"I don't even know where to start..." I almost want to hide my face in my palms. "How can you even breathe? The air here is probably not like the one on Earth."

Mary raises an eyebrow, "I did have a bit of a sore throat when I first arrived, but my body soon adapted to the new atmosphere. I guess it's one of the perks of having draconic blood."

Of fucking course. The unfairness of the situation is incredible, but I bet she'll find a way to complain.

"Okay, whatever... Now another question. How the fuck did you find me?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. I thought I was discrete, but I might have inadvertently left a trail of mana leading straight towards me. It might be a problem, especially considering that Mary's unexpected arrival might have alerted everyone in a ten miles radius.

"I have a great nose, so I just had to combine that with a few spells to track your scent. I'll admit that I lost track of you when you entered the sewers, but it looks like I was quick enough to reach your last known position." The draconic hybrid tilts her head to the side. "Anyway, what are you doing in the sewers in the first place?"

"To keep it simple, I need to enter the well-guarded Noble District to buy information about spatial bags. I think the technology will greatly help us in our upcoming wars." I answer while taking a quick look around. "Listen, I won't send you back now that you're here. First of all, I would need to give you a thorough decontamination before I can safely send you back home. Secondly, these people are very sensitive to mana, and our portals are spewing a lot of it when it materializes."

Mary freezes, "So your discrete operation might have been compromised because of me." She says with a sullen look.

I sigh, "Maybe, maybe not. Those ancient sewers are quite deep, so it might be enough to isolate us from the surface."

Of course, I could Rewind and tell her not to come here, but I would release a lot of mana either way. So I might as well let her stay, the additional firepower might come in handy.

"Got it," she says while not looking entirely convinced.

"All right, then we need to look around. Try to find any kind of secret door; it will lead us to the Noble District." I order, and the hybrid nods before scanning the surroundings. My mapping device doesn't show anything, but it might be wrong.

Five minutes pass, and we stop searching. Clearing this room was pointless.

"Too bad... By the way, why aren't you just using your power to force your way into the city? It would be faster compared to bothering with crawling in those disgusting sewers." Mary asks as we leave the empty hideout.

I nod, "It's true, but I think it's best to lay low for now. I need information, and it would be faster to buy it from an information broker than to cause a ruckus."

Not to mention that I might not have enough ammo to deal with all the armed people in this city. And the leaders might have some hidden ace that would make my life needlessly difficult.

"It does make sense," Mary says with a hint of disappointment in her voice. I refrain from sighing, this woman is an extreme battle-junkie. She would jump at every opportunity to do battle if I didn't force her to control her urges.

After all, I do know quite a bit about reigning in a wild SiDe.

"You know, sometimes violence isn't the answer..." I say before Rewinding.

That last sentence sounded so unbelievable that even I would listen to it. I've taken the path of extreme violence ever since I became part of the Hidden World, and I know that it isn't going to change anytime soon.

"So what's this place anyway?" my companion asks after a few minutes of silence. "I mean the planet in general."

"I first discovered this place when I was looking for some rare materials. I then ran into some tribals." I frown a bit when I remember Hisako. That woman was one of the bitchiest people I ever had the displeasure of meeting. "We had bumpy relations, but they gave me the location of the materials I needed. I also discovered the Infusion Altar, and it allowed me to make the MH Shells. Now I'm searching for a way to make true spatial bags." I resume my actions on this planet.

Of course, I leave out my encounters with various other opponents. She doesn't need to know how much I struggled against a Spirit, and if I mention a Spirit she will want to fight one.

"That's awesome! I would love going out on adventures like this, most of my life has been wasted hiding from the Enforcers. But you're going to change that!" she says with a bright smile.

"It isn't going to be easy, but I'm working hard to improve our world." I declare. But is what I'm doing truly what Earth needs? Sometimes I think that I'm sowing needless death and destruction and that the war against all the Enforcers is going to set the planet ablaze.

But the other option, letting the Enforcers do as they please, isn't an acceptable solution. Their constant conflicts are bound to get out of control at some point, and it's very likely that Earth will be turned into a wasteland.

"I can see that! You know, I began reading the Codex that your men are constantly referring. At first, I had troubles believing what was written in there. But after seeing you in action, I am inclined to believe it more." Mary says.

Great. I should really read the Codex one day. Just to see what is actually expected of me.

"For now, let's think about where we are going to go next," I say as we reach yet another fork in the tunnels.

...??? PoV...

"Your Highness, what should we do about that disturbance?" one of my servants asks. I open and close my fan multiple times before sighing. I wanted today to be free of worry to not ruin my shopping trip.

But something like this had to happen.

"Do we even know where it's coming from?" I ask while leaning on one arm.

"From what our experts are saying, it's coming from the depths of the city," he replies.

I click my tongue, those damn sewers of the ancient city are a constant source of problems. Royalty of the past has all but given up in clearing this maze of tunnels. Every time we find and seal an entrance, a few others are found, and smuggling begins again with renewed vigor. And I'm not making the same mistake as certain of my predecessors and send clearing parties in those sewers.

It's costly in both money and men that could be spent elsewhere, especially considering the current situation.

Those smuggling gangs are a problem, but they are a minor annoyance in the grand scheme of things. However, a World Energy disturbance of this magnitude is worrying. I shudder to think what would happen if one of those sewer-dwellers have access to some ancestral artifact or, even worse, one of the items from the developed neighboring countries.

It would mean that our efforts of protecting our subjects from foreign influence have failed, and it can't happen. Other countries want our resources and territory, and a connection with smuggling gangs means that they have a way to weaken our defenses in a time of war. They might also be spreading revolutionary ideas to weaken the Union of tribes that have been the cornerstone of our society since times immemorial.

I know that my father has been trying to modernize the country, but our nation is fragile, and tension between tribes have been at a record high. These people have lived the same way for hundreds of years, so making any change to their way of life is going to be hard.

For instance, one of the rules that have been established after the Great Massacre. That rule, which stipulates that tribes must be spread in small villages all across the territory to avoid another tragedy like the Great Massacre, has backfired horribly. The tribes have fragmented into tiny enclaves, and inter-tribal wars slowly became a common occurrence as time went on. My father wants to re-establish the cities of old, but forcing all these people to live together is a recipe for disaster.

"Your Highness, might I suggest to send her? It would ease your worries." One of my doe-faced ministers takes me out of my thoughts. I lean back. I know who she's referring to. A couple of weeks ago, a woman wearing a set of equipment made of Spirit parts required an audience with us. My father was busy with a more important matter, so the duty fell upon me.

According to ancient customs, a person who bested a Spirit in single combat, and could prove it, was entitled to become one of the Royal Claws. A Royal Claw is supposed to be an elite soldier and bodyguard of the royal family, but it hasn't been a long time since anybody had the qualifications for the position. There are multiple reasons for this decline; the first one is that there are fewer and fewer Spirits roaming around.

People who were eager to prove themselves hunted them down to near extinction. Not to mention that plenty of Spirits died during the Great Massacre. So someone requesting to become a Royal Claw hasn't happened in a long time, but that woman's gear was the genuine article. Her story is also frightening if it's true.

According to that woman, who introduced herself as Hisako, she has met a mysterious outsider while patrolling. The outsider killed several Weavaans in the blink of an eye, which is uncommon but not impossible. What became interesting is how he was able to use a mysterious artifact capable of generating a ton of World Energy that allows him to instantly move between two points, no matter the distance between the points.

And apparently, he used this artifact to drop a wild Spirit in the middle of her village. The creature killed half of the inhabitants before they realized what was happening, and she delivered the final blow after a grueling fight that killed the other villagers.

Hisako was the only one remaining, so she forged the equipment from the Spirit herself before heading to the capital.

She made all but one request when she became a Royal Claw. Hisako wants to hunt down and kill the person she thinks is responsible for the Spirit slaughtering her village. The name of that person is John Thomson.

I granted her request, even if I know that her story is false. First of all, what kind of name is John Thomson? It doesn't sound like a real name. And the feats that he supposedly accomplished aren't possible in the slightest. Even legendary heroes aren't able to do what he apparently can. And Hisako is decent with her sword, but she is far from being a remarkable warrior, so it's impossible that she fought a Spirit and won.

It's more likely that she found a cache of ancient equipment and took it for herself. But it doesn't matter in the slightest, she has her use as a 'hero of the people,' and she should be helpful for my father's reforms.

So sending her down the sewers might be a good move. She can't be harmed by anything that might be lurking down here and, in the eyes of the people, it will look like we are trying to destroy the smuggler gangs.

It will also allow her to vent. She has been training and mumbling to herself ever since she arrived in the castle.

I nod, "Good, go and fetch her." I declare, and the minister lowers her head before leaving the room.

Ten minutes pass and the minister comes back with a rugged and savage woman who looks like she'll attack anyone who looks at her.

"What is it? I'm busy training." She curtly says, and I feign a smile. The utter disrespect this woman has for my status is staggering. In any other circumstance, her attitude would have landed her a hefty jail sentence or an outright execution, but her position a as Royal Claw allows her some leeway.

I take a deep breath, "We have reports of suspicious activities in the ancient sewers. We don't know what it is other than a huge surge of World Energy."

Hisako perks up at the mention of the surge of World Energy. The illusion she's chasing is supposedly able to create such disturbances at will so she might take the bait and head to the sewers.

"Do we have any other information?" she asks while feigning disinterest. Her lousy acting tells me everything I need to know.

"Not really, but this kind of disturbance has never happened before, so you should check it out."

"It could be him..." Hisako mumbles before nodding. "All right, I'll go check this disturbance out. But I never heard of an ancient sewer system, so-"

"My minister will show you the way. We do know where a few entrances are located so we'll pick the one which is the closest to the disturbance." I interrupt her before waving them away.

I sit down on a chair and sigh; this will only get rid of Hisako for a few hours at best. So I need to find something else to keep her busy...

...John's PoV...

"And that's how I learned to breathe fire." Mary finishes her story. We have been exchanging stories to pass the time since exploring those empty sewers is quite dull. I told her about my misadventures and omitted some details while embellishing other aspects of my tales, while she told me about her life before she joined the Order. Her life was more or less normal, but that was until she became a draconic hybrid.

From this point on, almost her entire life was wasted in hiding, the only distraction she had was the books of her adoptive father and the information she could get from the HiddenNet. I guess it explains why she looks so happy to be here despite our current location.

"By the way, who allowed you to be here?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. I doubt Terrence would authorize such a thing, and I think he's the only one, except me, who can deploy troops.

"I just came here by myself. I'm not a regular Legionary, so I don't do much. The Fabricators are also too busy to run experiments on my blood, so I thought that visiting you would be better than sitting around and doing nothing." she answers.

She really needs to learn what discipline means...

Mary is, without a doubt, the strongest person in the Order. So I need to know where she is in case I need her, and I need to make sure that she'll obey my orders. The Oath should prevent her from outright disobeying, but who knows how it'll interact with her unique physiology.

"Listen, I have to tell you a few things. First of all, it shouldn't matter for today, but you can't just go off wherever you want as you please. You have to ask for permission and follow orders. You need to realize that we are engaged in a war that will soon have an unprecedented scale, so I need every person to fight."

Mary lowers her eyes and nods, "I just wanted to surprise you, and you did owe me a favor..." she pouts.

I take a deep breath, "All right, you can keep following me around. But just this time, okay?"

She has a huge smile, "Yay!"

I never saw anyone who was so happy to explore sewers. Maybe I need to allow her to get out more, at least before the real hostilities start. I would feel a bit bad for her if the only thing she saw once she left her house was death and destruction.

But let's focus back on the task at hand, we need to find the entrance to the Noble District to pay a visit to the information broker. I hope that this will not be for nothing and that he'll have the information I need. It wouldn't be funny if this expedition were a colossal waste of time.

I glance at my phone, which shows that the sewers are truly gigantic. I wonder who build such a thing. It almost feel like it's way bigger than the city itself.

It wouldn't surprise me. This planet is full of incoherence, so a poorly planned sewer system is quite mundane compared to the things I experienced here.

Now that I think about it, I hope there isn't another hidden ghost here. I had my share of weird apparitions, and I don't want to face one ever again.

I stifle a chuckle, the odds of meeting yet another sealed demon are so small that they might as well not exist. I'm just worrying too much...