Arias distances himself and goes to lay on the grass. He breathes in the air and relaxes. Despite the horny teenagers, this is a pretty nice day. Arias thinks with a smile.

Suddenly there was another figure laying in the grass, eyes closed, and his head resting on his hand.

“They're creeping in master. Since they know that Shearpeak is the final bastion, they're hoping to weaken it before the final battle. When it's finally time to defend it, they want it rotting from the inside, and collapsible with a touch.” Nathaniel says as he enjoys the fresh air.

Arias closes his eyes. “So what do you intend to do?” He asks.

Nathaniel turns to Arias and raises an eyebrow. “Me? What are you going to do? Don’t you want to help?” He asks, bewildered.

“Hmm. Yeah. I want to help… But it’s so early… My problem is that I like to finish the battle before it even starts, but I always ruin the fun, the struggle, the chase. If it can’t be ignored, I’ll do something, but I’d rather not involve myself at the moment. There’s no emotion behind proactively defending. Maybe you should give it a try?” Arias says, hoping to convince the man.

Nathaniel turns back to face the sky. “Hmm. Maybe. I do like this place. Lots of trolls around, which is nice. Also, desserts and theatre seem to be growing on me as well. Should I report back for urgent matters?” He asks.

“Hmm. If you must. Also, if there’s anything the kids can do, let me know. I want to take them out for a field trip.” Arias says.

Nathaniel releases a breath and sits up. “Will do, boss.” He says before disappearing.

“Hey, who was that?” Rodrick asks as he walks over. He could have sworn someone was right there, but they seemed to have disappeared.

Arias smiles. “It was a ghost.” He says, amused.

“Bull-hooey.” Rodrick says with a shake of his head. He had no real idea what the deal with Arias was; he had a weird sort of knowledge that encompassed various things and he knew magic and sword techniques. If Rodrick had to guess, he'd say that Arias was a reincarnator, or he had someone traveled back in time and schemed his way into the royal family. If he was being honest, Arias wasn’t too bad of a guy, but Rodrick’s guard couldn’t help but always be raised when dealing with him.

“Anyways, I have a few questions about the Swordheart Flow technique. Also, Sammy is distracted and keeps looking in your direction, can you stop being cruel and just speak to the girl?” Rodrick says with a shake of his head. Seeing how things were progressing, he decided to give on Sammy; he knew better than to overstep his bounds and attempt to go against the odds. It was a fool’s errand, and Rodrick was no fool.

Arias turns his body the other direction. “No, go away. Do you realize how young she is? That’s gross.” He says, closing his eyes and ignoring Rodrick.

Rodrick’s brows furrow. “What are you? An old man? At least help me with my technique. I still have to catch up to Alice; I’m the older one, I should be stronger.” He says with a light kick to Arias’ leg.

“Hmmmm. Fine. But you have to bully Alice a little for me. That girl is too happy all the time, it’s annoying.” Arias says as he sits up.

Rodrick frowns. “What? Are you sick?” He exclaims.

…

…

“Arias? Are you dressed? Hurry up! We have to be at the ball in 20 minutes! We’re already late!” Myriam calls out from another room.

Arias frowns as he fixes his bowtie into place. Stupid ball. Stupid royal family. Why couldn’t Myriam be an innkeeper or something? He complains. “Be ready in a minute!” Arias calls back.

Arias lets out a sigh and puts on his jacket before looking at the mirror one last time. This evening is going to be annoying. He says before turning to exit the room.

…

…

“Uncle Edgar!” Rodrick calls out as he moves forward to greet the crown prince.

Arias groans. It wasn’t that he disliked Edgar, it’s just that he was the crown prince, and unfortunately, he carried that with no matter where he went or what he did. At his core, he was a pretty nice guy, but just his title made it so that most people were unable to get too close to him. Personally, Arias hoped that Edgar’s daughter, Flora, would grow up in a blaze of glory and be crowned queen at the next chance. But there was no real reason for that other than the fact that Arias preferred that a woman was always on top. Basically, if he couldn’t claim the top spot himself, Arias would prefer if it was a woman; it would ease his fragile soul.

“Rodrick! How’s my favorite nephew? And you’re with Arias as well… Great...” Edgar says with a bitter smile. Edgar had no idea how Arias made it into the family, and no one really spoke of it in detail, but he knew that the two of them were not related by blood. Also, just the fact that the matter was so mysterious made Arias a threat. Edgar doubted the two would ever become close.

“Uncle Edgar.” Arias says with a nod.

Edgar turns to Rodrick. “What happened earlier? You didn’t come for your lesson.” He says with a raised eyebrow.

Rodrick shakes his head. “Unfortunately, Arias dragged me along so that he could seduce his classmate. It was a very embarrassing affair.” He says, disappointed.

Arias smirks. Lying like a champion. I’m proud of him. He thinks, amused.

Edgar frowns and looks to Arias before turning back to Rodrick. “Well, don’t let it distract you from your training. Demons have already invaded the continent. Don’t think that you two will be able to avoid this war.” He says, admonishing the two.

Rodrick lowers his head. “Yes, uncle.” He says.

Seeing this, Edgar lets out sigh before smiling. “But if it’s women you’re interested in, I wouldn’t worry too much. Cousin Bethany already seems to be working on that area of your future.” He says before letting out a laugh.

Rodrick’s face flushes red. “I don’t care who she settled on! I won’t agree!” He exclaims.

Seeing Rodrick’s embarrassment, Arias couldn’t help but let out a laugh as well.

Edgar raises an eyebrow. “What are you laughing at, little one? Do you not think that Big Sister Myriam is doing the same?” He says before bursting out into laughter.

Arias’ eyes widen in shock and fear. She couldn’t! She wouldn’t! He exclaims. Suddenly it dawned on Arias. If he was going to play the role of a human, he would have to live the life of a human. “Fuck.” Arias exclaims.