Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 64.1: Mato

Redmont Manor,

Serisis.

7:20 p.m. 20th Banem 1092.

King Chu Tianjo sat on a chair at the manor's gates, surrounded by a handful of ministers and numerous guards. The king gazed at the night sky which was illuminated by the beautiful gibbous moon. A small smile spread across his lips as he muttered, "So, the time has finally come." As he spoke, distant sounds of rolling wheels reached his ears. The noise drew his attention to the end of the street, where a line of carriages drawn by raptors slowly, but surely made their way toward the gates.

The Serian King recognized the crest on the carriages which signified they belonged to the army. Specifically, the garrison at the harbor. With this timing, they could only belong to the delegation he had been waiting for. King Chu Tianjo rose to his feet as the carriages pulled past, and then came to a stop in front of the gates.

A soldier dismounted from the driver's seat and then opened the doors to the middle carriage, which also happened to be the most luxurious. King Xafier Anton of Aygorzi and King Parissius Vermillion of Rosendun stepped out of the carriage and then walked towards King Chu Tianjo as the rest of the Hopeful Maggots and the ministers disembarked from the other carriages.

King Parissius, observing familial customs, bowed humbly to his future father-in-law and then greeted, "It is good to see you again, King Chu."

"Haha," King Chu Tianjo laughed as he reached over and patted King Parissius' back. "You should start calling me father soon, don't you think?"

King Parissius let out a nervous chuckle as he admitted, "You are correct. I will endeavor to do so in the future, so long as you agree to call me Paris." The king, eager to switch subjects, turned to King Xafier and introduced, "This is Xafier Anton, ruler of Aygorzi, home to the dwarfs. He has crossed two countries' borders to make it here."

"It is an honor to finally meet you, King Xafier," King Chu Tianjo's eyes sparked with interest and respect as he held out his hand to the dwarven King. "I have awaited this meeting with bated breath for many moons."

"Please, call me Xafier," cajoled King Xafier as he took Chu Tianjo's hand in a firm handshake. "I too have long heard of Serisis' unique innovations, and I must say, I am quite jealous of what you have achieved in this country."

King Chu Tianjo laughed as he shook his head, "It was only made possible through the citizens' hard work. I share none of the praise here." With those words, King Chu ran a quick scan of the Hopeful Maggots, looking for two people in particular. It did not take long for him to find Leila Lightwood among the crowd. That woman would always stand out no matter where she was.

Leila, catching the king's gaze, smiled and then politely bowed. The king released a wry smile as he remembered how she had outperformed and outclassed both he and his ministers just a little while ago. King Chu pushed the matter to the back of his head as he quickly sought out the second target.

However, after a brief scan, the only possible candidate for Kashi seemed to be an unassuming daeben who seemed eager to blend into the background as much as possible. Could this person really be the enigmatic, powerful daeben famous the world over?

Unfortunately, despite his immense curiosity, King Chu could not abandon the other kings to go seek out a civilian. That would be too discourteous. So, he pushed the matter to the back of his head, choosing instead to focus on that later.

Kashi, meanwhile, let out a sigh of relief when he saw King Chu turn his attention back to the other kings. That was a close one! If King Chu had persisted in his curiosity, then Kashi would certainly become exhibit #1 for everyone else. Which, by the way, he had no intention of becoming.