—hours earlier—

Frey took a step past the worn-down gate, instantly feeling the hot air and the scorching heat sticking themselves on his skin. He stared at the area before him which seemed like a ghost of what it once was.

"This is… Lordlake…?" Lyon almost stammered in her words as she surveyed the dreary surroundings.

"One of the most beautiful towns in the Queendom of Falena? Known for its pristine water and lush woods?" Georg said, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Damn. I heard it was bad. Never imagined it to be this bad, though..."

The land which they stepped into was nothing short of depressing. In fact, the place looked more like a desert than anything else. The hot, heavy winds brought with them suffocating sands, the houses appeared to be old and abandoned when in fact they were not, and there was no water to be found anywhere.

Lyon cringed when she saw the withered trees and wilted grass. How did the people here manage to eat when it looked like there was nothing here to provide them goods with?

"Yeah, this is definitely Lordlake," Sialeeds affirmed, looking grim. "The town that used to be one of the most beautiful places in the Queendom. At least it used to be..."

At that moment, an old, withered-looking man approached them. His hands were clasped together at his front, giving the impression of a poor, humble merchant and farmer, if he could be judged by his hat as well.

"I thank you for travelling such a great distance," he greeted, bowing. "My name is Talgeyl. I've been somewhat of a town representative here ever since His Lordship passed away." He straightened and looked away, surveying his homeland with a sad expression on his face. "I would love to offer to show you around but, sadly, this town needs no guide. As you can see, there is nothing here but scorched dirt and bleary townsfolk. I'm afraid our residents might be rather impolite to you at times. I do hope you can forgive them..." He turned back to them and bowed once more. "If anyone deserves punishment for this, it's me..."

After the conversation with Talgeyl, Frey and the others moved forward, continuing their inspection. When they passed, some people gave them dirty glares, not even bothering to conceal their hatred. Some people gave them hopeful, imploring, desperate looks, while some looked plain terrified. It bothered Frey.

"This is terrible..." Lyon muttered behind him. He couldn't agree more.

"Your Highness! Please, you must tell the Queen..." one resident said when they approached him. "We weren't trying to revolt — nothing of the kind, we swear it!"

Questions after questions, inquiries after inquiries... All of the townspeople's answers and remarks were similar.

The item shops were all out of medicine and antidotes... The innkeepers were all out of rooms... It was as if Lordlake was now reduced to nothing at all.

When they went inside a rather average-sized house, what they heard surprised them.

"It's hot... It's so hot!" someone cried in agony.

"My tummy hurts..." a child's voice whimpered.

"Are you all right?!" yelled a woman. "Hey! Hey, wake up! Talk to me, talk to me..." Her tone was filled with despair.

"A doctor? B—But I thought..." Lyon said, surprised.

"Royals, hmm? Don't tell me you came all the way out here just to shut me down."

The four of them stared at the speaker who was trudging down the stairs, her eyes narrowed. She was an aged lady with short hair and fair skin, yet the way she carried herself and the manner in which she walked spoke volumes about her professionalism and inner strength.

"Oh, right," she spoke yet again, and this time her voice was filled with contempt. "You're the royal inspection party... Well, how do you like it? Enjoying all that scorched earth?"

Frey stepped forward slightly. "Who are you?" he asked as softly as he could without sounding even a little bit disrespectful.

The woman scoffed. "Oh, come on. Just because these people never see a doctor doesn't mean you never have. Now, either arrest me, or get the hell out."

"D—Did we do something wrong?" Lyon's voice came out as hesitant.

"You mean, besides... all this? ...You're upsetting my patients. Think they're happy to see you? They're weak enough as it is, and your being here is not helping."

"I—I see... All right, then," Sialeeds finally spoke. "Let's go." She motioned for the others to follow her out, which they did without question.

"Sorry to bother you, miss," Georg said.

The woman sighed. "Just forget it."

Lyon bowed to her before leaving.

When they got outside, Sialeeds was already talking with a lady standing before a water-less fountain.

"The only water we have left is a few stagnant puddles crawling with disease. Each mouthful is a dance with death." She coughed. "We can't raise any crops. Everyone is slowly starving. There's so much illness here... so much despair... and the Queen has threatened to punish any doctor who comes here."

When they got to a dock, the sight made them all stand still.

"What is this, some kind of road?" Georg spoke up.

"No, not unless they sail down roads around here," Sialeeds said, gesturing at the boats on the dry ground, looking abandoned and worn out.

"This used to be a canal... filled with beautiful, sparkling water..." Lyon tried to explain through her nostalgia and sadness.

"And it dried up so fast, they didn't even have time to move their boats? Man..." Georg shook his head.

They got to the other side using the canal as a pathway and trudged ahead until a familiar mansion came in sight.

"How horrible..." Lyon gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

"So tragic to see something so magnificent reduced to this..." Sialeeds said, staring at the crows pecking at the roof.

"What's this?" Georg asked her.

Sialeeds turned her head towards him. "It's Rovere's mansion. Rovere used to be the lord of this region."

"Huh. I've heard that name before." Georg looked thoughtful for a moment. "That's right... He and his entire family were executed, weren't they?"

Sialeeds turned away, closing her eyes.

"Let's go in," Frey proposed quietly.

"A—All right..." Lyon responded.

When they went inside, they surveyed the toppled-down bookshelves and the scattered papers. They tried to pay it no mind and proceeded to the next room, where Frey found a chest containing a Medicine.

"Let me take it," Sialeeds said, pocketing it just in case.

They then went out to the balcony.

"?!" Lyon gasped at the sight of what seemed like a stretch of dry land before them, and they could see a lone statue sitting at the center.

"Unbelievable. This is even worse than the rumours..." Georg said.

"That... used to be a lake..." Lyon began. "The water was so clear, you could even see the fish on the bottom. There were so many ducks and geese, too. And over there—" Lyon pointed towards a massive area of withered trees. "There was a deep forest... We were just kids the last time we were here, so we wanted to go explore it, of course. But just as the Prince and I were about to set out, his attendants stopped us." Lyon turned towards Frey, smiling a little. "Ferid yelled at us later, remember? 'You're not supposed to let them catch you!' he told us." Lyon imitated Ferid's pose and expression when he said it back then, causing both Frey and Sialeeds to chuckle in amusement.

"Yeah, sounds like Ferid," Sialeeds agreed.

"Lord Rovere said the same thing and laughed..." Lyon looked rueful. "What in the world could have happened here...?"

"Unfortunately, this town... has indeed felt Arshtat's wrath," Sialeeds said sadly.

It was then at that moment that they heard some voices arguing about meters away from them. Lyon spotted their figures which looked like the young man with red hair which they met earlier and Talgeyl. It seemed like they were arguing about something.

"What's that about?" Georg asked, being the first one to notice.

"Huh? Is something wrong?" Lyon added.

"They seem to be panicked about something. Let's go check it out," Sialeeds proposed.

The four of them ran back to the other side of the bridge, and when they finally found the two, their voices reached them as clearly as if they were right next to them.

"Look, I'm going, and that's that!" the young man said with a tone of finality to his voice.

"No!" Talgeyl protested. "I said no, Goesch!"

"What's going on?" Sialeeds asked, going over to them.

"Is something wrong?" Lyon inquired.

"Keep moving, guys. It's not your problem," Goesch, a man with narrowed eyes and red hair hidden beneath a hat, said gruffly.

"Goesch!" Talgeyl reprimanded. He then turned to the four. "It's one of the children... He left for the forest watering hole and hasn't come back. It's dangerous! There are beasts out there! We told him to stay away, but he just wouldn't listen!"

"Hey, it's not the kid's fault. He was just looking for a little clean water. His friends needed it!" Goesch defended. "I'm gonna go look for him! Don't try to stop me, Talgeyl!"

"I said no! Have you seen those beasts these days? They'll devour you! You're not going!" Talgeyl said hotly.

"So, what are you saying?! We just leave Toma out there to die?!"

"That's not what I'm saying!"

"Could you wait here, Prince? I want to go look for the boy," Lyon said, looking determined.

"You?!" Goesch exclaimed.

Frey shook his head. "I can't let you do that."

"Huh...?" Lyon stammered. "B—But what about the boy?"

"He's right, Lyon. You're supposed to be his bodyguard, after all," Sialeeds reasoned. "Where he goes, you go. So come on, Frey. Let's go!"

"Um, okay..." Lyon conceded.

"J—Just a moment!" Talgeyl interrupted. "We can't let you do this. It would be too—"

"Yeah!" Goesch agreed. "This has nothing to do with you guys. Now if you'll excuse me..." He started to leave.

"Excuse me!" Sialeeds interrupted his exit. Her expression was serious. "Does it really matter who saves the child from certain death?"

"Trust me, we can handle this." Georg's deep voice resounded in the air like authority himself. "We do this sort of thing for a living."

There was silence, and then Talgeyl finally spoke.

"V—Very well, then."

Goesch jerked in surprise. "Talgeyl, what are you—"

"Good luck, and thank you," the old man said, bowing.

"...Bah." Goesch turned away. "To be honest, I don't really want to ask you to do me any favors, but if it's for Toma's sake... you'd better bring him back in one piece."

Frey gave a nod and the four of them ran off towards the path past Rovere's mansion where a townsman was already waiting there for them.

"You have to help Toma! Please!" he implored. "He went inside the forest!"

"We will," Lyon promised.

They entered the area of looming trees.

• • •

"A little boy… in a forest, all alone," Sialeeds muttered, aghast.

"I've heard that some Mad Dogs and Hairballs reside in withered forests like this," Georg spoke, his stance guarded as his lone eye carefully scanned their surroundings. "Stay alert."

"Got it," Lyon responded. Then, as the ever-faithful bodyguard that she was, she motioned for Frey to come behind her. "Prince, stay as close to me as you can."

Before Frey could reply, though, Georg shouted, "To the right!"

A Hairball pounced over to them from the left, bringing along with it five others. It was, however, annihilated quickly by Georg's blade. Sialeeds immediately made a long throw with her gold chakrams, eliminating the ones lined up at the back row while Lyon delivered the final strike to the last two.

All of it happened within the span of seconds.

Frey, on the other hand, found a Medicine nearby, pocketing it in case of an emergency. He then watched as Georg took as many green-coloured furs from the dead Hairballs in his own pockets while both Sialeeds and Lyon looked on in disgust, the former especially.

"What?" Georg said, noticing their expressions. "Hairball fur can get us a few Potch to get by. It's called a hunter's survival."

"But don't some creatures carry Potch with them?" Lyon managed to say with a slightly green face as they continued to navigate their way through the forest.

"Not all of them do. Sure, almost all of the monsters and creatures in every land are attracted by the money, but there are also some who are immune to the compulsion. These Hairballs are one of them."

"Ugh…" Sialeeds shivered, repulsed. "We can just take some Potch from the treasury room back in Sol Falena, you know. Arshtat and Ferid's coffers are overflowing with them. There are some benefits to being part of the royal family, Georg."

The tall man gave her a flat look. "And what if the money you brought isn't enough? And besides, this money's for me. You guys don't really need it, anyway."

"Oh, poor Georg," Sialeeds teased. "Never fear. I'll talk to Ferid about giving you a raise when we get back home."

Georg rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Sialeeds."

Sialeeds crossed her arms. "Hmph. Some people just don't appreciate good humour."

Frey smiled, his worries easing a bit. Lyon, beside him, gave a chuckle of amusement.

The mood became considerably lighter, but it wasn't enough to erase the underlying anxiety they many questions were yet to be answered. A few truths were waiting to be revealed.

Finally their spirits spurned at the sight of a small lake nearby.

"Look! Water!" Lyon announced, running over towards the flowing liquid. "He must've come here…"

"Looks like maybe something tried to attack him and he ran off…" Sialeeds deduced, looking grim. "But why come all the way out here…?"

"Uh, do you see any other water around…?" Georg said sarcastically.

"…Good point."

"Come on." Georg hardened his stance slightly. "He ought to be close by."

They started to walk ahead, preparing themselves for what kind of scene would await them.

"Aaaagh!" someone shouted.

"?!" Lyon immediately pointed towards a small, fallen figure nearby. "Prince! Over there!"

Frey followed the direction of her finger and narrowed his eyes. There, lying on the ground with terror clearly written all over his features, was what should be the child Goesch and Talgeyl were fretting about earlier. He was surrounded by three giant wolf-like creatures, all looking ready to pounce on him.

Sialeeds' eyes widened in fright. "Ulse?! Attacking people?!"

Frey looked determined. Fearless, even. "We've got to save him!" he exclaimed, running towards the Ulses' prey.

"Huh?! Prince, wait!" Lyon ran after her charge.

Sialeeds placed her hands on her hips. "There he goes, running into things again."

"Damn!" Georg swore, and then both of them ran after the two youths.

The boy managed to crawl out of the circle the Ulses forced him into, narrowly missing a deadly claw. He, however, tripped in his haste, falling to the ground and then raising his arms in front of him in a feeble attempt at protection.

The Ulse growled and was ready to land a lethal blow when its claw was suddenly halted from its action. Georg had moved fast to block it with his sword while Frey stood in front of the young boy, his nunchakus drawn and his stance defensive.

It was then at that moment that the Royals' first boss battle began.

Sialeeds stood at the back, throwing her chakrams at an Ulse that charged towards Frey. The creature roared in response to the injury, halting its attack momentarily. Lyon took that opportunity to slice off its arm. Georg, on the other hand, was busy fending off two Ulses. After successfully getting them away from the others, he easily eliminated an Ulse and dodged swiftly before a claw strike from the other could cut him down. Georg's eyes narrowed and, accompanied by the ominous red glow of his Killer Rune, slew the strongest Ulse of the three in one strike.

When Georg turned to the others, he saw Lyon about to be struck by a deadly tail hit. He saw Sialeeds' eyes widen and her hands immediately throwing her weapons in hopes of stopping the assault, but it would already be too late by then.

It was then that Frey moved.

In an orange blur, he managed to block the tail through his nunchakus, successfully holding it off until Sialeeds' chakrams landed a hit on the appendage. The Ulse growled in pain and charged at Frey, who quickly moved out of the way to create an opening for Lyon who quickly took it in order to cut the creature down.

When their work was done, the four of them stared at the lifeless corpses on the ground, Sialeeds looking dismayed and frazzled.

"How strange…! I don't think I've ever heard of Ulse attacking people… before."

"They sure looked awfully hungry..." Georg mused.

Lyon turned to the child and knelt beside him. "Are you all right?" she asked kindly.

Toma looked surprised. "Huh...? Oh, uh..."

Frey came up to him and offered his hand. Toma, however, narrowed his eyes and slapped the offering away.

"Don't touch me!" he snapped.

"Oh!" Lyon immediately stood up. "Hey! Don't disrespect the Prince!"

Toma stood up as well, looking defiant. "So you're the Prince, huh?! Grampa said you were coming, but I didn't think you'd have the guts!"

"Huh?" Lyon said, confused.

"Don't 'huh' me! How dare the Queen's family even show their faces around here?!" he shouted. "Who do you think brought all this to Lordlake anyway?! Even those animals! They started attacking people because their forest is gone! They're hungry! Who knows how many people have been killed?!"

Toma clenched his fists and glared at them. "And all of it...! ALL of it! It's ALL the Queen's fault!"

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to be continued