CHAPTER 12 Part 2: King of Niru This inn was better than the inn we stayed in back in the Archean Grove, the room Luke and I was assigned to was spacious, big enough for the 4 of us, 2 soft twin-sized beds separated by a square table take up most of the space, magic candle placed on top of the square table, curtains neatly tied so that the windows that opened to the business district were giving light, we even got a bathroom inside the room. After putting our stuff away and taking a bath we set our sight towards the castle. “Everyone ready?” Luke knocked on the girls’ room, both of us clothe casually. “Yeah, we’re ready” Tiff came out, dressed in a slim black gown with a tint of purple, jewelry decorated her pointed ears and exposed neck, only emphasizing her beauty, catching everyone’s eyes that passed by. Yuna came from behind her, peeking her head and hiding her body. “I’m not~” “What do you mean? You look beautiful darling~” Tiff said at Yuna her voice sound that she was getting annoyed, she must’ve said that a bunch of time, still her smile stayed on her face. “You kept telling me that but I know I don’t~” she looked at Tiff, her eyes almost tearing up. “*sigh* just show them your dress, you don’t want waste Frod’s generosity do you?” “I don’t trust that guy…” she said as she slowly revealed her clothing. Dressed in white with a black ribbon, her dress was plain compared to my aunt’s intricate gown but it just boosts Yuna’s cuteness. Her moist eyes sparkled while looking at us, Luke’s expression heavily changed as soon as he saw the dress of his adopted daughter. “Oh….. I FREAKING!!!!! OH MY GODDDDDD YOUR TOO CUTE FOR MY FATHERLY HEART!!!!!!!!” he rushed to a startled Yuna, he tightly hugged her, rubbing his face against her’s. “Daddddd~ stop it hahahah” “Ah… sorry haha. You looked beautiful, cute, gorgeous, attractive, cute, lovely, cute and pretty but mostly cute but… more importantly you look cute!” “You said cute like 10 times dad~ thank you~” “Watchu think Su-chan?” she turned to me “I think you’re cute in that dress as well” I said smiling softly, looking her straight in the eye. She beamed at my compliment. “Thank you…” her cheeks blushed red “HEY! Why is it that your reaction is different from when I complimented you?” “What? No I didn’t. I had the same reaction, its just that you were rubbing your face against m…” she blushed even more as she realized what she was about to say “*coughs* anyway why are you guys not in a formal attire? We’re going to see the King right?” she changed the topic “How did you guys even got yours? Did your room already prepared those?” Luke asked, I was also curious because we most definitely didn’t saw those two buy those clothes. “Ow Frod told us to, he offered us to wear these… he didn’t got you guys clothes?” Tiffany tilted her head. “No…” “What’s up! Ey~! You actually wore those? They looked gorgeous on you both by the way.” Frod finally got back from where he was. “Did you tricked us into wearing these?” my openly confused aunt asked the devious boy. “Huh~ what~ I don’t know what you on about~ I most definitely didn’t try to convince 2 beauties to wear something very hot~ and attractive~ oh no sir~” he answered, his voice raised on certain parts. “…I’ve been tricked by a 10 year old…” my half-elf aunt stared at the air, deadpanned. “well played brat” “Please accept my deepest gratitude, both your presence is such a blessing” he bowed in a 45 degree angle. “I’ll get you next time brat… I promise~” “HAHAHA! I’ll wait patiently then… well… shall we go?” “They won’t have to get dressed?” Yuna asked “Nahhh they don’t need to.” “…” even Yuna had a deadpanned face *** We walked all the way to the castle not bothering the horses that deserve to rest in their stable. Tiff and Yuna caught the attention of the crowd of sightseeing bystanders, even the street performers who should’ve been the star of the show can only stare silently captivated by my beautiful companions. There was some kind of event where most of the crowd was rushing towards, distant chanting and cheers reverberate from where we stood. “Where are they heading?” Yuna asked as she tucked her hair behind her ear “Ah, there’s a competition going on at the entertainment district, I believe it’s the semi finals. Whoever wins that gets to challenge the unbeatable champion in front of a lot of people including my father. You interested in that?” “A little bit… maybe someday I’ll get to participate in one of those.” “Well if you’re interested the academy held competitions as well, if both of you study there you’ll both will participate including myself.” “That’s interesting, don’t you thing Su-chan?” “Other than getting my ass beaten by you in front of a crowd, I think it is interesting.” “Wait… she’s stronger than you?” “Yeah… she’s actually a B-rank Specialized Elementalist(Earth)” “WHAT?!” Frod’s eyes went wide the moment I said she was B-rank “demnn… I guess I’ll get my ass kicked by her as well. Respect…” “Thanks~” she raised her chin at him, accepting his praise. “There’s also a concert after the competition, Lily the ‘best’ idol will be performing on stage, it will be the 2nd largest event because of how famous Lily is worldwide. With only 20 songs, she already became famous at the age of 20 and she’s just 22 right now. It was a heartwarming story how she became an idol, born from a poor family she struggled to gain attention, her father was sickly so he couldn’t really provide for her and her mother who worked 5 jobs just so they could eat. Lily saved money so that her family could have a decent life and-” “Okay~ fanboy that’s enough information~” Luke cut him off “Ah sorry about that HAHAHA I just get excited when talking about her” “I couldn’t agree more” I teased *** We arrived in front of a marble entrance, a humongous building resembling an eastern castle stood taller than any building I’ve seen since coming to this world, guards wearing fancier armors stood guard kneeling as soon as they saw Frod. “Welcome back Prince Frod!” both said in unison “Glad to be back, Matthew, Jan, is father busy? My companions wanted to talk to him” “I believe I heard Anya said that the king is free for today.” “Thanks Jan!” “Always a pleasure to be of service sir!” We moved inside following the prince of Niru, guards still knelt even after we’re already far inside. Frod now acted like royalty, he walked with confidence passing the countless maids that paid their respect towards him, he was right even just minutes of coming to the castle the atmosphere of the place was dread, completely opposite from the rest of the kingdom. The maids were uneasy, from where I stood I could feel their racing hearts. The interior of the castle was clean and spotless, a line of porcelain statuettes placed on top of pedestals occupy the hall, pictures of the royal family decorated the walls, intricate carvings were present on each column we pass supporting the building. We came to a stop when a large door blocked our path, another pair of guards knelt in front of Frod, their metallic armors clung as it hit the white tiles. “Glad you’re safe, Prince Frod” “How was your trip, sir” “Thanks for your concern, Derrick and my trip was great, Ellen. Is father at the throne? My companions wanted to talk to him.” “No, sir” both said simultaneously “May we request an audience with his highness?” Tiffany asked “Yes but you’ll will have to wait.” The man named Derrick said, his voice serious “That is fine, Derrick. Let’s wait in the throne room” We entered a large room where luxurious furnitures and statuettes were present, chandeliers made of gold barely gave light when the afternoon Sun shined through the large windows, at the very back of the room was an empty golden throne, a red carpets and purple drapery surrounded the throne. We waited for an hour before the King finally showed up, just sitting comfortably on a luxurious sofa. The King was a white bearded man similar to the paintings and pictures I’ve seen, he wore expensive clothing and a crown decorated with a ruby, he looked young to be a king, no more than 40. Advisers came from behind him walking proudly and aligned themselves, forming a line in front of the throne where the King sat comfortably. “Frod, you know well that there are order to things and an audience with me is important that it needs to be processed right?” “I know father but I think you’ll also be curious enough to have an audience with them as soon as possible. They are from LouwenDale, father.” A crowd formed without me noticing, all of them gasping in surprise, audible through the throne room. “From LouwenDale you said? Okay, now you piqued my interest son. Who might you be to request an audience with the King of Niru?” “I am Tiffany Fareas, daughter of Elanor Greenleaf and Elijah Fareas. One of the Nukers of Ashadow.” Aunt Tiff stepped forward introducing herself before the king. The crowd was again surprised by my aunt’s introduction, the king leaning forward from his seat, even Frod was visually. Audible whispers came from the advisers that lined to our side. “The famous Tiffany Fareas, the youngest Grand Sorcerer the world has ever known, one of the strongest and wisest Grand Sorcerer, to what do I owe the pleasure of meeting the current Grand Sorcerer in this trying times?” “I am only here to request that you let us stay within the safety of your walls and let the kids enroll in Elementalist Academy.” “What’s in it for me and Niru? Because my people are struggling, afraid that their livelihoods are now gone, LouwenDale’s destruction affected not only us but the whole continent as well.” “I’ll offer my services” “That is a interesting offer since we might be seeing a war soon…” “Sorry your highness but I won’t be participating in the front lines…” “I see… may I know the purpose of this?” “I have a responsibility to my brother to look after his son.” Those words tugged a string in my heart that felt painful. “Then why don’t you teach in the academy? Since you requested me to enroll those two, why not teach them and several more?” “I accept those terms… words cannot express my gratitude to you, your highness…” “I may be a king but I am a father as well, I know how important those kids are to you. If that’s all then you are free to leave, I have a concert to attend to after my massage, Frod don’t be late this time!” “That was one time dad~” “And that could happen again~ thankfully it wasn’t Lily’s concert we were late to.” “Yes, father, I won’t be late to any of Lily’s concerts~” [are they really having problems or what?]