"...and so, that is what we talked about" Rikuo explained to Herra, Rayheart, and the others.

"So basically, Darius already knew about us, and now he is gunning for us? I suppose we should have expected as much from a Demon Lord".

"He shouldn't try anything overt, at least by himself, and lose all the influence he has acquired. That said...Rikuo, did you really have to piss him off that much?"

"...yeah, he was kinda pissing me off though with his repeated insults" Rikuo admitted, a bit sheepish. "He also made me feel extremely uncomfortable just to stand near, before he mentioned all that creepy and demeaning stuff".

"In terms of responses, I would say Darius remained more composed then you Rikuo...so its your loss" Yulari said rather harshly, in a matter of fact way. That said, her analysis was not wrong. Although Rikuo seemed to get composed, he let Darius set the flow of the conversation and antagonize him way too easily.

"To think you had such spite in that small body..." Rayheart said absentmendedly, in an airhead sort of way that resulted in Rikuo stomping her foot...and hurting his own.

"...you really are an idiot" Herra muttered.

"Eh, I would say less idiotic, more idealistic...with some idiocy" Ruuruu added.

Sora looked over at Kotori with eyes of pity.

"Yes, now you are starting to understand what I go through daily!"

"My sympathies. While short tempered, weak, easily taken advantage of, and easy to push around, at least my Master is intelligent".

"Is everyone trying to make me cry?" Rikuo asked, actually already crying a little. His verbal spar with Darius, and then having to deal with the Princess alone again as she questioned him, has resulted in some serious mental stress built up, so he was less composed right now then usual.

The others quickly all apologized.

"Well then, looks like I missed something. Someone care to fill me in?"

Hearing that voice, everyone turned around to see a boy and girl pair, but for the Reincarnators, the pangs of familiarity were felt once more, as they saw the boy of the two.

"My name is Raevin Cromley in this world. And in our previous world, I was the top student of our class...let me guess, that girl over there is the class President, she is the Kendo club president, and you...protagonist backstory based classmate, and his friend, right? I am not sure about the Spear though..."

"...wait wait, what the hell was with that nickname right there?"

"Well, I wanted to call you something other then the shortest student in our class...so..."

Hearing that, Rikuo remembered that detail.

"...in that case, thank you for your consideration. You were able to tell that though?"

"I was the top student for a reason" Raevin pointed out. "So, that said, names?"

Asking that, everyone began to introduce themselves, from the most energetic to the least energetic incidentally enough. That said, he looked at the others, who were not reincarnators.

"I guess that means everyone ended up telling the others too?"

"My cute little brother figured it out all on his own and understood it perfectly!"

"Sh-shut it! Just call me Kotori, not cute little brother!"

"I am my master's familiar, so I can see his Status and immediately knew" Sora explained.

"Sora spilled the beans to me" Arila added.

"Raevin just straight up told me as well. My name is Iosi anyways".

Iosi mentioned that behind him. Sora then walked up to him, suspicious.

"...so you made him dress up as a girl for some reason? Interesting. I almost didn't spot it, he looks just like a girl. Maybe we should dress Master up as a girl..."

"Sora!"

"Either way, can you fill me in on what you are talking about? I would like to be able to prepare for things and have a good pool of knowledge to draw from".

Hearing that, the group decided to go and fill him in on what has been going on, and especially on what is going on with Darius. Incidentally, there was one secret that was being kept for the moment.

Aer looked out the window, still laying down in the medical bed. Occasionally doctors and nurses came to check on him, which due to the traditions of medical checkups in this world and his first life common sense, was a bit embarassing, but his second life balanced it out. However, right now, it was just him and Saphri.

As a result, he was skygazing at the moment, watching the clouds float by as he laid on the bed, his torso exposed to the sunlight while his lower body was covered by the blanket. He had no visibly distinct muscles, appearing more lean and agile, but there was a certain reliability that could be seen from him.

"Hey. Mind if I come in?" Paladin Remarse said, knocking on the already open door as he entered. Aer immediately tried to move again, getting out of the bed to bow despite some feelings on the matter, but halfway through Remarse raised his hand to stop him.

"That is quite alright. No need to stand on formality, you should keep resting until you are discharged. Here, have this. Its a remedy my wife made" Remarse said, handing it to Aer as he went back into the bed and covered himself again. "Not sure why you are so shy about that, I think you are growing well".

"...please dont say such things. And thanks" Aer said, gratefully accepting the potion and drinking it all down at once. "...it tastes better then a normal potion. Is that Cinnamin?"

"We felt like splurging...and giving thanks and kindness. My family was actually kidnapped a few days ago, and only last night got rescued by the S-Rank Adventurer, Ciel...and honestly, its made me think the Dragon Knights need to be better managed, as well as the Dragon Knight Academy. Perhaps it should be more like its ancient predecessor, Dragonaut Academy".

Dragonaut Academy, it was the predecessor that existed over a thousand years ago, for thousands of years, and was responsible for teaching people compatible with Dragons how to bond and utilize their power. It was supposedly far more equal and also more wonderous, but certain events caused it to be destroyed during a conflict.

"Anyways...I am sorry that all this had to happen before I could really decide to push for more change. I promise, even when you are gone, I will do my best to make this place better. You are a true and full fledged Dragon Knight after all, by behavior, honor, and strength alone. A true Dragon Knight".

"...Paladin...thank you".

Aer found himself crying a bit when he said that, but then something happened which surprised him a bit.

[You have acquired the title Dragon Knight]

[The levels of Dragon Riding, Flame Magic, Swordsmanship, Dragon Bond, and Dragon Aspect have increased!]

[You have acquired the Special Skill, Dragon's Soul]

[You have acquired the Unique Skill, REDACTED. Information will be learned when conditions are met].

In such an emotional moment, he acquired such a growth.

"Just so you know, whenever you want, you can call me by my first name, Abott. In any case, I am certain the culprit is Heywood. I wont let him get away with this, or do this to anyone else".

"Hey now, I am the victim here you know?"

Knight Heywood said that, as the guards blocked his entrance into the room. They were the two Margrave Cromley had left, in case something happened or came after him.

"And that dirrty brat will never be a knight, not after he tried to attack me and my guards last night. Thankfully, they were able to successfully defend me, but he managed to get away...but now he cant escape".

Setting a ficticous narrative, Heywood suddenly brought out a slave collar. It was one that was meant to be put on a criminal slave, and it was the perfect size for Aer. Feeling the fear instinctively, Aer tried to back up and fell out of bed. He ended up crawling backwards, until his back was against the wall.

"So I will make him a criminal slave...maybe make him put that small body to use entertaining others as a sex slave".

"You think that I will let such obvious lies stand?!"

"Ha. I have multiple witnesses, and my rank. This is already a done deal".

Saphri was just about to get ready to burn the guy alive, but Remarse motioned her to stop. At that time, he took out a scroll. At first, no one was much sure why. But then, Heywood and Aer froze.

"Th-that seal...its the seal of Duke Elgram?!"

In such a place, at such a time, the Duke's name came out. Remarse was thankful for this level of preparation.

I didn't expect to recieve such a thing from Duke Elgram of all people, and I still don't know how he is involved. But it seems he has quite the foresight on his side.

"This is an order of investigation into the crime that happened last night, before any judgement can be rendered. It also has an initial investigation report, which confirms the victim of the attack is considered to be Aer. In addition, no punishments or measures shall be taken until the investigation is concluded, or he approves of it himself. An investigation team is already on sight, and given your claims and paper trail you left, I am sure they are already investigating the people you claim to be involved".

Hearing all this, Heywood backed up, rather shocked.

I expected and took measures to get around Margrave Cromley, but why is Duke Elgram involved?! In the first place, the Cromley House hired a bastard he supposedly hated and threw away...was that a lie? Or is there something going on that I don't see? Shit shit!

"This is not over!" Heywood shouted, as he ran back out. Remarse turned around, and smiled at Aer.

"Like I said, changes will be made".

"Ah...thank you" Aer said, as he remembered his situation and blushed a bit. Before he could do anything about it though, Saphri had moved over to him and licked his face, before tackling him to the ground to play with him. She was large enough for him to ride already, so it wasn't a full tackle but more like a head tackle, as she nuzzled her head on his body in a playful way.

The sound of laughter could be heard, which helped cheer Aer up. Especially since he was the one laughing.

"Well, I have work to do, so I will leave you be. It seems like a bit of play might be good for you".

Remarse said that as he headed out, and quickly went to return to the Imperial Castle.

"Is everything set up? Need any more food resupplies?" one of the servants asked in a large room, where various supplies and foods have been prepared and were being kept at ideal temperatures using magic. They were ready to deploy at any time, as well as other supplies including medical kits, potions, and the like.

"Haru, you okay? Its quite busy today" Dace mentioned, looking rather hard worked himself, as fatigue was starting to accumulate in the both of them.

"Yeah. Well, that is what happens when there is a lot of important guests. At least its not Halida".

"Ah yeah, that is kinda troublesome".

As they discussed like that, someone immediately came over and chewed them out.

"You two dont have time to stand around! Dace, go and restock the refreshments! Haru, Jezre has been absent for awhile, go and check on him and see if he needs help!"

"Erm, sir, but Jezre is..." Dace started to say.

"No backtalk, just do as I said!"

"Yes sir!"

The two realized fighting it was useless.

"Sorry Haru. If I see the Third Princess again, I will let her know".

"Thanks...she is a bit embarassing in itself, but its far better then Jezre".

"I still say you are still a bit too timid and shy. You even have..."

"Can we not talk about that here?"

"Sorry sorry, anyways, just...try to look busy, he probably wont hurt you if you seem busy" Dace mentioned. Haru nodded, and headed off towards where Jezre was. As Jezre was officially the head servant, Haru could find where he was by utilizing the choker around his neck and having it lead him to Jezre.

"And, Haru Capture!"

Suddenly though, a bundle of energy jumped on his back and hugged him from behind as he kept moving.

"Third Princess?"

"No! Haru is my hubby! You gotta call me by my first name! And as my hubby, you gotta eat and bathe and sleep with me!"

Elaine insisted upon such a thing.

"Anyways, I have to go talk with Master Jezre and see what he needs now, based on what I was told".

"No! Jezre is always mean and bullies you! He even makes you do stuff so you dont stand out as much, and then he beats you! But I want Haru to stand out! I want Haru to not be beaten! Haru is my cute hubby!"

Haru didn't even know how to argue against that right now, especially since no matter what was said, she would never change her mind.

So while carrying her on his back, Haru arrived at the location that he was in...however...

"Isn't this the Magical Defense Command room?"

Similar to the one in Tyrla, only this one was far more advanced, complex, and greatly superior to the one owned by that greedy noble. After all, this was one that was built in a major city which had existed for thousands of years.

"I dont have access to this room" Haru muttered.

"Ah, I got it!" Elaine said, placing her hand upon the seal of the door. The moment she did, the doors began to slide open, revealing the interior of the room. Inside, the room would be stocked by a contingent of mages and arcanists that would monitor, maintain, and adapt the system as it was needed. Over two dozen of them, just to be safe.

And yet, every single person was asleep, and Jezre was damaging some of the apparatuses.

"Jezre! What the hell are you doing!"

Jezre turned and saw him, and scowled.

"Die, you filthy commoner! Demonic Fire!"

A black fire suddenly shot out of his hand. Haru attempted to raise a barrier, but the black fire moved around the barrier and slammed right into his chest, sending him and Elaine flying backwards and a serious wound to open in his chest. However, before they landed or impacted anything, Haru twisted his body around and formed a defensive curl around Elaine, protecting her while impacting a wall, and then bounding off of it and impacting another wall before hitting the floor.

"Haru!"

"Elaine...that guy is a traitor...run, get help".

"You damned commoner, putting the Third Princess in danger like this! But once I am done, everyone will blame you filthy commoners!"

It seemed like Jezre might have gone mad, or perhaps possessed, as his eyes seemed dark and full of black malicious intent.

"No! I wont leave Haru!" Elaine said, as she cast several magic spells at once. Several streams of light wrapped themselves around Haru, healing him and restoring his strength. Not only that, but bands of light appeared around her arms and legs, as she was suddenly able to pick up Haru and carry him on her back.

And yet, Jezre was already there.

"Don't worry, all I will need to do is tweak your memories a bit...so that this brat is the one you see as guilty".

Fear crept into Elaine's and Haru's hearts, as his hand reached for them. Their thoughts accelerated as they panicked, feeling and even seeing the malicious black aura he had around him. Tears flowed from their cheeks, as their small bodies trembled.

"Earth Hammer!"

And yet at that last moment they were saved, as from the stone a large pillar shot out and knocked Jezre back. The two turned their heads, and they saw Dace.

"Quickly! Run! No one seems to be on this floor, we need to get back to the others, alert them!" Dace said, as he quickly came over and picked up Haru. "Follow me Princess!"

Normally, it might have been tough for an eight year old princess to chase after a thirteen year old boy on her own, even if he was weighed down by Haru's small body. But she had already reinforced herself with magic, so there was no issue at all.

And so, the trio went to find some place to get help, or at least a safe place to hide and have Haru recover.

"Ahhh....yet another great reason why I should come and visit more" Aruu said, now that he was dressed in all new clothes. Well, they looked identical to the ones he was wearing before, but since those got fried they were still new.

"I suppose you do spend a lot more time there then here...still though, I think its a bit amazing you were not phased at all. I wonder if it has anything to do with your slime body?" Cecilia wondered, as she ate some food as well. They were sitting in a diner at the moment, gourging on burders, fries, and milkshakes.

"Like I said, the older you get, the less it matters. Of course, I am still not someone who would prefer to go walking around everywhere naked, it just doesn't bother me. Other people being naked doesn't phase me either. I have seen hundreds of thousands of people naked after all. Beautiful women, handsome men, old people, children, the like. You said you were older then you look right?"

Cecilia nodded, as she drank her milkshake.

"I bet in a few decades, you will lose interest as well. After a century or two, probably wont get bothered by it at all. You don't know any other immortals I take it?"

Cecilia twitched for a bit, as she seemed to remember something.

"...so, its not just her nature then".

"Whose nature?"

"My Master, Morgan Le Fey. Often, she would just come in not dressed at all, sometimes she used magic and made us naked to make a point or just embarass us, at least I thought...but, she has lived for over a thousand years supposedly".

"Yeah see, thats just the work of time. Generally speaking though, I wouldn't go randomly strip my students....its not like we become entirely different people as we age, so thats probably just her...also, so Morgan Le Fey is real? Interesting".

"That was...just curious, did you influence any culture there when you went to that side? The first time I mean?"

"...honestly, not really. But then again, it was the weird point of british rock and roll going strong in America when I left" Aruu muttered, eating another Burger whole. Cecilia was sure he was manipulating his body to do that.

However, something clicked in her head.

"Wait hold on...you said originally, a day here is about a year over there....if you disappeared in the 50s or 60s...you are way over a thousand! You are at least over ten thousand years old!"

As she realized that, she looked at him, and saw he was blushing and looking away. Fidgety, and sort of trying to cover himself. It was a reaction she had expected to see earlier when he was naked.

"...hold on, did you deliberately only say a thousand because you are embarrassed about your age?"

"Shut up! Its rude to ask a boy about his age!"

Cecilia watched as he seemed genuinely embarrassed.

"You might even be around twenty thousand now that I think about it..."

"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!"

Cecilia had to wonder if this was an act he had created in his twenty thousand years or so of life, but it seemed genuine.

Still though...I guess its not a lie, he is over a thousand...but to think he would fudge the numbers to such an extent...no wonder his sense is far different, he spent twenty thousand years on the other side with their values, and he got that old...

And yet, that thought process was interrupted when a blonde haired, silver eyed boy sat down next to Aruu, and hugged him while kissing him on the lips.

"Hey Aruu! Having fun?"

Almost immediately, a barrier formed around them. There was already a soundproof one, but this one was an illusion barrier. Aruu used magic to strengthen the table, while at the same time smashing the boy's face into the table.

"Erm...is this your boyfriend?"

"No. This is the idiot got that gave me a request that I told you about".

"Eh? You broke up with me? So we are ex boyfriends now?!"

"Shut up Ciel! We were never together! Also, you kiss and hug and play around naked with everyone equally! You have no mortal common sense as a god!"

"What do you mean? We had a very active romantic relationship for the first five thousand years that was very special, and an on and off relationship since...owowow!"

"Shut up Ciel! You are doing this just to harass me, aren't you?!" Aruu said, clearly blushing.

"Come on, I dont want to join the other five hundred or so others in the 'Aruu's Ex-Lovers club'".

"Ciel! Stop lying and saying things that will be misunderstood! And if anything sexual had ever happened when you forced things between us, I would probably try to charge you with rape in this world!"

"...is he really a god? Couldn't a god stop all that? And should he even be acting like that?"

Ciel just smiled, as he finally shaked off Aruu's hand. Notably, there was not a wound on his face despite recieving more then enough blows to shatter an adult human skull ten times over.

"If I fought back, sure. But this is like a game for us. Think of us as friends who are sometimes lovers, and sometimes enemies, but we really care about each other. Aruu is just what you call a tsundere...ow!"

Ciel's face was shoved back into the table by Aruu. It looked like there might be blood, but that was just ketchup.

"...if you are both in child bodies, how did you have a romantic relationship?" Cecilia asked.

"I said romantic, not sexual" Ciel pointed out, sitting back up. "In the first place, I am a god, and he is a Demon Slime. Neither of us actually posses sexual impulses, and any parts used for sex are just because we have taken human forms. Well I mean, I can pee and poop and such, so can Aruu, but that is mainly getting rid of unwanted waste or such. Its important for the body to recycle things".

"Just to be clear, this guy is a major stalker. It was never romantic, he is doing this just to harass and embarass me" Aruu pointed out.

"Sure, we slept in the same bed together naked repeatedly, kissed a lot, hugged a lot, cooked food for each other, all that just like we do with our other friends in that world, but we spent some special time together, had deep and meaningful emotional moments, and were very intimate, but that still was just innocent romantic non-sexual stuff. Think of it like a wholesome romance manga".

Cecilia looked at Aruu, who looked like he wanted to die.

"I think I understand your suffering now. I am amazed you two stayed together that long...though on the other hand, you both look like very close, very good friends"

"We are besties!".

"You know what else? Gods dont understand the concept of settling down or monogamy. Eventually, I got over it, but for awhile it was hard to deal with. He once made out with every single person in a village, and then made me do the same".

"Its better to have more love then less" Ciel pointed out.

"Right...so Ciel, you did not come here just to harass Aruu right?"

Hearing that, Ciel settled down.

"Right right, sorry for that distraction. You just seemed caught up on such a silly point, wondering why Aruu was not embarrassed, so I decided to show you what he looks like when extremely embarrassed. I do have something serious to mention".

Ciel suddenly had a bit of a serious look to him. He still looked childish, casual, silly, but deep down, Cecilia could feel his aura, and the nature of the conversation, was far different now.

"Within the next hour or two in this world, children will be summoned from it to Shara as the next generation of Heroes. Multiple children, from all around the globe, including one from this very city. The surpreme god, Taktos, plans to modify their souls, make them his pieces to move about in the name of his ideals".

"Those poor kids will be in for quite a shock when they learn only royals and nobles get to use showers and baths...but that soul interference thing, that bothers me a bit. It seems like he is growing bolder with his plans".

"Yeah...thankfully, you came here already, of your own accord, with me being able to leave no trace of myself" Ciel mentioned. "Aruu, I have an idea I want to talk with you about. A very fun and clever idea, to give Taktos a good punch in the face".

And so with a mischevous smile, Ciel told him of his idea.