“Then why do you tell me not to trust him?”
Kael questioned directly as he stared at the King.
“As I stated before, because I do not know him as well as I know others.
It is the same reason I do not tell you to trust other council members.”
The King then looked into Kael’s eyes and,
“Distrust and not trusting someone are two different lines of thought, Hero Kael. You distrust someone when you doubt him, but in a place like the royal palace, you doubt everyone around you, even the people you trust, so that definition loses its meaning here.
In the Royal Palace, distrust is used for people you suspect, people you think are highly likely to not be on your side. I never told you that I suspect Edric.
I just do not trust him as much as I trust the names I gave you.”
“…”
Kael turned silent.
Seeing that, the King chuckled,
“The matters in the Royal Palace have always been complicated ones, Hero. Do not worry about them more than you have to.”
He then stood up and placed his hand over Kael’s shoulder, not allowing him to stand up with him.
“Leave everything to me.”
The King spoke assumingly.
“Come to me whenever you feel the need to, actually, come to me even when you do not feel the need to.
I can use a casual conversation or two.”
“I will.”
Kael nodded with a light smile on his face.
“It is late, I should take my leave now. You need proper rest if you wish to continue your training under Veylara.”
Kael nodded with a chuckle. He still found it odd that even the King himself seemed intimidated by that mentor of his.
Just as the King was about to leave, Kael, as if remembering something, called him out.
“Your Majesty.”
“What is it?”
“There is something I wanted to show you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s… my Sanctuary.”
“Hmm?”
“It is… different from others.”
The King frowned at those words, while Kael waved his hand and a portal appeared beside him.
“This is your Sanctuary…?”
The King raised his eyebrow. He did have questions about this strange portal when Kael summoned it during the council meeting, but he didn’t get the opportunity to talk about it, not when Kael placed a Dragon in front of him.
“Yes.”
Kael nodded.
“It was normal at first, but then one day…
It just changed on its own.”
“…”
The King blinked. Soon, he recalled something and pointed out,
“I remember you putting your hands inside it when you took out those documents.”
“Yes, this is what I wished to tell you.”
Kael nodded as he then took a brief breath and,
“I can go inside my Sanctuary.”
“…what?”
“I can go inside my Sanctuary.”
Kael repeated, then, he glanced at the King and questioned,
“I would have searched through the books, but then I thought asking you would be more efficient.
Have you ever heard of a similar case? Or do you know the reason my Sanctuary has become different than before?”
Kael questioned.
Honestly, he didn’t care about the reason. He just wanted the King to know that he could enter his Sanctuary so that people wouldn’t be surprised by his sudden disappearance.
“…I do not.”
Oblivious to his thoughts, the King shook his head. His eyes were still on Kael’s hand that was inside his Sanctuary.
“Can… someone else enter your Sanctuary?”
Alden questioned.
“I do not know.”
Kael shook his head.
“You are the first person I am revealing this to.”
He answered, acting just like Veylara had taught him. Soon, however, he shrugged,
“Well, I guess people at the council know too, but I still haven’t experimented with it.”
“You should experiment.”
The King spoke.
“If you can store people inside your Sanctuary, it will be an absurdly useful advantage.”
Alden’s eyes shined. Just considering the possibility of the Hero having an army of thousands ready to come out of his Sanctuary at any time filled him with excitement.
How strong the Hero would be if that happened?
He also wouldn’t have to worry about his safety any longer. He could simply ask Veylara to stay inside his Sanctuary.
Unable to contain his excitement, the King walked forward.
“Can I…?”
He questioned.
“Igni is still inside.”
Kael answered.
“I won’t enter.”
Alden assured. He just wanted to put his hand in and see if the idea even worked, something Kael agreed to readily. He wanted to know as well.
Alden carefully extended his hand towards the portal, however, the moment he got closer,
Bzzz
He moved away with a jolt, holding his now trembling hand as he stared at the portal with a frown on his face.
“Your Majes–”
Kael called out, a little worried.
“I am fine, it is nothing.”
The King assured.
“The Sanctuary has always been a place only Tamers can access. This one is no exception either.”
He muttered, and Kael nodded, already somewhat expecting this.
“What should I do about this?”
He questioned.
“What do you mean?”
Alden questioned back.
“Won’t people raise questions?”
“You are the Hero. You have no need to worry about it.”
An answer Kael wanted to hear.
He smiled, Alden chuckled and smiled back,
“I will take my leave now.”
The King spoke as he finally left. Kael sighed.
Then he took out the book he was reading before the King came. He continued doing that for a while until Cirri and others couldn’t take it anymore and pulled him into the Sanctuary.
They had been good children for a while now, but not anymore.
They needed their Father!
Kael obviously gave in.
Inside the Sanctuary, he spent time with his children until it was time to sleep. Once again, with Igni on the back acting like a giant bed, Cirri and Vitaria on each of his sides, with Imperia on his head, the family of five closed their eyes and spent the night inside the Sanctuary.
Kael and Igni woke up in five hours,
It was time to enter the Trial Grounds,
And this time,
The Father and Son were going to clear it.