Time had flown by—before Dan knew it, two weeks had passed since he and Zeedee infiltrated the academy.
Tock! Tock! Tock! Tock!
The sound of hammering echoed as Dan secured the stakes of a tarp shelter he'd built to protect against the coming rainy season. Zeedee sat nearby, tending to a fish trap at the riverbank.
“Ah-ha!!! Got one!!!”
Zeedee leapt into the stream, thrashing about as water splashed up onto the shore.
She triumphantly held up a massive snakehead fish for the prince to see.
“Look, Your Highness!”
“Excellent. Well done, Zeedee.”
“Aren’t I amazing?”
“Didn’t I just say that?”
Dan set the hammer down and walked over, rolling up his pants to dip his feet into the cool river.
Zeedee placed the snakehead down, slit it with her knife, and began to gut and clean it.
“So, how’s life treating Dan Burn?”
“That…”
He paused to think.
“Not bad, but the kids here… they’re pretty damn intense when it comes to the magic track.”
“They all seem really driven, Your Highness.”
“They’ve got some intriguing powers. With proper refinement, a few of them could become serious thorns in our side.”
“So you think you’ll survive this?”
“Hey, there’s no failing, remember? I never planned to go down the magic path anyway.”
“True, but… since we were little, Your Highness has always had terrible luck.”
“Then go find a god and pray I draw Zeedee.”
The best-case scenario was getting paired with Zeedee.
Worst case… well, it wouldn’t be that bad. He wasn’t aiming for the magic path, after all.
“Speaking of which, have you made any friends yet, Zeedee?”
“I have, actually! Made two friends.”
“Oh?”
“I met Chris and Tristina. You’ve probably seen them already.”
“Ah… those sassy girls, right? I think I saw you with them at the cafeteria.”
“Excuse me—they’re the Angel Gang!”
“Of course.”
“I’ve blended in with them pretty smoothly, you know.”
“I believe it. What about their info?”
“Pretty interesting connections. Chris is the first daughter of Mathema’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. She speaks five languages.”
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
“Five?! That’s impressive.”
“And Tristina… she’s a wild one. Her family are major barons in Velmount, and she can use dark magic.”
“You’ve seen it yourself?”
“Yup.”
“And someone like that is friends with you?”
“Guess they’re impressed by my silver tongue.”
“I can believe that.”
“What about you, Your Highness?”
“I haven’t really talked to anyone…”
“No way!?”
“Calm down, Zeedee. It’s not a big deal.”
“But it’s been two weeks! You haven’t made a single friend!?”
“I didn’t say I don’t know them. I know their names and faces. I just haven’t cozied up to them like you have.”
“Want me to find you a friend?”
“Two hundred thousand, plus thirty for the top-up.”
“Your Highness!”
“I’m here to find a wife, not to play buddy-buddy with human kids. I don’t care about friends.”
“You don’t think any of them might have leads on her, Your Highness?”
“What would a bunch of kids know about Casca?”
“You’re smaller than most of them, you know.”
“Want me to choke you with this fish?”
“Honestly, I’ve tried approaching the royals… but aside from being really snooty, they barely show up for outdoor activities. Apparently, for safety reasons. Some of them are so good they just skip class and only show up for exams.”
“Yeah, figured as much… The exams are what count. If they’re really good, they’ll pass.”
“So I haven’t gathered much intel on them yet.”
“That’s fine. Keep working the angel gang and the big-shot heirs.”
“Oh! Except for that short-haired, scary-faced girl—remember her? The one from day one?”
“Yeah? What about her?”
“She’s nobility, Your Highness.”
“Nobility? From Luminus?”
“Yup. Her name’s Rafinya.”
“…Rafinya. Got it.”
“But she’s super proud. Even my gang doesn’t dare approach her…”
“Arrogant?”
“Yeah. I doubt even you would want to get close.”
“Good. Leave her alone.”
“But that Snowhaven princess… she attends regularly, doesn’t she? Maybe you should try asking her about Casca. You might get lucky.”
“No way. I’d have a better shot asking the faculty.”
“Okay, okay… If you say so.”
“I’ve got the fire going. Come on—let’s eat. We’ll need brains to outsmart these kids.”
“Yessir~”
As the sky darkened, the fire crackled, and the two of them sat side by side, grilling and eating fish in the cool breeze.
“So, what about feedback?”
“Feed-what-now?”
“…Don’t tell me you forgot what I assigned you.”
“Kidding, Your Highness! I’d never forget.”
“What do the humans think of me?”
“Unanimous, Your Highness.”
“Unanimous what?”
“That you’re the last person they ever want crawling out of the sea onto their land.”
Dan shut his eyes and accepted his fate.
“So what am I? A monster? A disaster? What?”
“You… really want to know?”
“We’ve come this far. Might as well go all the way.”
“Okay.”
Zeedee set down her fish skewer.
“To the humans… you’re the reason the kingdoms have stayed at peace for the last ten years.”
“Because of me?”
“Yes. Because of you.”
She explained what she’d learned.
“They used to hate each other. Then we Diablos showed up from across the sea, and everything changed. Sure, there’s still mistrust and hatred under the surface—but we became the bigger threat, uniting them.”
“…I see…”
Dan lowered his gaze, poking at the fish skin, deep in thought.
“So in the end… I’m just a distraction. A necessary evil that forced them to hold hands… or face annihilation.”
“I think that’s good news. So why do you look so down?”
“…Because I hate that image. I’ve never once wanted to destroy a home without a reason…”
“Exaggerated or not, it works in our favor. It keeps them from messing with us.”
“But it affects trade, politics… If they start stockpiling weapons to fight us, then what? That could be happening right now.”
“!”
Zeedee’s eyes widened.
“I believe that if they keep living in fear, someone will eventually rise to challenge us. Casca warned me about this, and I trust her judgment. Our homeland is a mana crystal goldmine—those humans are drooling over it. There’s nothing stopping them from launching a sea invasion to take it. If we don’t show them we’re not monsters—just another kind of lifeform—then fear will turn to hatred, and hatred will seek a solution.”
Dan looked up at his loyal guard.
“I won’t live for a thousand years… neither will Father. I’m not talking about ten years from now—I’m talking about our descendants in the next hundred… two hundred years.”
Zeedee fell silent. She understood the weight of what he was saying.
“We need to rebrand ourselves… Zeedee.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Call in all our scattered agents. I want them here. I’m planning a major operation.”
“As you command.”
“In the meantime, I need to finish my homework.”
“Wait, you have homework?”
“Geography. Your section leader hasn’t assigned yours yet, has he?”
Dan tossed a fish bone into the river and stepped into his tent.
“Sigh… and let’s hope I get paired with someone decent on draw day—”
.
Cut to one month later—Draw Day.
Dan Burn stood frozen in front of the announcement board…
His sheet revealed the name of his designated partner—for both sparring and exams.
Nora Ophilis.
