33 days after the explosion - city

Since they were at 500km from the capital, the prince decided to take a carriage to the capital

Luckily, prince had his adventure ID, with residence on the capital, and since he had a reputation ans no money on his name, getting inside shouldn't be a problem

As for the rest, since they were young, as long as he pays a fee, and he vouched for them, they can get inside without a problem

Usually, the fee would be enough, but since there was the explosion recently, the security around the capital increased. So unless you had someone recommendation or go through a background check, getting into the capital could be hard

But since they had the ID, there shouldn't be any problem

So after making sure they didn't forget anything and getting the cat (after getting puppy eyes from Lina, a threat from Aria and an angry look from Susan), they went to a small company in the city that offered rides to the capital, with a recommendation from the caravan chief

Ironically, thanks to the murder, there wasn't much demand for carriages since the caravan was had fewer people than usual, allowing the group to choose which type of carriage they wanted

And after seeing the different options, prince was indecisive among 2

The first was a normal carriage with normal horses, that would take them to the capital in 12 to 14 hours for 10 silver

Since it was midday, the carriage would leave tomorrow at sunrise and they should reach the capital reach at dawn

The other option was to take reinforced carriage with horses capable of using inner mana

Thanks to the road near the capital been well maintained and with lots of lines, the horses could reach 130km/h, with an average of 100km/h

This would mean that they could reach the capital in 5 to 6 hours, including a small break to eat and stretch the legs

But there was a tiny little problem

Even with the recommendation, it still cost 1 gold coin for the group trip to the capital

Well, prince did have enough money to pay, but he considered that paying 10 times the price for twice the speed was a waste of money

If he considered the extra stay in the hotel and food, it would be 5 times the price at worst, and around 8 at best

But there was also the time to consider

Is saving a day worth 1 gold coin?And if you consider that they waste around 2 weeks on the caravan, what is 1 more day?

Sadly, even though he had practically made up his mind to take the cheapest choices, the three girls behind him had a different opinion

Thanks to spending 2 weeks with him, they had a better understanding of his personality

So they knew he was cheap, and since he was cheap, he would choose the cheapest one

And of course, they didn't want that

So Susan told Aria something, and after agreeing with her, Aria told something to Lina's ear

Well, it was kind of a devious plan, Lina wasn't confident it would work

But unlike Lina (that was quite insecure thanks to his father staying away from her) the other two realized something

Prince was quite sweet with Lina

So after Aria reassured Lina that it would work, Lina build up her courage and approached the prince

" Uncle, I want to go in the fastest horse!"(Lina)said while giving him puppy eyes

...........(prince)

33 days after the explosion - capital city

They arrived at dawn without problems, and after paying a small fee, they enter the city easily

Since the time they left the villa, prince had been thinking how he should do after arriving

And his first step was visiting an all friend

So he took the girls to the shady part of town and knocked the door of a house that was connected to a small alley instead of the streets

"Who is it"(???)said a voice behind the door

"Open up old man, I don't have all day"(prince)

"Jarvan!"(old man) open the door and gave the prince a bear hug

Usually, a person would be happy to be received so warmly, but with the old man build and strength, prince turned blue of horror, and then red for lack of air

The moment the old man finally release him, prince was seen a river and a boatman telling him to get inside so they could cross to the other side

"Jarvan Jarvan, wake up boy"(old man) shakes the price after seen his eyes completely white

"Uh?"(prince) luckily awoke before getting inside the boat

"Hohohoho, get inside get inside, and tell me what have you been up to lately, the other 3 can come in too"(old man) said happily while pushing prince inside

Like always, the place was full of expensive stuff all over the place, which didn't surprise the prince

As for the other 3.......

"Wow, is that dragon's teeth? And is that a cyclops eye? How did he get all this stuff?"(Aria)said while looking around in awe

Even Susan and Lina were looking around as if they were in a museum(and some stuff did belong to one)

"He sells them for a leaving, so don't break anything"(prince)

Aria got a little offended at the statement, but knowing that she would get a chop tot he heads if she answers back....

"So Jjarvan, what have you been up to this last 2 weeks? You practically disappeared and now you come back with people who I never saw before. besides, you always come alone, did something bad happened?"(old man) said while bringing some chairs for them to sit

"Well..... let's just say some people are trying to kill me"(prince) said casually

Luckily the old man wasn't drinking anything unlike usual because he would have spat it all over prince's face after saying something like that

"You aren't pulling my leg, right kid?"(old man) said after processing the information

"Nope, so I came to ask a favor"(prince)

"Shoot"(old man)

"Take care of the little one until I come fetch her"(prince) put her hand on Lina's head so the old man wouldn't get it wrong

"Wha.."(Aria)

"Noooooo!!!! I want to stay with uncle!!!!!"(Lina)

"Calm down calm down, it will be for a little while until we settle some stuff, we will right back before you notice"(prince)lied

"I don't wanna I don't wanna I don't wanna"(Lina) said stubbornly

"I can't take you, sorry"(prince)

"I soon wannda en'd up alhone aheing"(Lina) said while half crying

And then she started crying for real

Prince panic and not knowing what to do, he rubbed her head while saying calm down calm down, I promise it will be only for a little while

The other 2 girls didn't fare much better trying their best to calm her down

As for the old man, he got up, leave them alone for a few moments, and came back with a glass of milk

"Here lad, it will make you feel better"(old man)

Lina saw the glass in front of her face, and maybe because the intimidation the old man give, she took the glass and start drinking while sobbing

Aaaaand, she fell asleep

"Sheesh, drugging little kids isn't a nice habit old man"(prince)said joking

He understood why he did it since she would get in the way of a serious talk, but it's not like he like it

"If you don't like it, you can take it somewhere else"(old man)

"Fine, don't get angry, I really need your help"(prince)

"So, is she the reason someone wants to kill you?"(old man)

"Na, it's me who they want, so I don't want to put her in danger"(prince)

"Her? Why the boy cloth then, your taste?"(old man)

" hey, don't even joke about stuff like that, I got a reputation to keep"(prince) acted offended

"Fineee, why then"(old man) rolled his eyes

"So I don't get find out of course. Besides, does it really matter?"(prince)

"Not really, but I am no babysitter, you know?"(old man)

"Come on, you just have to look out for her for a day or two tops"(prince)

"And if you don't come back?"(old man)

"Whaa? You think I am going to left her to you and run away? I thought you knew me better than that, I am disappointed in you old man"(prince)

"I mean if you get killed you idiot"(old man)

"Really? You think I can die? That's even less likely than me running away and leaving her to you"(prince)

Said while hitting his chest to show his confidence

"This is serious kid, don't treat it as a joke"(old man) send him a cold stare

" I am been serious, I won't die and I will come back for her, so just look after her for a little while"(prince) stare back

This develops into a staring contest, and the two stared at each other for a while

But in the end, the old man closed his eyes, looked down and sighed

"You win, just don't take long. I am really bad with kids"(old man)

"No problem, I will be back before you notice"(prince) smiled a little, happy that he got what he wanted

"Yeah yeah, make sure you don't die ok? I won't look after her forever"(old man)

"Don't worry don't worry"(prince)

And with that, prince said his goodbyes to the old man, and after the other two bowed in thanks, they left the place while leaving Lina and the cat behind

"Can you trust him with her safety"(Aria)asked after a while

"He is the strongest person I know after my brother Paul, ya know? And he has a good heart, even though he deals in shady business"(Prince)

"Wait, he deals in shady business and you leave her with him!?"(Aria)

"It's the last place they would look with the strongest person I know, it will be fine"(prince)

"Fine, I will trust you on this, but if she gets hurt in any way....."(Aria)

""Yeah yeah, I know"(prince)

"Sooo, now what?"(Aria)

"We are going to a cabaret"(prince) said while smiling

"WHAT!!!!!!"(Aria/Susan)