"No," I make sure I am as clear as I can be for this. "Ya contributed equally to the fight. Your defense is why I was able to kill it that fast, Colt. Ya were not a lacking participant in the battle! That means ya get equal share of the reward and the sale!"

"I didn't do that much," Colt shakes his head. "All I did was make barriers when you told me to and released them when you told me to, Max. I also don't need the money."

"No!" I stomp my foot, though I didn't mean to, it just happened. "I've told ya time and again on the way here that your help was great, Colt! The fight went so much faster with it, and so much easier, too! And ya not taking your share of the earnings ain't fair on this, Colt! I ain't gonna cheat ya!"

"You're not cheating me if I refuse the reward," he says.

"It still ain't fair if ya don't take it!" I tell him. "Ya helped out immensely with the fight! Ya not getting your share of the reward and sales ain't fair, and ya know I hate when it ain't fair!"

"You do unfair deals," Colt says. "Like with Hailey, and that-"

"No," I say. "I do unfair deals when it's needed. This ain't the same! The deal with Hailey is fair because she gets something that's worth as much to her as what she's giving to me is to me! And she sees it as her getting more out of it! I hate it when it's unfair reward for contribution! So take your damn share of the reward and earning, Colt, or so help me, I'm going to throw you-"

The clearing of a throat interrupts me, and Colt and I both look over to see Lord Trenton standing there.

"This is a little bit of a scene," Lord Trenton indicates the rest of the main hall, which is full of people who've stopped what they're doing to watch me argue with their prince.

That wasn't my intention, I just got really annoyed with Colt for refusing to take his share of the reward and sales.

"Sorry," I apologize to Lord Trenton.

"It would normally be fine," he says. "But your voice has been going up ever since the two of you started arguing. You're also going in circles here."

"Colt's refusing-"

"To take his share of the earnings, yes," Lord Trenton says. "You've mentioned it around twenty times. Colton, accept the share he's offering you, and when you next see your brother, ask him why you should have."

Though he doesn't look happy doing it, Colt accepts the pouch I was trying to convince him to take.

"Finally," I say. "I's going home now. See ya tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Colt tells me, and I leave the building.

When I enter the Violet Shield's guild hall a minute later, I find a man arguing with Hailey. He looks like he's trying to intimidate her with his size, but she looks unfazed.

"This is a guild of children," the man says as I approach. "And ones who came from the slums. You need a more experienced person to run things. Now. Let me speak with your 'guild master', and once I'm in charge, you're going to-"

"Tyler, Nikki, open the doors, please," I say.

The two kids I called out to rush over to the front doors and each of them grabs one, pulling it open. As they do that, the man turns and looks at me.

"Hi," I hold out a hand. "I'm Max, Guild Master of the Violet Shield Guild."

The man appraises me for a few moments, then takes my hand into his and starts to introduce himself. Before he can actually say anything, I've twisted, using the movement to throw him. He flies out into the street, and I take a step, lunging out after him. I land lightly on my right foot, just beside the man.

As he starts to get up, I slam my left heel down on his left arm. For a moment, the man is still. Then he starts screaming.

"Intimidate my minions again," I tell him. "And I'll rip off your arm and feed it to some dogs. What ya attempted to do was a hostile invasion, which doesn't fly. If ya want to lead a guild, make your own guild. Ya only wanted to try and take over my guild so you could get access to our funds. We might be kids, but we ain't pushovers. Never let me see ya in my guild again. Ever."

I turn around and reenter the guild hall. He's not the first to try convincing us to let them take over running the guild, and he probably won't be the last. We are, after all, just a bunch of kids from the slums. However, we need to make it clear that they can't just come and do that.

This man was also trying to intimidate Hailey into doing as he wanted, and he was pretty rude about it. That's the only reason I was that harsh on him. I need to make it clear that such things cannot happen here, and I will make an example of him if he tries it again.

"Are ya okay?" I ask Hailey as the kids close the doors.

"Yeah," she answers. "He seemed more powerful than me, but I knew we'd be fine."

"And how did ya know that?" I ask.

"'Cause this is the Violet Shield," she answers. "And ya ain't gonna let anyone take it from ya."

"He still could have hurt ya," I say. "Some folk do that when kids stand up to 'em, they use force against 'em to make 'em comply. Ya know that well."

"I do," she says. "But it all worked out. I knew we'd be safe in the end. It's not like I could've done anything, anyway. So I just had to wait for ya to return."

She has a point there, that guy was definitely stronger than her.

"Well, be careful, yeah?" I say. "And remember that I'll be gone the whole time during the fighting this weekend."

"I's aware," she says. "Do ya need somethin' to eat? They's makin' it right now."

"On duty, Hailey."

"Sorry," she apologize.

"I had something to eat a little bit ago," I inform her. "I might want something later, though."

"Okay," she says.

I head down to our vault and deposit the share of my earnings that goes to the guild into it, then I leave to put the two portions of it hidden in town in their spots. When I return to the guild, I find a fancy-looking carriage in front of the guild's entrance. It has a familiar crest on it, but I don't remember what the crest is for.

Passing by it and the stern-looking guards in… oh, those are royal guards. That's the crest of the king, isn't it? Did he go to the wrong guild? Or am I at the wrong guild? No, this is the Violet Shield Guild's headquarters.

Okay, now I'm scared.

But it'd be best if I went in and faced whatever bad stuff is going to happen than flee.

I enter the building and find quite a few people in the main room. Lord Trenton, Lady Elise, Lord Benjamin, Colt, Thomas, Alphonse, Henry, and several people I don't recognize. About three dozen people dressed as royal guards, for starters, and that's not including Lady Elise's protective detail.

One of the other three is a man who looks to be in his late forties, maybe early fifties, and is dressed in simple clothes with a magic staff strapped across his back, a yellow-white crystal surrounded by smaller reddish-orange ones fixed onto its top, reddish-orange and yellow-white runes all along the length of the staff.

If I'm not mistaken, that's Lord Richard, Guild Master of the Silver Star Guild. The only reason I'm guessing that is because I remember the description for his staff.

Another of the mystery guests is a woman who looks to be somewhere in her early twenties. She has long, light brown hair and chestnut-brown eyes. Her skin is quite fair and flawless. She's dressed in a black dress with some silver and gold threads woven throughout, giving it a slight shimmer and a mystical feel. There might even be magic woven into the dress.

As for the third mystery guest, he's a tall, muscular man who looks to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He has thick, curly brown hair and dark green eyes. His gaze is firm, but kind, and I instinctively get a feeling like he can be trusted to protect me.

No one's ever given me that feeling before, and I can't help but wonder what manner of magic item he's using to create that effect.

The mystery man and woman can only be the king and queen, considering the carriage outside and how much the princes and princess resemble them. Well, how much the older two resemble them and how much Colt resembles the man. I do remember being told that Colt was an illegitimate child of the king's.

This is everyone meant to lead the forces attacking on Saturday.

Oh, fuck. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. What do I do? How do I act in front of the king? Is my hair okay? I need to cut it, don't I? I'm also still dirty from the hunt earlier, there was mud everywhere except at Ko'Nabrul's lair. I'm not presentable for being in front of the king.

I also don't know the protocol for how to interact with him. Am I supposed to bow? How am I supposed to bow? Nobles all have weird codes and customs and etiquette thingies, and I don't know what the ones for the king are!

"Hello, Magus Zanroval," the king stands from his seat. "I am Arthur, the father of Benjamin, Colton, and Elise, and the king of Kedridal. I-"

"Father," Lady Elise interrupts him. "One moment. Max, you can stop fidgeting. If you needed to be formal and fully presentable, you would have been notified in advance. And even if a little unkempt, your hair is fine. The mud on your boots and pants are fine, too. You're presentable enough for this."

Was I really fidgeting that much? I thought I was staying still. At least that's good to know. I hope. She could still be lying in an effort to relax me.

"As for the 'Magus' thing," Lady Elise tells me. "Anyone who has earned a Magus Title has that as their honorific. As you have one, you are Magus Maxwell Zanroval, rather than just Maxwell Zanroval. Most Magi have the type of Magus they are added onto that, or whichever element they would prefer to go by. Colton, for example, prefers Lightning Magus."

"Some also use two elements," Lord Benjamin adds. "Such as Fire-Earth Magus, or Lightning-Flame Magus."

"O-okay," I nod, then look back at the king and give him a bow. "Um. Hello, Your Majesty."

"We wanted to have a brief meeting," King Arthur tells me. "Between everyone who will be leading an attack on Saturday. Your guild is the emptiest, so we felt it would be best to meet here. Can you dismiss your guild members?"

That's not a request, not coming from the king. We will be using my guild hall, and I must dismiss my guild members.

"Hailey," I toss her a coin. "Take everyone to get somethin' good to eat. You can return once the carriage is gone."

"Yes, sir!" She responds.

The rest of my minions are apparently all hiding behind the counter, because they all pop out to leave with Hailey. About a minute passes before King Arthur gestures for me to sit at the tables pushed together that everyone else is seated around, and I do. He sits back down as well as I examine the map of the goblin kingdoms resting on the tables.

That's a huge map.

"Since the attack is in three days," King Arthur says. "We wanted to convene and discuss the plan going forward. Victoria and I will be leading an attack on Dolzret, the Fire Goblin Kingdom. The majority of our forces will be royal guards and members from various guilds. Benjamin will lead an attack on Gendredt, an Earth-Light Goblin Kingdom. His forces will consist of his party, Elise and her guards, and members of a couple of guilds he's familiarized himself with over the years.

"For Adrenztal," King Arthur continues, pointing at the kingdom on the map. "A Lightning Goblin Kingdom, Alphonse and Henry will lead the attack. Colton and Thomas will assist, and they'll have various people people assisting them, mostly those with lightning affinities. They will come from various guilds and from mages and warriors who signed up."

I'm so glad it's Colt who got assigned there and not me.

"Benjamin," King Arthur indicates another goblin kingdom. "Will lead the attack on Destrimia, another Fire Goblin Kingdom. That group will consist of those from his guild, associated guilds, and others who signed up.

"Richard," King Arthur indicates another goblin kingdom. "Will be leading the attack on Ulkrednik, the Shadow Goblin Kingdom. His forces will consist mainly of members from his guild and associated guilds, as well as various other people who signed up.

"Finally," King Arthur indicates the kingdom I'm attacking. "Magus Zanroval will lead a one-boy assault on Raizeul, the Air Goblin Kingdom."

"Wait," Lord Richard says. Did he just interrupt the king's explanation? "A one-boy assault? I was already told he'd be attacking Raizeul, but I was under the impression he'd be taking a large force with him as well, just like the rest of us."

"Max has already killed," Lady Elise tells him. "Half a dozen of their strongest goblins. All of the locations call him 'the power hunter'. If you haven't heard the truth yet, he's not a four-affinity. Much like Colton, he's a seven-affinity. He's at least Level 70, though he does his best to keep his actual Level a mystery so we only know that much. Az'Raizeul is estimated to have around 1,250 Constitution, making him the second-strongest of the Goblin Kings. Max says he has more than 100 Magic over that, so his main issue will simply be breaking down layers of barriers that Az'Raizeul casts."

"But he's still only one boy," Lord Richard says. "Even if he's that powerful, how will he handle others that come? He'll need to focus on Az'Raizeul once the Goblin King responds to the attack. We might not be wiping out the kingdoms entirely, but exhaustion is still a thing and a lucky strike can end a being with significantly more Constitution. An attack to the eye, for example. Or a potent enough poison."

"Max prefers to fight alone," Thomas tells him. "Today was the first time he's allowed someone to assist him in a fight, when he faced off against Ko'Nabrul. His tendency toward fighting alone while facing off against strong beasts and groups of beasts has turned him into an expert regarding area-based spells. He's made an agreement that if the fight is too much for him, he'll send up a signal and retreat."

"We're talking about a Goblin King," Lord Richard says. "They aren't exactly slow creatures, and Az'Raizeul can fly as well."

"But can he use shadow magics?" I ask.

"What?" Lord Richard asks.

"But can he use shadow magics?" I repeat.

"No," Lord Richard answers. "Why does that matter?"

"Magus Zanroval has a spell that he uses," King Arthur says. "[Flashbang Bomb]. It has a similar effect to the flashbang grenades more commonly used. They're loud enough to have been heard from over fifteen miles away in the forest on a windless day. He uses a variation that creates a concussive blast as well. It's useful for escaping. If Magus Zanroval needs to flee, he'll unleash several of them, yes?"

That last part was directed to me.

"Yeah," I answer. "Yes."

"Okay," King Arthur says. "Now that this has been explained, let's move on. The other two kingdoms. I've decided that we won't be attacking the other two, including the one in discussions for attacking?"

Why? I mean, whether or not we attacked the one was already up for debate, but what changed?

"Why?" Lord Trenton asks.

"The reports you and others filed," King Arthur explains. "Never included any known goblins from those two kingdoms. As far as a private investigation I sent out could find, they are attempting to stay out of the fighting."

"In fact," Queen Victoria says. "When we translated some of what was overheard, we found that they were intending on fully avoiding participation. It seems they believe the gods will interfere and smite the goblin kingdoms from the face of the world if they do."

I knew I wasn't the only one who learned the goblins' language! Though I'm still in the process of actually learning it. Their translator is probably significantly better at it than I am.

"So we will leave those two kingdoms alone," King Arthur says. "Before we get into sharing what is known about each of the six we're attacking and the best ways to handle them, I want to remind everyone that we are to be gathered in the fields north of the city by sunrise on Saturday. There will be last-minute preparations performed and anyone who joins us not already signed up will be sorted and assigned to their respective groups. Any questions?"

There are none.

"Then let's discuss the smaller details now."