The King turned towards Kael and suddenly, the doors behind him were shut. Kael turned back in surprise,
“So? What did you wish to talk about?”
“My true level, you already know about it, don’t you?”
Kael began, and the moment he asked that question, the King laughed out loud.
“How was your meeting with Veylara?”
He questioned with a playful smile on his face. It was quite out of character from Kael’s perspective. It almost felt like the King was teasing him.
For the first time… the King felt… human.
“She carried me on her shoulder and took me away.”
Kael answered, and at those words,
“Hahaha~”
The King laughed out.
“That was indeed something I expected her to do.”
“…you knew that would happen.”
“Well, you were hiding your powers, someone like her would have been able to see through it, you were essentially lying to her.
And lying to her…”
The King’s grin widened and,
“I can only imagine what she would do.”
He laughed again.
“So? How was it? What did she tell you?”
“She asked me why I was hiding my powers.”
“And?”
“I lied to her.”
“You are brave, I will give you that.”
The King commented.
“I didn’t know better.”
Kael shook his head.
“What did she do next?”
“She caught my lie.”
“I know that, I am asking what she did after you lied.”
“…”
Kael stayed silent, only looking at the King as if all of this was his fault.
“The bruises have healed wonderfully.”
The King chuckled.
“You sure can take hits, just like Arlan and Deren told me.”
“…”
Kael didn’t know how to react.
This version of the King felt… a little too human. Almost as if he was talking to a different person.
Alden, who noticed Kael’s expression, smiled.
“I need to act a certain way in front of others to command respect. I do not like this, but there are a lot of things you need to do even if you do not like them when you sit on the throne.
The burden of the throne is… quite heavy.”
He spoke, his expression heavier than before.
Soon, however, he shook his head and pointed at the chairs,
“Have a seat.”
Kael stared at the King and he just waved his hand,
“Oh just sit, you are not from this world. There is no need to play along with all the formalities, at least when you are alone with me.
I need others to respect me as their King, but not you. You need to see me as an equal, as an ally. Especially now more than ever.”
“I…”
Kael didn’t know what to say.
“All of this is too overwhelming for you, I understand. Start easy, have a seat.”
The King smiled, pointing at the seat again. Kael did as he was told and sat down.
“So? Why did you wish to see me? Do you need a Third Bond? No, you stopped the meeting in the middle, you wouldn’t do that if it was just that. It must be something else, something much more important.”
Alden spoke as he walked behind his own chair and leaned forward, putting his weight on the chair.
Kael stared at him for a moment, and then he sighed.
“After I met Lady Veylara, I realized that you and others already know how strong I actually am. Hiding it was pointless and would only be more suspicious.”
“It is alright.”
The King nodded with a light smile on his face.
“After what you saw in Estwyn, especially the documents you showed us today and what they implied, it is natural to have some doubts and try to hide.
Rather, it would be stranger if you didn’t.”
He reasoned.
“But do understand, hiding your power will not help you. You are only restricting yourself. Your Bonds are your strength in this World, you may be stronger than your Bonds right now, but they will surpass you eventually. They will be your greatest strength in the days to come.
By trying to hide your power, you are restricting the number of Bonds you can have. Even right now, you should already have Three Bonds, but you only have two.
You cannot wait any longer, Kael. You need to get your third Bond and start training, the faster you get your bonds, the faster they will grow, and the stronger you will get.”
The King explained, and Kael looked into his eyes, trying to read his expression, he, however, could only see his concern.
‘I really hope he is a friend.’
Kael sighed inwardly as he then prepared himself.
“This is why I came here,
I already have a Bond.”
“Huh…?”
The King frowned.
“When I was returning from Estwyn, I found an Egg and bonded with it.”
“You… already have a Bond?”
“Yes, she is the reason I was trying to hide my strength. I didn’t know what would happen if I revealed her existence in front of others.”
Kael spoke up.
“After I learned that there might be a traitor amongst those in power in Drakthar, I got scared. I feared the attention she would attract and was worried that something would happen to her.
My Firefang Wyvern already doesn’t wish to come out for some reason, if I cannot show my second bond as well, it will become too suspicious, so I decided to hide my power instead.
Of course, I didn’t know it was useless…”
Kael lowered his head.
“So… why did you come here?”
Alden questioned, narrowing his eyes.
Kael stayed silent for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts, then he looked right into the King’s eyes and,
“I trust you.”
He declared.
“It has only been three weeks since I came to this world, I thought I made friends, I thought everyone here wanted me to grow so I could protect them, I thought everyone was an ally but…
I was too naïve.
I didn’t consider traitors.
Even my own world wasn’t free of traitors, people who would do anything for power. I foolishly believed this place was different.
It was my fault.”
Kael admitted.
“So now, I started doubting everyone, the instructors, the nobles, the royal council, the prince, I do not trust any one of them, but….”
Kael then glanced at Alden again,
“I do trust you, Your Majesty.”
“And why is that?”
Alden questioned, wanting to know the Hero’s thought process.
“Well, if the King of the strongest Kingdom is on the side of the enemies,
Then we are fucked, aren’t we?”
Alden laughed at those words.
“Fucked huh…”
“Please excuse my languag-“
“It is alright.”
Alden waved his hand.
“As I said, you do not have to care about all these formalities when you are around me. As it happens, I am in dire need of a friend as well.”
The King smiled.
“Continue what you were saying.”
He signaled.
“You are the strongest power in Drakthar, probably one of the only few opposing forces that Twilight is actually worried about.
If you are together with the enemies, no matter what I do, I will fail. Heck, you can even imprison and execute me now and I will be helpless.
Since you aren’t doing it, I believe you are on my side.”
Kael explained his thoughts.
“That thought process has too many flaws.”
“It doesn’t matter, I believe the conclusion of these thoughts is correct. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t mention those flaws.”
“…”
Alden turned silent as he stared at the Hero, who pressed on.
“So since you are the only person I trust, I want to seek your guidance.”
“My guidance?”
The King frowned at those words.
“Yes, what do you think I should do?”
Kael questioned and Alden tilted his head in confusion,
“What you should do in what way?”
He questioned back and Kael then took a deep breath and,
“Should I keep hiding my Dragon, or should I reveal it?”
“!!!”
The instant Kael asked this question, Alden’s eyes widened in astonishment. Even the King, who had trained himself to keep a neutral expression all his life so as to not let others know what he was thinking, couldn’t keep a straight face.
Rather, he stared at Kael and with his purple eyes shining intensely, he questioned.
“The Second Beast you mentioned…
Is it a…”
He couldn’t even complete his words, his eyes, however, were full of expectation.
And at his reaction, Kael smiled.
“Cirri.”
He called out.
