Leona was heading to the outskirts of the residential area where most inns and pubs were located. The way she carried herself tended to attract glances from passersbys but thanks to her different appearance, no one seemed to recognize her at a glance.

  “Krieg, whatever happens, don’t kill anybody.”

  “Are you expecting a fight to break out?”

  “It’s possible. I don’t know how the guard would react if they saw me.”

  “Understood.”

  She glanced forward and noticed a few people congregating down the street. The public gas lamp posts let out a golden hue light from within its glass. The evening darkness seemed less and less of a problem the further into the capital they went.

  As she was walking into the pub’s premises, a man wearing a cap brushed past her holding a tall pole with a lit tallow wick wrapped around the end.

  “Sorry.” He spoke briefly.

  “No problem.”

  The man approached the tall metallic lamp post and adjusted the valve at the bottom before lighting the burner with the stick. With that, he had lit the lamp post in front of the pub before heading inside with a now extinguished tallow wick.

  “Lights huh?” Leona muttered. “It does feel different from Akrapocalis’ though.”

  “Did you say something?” Krieg approached her.

  “No, just talking to myself.” She glanced sideways at him. “Let’s head inside. Any information we can get will be vital for our plans going forward.”

  Unfortunately for both of them, their clothes made them stand out like a sore thumb. Most patrons were wearing either hemp or linen clothes meant for work, meanwhile Leona and Krieg were wearing Londria’s military uniform made out of wool serge.

  Eyes were drawn to Leona’s staff. Avalon’s prismatic orb held in its frostburnt silver claws made the staff much more opulent in the low light as it shone like a gem amidst the darker interior of the pub.

  “Woah, look at her staff.”

  “Must cost a fortune.”

  “A witch perhaps?”

  “Shh, she might hear you.”

  Despite wanting to step in, Krieg wasn’t faring that much better. The large platinum shield hanging from his forearm coupled with his oppressive height made him the target of gossip as well.

  “A knight?”

  “No, he isn’t wearing armor.”

  “Mercenary then?”

  Both of them ignored the gossip and picked a seat in the corner of the pub. The previous man that lit up the lamp outside went to greet them with a menu carved in a wood plaque.

  “Here you go, just call for me when you want to order something.”

  He was about to turn around but Leona stopped him with a request.

  “Get me the cheapest food and a tankard of water.” She glanced at Krieg briefly. “Do you want anything?”

  The knight turned to the pubkeeper.

  “Same as hers.”

  “Coming right up.”

  He grabbed the plaques and went to the kitchen.

  The gossip eventually died out with the lack of reaction from them. The other patrons simply went back to their own chatter. Leona couldn’t help but feel strange.

  Her eyes slowly observed the room, but everything felt… old. Logs, oil candles, the crackling of a fire stove in the back. After spending too much time in other kingdoms she could see how much Arcadia truly lagged behind in terms of technology.

  “Hey there.”

  One farm boy approached her. He seemed to be in his twenties, his linen clothing had spots of dirt and mud all over it. Him and two other similarly dressed buddies surrounded their table.

  Leona glanced sideways at them, asking.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Yeah you can.” His mocking tone irked Krieg. “Where did you get that staff?”

  She returned her gaze to the table in front of her.

  “None of your business, kid.”

  He scoffed while looking at his buddies.

  “Hah? Kid? You’re not that old yourself.”

  “Yeah… maybe we should show her who the young one really is.”

  As they were about to lean in closer, Krieg stood. The knight towered two palms above the young man that initially approached Leona and he was the tallest of the trio.

  “Huh?” The farm boy looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “We’re talking to her.”

  “Take another step and you’ll regret it.”

  At that moment, the owner of the pub came back to the kitchen holding two wooden trays with food. Once he saw the trio he instantly raised his voice.

  “What the hell are you three idiots doing again? Get lost!”

  “Oh shut up, will you? I’m-”

  The young man in front of Krieg suddenly punched the knight’s throat. All chatter stopped as the other patrons were expecting it to break out in a full-out brawl, but despite his surprise attack—Krieg didn’t even flinch. Instead, he sighed.

  “Well, I did warn you.”

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  The knight raised his right hand and clamped it around the young man’s head and lifted him off the ground.

  “Argh! Let go!” The two other troublemakers tried to punch Krieg’s stomach, but after only a few strikes—their hands became red, as if they were hitting solid rock. “What the hell are you guys doing?! Get him!”

  The leftmost rushed to a nearby table and snatched a knife. As he turned around to rush at Krieg, Leona spoke.

  “Freeze.”

  Ice cracked beneath the young man’s feet, locking him in place. The third troublemaker saw Leona stand up and point her staff at him.

  “Leave. Now.”

  He didn’t even hesitate to run out of the bar—leaving his friends behind.

  “Ugh! Damn you!”

  The young man started to flail at Krieg’s arm, but the struggle was futile. The knight then grabbed his friend’s knife-hand and squeezed his grip just enough to force him to drop the weapon.

  “Argh!”

  With both of them unable to do anything stupid, Krieg dragged the two out of the pub before using a length of rope to tie them against the lamp post.

  “Hey! Let us down!”

  “Come on! What the hell!”

  Other patrons came out of the pub to laugh at them.

  Both Leona and Krieg then returned to their seats as the owner served their meal.

  “Thank you for dealing with those three.” He said while bowing his head. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  “Think nothing of it.” Leona said with a faint smile. Although that same smile soon turned into a small grin as she continued. “But since we helped you with those troublemakers. Mind if I ask a few questions?”

  A few minutes passed before Leona and Krieg left the pub. The two young men were still tied to the lamp post shouting profanities at the people laughing at them.

  Both the princess and her knight continued on through the outskirts of the city center. The gentle golden hue contrasted with the darkness it created. Black shadows covered each and every alley where moonlight couldn’t reach.

  “We need to find a place to rest.” Leona sighed. “This is… much worse than I thought…”

  “Hmm… to think he’s trying to provoke an all-out war this soon. Truly a despicable person…”

  “But something isn’t right. Even if he wanted to go to war, Arcadia still lacks a proper army. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to make his knights march to their own deaths…”

  “Unless he has a hidden card up his sleeve.”

  She nodded firmly.

  “Exactly. He’s a formidable mage, but one man alone can’t fight a war against a kingdom.”

  Leona furrowed her brows, pensive.

  ‘What weapon could he possibly have to be so confident in going to war against the Demon Realm?’ She licked her upper teeth behind her lips. ‘Multiple mages perhaps…? But none here could possibly reach the level of Setsuna or Yuna in just a few months… or maybe…’

  “Leona, we have trouble.”

  The tactician looked beyond the knight and saw two figures standing in the puddle of shadows between the lamps.

  “I see.” She stopped and angled her body sideways, pointing the staff slightly at their direction. “What is your business with us?”

  “Are you Leona?” A female voice came from the figure on the right.

  “What if I am?”

  The tactician’s fingers tightened around Avalon, she was one step away from casting a spell. When the figure on the right stepped forward with both of her hands raised.

  “You probably forgot about me, Princess,” The woman in question had long black hair that curled slightly around its tips. Her kind dark brown eyes had a sense of resignation and respect in them. “but we met briefly in the Great Forest before.”

  She wore hemp clothes and a linen cloak, one could almost mistake her as a peasant woman but Leona noticed a very telling trait. A thin pair of horns protruding ever so slightly out of her hood.

  “You’re… an oni?”

  “It’s me, Emi. We fought before, remember?”

  That name started to ring a bell as Leona lowered her staff.

  “You’re from that group that thought I was being kidnapped.” She sideways at Krieg, who nodded in return. “What are you still doing here in the capital?”

  “Awaiting your return, of course.” She adjusted her hood in order to hide her horns better. “If you’re looking for a place to stay for the night, you can come to our hideout.”

  There was a bit of hesitation from Leona, but Krieg stepped forward and asked.

  “How can we trust you?”

  Emi smiled for a brief moment before snapping her fingers and multiple figures emerged from the alleys like phantoms.

  “We all have been waiting for Princess Leona. Many demi-humans consider Arcadia their home and we’re not about to let Alexander do as he pleases anymore.”

  Looking how they were all hiding their faces made Leona feel conflicted. She stepped beside Krieg and nodded at him.

  “Let’s go with them. They’ll have more information about what happened in the city than just going on by rumours we heard about.”

  He scanned the people around them briefly before turning to her and bowing.

  “As you say, my liege.”

  With Emi’s nod, the others backed into the darkness of the alleyways not to be seen again. The oni then turned around and the figure beside her shambled behind her. They were a bit taller than her, but given the slouched posture, the person’s head was lower than her chin.

  Leona started to follow them with Krieg right behind her. Although something felt off about the Emi’s companion, the tactician decided to not say anything.

  It took a few minutes of a brisk walk before they reached the supposed hideout. It was a familiar rundown inn.

  Emi led them around the back and entered through the door leading to the kitchen. Leona hesitated for a bit before stepping inside.

  “...” Beads of sweat formed on her brows as her grip tightened around Avalon. “This place…”

  “Are you okay, Leona?” Krieg asked.

  “Yeah… I’m just… remembering things I shouldn’t.”

  That was the place where she saw her mother die many years ago and it was the same place where Krieg swore to protect her. Haunted, cursed, maybe even hated—those were all words that could easily describe that place, yet she pressed on.

  She stepped foot inside the room and followed Emi. The oni opened the door hatch that led to the cellar.

  The air down there felt stale. Leona could smell the scent of dust and mold coming from the staircase. Nevertheless she continued following Emi that now held a mote of fire in her palm. The room itself wasn’t big, with just a few steps they could cover the entire thing, but that was just a ruse.

  Emi stepped close to the far wall and used her fist to bump against the wall four times in quick succession before waiting for a split second and then hitting it three more times. The brick wall then started to slowly rumble as it moved like a door, opening towards the inside.

  Following her inside, Leona found herself in a room she didn’t even know existed.

  The small corridor led them to an opening where Leona finally saw amidst the candlelight. A storage room filled to the brim with muskets, sabers, halberds, gambeson, helmets, and other assortment of equipment for foot soldiers.

  “What… is this place…?” The princess muttered as she looked around.

  “This is a place I stumbled upon when looking for a place to hide.” Emi explained. “Imagine my surprise when I saw all these weapons-”

  “You’re late again, wait…” A deep male voice grumbled from the middle of the room.

  Leona only noticed the short man once he had spoken. He was bald, his thick eyebrows furrowed in a stare as his hazel eyes locked onto Leona.

  “Is that who I think it is?”

  “Yes—Princess Leona in the flesh.”

  The way the man stood up made the wooden chair he was sitting on spring backwards with the force of his legs. He was shorter than Leona, but he was clearly stronger than what his height would suggest.

  “Leona Crossford!” His voice boomed across the room. Krieg instinctively stepped forward between them as the man approached her.

  The tactician held the staff ready to cast a spell, but the next thing she knew, the man was bowing deeply at her.

  “Thank you very much for saving my daughter!” He then lifted his head up to look her in the eyes. “I’ll be forever in your debt.”

  Leona stood there without knowing what to say in return.

  “Gunther, I think some introductions are in order.” Emi chuckled. “I don’t think Princess Leona would know who you are talking about.”

  “What?” He looked at her and then back at Leona. “Truly?”

  The princess had an awkward half smile on her face as she nodded.

  “Oh huh… in that case.” He stood up straight and cleared his throat. “Gunther Loxaerion, head of the Loxaerion household. it’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Leona Crossford.”