Pearl Pearson put the Orb over the table and said in a sad voice:
“To get this from the heart of a Wyvern, two soldiers died. They had wives and daughters. Another soldier almost lost his arm. I used to look at a Magical Orb and think only about the money I could get from it or the amount of Magic I could use. Now, I look at this Orb and I think about the ones that died to stop the Monster that had it, and also my friends that died because of a Wyvern, some years ago. Alex gave this to me, and I am going to use its Magic in an emergency, to honor the ones that died. He totally ruined for me the beauty and the value of this Orb…”
Everyone stared at the Magical Orb, including the Princess and her lady’s maid. The King slowly nodded:
“I used to think the same, about how much an Orb could be sold and the amount of Magic I could use because I always did my best not to remember all the deaths the Monsters caused, and then Alex told me his point of view, and I remembered some friends I lost. I was never able to look at a Magical Orb in the same way because I keep on remembering his words. I do hope you don’t face so many perils during your voyage to Bouria, but considering the increase in Magical Voids, you might have a lot of trouble.”
Alex spoke while glancing at the Princess and her maid that were still looking at Ghar with fear in their eyes:
“I think it’s not only about Magical Voids we should be worried about. We were being followed since the ‘City of Keldunes’ in Bouria, up till the border, by a strange group of men. Shinatobe heard them talking about waiting for reinforcements, but she couldn’t find out from which country they came. I suspect they came from the Khaganat, because of what she overheard them saying, but I can’t be sure. Either way, we will face them eventually. As for you, Princess, I showed you more than I intended in the beginning, but you left me no choice. It’s better if you keep to yourself about my power and my Spirits, I can’t risk an enemy finding out about me before I have time to prepare myself.”
James Macdonald made a slight smile and asked:
“Can I assume that you telling us everything about you is like Miss Olive told us during our visit? That you trust us and perhaps, you even consider all of us as friends?”
Alex nodded:
“You are right in that assumption. I am sorry for this sudden revelation, but probably I got too fed up with the Princess’s behavior and I lost my cool. I should have explained everything to you before all this mess, but things sometimes don’t go as I plan. I even forgot the proper protocol in front of the King, but now I can’t do anything about that.”
The King glanced at his trembling daughter and said:
“Maybe with all this, she learns to be more aware of what happens around her and don’t make assumptions too fast, because as you said, in the court of Bouria she might face even more ordeals if she doesn’t learn how to read behind every word from the Nobles, before speaking her mind. I understand why she is still scared, because seeing an Orc up close is not easy, considering their ruthless reputation. I suppose you did a good thing, about sparing Ghar. She will probably be useful in your voyage, and as Earl Kayden said, she will bring hope if with her help we convince the Monsters that come through the Magical Voids that they are not in danger as long as they don’t attack anyone, ending all the deaths caused by Monsters.”
Alex nodded:
“I thought the same, and I am glad you agreed with my idea. As for my lack of tact and rudeness with the Princess, I am deeply sorry, I hope you can forgive me.”
“Alex, I know you well enough not to be angry by your explosions. Although this one was deserved because even I was fed up with Ebell’s behaviour. I accept your apologies but try not to do this kind of thing again, you are not the same angry child I met years ago, are you?”
Alex then looked at the hilts of the swords that James Macdonald had on a sheath tied to his back and asked, trying not to feel so awkward by the King’s words:
“Changing the subject, I see that everyone has two new swords from one of my blacksmith facilities. What do you think of them?”
James Macdonald pulled one sword out from the sheath and placed it over the table. He caressed the blade with his right open palm and spoke while looking at it:
“We visited the facilities in the waterfall, and in one blacksmith in there, they were making these double edge swords. Miss Olive gave a pair to each of us… This blade is amazingly well-made. The hilt has a good grip, a few decorations but not too much, it’s stupidly sharp, has a good balance and it even seems able to cut through solid rock. Something like this would be absurdly expensive in Bouria, and they were making dozens of then per hour. To think that I had to save so much to buy my first sword, and it’s not even half as good as this one… You are making this to the military of all the countries in the alliance and selling them by half the price my sword cost. It’s kind of unbelievable, actually, but after seeing how the blacksmiths are able to do it, it’s understandable. All that heat and power from the waterfall, driving a huge shaft…”
Bethany Mathews proudly took a crossbow from her back, and placed it on the table, together with a cartridge thick as her arm and with the size of a small arrow:
“I got this, from the Development Department. They called it ‘Automatic Crossbow’ and it came with six cartridges like this, with five arrows each. Three cartridges with normal arrows, and three poisoned ones. This will be amazing to hunt, or to defend myself without depleting my Magic! It’s very light and so pretty! You are also going to sell this to the Military? Because I bet a lot of Adventurers would love to get their hands on one of them!”
Alex reached out for the crossbow and examined it:
“They were finally able to do it… They were having a few problems with the cartridge and the reload, but it seems they figured it all out after taking a look at the corrected drawings I sent them. This is really well-made…”
Olive Andrews put one harm over the table and raised the sleeve:
“You think that’s good? Check out this beauty! They miniaturized that crossbow and made this one just for me. This is a prototype, and I am not going to let them make more like this!”
Alex smiled at the tiny closed crossbow that Olive had attached to the gauntlet on her right wrist. With a quick movement, she opened the arch and pulled the string, taking a tiny dart from the right armband she was wearing under the sleeve and placing it on the crossbow. She shot the dart to the vase on a wall, taking out the lighted fuse. She then closed the arch of the crossbow and pulled her sleeve down, and it looked as if she wasn’t carrying any weapon.
“What do you think about this? Perfect for assassinations, right? I suppose I can use it to hunt, considering I also have a few poisoned darts in this armband or to kill any nasty Monster that comes my way.”
“That is indeed something, alright. Take it off and let me have a proper look at it.”
Olive Andrews opened the small belts of her gauntlet and placed it with the crossbow attached on the table and pushed it to Alex. He grabbed it and tested the opening and the closing of the arch’s movement and touched the string. He then showed it to the King, while saying:
“This looks very good, it’s light and strong. The arch seems to be made of steel, and a very good one. Even the string is good. It’s easy to prepare for shooting and to hide again. It’s difficult to use on a daily basis?”
Olive answered while putting on her wrist the gauntlet that the King returned to her:
“Not really, I took only a couple of minutes to get used to it. It’s just a matter of pointing your fist to where you want to shoot and let the middle finger’s first knuckle work as an aim. The backslash can be a little hard for the wrist, but if you tense your muscles, it works just fine.”
The King made an appreciative smile:
“A new type of crossbow and a tiny one. Your Development Department made another great breakthrough, Alex. So, considering that my daughter has calmed down a bit, what about if we went to the hot spring? I think she can relax in there for a while and think. It’s still soon, and we could a bit more, in there.”
Alex nodded with a slight smile while checking the Princess’s reaction, noticing that she seemed curious and a little calmer than before:
“My staff has everything prepared, as usual. By the way, I have a group of Minstrels and dancers that are going to entertain us during dinner, and while we wait for food to arrive, perhaps my King could do the honors of working as an auctioneer. Miss Aya Martin, the famous artisan, gave me a new set of her most exclusive new collection of jewelry for me to sell. Considering that many Nobles and their wives are here, perhaps they would like to take a shot at the auction.”
The King made a big smile:
“I wouldn’t mind trying to buy something as well! Miss Aya makes the most exquisite jewelry in the market! The Queen would be very happy if I arrived at our Castle with a gift like that!”
The Princess slowly reached for her tiara and spoke:
“This tiara… it was also made by Miss Aya Martin… You… know her? Is it true that she is a Lamia?”
Alex answered with a sad look on his face:
“Yes, and her little daughter as well. Miss Aya’s husband was Human, but their daughter takes out to her mother. She is the cutest thing ever, and I more or less became her guardian together with Miss Aya, after her father’s death. He… died during the attack of a flock of Harpies to a caravan of Merchants that I was protecting together with a Party of Adventurers… I got a nasty scar because of one of the Harpies, and I wasn’t able to save him, because I was bleeding too much. That ugly thing attacked me by surprise while I was fighting two other Harpies.”
The Princess blinked in a surprise:
“Why… were you protecting a caravan? And where?”
Alex stared at her for a few seconds, thinking if he didn’t already speak too much to that dense Princess, and he then explained, considering that she already knew way more than she needed to:
“Over the last six months, I pretended to be here, without accepting visitors or going to any party or social event when in fact I was in Bouria, working as an Adventurer, because I wanted to know more about the state of the World, and that line of work allowed me to go everywhere without raising suspicions about my true identity. My father also worked as an Adventurer many years ago, and he always told me I should try to see more of the World, to get a better understanding of how hard the people’s lives truly are, with bandits lurking around and Monsters suddenly appearing.”
The Princess slowly nodded, and she bit her lower lip for a brief instant. She then made an awkward smile:
“I… also need to learn more about the World… I only heard gossips and stories at the parties that I attended. I think that most Nobles exaggerated a bit because they all wanted to look good in front of me, but maybe I believed in some of their stories without thinking properly. And… it seems I am in fact a little dense about everything that happens around me… and I never realized it…”
Alex made a slight frown:
“As long as you are aware of it, maybe there is still hope. So, shall we go? Perhaps the King and the Princess could go ahead, to get comfortable and relaxed in the hot spring before all those Nobles arrive. I will go ask them if they also want to go, and I will meet you in the hot spring after I check my manor. It has been a while since the last time I was there, and there is probably an angry Rabbit-kind waiting for me.”
The Princess glanced at Ghar and asked:
“Is the Monster… I mean, Ghar, also be going? And… father told me about the hot spring, and the idea of being naked in hot water with men, it’s a little…”
Alex slowly shook his head:
“You don’t need to worry, Princess. There is a high and thick fence, separating the men and the women’s side of the hot spring. I don’t know if Ghar will like to bathe in that hot water, but you don’t need to be so apprehensive about her, she will stay away from you until you get more used to her presence, don’t worry. But you could try to know her better because she might end up saving your life during our voyage to Bouria.”