Reivan rematerialized somewhere just outside of the orphanage, judging that there was nothing left to see.

‘Unexpectedly, I found out where those idiots got their weapons. But then again, they don’t really matter.’

The group calling themselves Sons of Arkhana didn’t even enter Reivan’s eyes. Their idiocy alone meant they were of no relevance. Who in the world was delusional enough to attack a royal with ordinary guns of all things? Did they think they were on Earth or something?

Their confidence was so overblown too. From how their leader — whose name Reivan had already willingly deleted from his memory to save space — didn’t fear being placed into the state’s custody, it was apparent that they had a backer and would be secretly released soon.

But at the same time, did they think Reivan would spare them if they were released? Having them killed or abducted after the fact was as easy as snapping his fingers, and he didn't even have to do it himself.

‘Natural selection really needs to step up and do its job…’

Or maybe natural selection was borrowing his hand to do the world a favor.

“Hm…” Reivan was momentarily brought out of his thoughts when a lady with a stunning butt walked past him.

She was obviously a prostitute from how little her dress covered, and she even beckoned at him to follow her into a particularly fancy-looking brothel.

After a very short moment of hesitation, Reivan shook his head and resumed walking away from the red light district. Temptation ran amok here and he didn't want to stay around to test himself.

‘...Anyway, I should return to the embassy… They must already be looking for me.’

Reivan dipped into a side alley and looked around to see if someone had followed before immediately transforming into a clump of dark mist and flying into the tallest building on the area’s roof. “Valter. Kindly retrieve me.”

Instead of a reply, the roof Reivan was stepping on morphed into what seemed like liquid darkness before swallowing him whole.

When he opened his eyes, Reivan was back in his office, with a very annoyed-looking Jiji sitting opposite Valter.

“Yani. I'm glad you could join us,” she said coldly, her frosty gaze would have spent a chill down his spine if he wasn’t used to her already.

“Yep. I’m back.” Reivan casually walked to his desk and sat behind it, reclining in his soft seat. “Why are you here, by the way? That's my guardian knight and this is my office... See over there? I even have a nameplate with my name on it.”

“I wanted to have dinner with you, but you weren’t here. So I ate it without you and returned… Only to find that you still hadn’t returned. So I waited for you while consulting Sir Valter extensively about my training and how else I might improve. It took us a very long time but I feel like I can make progress soon.”

“I see…” Reivan nodded to himself before uttering the excuse he thought up just a few minutes ago. “I checked in on Filth for a bit. And I also found out where those people who wanted to ambush us a week ago got their guns.”

Jiji’s anger dissipated and her brows shot up in surprise. “Oh? Interesting.”

“I don’t think it’ll lead to anything else though. The seller wasn’t in cahoots with them and didn’t know what those idiots were going to do with the guns.”

“I see. So… now we know that there aren’t a whole lot of them and they can't procure their own weapons.”

“Right. Meaning they really aren’t much of a threat.” Reivan shrugged and spun his chair around so it was facing the window. He spent a moment admiring the stars shining in the sky before sighing. “That said, you probably want to lecture me about not underestimating them. Valter too.”

“It’s good that you know, Yani,” Jiji said in an amused tone.

Valter nodded. “While having insignificant strength and influence, there is no reason to let them skulk in the shadows, Your Highness. Also, it may be the case that they are cannon fodder meant to gauge how far we are willing to go. As for them lacking a means to procure weapons, they could have possibly just wanted to avoid revealing their private channels by utilizing local suppliers.”

“Fine, fine… I’ll have Ouroboros take care of them quietly then. That way, there is no outward connection between the kingdom and them. Just in case someone plans to use their annihilation against us.”

The other two didn’t seem to have anything bad to say about his plan, so Reivan dismissed the two of them and headed for his room, pumping his fist when his little sister completely forgot about the possibility he was out goofing around with Elsa while she was working so hard — which, as ashamed he was to admit, was exactly what he had been doing.

He casually strolled down the hallway, heading straight for his private quarters. Surely, Clarisse must have finished replacing his stained sheets by now, ensuring they were primed for him and Helen to once again ruin them.

After arriving just before the double doors framed by an armored statue on both sides, Reivan pushed them open to reveal his room. It went without saying that as a prince, he was afforded the greatest luxury imaginable. Or rather, opulence was the default when it came to people of his status.

What attracted most of his attention was not the lavish opulence of his quarters, but rather, the beautiful young woman sprawled on the floor right next to the massive bed. Her soft breaths made it apparent she wasn’t dead, and having slept with her every night this past week, Reivan knew that she probably fell off the bed.

Again.

“Guess we’re going to bed early...”

Reivan shrugged before picking her up and throwing her in the middle of the bed, unafraid to wake her up. He jumped in right behind her and held her to his chest so she wouldn’t roll off the bed like he knew she would when left alone.

As if reacting to his familiar warmth, Helen’s arms snaked around his body and so did her legs. Reivan chuckled at how much she resembled a koala and smiled at how beautiful she was when she was asleep and staying quiet. Watching her was so therapeutic for some reason, that soon enough, he felt himself growing drowsy as well.

It didn’t take long for him to fall into the jaws of slumber.

 

---

 

The days passed peacefully and Reivan was forced to come face-to-face with his horrible political intuition when he could find nothing to do in the past few weeks.

Luckily, politics wasn’t the only thing he came to the republic to do.

‘The plan’s moving forward… Excellent.’

Reivan smirked as he fiddled with the letter that stated, in no unclear terms, that King Roland Aizenwald approved of Reivan's plans. He was to be relieved of his duties as a figurehead in exactly a month too, so his political savviness would never be put to the test.

To replace him was Jiji, who would be made to stay in the embassy long-term.

On paper though, both royals would be stationed at the embassy, with Reivan supposedly taking a step back to explore Arkhan in disguise.

Other than that, Reivan’s other matters were moving forward as well.

Spies who were supposed to have died also started popping up frequently. The biggest catch of them all was discovering that one of their spies managed to become quite an important person of interest in Arkhan. In fact, the spy’s identity alone was enough for Aizen to completely reconsider its plans moving forward.

Rather than trying to broker peace or delaying the solidification of the Arkhan-Argonia alliance, it was far easier and much more effective to formulate a plan around the spy instead.

Such endeavors needed the hand of someone politically inclined, though.

Someone who wasn’t Reivan.

That, combined with the fact he would be occupied by his own schemes, meant that Jiji really had to take on the role. As for the cat-eared princess’ duties back home, King Roland apparently intended to find some ministers to do them in her place.

The other cat-eared princess would also be forced to take some duties on, accompanied by a very strict observer, of course.

As for his newest subordinate…

After seemingly taking some time to properly internalize his report, Filth sent a very long recorded message stating what he’d discovered about the anti-kingdom group and that he’d found a somewhat steady supplier of ammunition for his marksmanship training.

The custom-made artifact designed to assist in the activation of Filth's ability had also arrived. Reivan had Valter deliver the package, along with a recorded message explaining the artifact's function, to Filth's room while he was sleeping. It was just in time too, since the first one was probably starting to lose its power.

Naturally, Reivan didn’t forget to send in extra funds so Filth wouldn’t find himself on the streets without a bed to sleep on.

“Valter…” Reivan muttered as lightning erupted from the tips of his fingers, reducing the king’s highly confidential letter to dust. “Has Luck arrived yet? I was told he arrived at the previous station a few hours ago.”

“Not yet, Your Highness.” The guardian knight responded from his place right behind Reivan’s. “But we have a few of our knights following him just in case the train comes under attack.”

Reivan nodded, satisfied with this answer.

‘It wouldn’t be funny if years of scheming get ruined because the key to our plan dies to a rabid flying ferret or something.’

All train stations within Arkhan — as well as the tracks that the trains used — were under the kingdom’s jurisdiction. Naturally, its security and maintenance were their responsibility as well.

While all trains were equipped with artifacts to prevent anyone from gleaming their secrets, not all of them came equipped with a knight as a guard. Hence, although small, there was always an element of risk when traveling long distances by train — of course, this only applied to the republic, where monsters hadn’t been completely neutralized.

This arrangement was only slightly because Aizen didn’t care all that much about the safety of a nation they could go to war against. The main reason was that they simply didn’t have the knights to spare on matters that didn’t concern national safety.

‘And this is also why my brother doesn’t mind if we sell the stations and the trains off to the highest bidder soon.’

In any case, although the few knights openly stationed in Arkhan cleared out nearby monster dens regularly, it wasn’t as if they did it every day. So unforeseen tragedies were never truly off the table. Still, they tried to minimize it as much as possible since every tragedy was a stain on Aizen's reputation.

Since Arkhan had a vested interest in maintaining the logistic miracles provided by trains, they naturally chipped in with security as well. But even then, desperate monsters still attacked a train or two once every few months. They rarely succeeded though.

“Ah.” Valter suddenly grunted and looked out of the window, which was letting a generous amount of the morning breeze into Reivan’s office. “It seems like I spoke too soon, Your Highness. They have arrived.”

“Very good. Put fewer but better guards on him from now on. But have them stop once he reaches City Hall. We don’t want them getting noticed when he comes in for the interview thing.” Reivan tapped his chin in thought before taking out a thick sheaf of papers and slapping it with his other hand. “All of that aside, I should really start studying this, huh?”

‘That said, there isn’t much to study because Mr. Salwyn has been following the orders to appear impassive and uncaring while outside, avoiding interactions in general.’

Reivan casually read through the reports from the four people constantly observing Clover Salwyn.

The man who would become the key to Reivan’s Spirit Tower Infiltration plan — a name Reivan would never say out loud for how lame it sounded — might have been able to guess that he had observers, but Clover never would have imagined that there were actually four people constantly watching his every move from the shadows.

To accomplish his plans, it was essential for Reivan to know exactly how Clover appeared to people around him. And to do that, he had to be aware of a lot of things — the man’s motivations, his fears, and his likes were just a few.

Reivan naturally had to know about Clover's mannerisms too.

Oftentimes, people weren't aware of their own mannerisms though. So to get a handle on it, Reivan posted two male operatives and two female operatives on watch duty. That way, he could get multiple perspectives.

‘Has a habit of drumming only three fingers on the table when studying. Holds his wand somewhat loosely when casting spells, and has a habit of twirling it through his fingers three times when he feels satisfied with his performance. Uses his wand as a backscratcher when he thinks nobody is looking…’

There was also a comprehensive list of spells attached, written directly by Clover. Tiny notes on the side labeled which ones he preferred for ease of use, spells he was very good at, and spells he tended to stay away from because of how he frequently made some kind of minor mistake.

All sorts of information was in Reivan’s hands, and he would have to memorize them by heart in a matter of a few days, to the extent he could outright become Clover Salwyn.

Obviously, that was too tall of an order.

‘Shit. I’ll have to spend a week or two in my hyperbolic time chamber again, won’t I…?’

 

---

 

Clover hopped off what must have been his eighth train ride these past few days, cursing his aching back as he strode away from the massive snake-like vehicle. Really, living near the edges of the republic was never so inconvenient.

‘Well, it’s at least better than riding a carriage… or a magitech carriage. Not that I could afford to charter one for such a ridiculously long trip.’

Fondly caressing the inner pocket of his coat — where a wallet embroidered with a flower sat — Clover thought back to how he’d gone straight back to Ellin and told her he wanted her back.

Getting the tacit approval of his watcher seemed to have broken the dams of restraint within Clover, so he’d confessed his feelings then and there, even going as far as to ask her parents for her hand. Then they’d spent an entire week in tranquil bliss.

‘I can’t believe she just gave her life’s savings to me like that…’

As a man, being unable to even refuse her kindness shamed him to the extent that his face should have melted off. But really, it was a huge help to his finances because he’d underestimated the costs of traveling.

The leftover money from his security deposit was more than enough to cover his fare.

But the money didn’t account for his other expenses.

Like food.

Like water.

Like lodging.

‘Fucking hell, why are inns so expensive these days…!?’

Trains were the fastest mode of long-distance travel unless you had an Ascendant or something under your command, but it wasn’t like Clover could cut across half the republic in a manner of seconds by riding them. He had to spend a few nights at the inns near train stations quite a few times, and the total costs of doing so were a lot more than what he paid for the trains.

And if that wasn’t enough, he had to fear for his life from time to time — monsters were a thing, after all.

‘If only I could afford the express trains…’

There were special time slots where the trains were actually guarded by volunteer battlemages or even knights from the kingdom, but those were naturally expensive — far too expensive for Clover to even think about booking. The express trains also had the added benefit of having just one long continuous voyage from one station to another and having rooms for passengers to sleep in.

‘Money, money, money… Why is money always the problem…?’

If he wasn’t still in such a good mood from reaffirming his love with Ellin, Clover would have had a grimace pasted on his face as he internally grumbled to no end. Now though? He still had a stony face, but at least he wasn’t whining to himself too much.

“Uh…” Clover stopped walking, suddenly realizing he didn’t have any idea where to go.

‘Shit… Who can I ask for directions here…? Everybody looks so damned busy and unfriendly…’

Maybe it was just something folks in big cities shared. Everywhere he looked, there was a strange atmosphere practically screaming for him to steer clear and keep to himself. Almost as if he was unwelcome.

‘I’m fucked… My acceptance letter said that my interview is in roughly three hours… and I was told to arrive an hour early just in case.’

Feeling desperate, Clover was just about to pester some poor passerby about directions when someone wearing full-plate armor caught his eye.

‘A knight…?’

Of course, he knew that all trains and stations were owned by the foreign kingdom, but he hadn’t seen a single knight in the other stations. Seeing one now was a slight surprise. But after some consideration, having one of them stationed at the capital was a no-brainer.

‘Should I ask…? Or in the first place, I don’t think I have much of a choice, here.’

Clover hesitantly walked up to the knight while seeming as unthreatening as possible, all while probably failing to maintain an impassive expression. Acting indifferent was pretty hard when he was supposed to talk to a man of steel and muscle — who was a head or two taller than him. Wider, too.

Even though Clover worked out because of his client’s orders, he still couldn’t compare to the hulking beast of a man in front of him. He was pretty sure the knight could take on a hundred of him without breaking a sweat.

“Excuse me…” Clover slowly raised his hands to show he meant no harm and smiled sheepishly. “Uhm, can you speak Arkhanian?”

The knight’s steel-covered head turned to him in response, and he nodded. “Yes. How can I help you?”

Relieved that he’d established peaceful communication, Clover pulled out a letter with the republic’s sigil on it. “You see, I—”

“Ah, you’re one of those newbie battlemages.” The knight nodded in understanding. “You must be looking for City Hall, then.”

“Yes, yes!” Clover nodded vigorously. “D’you mind, sir?”

“Not at all. You aren’t the first to ask. This must be the fiftieth time.”

“...Seriously?”

“Indeed. They should really add directions in those letters of yours.”

‘That's what I thought too.’

Clover found himself chuckling at the fact that a foreigner somehow understood his problems more than the people he voted into office.

“Anyway,” The knight gestured toward the wide entrance of the train station. “Go outside and just tell one of the carriages nearby where you want to go. They’ll get you there in a jiffy. And there are inns around there too, so don’t worry about lodging if it takes you too long.”

“Thanks… Wait, carriages?” Clover licked his lips and pondered for a moment before hesitantly asking. “And how much do you think that’d cost, sir?”

“Hm… I believe the current rates are about three times the price of a city-to-city trip on the train.”

“That’s…”

‘That’s highway robbery!’

Even if he logically knew that trains could afford to set their prices that low because they could carry more people, Clover didn't care. He took a deep breath and resisted the urge to show the foreigner in front of him how a true native cussed. “Do you think I could walk there, sir? How long do you think it’d take?”

The knight once again took a moment to think, seemingly taking longer to ponder this question. Eventually, he shrugged. “I could get there in two or so minutes. But I don’t know how long it’d take for a normal person… Sorry. A rough estimate would be three hours, I believe?”

“...Thank you very much, sir. May the cold winds bring you warm tidings.”

Clover was about to offer his hand for a shake, but he suddenly noticed the massive sword in the knight’s grasp, stabbed into the ground. He then opted to bow instead and walked away, bringing his depression elsewhere.

‘I guess I’m not eating tonight…’

When he left his hometown, Clover had what was left of his security deposit and Ellin’s life savings. But the train fair alone consumed his personal funds while Ellin’s life savings weren’t all that much considering the fact that she wasn’t all that old nor did she work somewhere fancy.

And so, after paying the carriage’s extortionate prices, he probably wouldn’t even have enough for a decent hotel.

‘Wait a minute… After the interview, if I can’t afford the inns nearby, won’t I have to ride another carriage to a cheaper inn? And then if it’s too far, I’ll have to ride it again when I inevitably take a train to the Spirit Tower… Wait a minute, on that note, what do I do about the cost of train tickets to the Spirit Tower...?’

Suddenly, Clover once again realized how difficult going through life was if one lacked money.

“Fuck my life…”

Clover sighed as he walked to the exit, determined to haggle for dear life. If push came to shove, he’d pawn off a few of his organs. Or maybe he could throw his pride to the gutters by borrowing money from a city hall worker, telling them he’d pay it back when he became an official battlemage.

Suddenly, Clover grimaced when someone practically rammed into him from the side. He was sent on a collision course with a few innocent bystanders.

“Get your head outta your ass and watch where you’re going, retard!”

“Piece of…” Clover clenched his fists and got ready for a fight, only to unclench them when he saw just how massive his adversary was.

Not as much as the knight was or even a fraction as intimidating, but certainly enough to give Clover some pause.

Still, Clover’s mother didn’t raise a little bitch. So he grimaced and spat back. “Fuck you, asshole! You’re the one who bumped into me!”

“Like hell, I was.” Surprisingly, the man only scoffed and then walked off as if dealing with Clover was a big waste of time.

Just when Clover was about to continue to escalate the situation, he suddenly noticed something on the ground. He picked it up and could immediately tell it was one of those leather wallets that folded. Curious, he peeked inside, only to quickly close it back up.

‘Holy shit. How much money was that…?’

All paper money in the republic came from the Star Bank. And although there were still some hard-headed people from the boonies who preferred to keep metal coins for various reasons, the value of the bills inside the wallet couldn’t be denied.

‘This belongs to that asshole. I’m sure of it.’

Clover looked around and it seemed as if nobody was paying attention to him anymore. If he wanted to keep the money for himself, nobody would notice. And it would certainly ease most of his concerns too.

But his hesitation lasted only for a single moment.

A man could be poor of wealth, but he should never be poor of character.

He stood up and looked around, immediately catching sight of the tall jerk who had run him over earlier. There was a path of emptiness just behind the large man, almost as if people were giving way, making it much easier for Clover to catch up to him.

“Hey, you fucking retard!” Clover rammed his shoulder against the large man, but barely even managed to make him trip. “You forgot this.”

“You piece of…” The massive jerk was just about to cuss Clover out, but when he saw his wallet, he stopped. “That’s mine.”

“I know, idiot. You dropped it.”

“Is that right…? Heh. Thanks, I guess…” Seemingly amused, the tall man snatched the wallet out of Clover’s hand and took out a few of the bank notes inside. Then he pushed it onto Clover’s hand before walking away. “Rewards for honesty.”

For a moment, Clover stared down at the bills in his hand, recognizing that they were the highest-value ones in circulation. And there were ten of them. “Wait, I—”

Just as he was about to return it, Clover looked up to find that the massive man was nowhere in sight. Sure, there was a horde of people ushering him to get a move on, but even then, it seemed as if the man simply vanished from thin air.

Soon, Clover found himself carried outside by the wave of busy citizens, the bright sun shining from overhead. He looked down at his hand once again, finding that the bank notes were still there. Feeling slightly sentimental, Clover’s grip tightened, crumpling the previously smooth bills.

‘I guess sometimes, being a good guy pays off?’

Not as much as being an asshole, of course. But at least he got to feel proud of his gains by living an honest life.