After waking up, Lakshman found that he was, once again, staring up at the roof of the building he come to recognised as the home of the Raven’s Guild leader, Ram. As he sat up, he noticed that no one was there and momentarily wondered where everyone was before hearing the sound of footsteps, which drew nearer until Aimi entered from a side room.

“Oh!” She exclaimed upon noticing that he was awake. “Ram! Lucky’s awake!”

When her husband heard her words, he quickly hurried out of the side room and looked at him in amazement.

“Lucky!” He said cheerfully, and grabbed a chair to drag over to use for him to sit on and face the king from another world. “I’m glad you’re awake because it’s been more than a day since you collapsed.”

“Really? For that long?” Lakshman asked, looking amazed. When he sighed and said, “Damn. That’s a day wasted.”

Ram became alarmed by his words and said, “Why? You were truly exhausted from all that you’ve done continuously for us, healing me and transporting us to this safe place, although,” and he looked worried as he stated, “our M.E.D.s are still functioning, meaning that the authorities could track us sooner or later to this spot.”

“Oh. That?” Lakshman asked, and he smiled serenely at him. “Don’t worry about it. They won’t be tracking you anytime soon because, the moment we arrived in this world, I instantly activated a barrier that made us invisible to the naked eye and jammed all external factors, such as signals and so on from reaching us. The only things that can go in and out are us, the wind, and anything that I specify.”

“Really? That’s a relief!” Tha leader of the Raven’s Guild said, looking pleased with the result. “Anyway, after you collapsed and we brought you here to rest, I sent out a scouting party to figure out exactly where we were, fearing that we might’ve been in another world. When they reported that they found some recognisable settlements nearby, that’s when we knew we were still in this world and worried the government might track us here.”

As Lakshman chuckled, Ram went on saying with a worried face, “But, the problem is that we don’t have any food supply and our water supply got cut off completely, so there’s no way to support our daily lives at the moment. It’ll become even more difficult since we have an entire city populace to take care of.”

To that, Lakshman nodded and said, “I can arrange a water system supply with my magic spells. As for food, I’m not sure what to do about that. Maybe arrange for some kind of trade system with your men roaming between cities or the nearest settlements?”

“We could do that,” Ram admitted, but he did not look pleased as he said, “but arranging it all could take some time, and arranging for vehicles to go back and forth from here could take a week or so,” replied Ram, causing Lakshman to widen his eyes in shock.

“A week?!” He exclaimed, alarmed by the number. “Is it really that far?”

“If we were in the old location, then one day would be enough because of how close we were to the capital at that time,” replied Ram with a sad smile, “but now, we’re smack down in the middle of nowhere. In simple terms, we’re stranded. Luckily, we have vehicles for transport, so it’s not too difficult.”

Lakshman nodded in understanding, but he was worried about the time it would waste for them just travelling. While he was contemplating on what to do, he heard Engraut suggest to him an interesting idea in his mind.

“This is a suggestion but why don’t you create a teleportation network system between here and the capital?”

His idea surprised Lakshman while it made Asura ask in his mind, “While that is a good idea, there is no possible way for that to happen since we don’t know any place other than the castle.”

This made Engruat, Asura, and the fairy go silent before the fairy suggested, “You could teleport to the capital and establish some magic circles for the teleportation to work? I think your spell, um, Phoenix Portal was it? I think it could let you go to any place in the capital that you’ve been to before.”

Her suggestion momentarily surprised all three of them before Asura said, “That’s it!”

“Good thing, young miss,” complemented Engruat.

“Hehe!” The fairy said cheerfully, happy for being useful.

As Lakshman nodded in agreement, he suddenly got an idea that would really benefit them if it worked. The others, on the other hand, were less than impressed by it because of the risk it involved, but he did not care. He wanted to try all means he had with him before resorting to unorthodox methods.

Thus, he looked at Ram and said, “Okay. I got us a solution that will save us from travelling so much.”

“Really?” Ram asked, looking amazed. “What is it?”

Lakshman held his hand up and said, “But first, I’ll make a quick trip to the capital and meet with Alestor,” shocking both Ram and Aimi in the process.

***

Alestor sat in his chair reading through the report that he received about the disappearance of a city from the surface of the world. He was relieved that Lakshman, whom he refers to as Asura, was ok, but at the same time, he was worried as to where the city had disappeared to. He got the thought that maybe Lakshman had transported it to his world, but then he thought that such a feat was nearly impossible, even for a being as powerful as Lakshman.

“I’d probably have to ask the Hero Security Agency to conduct a full scan over the planet’s surface,” he muttered tiredly.

While he was continuing to contemplate, the air in the room changed dramatically as a sudden black hole appeared in the centre of the room he was in. Shocked, he jumped to his feet and stared at the portal as it widened to a diameter to let a human through and, sure enough, the one to walk out of it was none other than Lakshman.

“Hello, Alestor,” he greeted the man with a smile. “It’s good to see you.”

“Asura!” Alestor exclaimed, both surprised and relieved to see the hero again. He walked around the desk to go greet him with, “I’m so glad you’re alright! I was worried after you left, and then had an encounter with a construction supervisor and his men!” Then he looked shrewdly at him and asked, “You were the one that beat them up, right?”

“They had it coming to them since they were misusing their authority to conduct battering on civilians,” he replied with a shrug of his shoulders, making Alestor sigh wearily.

“Yes, and because of that, the bounty on your head has increased drastically,” explained Alestor, who walked back to his chair and sat down while indicating him to do the same.

As Lakshman took his seat, the older man riffled through the pile of papers on his desk before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it over for the Solaris Hero to see. On it, his face was printed visibly with large bold letters below it that read, “Wanted Criminal,” and below it was the reward amount of 1,000,000.

“Wow,” commented Lakshman, expressing his amazement at the sheer number of the reward. “Judging by the six zeroes, I’m guessing it’s a large sum.”

“You’d become a millionaire in one go with that amount,” explained Alestor, realising the king from another world did not realise the true impact of the amount. “Basically, you’d be so rich you wouldn’t have to work again!”

His words made Lakshman raise both of his eyebrows in amazement and said, “Wow. This is a sweet, sweet bait for the public. Just capture me, and you’d become filthy rich. What a great way to motivate everyone to become my enemy?”

“That’s pretty much the gist of things,” said Alestor, nodding his head in agreement. Then he shot a serious look at the hero and asked, “So, I am concerned as to why you suddenly came back here? You’re in danger!”

“I know that,” said Lakshman with a smile, showing that he was not worried with his smile that made Alestor sigh. “Anyway, I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t have things to do here, especially with that alien running around freely while I’m labelled as the criminal.”

“What are you doing?” Alestor asked, narrowing his eyes and looking cautiously at him.

Lakshman smiled and began explaining his plan of creating a teleportation network system between the city he was in and this place for the Raven’s Guild members to travel with ease because he wanted them to do things there to expose the alien. Alestor stayed silent during his explanation, but his eyebrows narrowed and knitted together form a frown on his face.

“So, let me get this straight,” he said slowly once Lakshman finished. “You want me to aid the terrorists in their passage to get here and do whatever it is you want them to do, and you expect me to comply fully with this?”

“I won’t bribe you with money,” replied the Solaris Hero with a small smile.

“And I’m not the kind to get bribed by any means,” stated Alestor coldly. “You’re becoming a real criminal at this rate, Asura. Think about it. Exposing the identity of an alien is one thing, but to seek help from a criminal organisation is… unthinkable.”

These words were met with Lakshman’s fierce glare as he asked, “Tell me, Alestor. What do you know about the Raven’s Guild?” Alestor blinked and remained silent as he did not wish to disclose that he was not fully sure. The Solaris Hero realised this and nodded in understanding before went on saying, “Let me tell you that they are a group of people that are under evaluated by the government, underpaid for their labour, and are treated unfairly by the system.”

“And? They are channelling their anger towards the government and caused us quite a nuisance for the last five years?” Alestor asked, looking seriously at him. “Sorry, Asura, but if you’re expecting me to feel sympathy to those law breakers and side with them, then you’re wasting your time here.”

Lakshman looked long and hard at him before asking him, “Alestor, tell me how the king treats you right now.”

“This and that are completely different,” stated Alestor, looking suddenly irritated. “When you’re in a job as difficult as mine, you’d obviously face some disagreements and disapprovals from the king. That’s one of the few drawbacks that this job offers.”

“Perhaps,” began Lakshman, but he did not sound like he was agreeing with him because he went on to say, “but, he has taken a lot of your authority away from you, leaving you with meagre duties to perform. Isn’t it clear what his intentions are by taking away what you, as the minister of his rulership, have to conduct?”

“That he fears that I will rise up against him,” said Alestor, stating what the two of them had in mind with narrowed eyebrows. “I know that, after his wife’s death, he had become paranoid of external forces and had been doing a lot of shady activities, but still, my loyalty is to always be dedicated to his majesty.”

“Oh?” Lakshman asked, appearing to look surprised while his eyes looked angry. “Then, tell me this, Alestor. What is the role of a government?”

A tense silence ensued between them at that question, with Alestor looking seriously at him while Lakshman looked back at him with the exact same seriousness.

“To be of service to the public,” Alestor finally admitted, letting out a deep sigh wearily.

Lakshman nodded and said, “Yes. The government is to provide services to the public, not you ruling over them with a false dictatorship.” Then he tried to persuade the older man using his sense of justice by asking him, “I’m sure you are aware of the problems the government is causing the lower-class civilians with their limited rights and the tough labour jobs they are forced to do. Even a man like you must feel frustrated at their tough life. However, because of your false belief in loyalty towards your king, you are neglecting the people whom your priority should be aimed towards, not this selfish garbage of a person that’s called king!”

“Watch your tongue!” Alestor warned him fiercely.

“I don’t care about such a person that ignores the people in need for his own self-survival!” Lakshman replied fiercely, causing the older man to widen his eyes in alarm. “Keep in mind that I too am a king, and I’m the kind who prioritises the safety of my people, and when I saw those people struggling to live, I felt ashamed of myself for being a so-called hero that lived in this castle and never realised the cruel rulership that’s been dictated by him!”

“However,” he said and held his forefinger to draw Alestor’s attention to it, “my battle is not with him, it’s with the alien, and as a hero summoned from another world, I must eliminate the threat at hand. Besides, you yourself told me the other day about this vision you had of a world nearly destroyed with me and an unknown warrior battling it out. At a guess, it was probably the ruler of that alien, whom they refer to as the Overlord.”

“And you’re saying the alien is getting closer to finding out about Erza?” Alestor asked curiously.

When Lakshman nodded wordlessly, the older man fell silent and into thought as he contemplated the options he had.

“You know of the danger that is coming, and you’ve already witnessed the state your world would be if it did happen. That’s why, now’s the time for you to help us and prevent such a disaster from happening! Please!” Lakshman said imploringly with a hint of desperation in his voice.

Alestor remained silent for almost a minute while looking down at his desk, but he suddenly looked at him, and in a firm voice, he declared, “Sorry, Asura, but I cannot cooperate with you.”