The girl ate the cake quietly as tears streamed down her face...

...

"Wake up!"

Gods' mightiest champion...

Sister Lin shouted at me as she opened the window's curtains, allowing the sunshine to hit my face and forcing me to wake up.

"Get up. Mom is busy since something big happened. I'll give you breakfast." she said, then began to look around.

"But not before you fix this mess. Mom would kill you if she saw this. This bed you made with the books would be your final resting place then."

After I got up, big sister Lin had already left, not even offering to help.

After putting the books back at their original positions on the shelves, I went back home to the mansion.

Heading inside the dining room, sister Lin saw me and told me to sit down.

As I waited, I quickly remembered yesterday's events.

They have a Mind attribute mage on their side.

It seems the empress' faction managed to get their hands on a trump card.

My sister came back with a fruit salad. After going a whole day without food and water, I devoured the contents of the bowl in a very unsightly manner, as if I had forgotten everything I had learned in etiquette class.

"You're lucky mom isn't here to see this. She'd make you go walk the dogs."

Mom was an Animal attribute mage. Sometimes, as a light punishment, she'd make her dogs chase us around for an hour.

If we dared to stop, we'd spend the rest of the day in physician Lu's clinic.

"Where's mom?"

"She was called to command a search unit. A traitor of the empire stole a powerful artifact. Who would be so daring?"

"You don't know?"

"They're not telling anyone. Whoever they are, they'll be found sooner or later. No one escapes his majesty's all seeing eye."

It seems they didn't divulge Erik's identity. Then again, his mother Elsa was only one of the many concubines the emperor has, and most of them stay inside the palace's walls, away from the public eye.

There are some exceptions, like concubine Talia's famous perfume business in the capital.

She used her beauty to advertise her business in the newspapers.

After finishing breakfast, sister Lin went out to socialize with Carmen and her group.

Carmen was the eldest daughter of concubine Judith, who belonged to the empress' faction.

Sooner or later, mom was sure to break neutrality and join the empress' faction as well, especially after the blow the matriarch's faction took yesterday.

Sight Voyage.

...

Erik roamed the slums of Maroon District. He seemed lost.

His shoes were muddy and he looked dirty. He could easily pass for a hobo.

He walked around while sometimes asking a passerby if they knew where the Royal Academy was.

They laughed at his face. Some even pushed him out of their away, throwing Erik to the muddy ground and dirtying him even more.

Without guidance, Erik wasn't getting anywhere.

"The Royal Academy is around the centermost part of the capital. You're currently in the border."

A whispering wind passed by Erik's left ear. Erik looked around. There were some people walking around the street, but none of them seemed to be paying any attention to him.

"It's you again! Who are you?"

A passerby looked at him with an ugly expression.

"You talking to me, boy!?"

Idiot.

Erik, frightened, began to run away. The passerby showed a confused expression, then shook their head and went on their way.

"Head west and you'll reach the center of the capital. The west is opposite to the east, and the sun rises in the east."

Erik showed a confused expression as he tried to understand the words that passed by his ears.

But with these instructions, he would eventually get there.

Erik looked at the sun. His eyes hurt.

"Ah!"

Idiot is putting it lightly.

Erik sat down on the ground while rubbing his eyes.

He remained there, looking at the sky but avoiding from gazing directly at the bright, burning sphere of blinding light.

He observed the direction the sun was going.

...

"We'll find him eventually, miss! He couldn't have gone far!"

Said one of concubine Talia's maids. Her master looked scary as she tapped her fingers on the table by the window.

The sunlight illuminated her body while her face remained hidden in the darkness of the room.

"Call the seer here."

"Right away, miss!"

The kneeling maid quickly got up and ran out.

Concubine Talia was growing impatient. They had spent the whole night searching for the boy, yet he still hadn't been found.

Thankfully, the empress' faction newest trump card could be used as long as one could afford it.

"Did you call, miss Talia?"

A soft, feminine voice came out as the hooded figure entered the room.

Her eyes and lips together formed a smiling expression, but you could sense that she held nothing but contempt towards everything and everyone around her.

"The empress wants to begin immediately with the rest of the plan. Finding the boy is an inevitability. We're not to stall because of him."

"Very well. I trust you plan to pay the second half of the bill once I'm done?"

"Exactly. Begin."

"Of course."

The hooded lady nodded once and left. Concubine Talia looked out of the window and took a sip of her wine.

She had a thoughtful expression. Then, she frowned.

"Just you wait. This will all belong to me."

Her wealth outgrew the empress'. With the right investments, she could one day realize her ambitions.

Plus, she was the emperor's favorite.

Meanwhile, a lady dressed in white watered some flowers in her garden. She stopped.

"So she plans to begin immediately..."

She chuckled. It was the most beautiful chuckle one could ever hear, right before they drowned in the water, baited by a siren's song.

...

My arms were dormant after having lied my head on top of them for too long.

Still going unconscious everytime. But I'll pull it off eventually.

Today there were plans. Me and the boys were going to enjoy the holiday eating salty food.

After getting up from the chair and going to my room, I picked the most casual clothes I found.

Leaving the house, I walked for a while along the stone path.

It was green all around, with maids taking care of the flowers as they gossiped about the ongoing events.

One of their conversations happened to get my attention.

"Have you heard? The matriarch's faction got another blow. I heard one of their informants was executed, and it was by the hand of his majesty himself!"

"An informant? Who would be so daring?"

"Don't tell anyone, but I heard it was concubine Elsa."

"No way!"

"You didn't hear it from me!"

Informant. It seems the empress' faction was already targetting her since long ago.

It was probably due to that afternoon. They were careless.

Elsa had spent a whole week without updating her situation. It was a very busy week, so the matriarch's faction grew impatient.

They sent an agent to communicate with Elsa in the afternoon.

Problem was, some invisible children happened to run by as they played magical hide and seek.

Their footsteps were muffled, so no one heard them.

They hid behind a rock and happened to overhear an interesting the conversation.

"Three days ago, concubine Dalia gifted a rose jade bracelet to concubine Helga, from the neutral party. After using it to heal her son from an incurable illness, she swore loyalty to her majesty."

After talking for a while, they concluded.

"Anything else?"

"No, that is it."

"Good work. Be quicker with your reports from now on. We don't like to be left waiting."

"I apologize."

The shadowy figure vanished and Elsa went on with her day, but the three kids had overheard everything.

"We gotta tell mom!"

"Maybe she'll reward us with that brown candy from the capital!"

"Chocolate!"

The kids ran happily back home with their muffled footsteps, sealing Elsa's fate.

...

While walking and remembering that event, I had eventually arrived at the Seven Springs Mansion, home to concubine Essea.

It was named that way after the seven beautiful springs that could be seen around it. A section of the water was divided to allow swimming, while the rest housed many species of fish.

"You finally arrived, Sloth!"

"There's the Sloth!"

Sloth. It was the nickname they gave me. Unlike most royal children, I never exercised, nor would you catch me training my magical power.

Thankfully my Air attribute was powerful since birth, so I was considered a genius.

When it came to magic power, I was far from the weakest.

That was Erik. In this whole world, Erik would always be last place. Yet they still envied him.

Even the mighty warriors from the Frontlines could use magic. Everyone in this world could, as far as I've seen.

I never revealed that I had two attributes, so as far as anyone knew, I was a normal single-attribute air mage.

I took my clothes off and jumped in the water, splashing it all around them.

"Ah! Water went in my eye!"

"You know, with the way you are, one day you'll be fatter than the Boar!"

"What'd you say about me, Cedric!?"

"Ah! The Boar is going to eat Cedric!"

"Stop!!"

The boys laughed as they joked around about Olaf's build.

I had a healthy diet since mom always made sure we'd only eat the best, but the lack of exercise did me no favors.

After swimming and playing for a while...

"Boys~"

Said Olaf's sister, Nana, as she came by, carrying a table full of salty food.

"Chips!"

Said Olaf as he rushed out of the water. The rest of the boys wasted no time as they rushed after him.

I was the last one, as always, ever so slow.

By the time I got to the table, there was hardly anything left.

"I knew it. Here, I left this separate for you, Sloth."

She handed me a plate with fried chips, garlic bread and grilled cheese sandwich.

I picked the plate and looked at her face. She looked like a natural beauty, but I could see some traces of makeup on her face.

You should be hanging out with Carmen. What are you doing here?

"Thank you, Nana."

I gave her my best smile. She had a kind expression as she looked me in the eye for a few seconds, then turned her head to the side and looked away, visibly blushing.

Seriously?

"Ah! Olaf, Sloth is flirting with your sister!"

"He's not! Shut up!"

Nana refuted embarrasedly at the annoying boy, Rico.

"Why would my sister like Sloth? Don't speak nonsense. He couldn't handle her, do you know how much she weighs?"

"Olaf!!"

"I-I mean, it's true! Wait! Ah! Sorry! Sorry!"

The lioness hit her brother's back as he ran away from her.

"The lioness has gone mad! Run guys!"

"What did you say!?"

Nana looked back at them while holding Olaf by the hair, then began to run after them.

I sat down on the edge of the spring water pool while watching them.

The fried chips tasted so foreign.

It has been a long time since I had last eaten something like this. I've been having fruit salads every morning, plus vegetable salad at lunch and dinner.

As the boys were being chased around by Nana, I suddenly remembered.

The concubines had a plan to bring mom to their faction.

They were trying to set me up with Olaf's sister.

I have no time to care about love. Yet, I won't deny it has benefits to it.

I looked at the water. It was crystal clear.

Sight Voyage.

...

The singer's enchanting voice could be heard from the speakers as she voiced the song's lyrics to the microphone.

She waved her body around as she sung to the crowd. The bards behind her accompanied her voice as they played their instruments.

Magical technology. They taught us that gone were the days in which loud voices were the norm. Nowadays, she can just whisper into a sphere attached to a stick.

It was a casino.

Erik headed to one of the tables and asked a man who played the game on it, "This is how you make money? But this seems like it would be easy to someone with magic."

The man looked at the boy.

"Magic is blocked in this building. This is to prevent cheating, because like you said, this would be much easier if I could see what's in the cards on their hands." said the man. He wore a top hat and had a scraggly, dark brown beard.

"Then, can I make money if I work here?"

"Work here?"

"This thing you're doing. What's this profession called? I never worked before but I learned that's how you make money."

The man looked at Erik as if he had seen an alien, "You don't know what this is?"

"No." answered Erik, as if he had said nothing wrong.

The man burst in laughter, slapping his palm on the table and gathering annoyed glances from the rest of the players.

"This, sonny, is called poker! You can indeed make money with it, wanna play?"

"Yes! I need money for transport, I need to get to the capital."

"The capital, huh."

The man looked at Erik up and down. As far as he knew, the kid was probably a hobo who wanted to try his luck in the big city after hearing some things about it.

"Well, come here, sit on my lap. I'll teach you how to make money."

The man tapped his thigh. Erik jumped up and sat down.

"Do you have money, kid?"

"No, mister."

"Well, you need money to begin."

As soon as he finished saying that, the player on his right side raised the bet.

"Look, someone put some money on the table. Now, I can either give up and put nothing, or I can put the same amount or more."

Erik thought for a bit, then asked "What happens if you put more?"

The player that had just raised looked at Erik with an ugly expression.

The bearded man caught their expression, "Well, you make more money!"

He laughed and added a quarter more of the amount that was just raised. The player right next to him, on his left, gave up and gave his cards back to the table.

"See, the guy next to me gave up, that's what we call Folding. It means he gets no money this time."

Erik concluded, "So we never Fold?"

"Yes! If you fold, that makes you a coward! Here, only the brave make money!"

One player after another folded, until a woman put in the same amount of money as him on her turn.

"See, this gal put in the same amount, that's called Calling."

"Why is it called that?"

"I don't know kid, it's just how it's called."

"Alright, so I'll call that."

It was once again the turn of the player on his right. They threw their cards back, deciding to Fold.

This got a laugh from the bearded man in the top hat.

"Not so confident anymore, are ya? Teach you to never underestimate me!"

It was the final round. The man revealed his cards.

"Take this! Three of a kind!"

Then, the woman who had called his raise before also revealed her cards, "Flush."

The man's eyes widened as he looked at her cards, "No way!"

The woman grabbed her chips.

"Did she make money?" asked Erik.

While the man was in a daze, the woman answered instead, "I did, sweety. These chips here can be exchanged for money. Here."

She grabbed a chip and gave to Erik, "Go to the nice lady at the entrance and tell her you want to exchange this for money. This should cover your transport fees."

"Thank you, miss!"

Erik smiled brightly at the lady. Despite looking filthy, Erik still looked very handsome.

Good looking people do have it easy.

Erik grabbed the chip and went to exchange it for coins.

Meanwhile, on one of the roulette tables, two men talked.

"They brought that seer into the palace."

"So she was the real deal?"

"I guess. Must mean the prediction she made about me was true."

"What did she predict?"

"Lover I have will tell me she got pregnant in about two days."

"Oh man, what if your wife finds out?"

"Don't worry, I've been saving up. Imma be moving soon."

"Smart choice."

After thinking for a while, one of them said.

"I heard she's a tri-attribute, but I don't know what the three attributes are."

"Well, one is for sure Future Seeing or something like that."

"I think it was Divination?"

"I don't know, didn't really pay attention to class."

"Still fresh in my mind the day Ms. Long Nails threw that book on your head. It gave you a concussion, they called it."

"Man that woman was insane!"

...

I felt a warm blanket around my body. The sun was setting and the boys had probably long gone home by now.

From my side, I heard Nana say with a chuckle, "You slept again, Sloth. You're lucky this isn't a hotel or I'd have to start charging you."

I looked at the plate in my hands. I had eaten only around a fifth of the plate's contents.

I proceeded to eat again. They were cold.

"Wait, let me reheat them!"

"No need. It's delicious."

I said as I smiled at her. I may be nowhere near as handsome as Erik and the rest of the boys, but somehow Nana always blushed slightly when she saw me smile.

To be honest, I had already figured out what was going on.

Concubine Essea had a plan to bring my mother to the empress' faction. She had actively pushed Nana to talk to me whenever I was around.

I didn't leave often, so they were probably getting impatient. They wanted to confirm my thoughts on Nana as soon as they could.

The extra plate was also probably concubine Essea's idea. Nana is not really a very thoughtful girl.

I remembered theatre day, at the Royal Academy.

Nana had sat at the very front while the students behind her tried to watch the performances.

Despite hearing someone telling her that they couldn't see a thing and that she was in the way, she made no effort to help, not lowering her body any bit.

Sitting at the edge seats never crossed her mind either.

Her tall frame gave no one a way to keep watching, so they could just hold their complaints in.

After all, if they didn't get beat up by her later, the other kids from the empress' faction would, since concubine Essea, her mother, was at a very high position in the palace.

Concubine Essea controlled the large Tangerine District, a place that housed many wealthy merchant families due to its strategic position.

The Tangerine District was positioned next to the magical factories of Green Ash City, allowing for quick transportation of produced goods straight to the merchants' grasps.

Green Ash City is constantly full of greenish smoke in the sky, being fully committed to the construction of factories. There is a magical barrier around it to prevent the smoke from escaping to the surrounding localities.

The people in there wear masks all day long.

I didn't know why Nana liked me, though. If she were faking it, I probably would have noticed already.

She asked as I took a bite out of garlic bread, "What do you think of the garlic bread?"

"The taste of the garlic is heavy."

"Oh..."

She made a sullen expression. It seems she had made it herself.

I took another bite.

"You don't have to eat it if you don't like it!"

She said as she used her chubby hands to grab mine.

I commented, "Whoever made them would be sad if I threw it away."

Then I ate it in one bite.

She took her hands away and looked at me with a surprised expression. She smiled at me, fondly.

"You're so kind, Sloth."

For all that is sacred in this world, that's not my name.

But I forgave her, since after thinking about yesterday's events, I noticed something.

Olaf knew about concubine Elsa's cheating and had also been sent to prevent Erik from escaping.

That either means the empress' faction is investing on Olaf, or concubine Essea was allowed to tell court secrets to her children.

Mom doesn't share anything with me and sister Lin.

Olaf was 14 years old. For him to be allowed access to such secrets meant that he already held a high position among the palace's children and they planned to invest in him.

This proved concubine Essea's importance in the palace.

Getting close to her daughter would be a move in favor of the empress' faction.

I ate with my ever slothful facial expression while Nana stared at me with a fond look in her eyes.

It was already evening by the time I had finished eating. I got up.

After putting the plate back on the table, I began to walk away.

She had given me a quick goodbye with a reluctant look on her face. I answered back with a simple wave of my hand.

I walked along the stone path, looking at the sky. Soon, I arrived home and sat on the sofa.

Sight Voyage.

...

The guards had very serious expressions on their faces. They stood like statues.

Erik attempted to go through the gate, but one of guards prevented it by hitting Erik with the back of their spear.

"Stay away from the gate, citizen."

Erik's body hit the ground. He said, "I need to get to the Royal Academy. I have to meet someone. Please let me in!"

The guard ignored Erik, not even sparing him a glance.

Erik noticed that the guards weren't letting him in no matter what.

The sky was dark and Erik's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten for a whole day.

"Go back, walk straight and turn to the second road you see on the right. There is a big building called hotel there. Enter it."

A wind passed by Erik's ears. Erik got up and followed the voice's instructions faithfully.

Soon, Erik came across the building mentioned by the voice. A big word, hotel, glowed on top of it.

Erik entered.

"Go to the counter and ask for a room with a shower."

Said the disembodied voice next to Erik's ears. Erik did as instructed.

"Excuse me, miss. I want a room with a shower."

The woman scowled at Erik after noticing his stench, but after her eyes caught his handsome face, she soon calmed down.

She said calmly, "We have a room available, but can you even afford it?"

Erik grabbed a coin bag from his pocket and showed it to her, "Is this enough?"

The woman looked at it. It was a small amount, but enough for a few nights.

Looking at his pitiful appearance, she offered, "A room costs 10 silvers a night."

Erik opened his bag and picked a coin with the number 10 written on it, "Here, miss!"

The lady at the counter took it and handed Erik a key, explaining "Go up the stairs and use this key to open the door with the number written on it."

"Thank you, miss!"

Erik smiled brightly at her.

She couldn't help but comment, "You're so cute! After you're done showering, come back here and go to through that door over there, eat something good while you're there. You have more than enough for a nice meal."

"Alright, I will, miss."

Erik went upstairs. After searching for a while, he found the door with the number 455 and inserted the key on the lock.

Meanwhile, a couple was having an argument downstairs at the hotel's small restaurant.

"You never share the bill!"

"Why should I share it, you're the one who wanted to eat today!"

"It's only right that we share the bill!"

"That makes no sense!"

The onlookers showed annoyed expressions, but most of them just kept eating.

The man was about to shout at the woman again, but a little girl ran up to him and hugged his thigh.

"No! Stop fighting! Please!"

The man looked down at the girl. He shook his leg in anger, making her fall bottom first onto the cold ground.

"Be careful with her! What are they gonna say if she shows up hurt to the academy? They'll tell us we're bad influence and we'll lose all the benefits!"

The man regained his clarity.

"You mean those stories of them forcefully adopting poor but talented kids are true?"

"What do you think? Those rich folks own the world. They make up the laws."

The little girl got back up but kept her head down.

The woman noticed the girl's actions.

"You're not gonna cry are you?"

The girl shook her head.

"Good."

They finished filling their plates and sat at the table.

The girl never touched her plate.

...

Putting his clothes on the magic cleaner, they instantly came out spotless.

After wearing them, Erik went downstairs and entered the hotel's restaurant.

Erik observed how the people could pick a plate and fill it with all sorts of food. He was amazed.

He picked up a plate and filled it with rice along with some veggies and fries.

Looking for a place to sit, he spotted a mostly empty table, with only one person sat on it, a little girl around his age.

He approached it.

"Hi. Can I sit here?"

The girl looked at Erik. She was mesmerized by his handsomeness, which had finally been revealed completely after his shower.

"Sure..." she said with a dazed expression.

Erik happily sat on a chair across from her.

He introduced himself, "I'm Erik. What about you?"

She noticed she had been staring at his face for too long.

With her cheeks red in embarrassment, she answered quickly, but louder than she expected to, "Monica!"

Having shouted her name for the whole world to hear, she covered her mouth with both hands and lowered her head.

"Monica! Good name!"

Erik began to devour the contents of his plate. It was unsightly, but nobody paid attention.

He soon noticed that the girl across from him seemed to be in a bad mood.

He asked, "Why aren't you eating anything?"

The girl looked at him.

The expression of the boy in front of her showed genuine curiosity, so she answered, "Mom and dad don't care about me. They only care about my magic."

"Magic? What magic do you have?"

"Water magic. I can heal people. They said it was rare."

"Woah! So you're a physician!"

"They said I'm a healer, though?" she corrected with a confused expression.

"Oh. But what's the difference between a physician and a healer?"

"I don't know. Physicians work in hospitals while healers go to the church, right?"

"That makes sense! So you'll work at a church in the future?"

"They said I'll be going to the academy. I didn't hear them talking about a church."

The boy and the girl chatted until late. When the girl's parents came back to bring her to their room, they met Erik.

After introductions, Erik asked if he could go to the academy with them, saying he knew a professor there.

Unable to resist the boy's charm and wanting someone to keep company to their daughter so she wouldn't bother them, they decided to let the boy follow along.

...

At the Seven Springs Mansion.

Concubine Essea said, "No progress? That means you're not being bold enough!"

"But he looked so peaceful. I didn't want to bother him! I wouldn't do it even if you forced me to!"

"You will go to your room to reflect! Next time, you'll think twice before just letting him go!"

"Boo-hoo!"

Nana ran to her room with tears on her face. Her mother shook here head with an irritated expression.

Soon, someone knocked on the door. The maid opened it. After seeing who it was, the maid bowed.

"A blessed night to you, miss Ophelia."

Concubine Essea heard the name and went to greet her.

"Concubine Ophelia! Please, come in."

"Good evening, concubine Essea."

The two sat on the mansion's meeting room. Essea asked the maid to bring out some snacks.

After talking for a while, concubine Ophelia soon got to the point.

"I came to update you. The matriarch will be coming to the capital in a week's time. We'll go on with the plans."

"The boy hasn't been found yet, though."

"We have decided the boy will not be a threat and the plans are to remain in motion. How is your situation?"

"The turtle brat still hasn't answered to my daughter's charms. Why don't we target his sister, instead?"

"That animal loving mother of theirs keeps her on a tight leash. We have confirmed she's the official heir."

"Blast. I don't think that boy is capable of feeling anything. He always has the same expression on his face, looking all tired. If he wasn't a genius, no way I'd give him my daughter. This better all be worth it."

"It will, just keep trying. Having them on our side would be a huge addition to her majesty's forces. Once we're done with everything, the matriarch will have no say anymore, no matter how powerful she is."

"Right. Any word from the Roses?"

"None. They have kept silent so far."

"It means we're good to keep going. Tomorrow, the seer should have finished making her move."

Meanwhile, Nana sobbed in her room.

"Mom never praises me. All she knows is to complain, complain and complain..."

She looked at the moon from the window while holding a plate full of desserts.

"I need to become stronger. I will protect his innocence. He won't have to deal with people being mean to him."

The girl ate the cake quietly as tears streamed down her face...