Arthur opened the door slowly as it was late at night, trying to sneak out without anyone catching him. As soon as he did, a voice came from the darkness.
"Where are you going, Seika?" The Knight of Courage asked, her eyes gleaming dangerously.
"To the bathroom."
"There are several bathrooms inside the suite." The Knight corrected, squinting her eyes. Arthur paused to find another excuse. "Why are you so determined to make things difficult?"
"Me?" Arthur sounded offended. "I didn't ask for complications. It was your Kingdom who couldn't block intel from leaking."
"That's indeed correct, but everything that happened afterward is just..." The Knight of Courage hesitated to mention the rest, but it was obvious.
"You sought me out and dragged me into this political mess. I was nothing but compliant until your Knight pointed at me in accusation."
"At Shades City, you..."
"I did nothing but protect the city." Arthur interrupted. "I'll forget about this conversation. You should as well, as it wouldn't serve your interest."
Arthur said and walked away, not allowing her to say anything more. He was a distance away when the Knight called after him.
"Are you just trying to change the topic and sneak away?"
Arthur ignored her and quickened his pace. However, she appeared in front of him and sighed.
"The Knight of Honesty told me how you disappeared from the carriage." She looked tired. "You must have sneaked out knowing I was standing guard. What do you want, Seika?"
"Hehe, let's go on a date to the library." Arthur gave a wide smile. "Otherwise, I might burn the mansion on my way there." Hearing his words, the Knight could do nothing but comply.
***
Bang!
The books slammed on the table in front of Arthur. The Knight of Courage had bags underneath her eyes as she slumped to the chair beside him.
"Why are you digging through history books?" She asked. "Especially about gods and Seikas."
"Are you sure you want to know?" Arthur smiled as he pulled the first book from the stack. It was a book titled: The Favored Ones. This title referred to The Loved Ones, the Seika.
"I have to know, even if I want to avoid a headache."
"To be honest, I'm a long-forgotten god who awakened. The only way for me to survive is to gather followers who believe in me. Are you interested?"
"What would you offer in return?" The Knight of Courage played along with an amused smile.
"My worshipers get blue hair." Arthur nodded seriously. "Wait a minute... can it be that you are..."
"Read your books, Seika." The Knight chuckled and leaned back in her chair. "I'll be here with you."
"Fine by me." Arthur opened the book and began reading. As he did, the Knight of Courage monitored him closely.
Arthur wasn't lying. He was indeed here to read. Gruen, the dwarf, had to awaken his powers, and Arthur needs to know how to do that. That was the first step before he decides how to conquer the duke's daughter's heart.
The book talked about people loved by certain things. Being loved, as define by the book, was that these things listened to the Seikas.
'They called me the Seika of Living Beings because of my power to make life thrive. They didn't know that it was only because my soul was damaged, making me release Creation Energy without me knowing.'
What others didn't know was that Arthur was no longer a Seika, by their definition at least. He could intentionally use his powers to help plants grow, but that was just a part of the side effects of his energy.
'The Seika of Water, awakened when she drowned during a trip with her father, a fisherman.'
'The Seika of Fire had hideous burn wounds that no one knew of their origins.'
'The Seika of Weather could control the weather after living in a rainforest for thirty years.'
These were all past recordings of the appearances of Seikas. They were many and diverse, but not all of them were powerful. Even the Seika of fire could only manipulate flames, not produce them. He was, however, invincible to all fire attacks.
'But he had burn marks.' Arthur noted. 'Do Seikas need to come in contact with the thing to which they have an affinity? If so, then from where did this affinity come?
'The Origins of Powers.' A chapter had such a title.
'Many people tried to trace the ancestors of Seika but were all met with disappointment. These people were normal farmers and craftsmen that had nothing noteworthy to explain why they had these powers.'
'Many data traces back the existence of tales that resembled the Seikas powers. We conclude that the power could be inherited through blood.'
"Fascinating." Arthur smiled and closed the book. He felt a weight on his shoulder and turned to see the Knight of Courage sleeping on it. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully after being washed away with Arthur's aura.
'I guess some things changed after I did the Soul Restructure.' Arthur smiled as he saw how peaceful the Knight slept. 'No, it was after the golden eyes appeared in this world.'
He met them before when he was studying runes in the fortress. At that time, he ignored it because he couldn't get any answers, not even from Jizo. However, the eyes made another appearance.
'What lies within that portal? What did the giant mean when he said he said not yet?' The answer lies in the identity of this being. Why was he the one behind the portal instead of Jizo?
Arthur closed the book and opened another, the Age of Gods. The book depicted the guardians and their powers. Arthur continued reading with the Knight sleeping on his right shoulder.
***
The Knight of Courage opened her eyes slowly. She couldn't recognize what lay in front of her. It was a desk with many opened books and the hand of someone holding one of them.
"You are finally awake?" A voice startled her, and she jumped up. "You even drooled on my shoulder?" The Seika asked with amusement.
"I, I, I'm so sorry. I was asleep before I knew it." The Knight stuttered with an embarrassed face that wanted to die.
'I was supposed to monitor him, but I ended up sleeping on his arm! Shameful! Shameful! My King will kill me if he hears of this!'
The Knight wanted to bang her head on a wall, but the Seika seemed unnerved by her actions. He simply laughed and nodded.
"It's alright. I guess I'm the one who made you tired." The Seika waved his hand, and a plate of food appeared on it. "Have your breakfast?"
"No, no." The Knight shook her head, but her stomach grumbled at the smell of the food. Her mouth kept drooling even though she felt ashamed of it.
"Just take it, I have a question."
Hearing this, the Knight nodded bashfully and took the plate. As soon as she ate the fried toasts and jerky, the delicious taste exploded in her mouth.
"What's your question?" The Knight of Courage asked as she munched on her food.
"Well, why is the duke... the duke?" The Seika asked with a smile. The Knight felt that something was off, but she couldn't tell what it was. After a few seconds of thinking, she didn't see any reason to refuse to tell him.
"The Duke of Contracts is a bit special. He was initially a merchant who worked to grow his wealth. After a certain time, the Kingdom couldn't ignore him. That's why the King gave him the rank of a duke and made him govern the city."
"So, he's not a war hero or founding nobility?" Arthur asked with interest. "He's just a duke because he's the wealthiest?"
"Technically, yes."
"What if a wealthier person appeared out of nowhere? What would happen?" The Seika's eyes gleamed like a curious kid.
This was one of the traits that she found unsettling in him. The change that happened after the incident with the duke of fire. He appeared more childish, treating everything in a relaxed manner as if nothing could hurt him.
"If that happened," She tried to imagine such a scenario. "I think it would mean the kingdom needs to replace the duke. The city of contracts is special, so any change in economy is accompanied by a change in politics."
"What if the duke still had his wealth?" The Seika asked relentlessly.
'Why is he imagining such a scenario? Does he know how much wealth the duke has?' The Knight was confused.
"Listen, Seika. Let me put it in perspective. Long ago, the kingdom needed money to buy some items from abroad. However, the treasury was empty after the last king. That's why King Solomon had to take some funds from the duke and repaid them after a while."
"Are you saying that the duke is richer than the kingdom?" Arthur raised his brows. "What about the Magic Vault?" He couldn't help but ask. "Why not sell artifacts?"