The Great Hall, Hall of Land and Border Department

They follow the clerk, who leads them to the counter. Inside, there's a reception desk and a small counter near the wall. Behind the counter, a young woman sits, reading a book.

"Excuse me, may I help you?" the woman asked while closing the book.

"Yes ma'am! We are here to redeem our contracts!" Rihan answers cheerfully.

"Huh!?" the woman stares at him, her eyes wide scanning the group of kids.

"Ah, yes. Here it is!"

Rihan pulls a gold document from his bag, handing it over to the woman. The woman takes the paper and reads it. Moments later, her eyes opened wide.

"Thank you very much, boys," the clerk says, snatching the contract and placing it inside a large file. "Please wait here for a second."

She closes the door behind herself, leaving Rihan, Ijohen, and Sung Li alone in the room. Rihan stares at his companions, "What's wrong with the girl?" he ponders.

"What did she mean by 'boys'?" Ijohen murmurs.

"I guess she thought we're not old enough to redeem anything," Sung Li snickers.

"What's so funny?" Ijohen pouts, "I'm a royal anyway! I should be treated with respect!"

"Oh yeah, but you're also dead," Sung Li quips.

"I think she's going to come back soon, so let's behave," Rihan says, turning towards the door.

Footsteps echo through the hall, signalling the clerk's return. But instead of the clerk, a tall man pokes his head inside, looking around the room.

"Ah, there you are," the man says to Rihan, patting the boy on the shoulder. "I'm sorry, but you can't have the contract yet.

So why don't we take our time and get to know each other?" he suggests, while sitting where the clerk was. "Let's start with your name."

Rihan stares at him blankly, confused.

"Your name," the man repeated, "and your age."

"My name is Rihan, and my age is ten," he replies.

"Ten, huh? You're quite a bit young for redeeming a contract, aren't you?" he chuckles, rubbing his chin. "So how about we take this slow and easy, alright? Why don't you tell us what kind of person you are first?"

Ijohen and Sung Li stare at the man, wondering if he's making fun of them or not.

"Well, you see, I'm a pretty good kid," Rihan begins.

"Ahhh, so you're just a brat, eh?" the man smirks, leaning forward on the table.

Rihan frowns at the comment.

"No, I'm actually a nice guy! I just have this bad habit of getting into fights, you know? I like to play pranks, but I'm a friendly sort of a guy, so I'm sure you'll like me!"

"What does that have to do with the contract?" Rihan asked. The two of them exchange glances.

"Alright, well, what do you say we try this again?" the man smiles. "Are you playing a prank here? Or maybe you're just here to get some free food?"

"Zip it old man!" Sung Li glared at the man in anger. "We're here for the contracts, or whatever that is! We don't have time for this."

"I'll give you the contract, but you must pay a fee of one gold coin!" the man exclaims, pulling a golden coin from his pocket and tossing it onto the table, "Do you little brats even know what a gold coin is?"

"What the hell, dude?" Sung Li stares at the coin, his mouth hanging open.

"We've faced many scammers and cheaters in the past, and we've learned that the only way to deal with them is to make them work for their money. It's the only fair thing to do," the man looks down at his watch, "Now, how about we make it quick and painless, you're the youngest bunch of pranksters I've seen in a long time. I bet you're all doing this just for the thrill of it. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Ijohen stares at him, "that's exactly what we're doing."

The three of them glance at each other once more, before sighing. Looks like they were misunderstood. They didn't have any intentions of stealing their stuff, nor did they want to cheat them.

The man snorts, "That's fine then. Just don't you dare mess up my office, and I won't call the guards on you." he points to the window, "You can leave whenever you want. But I will be keeping your document here for safekeeping. It's not something you brats should be handling. You understand?"

The man stares at them with an expression of mock seriousness, snickering under his breath while holding a golden document in his hand.

Rihan sighs, rolling his eyes. Their greed and selfishness always remain unchanged, no matter how many times I come face to face with them. The contract must've stirred a hornet's nest.

He'd rather avoid the situation altogether, but sensing the man is just trying to rob him in broad daylight, Rihan decides to play with him and placed his hands on top of the contract.

"You're a real piece of work, aren't ya?" Rihan grumbles.

"Oh, you're one who likes to stir up trouble, aren't you?" the man sniffs, his eyes narrowing.

Rihan's eyes widen, realizing that the man was staring directly at his eyes. His eyes glow red, clearly activating his power.

"What's wrong, you don't like the colour of my eyes?" he taunts, "They're a rare shade."

Ijohen and Sung Li notice the change in his eyes colour, as well.

Looks like you want to swallow us whole huh? Rihan thinks to himself.

"Alright, I'm done. Now, you can go." the man stands, grabbing his wallet, "And you, young lad-"

Rihan quickly snaps his fingers, and both Ijohen and Sung Li moved away from the desk, standing beside each other.

"I don't care what you're thinking, old man. But your mind control powers are nothing," he growls, his eyes glowing brighter.

The man stares at the trio, his eyes widening.

"I didn't expect you to be able to resist me," he whispers. "How interesting."

"You better keep that shit to yourself, old man," he snarls.

"What the hell was that?" Sung Li asks, glancing at his friend with a curious look.

"I'm not too sure myself," Ijohen mutters, while feeling a slight tingling sensation run through his body, "A mind-control technique? Despicable!"

Rihan stares at the man, his eyes still glowing red.

"I think you should stop wasting our time, old man," Rihan growls. "We don't have much patience left!"

"I see you're quite the fighter, you know?" the man smirks, "I always get what I want, no matter what the cost. And I'm going to take your gold document now."

"Hahaha!" Rihan snickers, snatching the contract from the table. "You can try." he snickers, strolling towards the door.

The man stares at him, his eyes narrowed. "Stop them!"

Suddenly, four men appear in the doorway, blocking the path.

"Is this how the Hall of Land and Border operates?" Rihan asks, glaring at the newcomers.

The leader of the group steps forward, wearing a black cloak over his shoulders, "You've been caught cheating and forging documents. This is a serious crime, and we will not tolerate it. If you refuse to cooperate, we'll be forced to use force to apprehend you," the man says.

"What's wrong with you?" Sung Li stares at the man, his eyes wide. "We haven't done anything wrong! What gives you the right to treat us like this?"

"… What's in the document?" Ijohen pokes Rihan in the chest, stabbing him with his finger. "Show it to me."

Rihan raised his hand, the document in his hand, handing it to Ijohen "It's just a contract.".

Ijohen snatches it from his grasp, reading it slowly. A moment later, he stares back at Rihan.

"What the hell?!" he stutters, stumbling backwards while rereading the contract.

"What's wrong?" Sung Li stares at the document in his hands.

"This is the Contract for the Golden Pavilion!" Ijohen stares at him, his head spinning. "We got the wrong building! There's no way this could be the contract for this place!"