At the end of the day, the King was taken back after he passed out. While some would say it is not good for a ruler to be seen in such a manner, but after he danced and laughed with those people of the slums, he had shown the people here that he was no different from them. He was still a person just like them.
And now it was me sitting with Thurul and Sophie as well as a female night dressed in heavy black armor. I really do want to know where she gets that strength as her body was very petite. Although I guess I did not need to wait long to find out. "Ahh, that is much better."
The female knight took off her helmet, and to my surprise, the person wearing all that heavy armor was someone I knew very well. "Sei!"?
"The one and only! Sorry I had to lie to you this entire time, but you know how things are. His Majesty wanted to make sure you were properly protected, so I was working undercover. But now, I have been officially assigned to you as your personal guard. This means I will also be joining you at the academy as well." Sei said with a smile. I mean, yes, she looked young. Actually, she looked much younger than she did when I first saw her!
"Wait, Sei…. May I ask because I am not sure if I was seeing things or not but were you not older than you look now?" I feel like I am being really rude here, but I really do think I am going slightly crazy!
"Hahaha! It's because of my bloodline. I have the ability to change my appearance from older to younger and back. So I can look as young as you or even younger." Sei replied with a smile while at the same time changing her age to match mine perfectly.
"That is quite unique. So does this make you immortal?" I was curious. Because if Sei could change her age to be as young as she wanted, couldn't she continue to do so?
"Hmmm, I am not sure, to be honest. I am currently only in my twenties, believe it or not. I was an orphan, so I do not know who my family was. But the researchers in the palace say my bloodline is very special. And is also why I was able to become a black knight and server at His Majesty's side." I see, so Sei does not know what her actual bloodline is, but it does seem to be pretty handy.
"Then I guess we will be together for quite some time then. And I guess this is why there was a barrier around that room?" I asked. Sei really knew how to work the barriers at the royal suite. Even if she was an 'employee' there, she acted without much caution. Now I know her words were not truthful and that the King said he would leave someone to take care of my barrier issues. My guess was that Sei was said barrier expert.
"Ahaha…. Sorry. Yeah, I did lie quite a bit, but you have to understand this was all because of my job and that I was under orders by his Majesty." Sei scratched her head as she spoke.
I really can't blame her. I mean, after all, she was supposed to be undercover. "It's fine, don't worry. But now that you will be sticking to my side do you plan to stay with me at the inn?"
"Actually, your permanent residence has already been taken care of. You can move in at any time. His Majesty was supposed to bring it up, but instead, he got drunk…. But in a way, this was good for him to let loose. He has been stressed as of late. But I do expect you to be seeing quite a bit of him. I have never seen His Majesty sit back and talk with someone in such a relaxed manner. As he is a king, you know he needs to always be wary of those around him, but with you, he talks as if you were his own daughter." Sei did make a good point about the King. He really was talking to me about things without much care. Did he really have such trust in me?
My own question actually made me wonder why he would trust me so. Unless it is because I have a spirit with me, so I can be considered someone without evil intentions.
"Don't think too hard about it. His Majesty is a person who can see a person's character for what it is. But what shocked me was what he said in the end. To think he would recommend you to take over the kingdom if everything went south." Sei did not speak her words out loud. Just loud enough for myself, Thurul, and Sophie to answer.
"Not that I would want to become something like a ruler." I said with a forced smile.
"I do not know, lass. You're truly capable of moving people. You have a good head and a kind heart that cares for those around you. You have the charisma that draws people to you. These are all qualities of a good leader. Just do not go try staging a coupe any time soon. Ahahaha!" Thurul let out a joy filled laugh as he took another swig of whatever he was drinking. But I do know he was drunk. With a big smile on his face, he looked at me and said: "But if you do let me know, I will get my kinsman to help…. Urk…. I think I might be sick. I will be right back."
Sei giggled as he watched Thurul run to a bush off to the side. "He is an interesting person. All the people around you are quite interesting. So when do you plan to move to the new residence?"
"After the tournament. It will be over a few days before the exams to enter the academy. Just enough time to finish up a few things here and settle into the new place." I answered. I already planned out things since I knew I would be moving at some point soon. So having the house ready now was a good thing.
"Tournament, huh? Maybe I will join." Sei scratched her chin. "It has been a while since I actually faced off against the capital's best. Gesel should also be there as well."
"You know Gesel? She was here earlier but ran off as soon as the King arrived." I was kind of irked about that. She ran off without saying goodbye!
"Ahh, yeah, she would. You see, Gesel has never beaten me in a fight, and I always look for her to test how far along she has come, so she likes to avoid me as much as possible. You must know how competitive she gets." Sei explained, causing me to smile. I did know Gesel disliked losing.
"Yes, I do. But now, I am not so sure I can make it to the finals. With Gesel, I may have had a chance to win, but if you are joining and can beat Gesel, then I might be sadly out of luck." I let out a sigh. The tournament is not going to be an easy win.
"No, there is one more who will be showing up as well. Derek Tandor. He is an ex-black knight and just recently retired this year. I heard he wanted to test out the best the kingdom had to offer in the tournament now that he had some free time." Sei's words gave me a headache. Things were getting harder by the second!
Just the thought of having to face not one but three powerful enemies was going to be a pain. I mean if Sei is on par with Gesel and Gesel is strong enough to fight me equally, then I might be in a bit of trouble. I could use mana shield and breeze through it all, but I am not sure if that is wise at this time. While Sei and Gesel posed a problem, I now had some old man joining that was even more experienced in battle than the others.
"Don't feel too dejected. You may still win. The barriers will be extra strong this year, so you will be able to cast high tier spells." Sei's words did give me a bit of hope, but I still was feeling slightly unsure about a perfect victory.
"I will just have to wait and see. Let's put the barrier up in the morning. I will cast one now to protect everyone for one night. Sei, I hope you do not mind sleeping outdoors tonight." I did not plan to head home, not when it was this late, and I, for one, was not afraid of being attacked by anyone.
"Nope, this is fine. I trust you to secure our defenses." Sei replied while slipping the rest of her armor off. She then pulled an already pre built tent out of her bag and set it up. I am guessing the bag was similar to Adel's room in her carriage. "Us girls can sleep in here tonight. As for your friend Thurul, well, he will need to fend for himself."
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