"Good morning… hey! I don't think I've named you yet!" Princess Kayla exclaimed as she pointed at Enzo's miniature draconic frame.
Enzo rolled his eyes. He hoped that the princess wouldn't pick something unreasonable for his name.
"Clarance! Yes, I think Clarance fits you juuussst right!"
'I'm doomed…'
…
Enzo stayed by the princess's side as the day passed and had a relatively relaxing day. Although he would have preferred to be out leveling, Enzo knew that, at least for now, the quest 'Protect the Princess' was too lucrative to pass up on, and for the quest to remain in effect, he had to be the princess's tamed beast.
Plus, if he could find a way to prevent the Princess' death, his instincts told him there would be unexpected benefits.
Near the end of the day, Enzo's group, consisting of himself, the Princess, and Jenna (the female bodyguard), headed into a tavern. At the same time, Kayla (the Princess) and Jenna pulled hoods over their faces to hide their identity.
As the trio entered the tavern, Enzo noticed that although there seemed to be a few patrons inside, the atmosphere was somewhat tense. His instincts sensed danger, and it was so apparent that even Jenna noticed something and whispered, "My liege, I don't think this is—" but stopped as Kayla waved her hand and proceeded forward.
Enzo was surprised because as Jenna spoke up, Kayla's usual jovial and dimwitted expression changed to stoic seriousness.
Kayla sat opposite two figures, drawing the two's attention with her abrupt entrance. Still, Enzo noticed the duo's lack of surprise and figured either Kayla had already made an appointment with these two 'reputable' figures before, or they had intel she would come.
The two men were half-beast wolfmen with razor-sharp fangs that protruded from their mouths with a ferocity that only a predator could display. Their intimidating, tall physiques didn't hide the muscles that seemed to bulge from every fiber of their being. Even with Enzo's increased stats, he wasn't 100% confident in defeating these two.
"What does someone of her royal highnesses status want with us two lowly wolf-men?" the wolf-man sitting on the right said condescendingly. The wolf-man didn't hold back his voice, so half the tavern heard his words. Still, no one moved.
'Looks like this whole tavern is their territory.' Enzo grimaced, hoping the Princess wouldn't say or do anything rash as Enzo was not strong enough to protect her yet.
Enzo readied his hind legs to bolt into action as the tense atmosphere grew. Although he wasn't 100% confident in defeating these two men, he was at least 50% sure he could get out alive and 20% sure to do it with the Princess intact.
"Lorlo and Lando are known throughout the kingdom for their dealings with the underworld." The Princess's calm yet assertive voice echoed off the wooded walls, making the two wolf-men frown slightly. This Princess wasn't the kind, naive fool they had heard about. The Princess before them was a Princess worthy of the title.
"The L brothers are also known for another one of their dealings… the dealings with my brother, Prince Matros." Kayla's stoic face turned into a frown as she looked at the two wolf-men, who had let go of their arrogant demeanor and looked at each other for a second before the one on the right stood up and exclaimed, "I think you should leave."
'I agree.' Enzo was increasingly confident that Princess Kayla's disappearance wasn't an accident in his previous life. He had doubts ever since the quest popped up, as quests were a rarity in his previous life, but he chalked it up to his increase in luck points that he had at the time. But now, he knew something more was at play.
"I can't do that. It is my duty as the Princess of the Alveron Kingdom to deal with these types of matters. Now tell me what you know, or I'll have the royal investigators knock on your door!"
The tense atmosphere exploded at these words, and both wolf-men bolted from their seats. Jenna drew her sword, and Enzo instantly got into an attack stance. The crowd, which had been pretending to drink and chat, also stood up, unsheathed their weapons, and got ready for whatever would take place.
Seemingly surprised at the turn of events, Kayla looked like she couldn't fathom that the wolf-men would dare to bare their blades at the Princess of the Alveron Kingdom.
Just as it seemed a fight was inevitable, the sound of the door opening and the bell signaling the arrival of a new guest to the establishment sounded. Seemingly magnetized by the new sound, all pairs of eyes turned to open the door to see…
"Well, well, sister. It looks like I'm not the only one who likes to visit such establishments," Prince Matros chuckled, a wide grin spread across his handsome face.