Rael nodded at Halemire one last time before following Aria.
It was a one-sided negotiation, as Yrgon didn't exactly have the best footing.
However, there was one more matter that worried him.
What if Zafira rejects the proposal?
Logically, she had no reason to—due to the special place the city was located in, they didn't even have winters.
The single shining star from above was almost like their protector.
And since we don't even use the trees that much for architecture, they're pretty much useless, Rael thought with a sigh, hoping all of the deals he had made here would go through.
"King of Celestara, is this your first time in Yrgon territory?" Aria asked flatly.
"It is," Rael replied. "I like the technology you have—it makes the lives of others much easier."
"That it does." Aria giggled as she stopped and turned toward him. "But do you know one thing? I've never even heard of you."
Rael didn't lose his composure. "Naturally. I became a king not too long ago."
"That's not what I meant." Aria shook her head. "There are no records of you ever existing."
"I thought you would be escorting me, not berating me," Rael replied with a tilt of his head. "Or is a peaceful walk too much to ask?"
"I apologize," Aria swiftly bowed. "I'm a very curious person, so I'm sorry if I offended you, King of Celestara."
"Call me Rael, and don't apologize. I can understand why you're suspicious," Rael said with a smile. "But for future reference, don't announce to people that you had them investigated. It makes them very, very hard to trust you moving forward."
Aria stared at him for a moment before silently nodding.
With that, she continued leading him through the palace halls, and to his surprise, they were quite large.
From the outside, this jade palace seemed quite small, but with gardens, training grounds, and everything else decorating the surroundings, it was definitely not small.
Nonetheless, he kept walking until eventually, they stopped in front of a massive door.
Aria walked up to it and swung it open before pointing inside. "This is your abode until you decide to leave. Shall we continue the tour, or would you like to stop here?"
"If you don't want to do it, then you don't have to. Let's stop here," Rael stated firmly and walked past her into the room.
It was pretty empty, with only two beds, a couch, and a table decorating it.
Rael halted. Wait a second... two beds?
He turned to Aria, who was about to leave. "Is my guard going to be stationed inside this room as well?"
"That's correct," Aria affirmed—and the moment she did, her eyes widened.
"What's wrong?" Rael asked.
"I-I will be going to Celestara with you? What...?" Aria muttered, her hands shaking. "I worked so hard to stay here, and now I'm being sold off? I can't believe this..."
"I take it you got the memo from your father," Rael chuckled. "I want you to know I didn't ask for you. Your father added that clause at the very end."
Despite his explanation, it seemed like his words went over Aria's head as she stormed off with a furious expression, leaving him alone.
For someone who's supposed to be the eldest daughter, she sure acts like a brat, Rael mused as he went back inside his room and closed the door.
Boredom hour—he literally had nothing left to do.
The politics talk was done, the offer to the Faceless One was made, and he even spoke to Evelyn.
All he wanted to do here was basically done.
But of course, it was time to do some reporting.
He opened the friends tab and pressed on Zafira.
He lay down on the comfortable bed and waited for her response until, just a few seconds later, she replied.
Oh shit? My paycheck is going to be massive then... A smile appeared on his face as he decided to cut the conversation short.
She was definitely pissed off from the way she replied, but it was fine.
He had a lot of news to share. He just had to wait until Halemire finished up with the agreement and then he could head back home.
However, merely staying around his room was getting tiring, and since he had nothing better to do, he decided to go exploring.
Rael bought himself a set of clothes—which, after thorough filtering, matched exactly what the servants here wore.
I wonder where all this premium shop stuff is coming from though? Last time I ordered a literal healer to save me, Rael pondered as he put the servant clothes on and went outside his room.
He had a rough idea of the structure, so he merely traveled in the direction Aria didn't lead him.
After a few moments of walking, he arrived near another training ground.
Though it seemed empty, one thing stood out, and that was a faint sound, as though someone was playing the violin.
Playing the violin in a training ground... seems like they got something confused, Rael chuckled inwardly as he glanced around the corner.
There was an old man standing in the very middle of the training ground, holding an oddly shaped violin in one hand and an extremely thin rapier in the other.
And in the very next instant, the old man tapped the rapier against a single violin string, and it let out a pleasant sound.
What a nice musician, Rael chuckled inwardly, yet as he was prepared to leave, the sound of something hitting the ground made him stop.
He turned around, just to see the wooden dummy's head on the floor, split perfectly into two, and the old man now staring directly at him with narrowed eyes.
"It seems like there's a rat."