Kairos said, "Everyone stay here."
The cavalry synchronously replied with salutes.
Kairos and Lilac's family then walked inside the house.
Mey said, "Tea?"
Kairos said, "Anything is fine."
Kairos sits on the chair near the windows where Mey used to knit; Mey sits against him on the table; and the boy just sits on the floor next to him.
Kairos mumbled, "The seat is still warm."
Kairos knows about the time-warp spell and just sits there.
Mey then flicked her hand, and then the teapot on the table started tilting to the front, and she poured the tea into a cup. After that, the cup starts floating and moves in front of Kairos.
Mey replied, "I sat there about an hour ago; of course it's still warm."
Kairos then grabs the cup and drinks it.
"Cold and sour", Kairos said.
"I made it a year ago", Mey replied with a smirk on her face.
Then Kairos spit the tea spontaneously.
"Cough, cough, what do you make this old man drink?", Kairos replied while displaying playful aggression.
"HAHAHA, yeah, you're old now", Mey said laughingly after pranking the old man, then suddenly she changed her face with a bit of a frown in her face.
Kairos recognized the sad face and replied with a smile.
"It's fine; you did what we needed to do. It's for the sake of humanity."
Then Kairos looks at the boy and starts the speech, explaining the past story.
----------- Flashback from 40 years ago -------------
There is a display of a warrior with iron armor walking hurriedly to the King Chamber. He opened the door in an aggressive manner, causing the king to stand up, and both of the guards tried to stop him with their spears. After getting stopped by the guard, he then kneeled and said,
"Huff, huff, forgive my intrusion, sir, but I needed to inform you about what has happened in the villages near the capital,", the warrior said while barely catching his breath.
The King saw the knight crest on the iron armor and said,
"You can continue."
He was a patrolling knight from the capital; in fact, he was patrolling with a group of cavalry across the border of the capital. And then he felt an earthquake and saw a big black smoke coming out of the ground.
Normally, it won't be a hassle since it's a normal occurrence for a monster to be spawning nearby the capital. But this time, the smoke keeps getting bigger and bigger; it's as big as three-story houses. It never even happened in history for centuries.
"I encountered a huge smoke near the capital, just across the border. I bring the King a letter with the seal of approval from our patrol leader." The knight continued.
"Bring that in". The king said this while making an anxious face.
The guard grabbed the letter, checked the seal of approval, went to the king, and nodded and claimed that it was a valid seal. The king then takes the letter, opens the seal, and starts reading it. His face changed color to red; it feels like the king has turned into a woman who is in ongoing labor. He then proceeded to slam the letter to the ground and make a decree.
"Find all strong men and women, whether adventurers, knights, bishops, or anyone else, that can mitigate this calamity. Go to other states, take this king's seal, and find anyone who could be of any help. It's the King's decree!"
Then all the guards run hastily and leave the chamber to notify the royal messengers about the king's decree.
"Where are the other patrol units?" King said to the patrolling knight
"They all stay there watching; just in case the monster spawns, they'll do what it takes to make some time to guarantee your safety." The patrolling knight replied.
"What a disaster! I hope we're on time to handle this. This is a disaster." The king said
Meanwhile, the guards find all the royal messengers they can find and say what just happened. All of the messengers were surprised. They then ran to their work desk and hastily created a letter with the King's decree inside, stamped it with the royal seal, put the letter in their bag, and rode the horses.
The messengers spread across the country, sending the letter to well-known adventurer guilds, imperial knights, the Elven kingdom, and the well-known warriors, even the witch houses. They put a big notification on the notification board in the center of the capital square and rang the big bell seven times.
If the bell rings three times, then it is an announcement for a festival; if it rings five times it is a royal decree for a new rule to be established in the capital; but if it rings seven times means that the King's making an order himself.
The king was well known as a wise king. Never in the last 20 years has the villager heard the bell ring seven times. The last time it happened was because a boy accidentally played with the bell. The guard tried to punish the child, but then the king came and apologized to the family about what the guard had done. He was that kind of king that everyone in the capital respected.
The villager starts coming out of their house, hastily walks to the center of the capital, and finds the royal messenger standing there. After a huge crowd gathered, the messenger started opening the letter and starting a speech.
"By the King's order, this is possibly the biggest calamity of this century. We just found huge smoke across the boundary near the capital. Spread this message to everybody you meet; we need to find strong people who are willing to fight."
The crowds start talking to each other, and among the crowd there are some warriors who are willing to go. They went back home packing and started walking to the capital. Some of the women were walking back home with an anxious face, wondering if everything would be alright.
Then, after all of them leave the central square, there is one person left: a male teenager who is smiling with a smug-looking face and long red hair. He was carrying a sword that was five times bigger than his size. The messenger looking at that teen said:
"You are going to the capital, aren't you? We need everyone." The royal messenger said
"We don't need everyone; we just need the strongest one, and yes, I'm ready to fight anytime." The red-haired boy said
Then he looked down, seemingly scratching his hair, saying, "But I don't know the way to the palace. Could you guide me? I'm the strongest warrior you're looking for."