them proved to be true.
In the end, we could only leave it to the system as we had no way of knowing who or what the "?????" was. But judging from the tone of the condition, it was guessed to be most likely a living and sentient being.
I saw several important figures along with my husband also running towards the same direction. He had a tense expression on his face.
'Arthur... has he figured out something.'
We continued running and soon reached the enternace of the palace.
"... !" I saw Rachel walking towards the palace behind Randy.
'Has she--- !?!?' As Randy came forward, another figure revealed behind him.
It was a handsome boy with black hair and silver eyes, accompanying Rachel while holding her hand.
The truth is, I had received a different, or should I say, a more detailed quest than Arthur. More specifically, it had one more detail. A side note that said that the "?????" would be someone as close to Rachel was any of us. I had guessed that it would be someone akin to a lover.
'Is he... !' My thoughts were interupted as a rock-crushing sound was heard. I looked around and saw that Arthur had rushed towards the boy with his sword in his hands, "Wait!" I tried to stop him, but he seemed to not listen.
"You!!" He crossed his sword towards the boy. I thought that he had gone mad, 'that boy would probably be dead in the next second...'
But to mine and everyone's , the boy just smiled and extented his hand and stopped it... with one finger... !!!
"?!?!" Arthur's expression grew into a surprised one as his eyes widened, replacing the angery expression that was previously on his face.
"Isn't this a nice way of greeting someone, Father-in-Law?" The boy said.
'... I knew it!'
"... ?" Arthur's expression visibly grew confused now, and than widened in surprise the next second.
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Word Count : 3416