The two of them stared at the view for what seemed like an eternity. Simply staring at the scenery before them. Not many people got the chance to experience flying and especially the princess who was experiencing her first time flying.

"What do you think? Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah...it's beautiful."

Her eyes were filled with a sense of wonder and awe that Charles had never seen before. It made him happy as he never thought he would get the opportunity to see her like that when they first met. He decided that now was the best opportunity to start a conversation with her as there was no better opportunity as he saw fit.

"Charles. Once again it's a pleasure to meet you."

He stretched out his hand to greet her as he would any other person in the past, without all of the formalities he had learnt over the past few weeks. This time, however, Lisa didn't run or act as nervous as before, even though the reason for that was because she was literally in the air at that time. Though she still seemed nervous and flustered, she turned her face away and stretched her hand out as well for a handshake.

"Yeah, I know...you probably know my name as well."

"That's true, but I'd rather hear it from you. Otherwise, it wouldn't really be an introduction."

Her face still facing away from him, Lisa tried to speak for a moment before finally mustering up the courage to speak up.

"Lisa... Lisa Comonor."

It had been 3 weeks since the two had first met at the lakeside and now for the first time, they formally introduced themselves. Even though to anyone watching them, it seemed like the briefest of interactions, to Charles who had failed to even properly speak to her before, it was a start to communicating with the princess properly. After all, the journey of a thousand steps begins with the first step. He didn't want to rush it and yet he still wanted to get to know her better in order to help out with the job he was given.

After the two descended, Lisa was called back into the villa by the maid staff and Charles went back to attend lessons, both their days went on just like they had for the past few weeks.

As the month went by, nothing seemed to have changed between the two from the outside, almost as if the interaction had never happened. Although Charles noticed minor changes in her behaviour that proved she was becoming slightly more comfortable with him. Lisa was seen observing him at a much closer distance than she ever had been before. She would also show up at the lakeside more frequently during his breaks which allowed the two to have conversations and speak to each other more. These conversations revolved mostly around the most mundane of topics, on some days it could be as simple as the flower that grew in abundance next to them. Sometimes the topic would shift more to Crystal and information about the pegasus species.

"You see, flying is something only done amongst the friends and family of the pegasus species, especially if that is between other species such as us humans."

"So...she doesn't see me as a friend huh?"

Lisa's seemed extremely down and depressed after hearing that fact. Charles immediately corrected her before Lisa could make any more assumptions or connections that would make her even sadder.

"Of course not, she let you sit on her back right? I think that's almost the same as flying. She probably thought you were just not prepared to go flying yet."

"Well...that is true, the flying was certainly an experience I will never forget. I've never experienced something so heart racing before. I wish I could do it again."

Just as Lisa said that sentence, Charles couldn't help but chuckle remembering what happened that day. Leading Lisa to question him about it.

"What's up with that reaction?"

"Nothing... it's just that remembering your face when we were ascending was quite funny."

Charles tried his best to hold in his laughter but it only made Lisa mad and soon she had left and went back to the villa to continue her business.

(I never expected her to be such an innocent girl.)

"Yeah, especially one who has lived in the royal palace her whole life. Although, given her unique circumstances and personality, I can see why. There are just some people in the world who are genuinely kind-hearted with no ulterior motive."

Charles wondered just how many people in the world were there like Lisa. Someone who didn't seem to have any sort of evil intent in their hearts and still had that youthful naivety that was so treasured. Though their conversations weren't very long, nor were they very meaningful, Charles still enjoyed such pointless chats. It seemed his whole life he was occupied with life-threatening or dangerous events that simply chatting with someone about the most mundane topics brought a sense of peace he hadn't felt in a long time.

As the weeks went by, Charles continued his training under Marcus and soon, the week before they were set to depart on their journey had arrived. It was also then, that the two would have a conversation that neither one could ever forget no matter how much time passed.

Charles was called into Lisa's room for the first time in the early morning, he entered after greeting her, noticing the more casual top paired with the grey skirt she seemed to enjoy wearing so much. She was sitting next to her bed staring out at the balcony connected to her room, outside was the courtyard and garden that the villa overlooked. Charles immediately noticed her cold expression, the mechanical look of her face that seemed as though she regressed back to when they first met. It made him a little worried about whether something had happened yet he tried to play it cool.

"You called my lady?"

Over the few weeks of lessons, he had begun addressing her the proper way a servant would to a member of the royal family. It was something Marcus had asked him to do especially in public since it was a sign of respect and honour given to nobility and especially royalty.

"Charles... you'll be accompanying me on my journey to become a lancer am I right?"

"Yeah, for two years until you graduate from the magic academy and become a full-fledged lancer."

She took a deep breath before continuing, it seemed as though she had prepared for this for quite some time.

"I want you to answer me honestly what I'm about to ask you. Regardless of the response, you give, I won't hold you to it."

The mechanical tone in which she spoke combined with the cold face she gave proved to Charles that whatever she was going to ask was a topic that was pretty touchy to her and Charles knew that whatever response he gave, he would need to word it carefully lest he angers her.

"What's the reason you took up this job?"

After hearing that question, all of Charles's fears and worries disappeared, he knew then that he could honestly say whatever was on his mind.

"Money of course."

He wouldn't mince his words nor would he beat around the bush. He could infer from speaking to her that she wasn't someone who could stand bullshit and so he honestly gave her his answer. However, Lisa seemed much more stunned and shocked than he had anticipated. Her mouth hung agape and her eyes widened in surprise as Charles said that.

"Are you okay my lady?"

Quickly realising her appearance, Lisa covered her face with her hands in embarrassment. She tried to collect herself and compose her words although all she could do now was stumble over her words.

"Ah yeah...um I'm fine...it's...it's just I never expected you to reply so honestly."

"Well, that is what you asked me to do."

"Right...of course, I asked you to do that didn't I?"

At that point she wasn't very clear of what she was even saying, it all just seemed like a jumbled mess of words to Charles as Lisa desperately tried to calm herself down. Charles found this to be somewhat amusing and waited patiently for her to compose herself enough to speak properly.

"Ahem...as I was saying...why do you need money? Surely you could find other jobs that pay you a decent amount. This job requires 2 years' worth of commitment. That's not something I see most people be willing to take up."

"I guess you're right. But I have a debt to repay and when I found this job would allow me to pay back my debt in 2 years as opposed to the 10 I would need working odd jobs. The two years seemed like a much better deal."

It was only then that Charles realised maybe he was being a bit too welcoming of the job offer the moment he heard the pay, after all his main objective was to repay his debt as soon as possible so he could retire and live somewhere peaceful.

"I...I see..."

Lisa was still attempting to recover from the shock and hadn't fully been able to organise her sentences properly.

"Are you sure you're okay? I think I should get the doctor to check up on you."

Her odd behaviour made Charles a little concerned since it was the first time he was seeing her like that up close.

"No...don't worry I'm fine."

She stopped him right before he could leave the room. Taking a deep breath, she finally felt composed enough to share her thoughts with Charles about his response.

"I was just a little shocked you know..."

"A little?"

"Very shocked okay! I was very shocked at how you didn't even try to hide your motives. It's not something I get to experience much with when it comes to nobility or royalty. That's why I was pretty shocked about it just now."

"So would you have preferred if I hid my intentions with nobler words?"

"Of course not, it's refreshing to see such honesty. Thank you."

It was the first time that she had shown such a smile to Charles while looking at him, it was a smile filled with that same innocence and naivety when they were flying in the air, yet now it felt as if it was directed at him. He was caught a little off guard by that but calmed himself down enough to be able to speak.

"Of course, I hope you know that while I'm doing this for money I won't do a half assed job. When I accept a job request I always make sure to do it seriously and with my 100%."

"Yeah!"

Just as he said that, Lisa got up from her seat and sat down on her bed. She seemed a little flustered as her cheeks appeared reddish. She pointed at the seat she had gotten up from and told Charles to sit down.

"Eh? I couldn't possibly..."

Even when he had spoken to her before at the lakeside and all other instances. Charles stood behind Lisa. It was a sign of respect that all servants showed their masters, it was also an indication of the difference in status between the two. Asking him to sit down next to her was to disregard that status difference. Although Charles knew Lisa probably wasn't someone who cared much for such things, given how withdrawn she seemed from court life.

"It's fine, just take a seat...I won't say it again."

Her face seemed redder than before and in order to avoid any serious repercussions of continually refusing, Charles obliged and sat down. For the first time, Lisa initiated the conversation and began to ask Charles all sorts of things regarding how he found out about the job and how he got into debt.

"Well you see, some guys got me out of a situation I didn't exactly ask for help for and they wanted me to pay for it."

"That's pretty unfair isn't it? Doesn't sound like you did anything to owe that money."

"Unfortunately in the world of merchants and businessmen, there is no such thing as unfair. It would be foolish of a merchant to turn down a chance to make money."

"I get that...but it still doesn't seem right."

Charles couldn't help but admire the kindness she seemed to display towards those she didn't even know about or barely knew. It was a trait that he wished he could possess.

"In that case, when you become a powerful and influential lancer, why not you tell those merchants to stop."

"Can I really be someone like that?"

Her words were full of doubt and her tone seemed uncertain.

"Of course, you can, after all, you already got the first step of being chosen down, the rest is up to how hard you work."

Hearing those words of affirmation and encouragement seemed to help ease her doubts a little as Lisa thanked Charles before dismissing him back to his lessons after Marcus called him back. There was only a week left before they set out on their journey, Charles had thought it would be a smooth one week before he had to say goodbye to the peaceful life he lived for 2 months. Yet the night after his conversation with Lisa, something occurred.

"I guess she does have a different side to her huh?"

(I mean everyone has different sides to them, if she's opened up to a little then that's good isn't it?)

"Yeah, although the subject she brought up today was clearly a touchy one she didn't seem too comfortable with."

(She's royalty. I wouldn't put it past the court that she's gone through some stuff.)

"At least, for now, things seem to be alright."

Just before Charles was about to head to bed, he felt something seriously off just around the premise of the villa.

"This is..."

(It's another barrier, judging from its size it's just large enough to cover the entire villa and its surrounding areas. In other words just big enough to prevent outside help from coming for some time.)

"Damn it! Is it some sort of assassination plot? Someone must've found out Lisa was residing here huh?"

Even though he wasn't fully aware of the motives of whoever had set this barrier up, one thing was clear. He needed to ensure Lisa was safe. He sensed the mana of 5 different individuals who were currently encircling the house with 3 of them beginning to enter through multiple parts of the house.

"We have to make sure Lisa is safe first."

Rushing up to the second floor where Lisa's room was, Charles then pulled something out of a golden ball of what seemed like mana.

"Inventory open!"

Pulling out what appeared to be a piece of paper, he placed it on the door of Lisa's room before rushing to deal with the assassins.

"That seal should keep her safe for now, anyone trying to get in whether through the window or door will be struck with lightning magic strong enough to paralyse a human."

(Be careful Charles. These guys don't feel like normal assassins, I'm pretty sure most of them are amateurs, this is a perfect opportunity.I suggest using the eyes.)

Charles flinched upon hearing such a suggestion, quickly retorting back.

"The eyes? But those require a lot of mana to use. I can't even use magic properly anymore."

(Don't worry too much about that, the eyes originally belong to me anyway. Since you are no longer able to use your own mana to sustain them, I'll be using mine.)

Pandora spoke with absolute confidence, sure of whatever he had just said.

"Really?! Then I'm free to use the eyes as much as I want."

(Yeah, go ahead.)

"Nice."

Charles smirked as he closed his eyes for the briefest second before opening them to reveal their original black colour had been replaced with an azure blue. He retrieved the same sword he had used during his fight with the wyvern and readied himself.

(Using the same blade? I'm sure you could get way better blades inside.)

"Yeah, but all the weapons in my inventory are way too reliant on mana. It'll take some time to forge one that isn't reliant on injecting mana into it. For now, this will do."

Just as he said that Charles hid behind one of the corridors and waited for the assassin running towards him to turn the corner. Tracking each one of them with his eyes was an easy task. Right as the assassin turned the corner, Charles lunged at him before he could even react.

"What the!"

Immediately, Charles plunged his blade into his neck, ending the man's life there and then. He didn't have time to pause though, he felt the 2 other remaining assassins in the building making their way to Lisa's room. He ran as fast as he could back to her room. Meanwhile, the two assassins who had linked up in front of the room they had been told belonged to the princess.

"You keep guard out here while I make things quick."

"Got it."

Just as he placed his hand on the door handle, the seal activated and sent lightning magic up the man's veins. Instantly striking him and causing severe pain as he collapsed onto the floor.

"Argh!"

"Boss?! What happened? Are you alright?"

The young man who was meant to stand and watch guard now panicked as his superior fell to the ground, just as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He hastily readied his blade.

"You're quite the young one aren't you. Judging from the way you're holding your blade combined with that posture."

The boy stared at Charles with fear in his eyes, he seemed only 1 or 2 years his senior, yet the aura and vibe he gave off seemed more like that of a seasoned fighter. Charles heaved a sigh of relief before throwing the sword right at the boy, instantly the boy knocked the sword away with his own, for a moment, there was a sense of relief and accomplishment on his face as he believed he had held his ground.

This feeling was instantly washed away, however, once he noticed Charles had disappeared from where he was standing.

"Where did he...?"

Before he could even speculate, Charles knocked the boy out cold with a single punch as he fell to the ground next to his boss.

"The ones in the house are done, all that's left are the 2 outside."

Dragging and tossing the unconscious two men onto the floor of the first floor, ensuring they were as far away from Lisa as possible. Even if they had woken up, Charles could easily track their presence with his eyes.

Heading out of the house through the roof, he spotted the two assassins standing guard near what was supposedly a rendezvous point for them.

"What's taking them so long?"

One of the men yawned loudly as he complained.

"Give em some time, at least we don't even have to work and we'll get paid."

The two men laughed hysterically after mentioning such an easy paycheck they were going to get.

(Haha, even 300 years later filth still exists.)

"Well, we should fix that."

Using the cover of darkness and his experience on covert operations, Charles snuck up behind the two men without them even noticing, until he was right next to them.

Instantly he plunged the blade into one of the men's neck like he did with the first one. Just as quickly as he did so, the second assassin who had just watched his friend get killed tried to run away.

"What a sad state to be in, we should end it before he humiliates himself any further."

(You are merciless today, this isn't really like you. Something touch a nerve.)

"Not really."

(I see... must be because they're targeting the princess. Someone you've developed a soft spot for.)

"Yeah, yeah continue spouting nonsense all you want, I'm gonna go end this."

Just before he could finish off the final assassin, however, Charles felt a strong surge of magical energy coming from the man's body. Instantly Charles backed off before he would get caught in the suicide explosion that was occurring. The blast was fairly large and managed to obliterate a decent chunk of the surrounding land.

"He killed himself huh? Must've assumed I would take him in for torture or interrogation."

Charles rested easy knowing that the threat had been dealt with, however, not even a minute after the last assassin died. Charles felt the presence of a 6th one, worse yet, the assassin was right in front of Lisa's room.

"Shit! How did I not sense it until she got there!?"

Immediately, Charles sprinted as fast as he could to the house and up to Lisa's room.

"Please be on time."