Author's Note: Hey, Ejwaxy again. I was really happy to see all the positive responses yesterday as well, and thank you all for the feedback! As was the case yesterday, I'm planning on releasing two chapters today as well. I'm happy that so many of you seem to be enjoying my works, and I'm grateful for all of the comments, favorites, and readers that I've been getting! Looking forward to writing more!

 

"Down with the false King!"

The old man, clad in nothing but torn, dirty rags, wailed as he walked forward. Swinging his arms around wildly, he knocked luxurious silverware off of table. In the face of his presence, the nobles seemed to part like the red sea.

However, this wasn't what made the situation so interesting.

No, the reason behind that was that no guards moved to stop him.

"Down with the false King!"

As he wailed out again, Elena got up from beside me and started to run forward towards the commotion. I, of course, followed close behind.

"Pierre, please don't do this..."

From the crowd of nobles, the King emerged and spoke. Beside him, Alvus had his hand on the hilt of his blade, but rather than excited to hack into something like he had been with me, his face revealed a complex expression. It seemed almost like... grief.

Catching the Princess' hand before we could reach the bustling crowd of nobles, I stopped her in her tracks.

"Do you mind explaining what's going on here? Who that is?"

Elena quickly glanced between me and her father, before turning back.

"Ah... um, that's the former Head Butler, Pierre. You see, four years ago, he... went insane, and began to claim that the king had been replaced by an imposter..."

My eyebrows furrowed slightly at this.

"And you never thought to wonder why?"

Elena shook her head.

"I mean, the claim simply cannot be true. You see, each person is born with a unique flow of mana. I was born with mystic eyes that allow me to perceive that flow, so I would most definitely see if there had been some change. Even if they'd done something like swap bodies, a spell applied on them would be visible..."

Hm, so she had a pair of mystic eyes. Though, I'd suspected she had some sort of ability when the king was unable to recognize us as heroes while she was.

"In that case, where does he claim the real king is?"

Elena looked back at the commotion at the party with an anxious glance.

"Well that's-"

"Gaze upon your true king!"

With magnificent timing, the former Head Butler Pierre pulled from his rags... a rat. Sleek and gray, it's dirty visage was a far cry from that of a regal king. As it sat quietly in Pierre's cupped hands, the small man wandered around, shoving it into the faces of the surrounding nobles.

Despite the shrieking, the only action the guards took was their progressively pitying faces.

"So... a rat?"

"Indeed, a rat. But please do not judge him. Just before the incident, his wife and young daughter died in an unfortunate accident..."

My frown deepened. The pieces were coming together, but not in a way that made me happy at all.

Passing through the crowd, I made my way towards Pierre, causing a few gasps and mutterings of "The hero!". However, I payed them no mind.

Walking up to the small man and placing my hand on his shoulder, I tried something to verify my suspicions...

[Tinkering Lv. 1 Activating...]

[Activation Failure, level of skill Tinkering is too low to recognize system in use]

It was undeniable, there was more to this than meets the eye.

"Beware the demon clad in the skin of the king! He will be the ruin of you all!"

Twisting Pierre to turn him around, I pushed him gently away from the crowd as the King and nobles watched with gratitude. It seemed like I was taking a load off of them by doing this.

Moving Pierre was far easier than I'd expected. Underneath his rags, he was nothing but skin and bones. It seemed like he'd has nothing to eat for days, maybe weeks.

I grit my teeth and gently guided him away before whispering in his ear. Immediately after I did so, his shouting stopped and he simply stared at me for a second with meaningful yet distant eyes.

After that, he simply... walked away. As the crowd looked on in shock, Pierre walked away of his own volition. When I turned back to face the King and bow slightly, I saw on his face a bright smile.

"Thank you, hero Jonathan. I am in your debt."

I simply shook my head.

"You need not think anything of it, Your Highness. Please, everybody, resume the festivities."

I straightened myself back up and walked back to where Elena was standing, Amber now beside her. As the incident seemed settled, it felt like a collective sigh of relief was let out by the crowd, and within a minute the party was back in full swing.

"What on earth did you say to him?"

In response to Amber's question and Elena's cute, confused face, I simply gave an honest smile. Winking at them, I put one finger to my lips.

"It's a secret."

Amber punched my arm before turning around with her arms crossed.

"Idiot, what are you hiding stuff for?"

I laughed again, but didn't respond.

"In any case, thank you for that..."

Elena looked at me with her ruby-red eyes filled with sorrow. Her beautiful face covered by the swaying shadows cast by the garden's trees, something within me stirred. Though I was usually indifferent, I just wanted to find some way to make her feel better.

"You said he was the former Head Butler, right? You must have known him quite well. Seeing him like that must have been difficult."

I spoke gently and quietly, something that caused Amber's eyebrows to raise in mild surprise.

"Yes. It's... He was always there to care for me and my sisters as children, teaching us and protecting us..."

Elena's eyes wavered slightly in the lamplight as they looked at the moon hanging overhead.

"To see him like this, it breaks my heart..."

Her eyes that gazed at the silver moon held an immense regret, as if she wished she could return to those simpler days. In response, I held out my hand to her.

"It doesn't do for a beautiful lady such as yourself to look so sad at a party. Though I may be clumsy, may I have this dance?"

As Amber's mouth hung open in shock, Elena turned to me sharply. As our eyes met, her cheeks began to heat red, and the forlorn look in her eyes was replaced with one of mild embarrassment. She smiled a light yet stunning bashful smile.

"Yes, it would be my pleasure."

"W-what?!"

As Elena rested her hand in mine, Amber exclaimed out.

Gently guiding Elena to the dance floor, I turned my head to face Amber. Smiling at her, I spoke in a teasing manner.

"What? If you really want the next one, I'd be happy to give it to you."

Though Amber turned bright red as expected, the answer that came from her mouth was an entirely different thing.

"S-shut up! I'm gonna hold you to that!"

Wait a second. Could it be that-?

Confronted with the cute, embarrassed face of Amber as she yelled out to me, I was unable to finish my thought as the music swelled and I was swept away to the dance floor.

I sighed wholeheartedly.

Seriously, being surrounded by two beautiful girls wasn't good for my health.