The Crown Prince Thinks I'm a Guy

The Test of Waning: More Bitter the Second Time Around

At our arrival, I felt the need to unleash some deadly magics.

Telken was smiling yet again, sitting on a nearby rock with his legs crossed pompously. He held his hands wide open, just like the first time he had cornered me and Albert. "Welcome again! It seems like we're always meeting each other with one side having their hands tied up."

Not wanting to lose in any way, I laughed as nonchalantly as I can with my hands tied up. Then, I told him, "Perhaps when we have our last meeting, it will be your hands that are forced into disuse."

"Now, now, Sinus Fidei," Telken said, leaning back on his rock. "After this is over, we shouldn't be meeting each other too much in the future anymore."

Then, he smiled a little bit wider, adding on, "After all, our team, together with the prince of course, will be advancing a ring, while you will all stay behind as mere Sinus Fidei."

Inside, I was simpering with fury, but in their eyes, I looked only serene, calm despite the insults. In fact, my indifference only proved to annoy the upperclassmen. Telken coughed once before standing up with a flurry, flicking around his robes flamboyantly. "Come then. Although it pains me to admit, we may need some of your help in order to open the treasure."

~~

In the short, few hours Telken was released from our hands, he had somehow managed to not only double, but more than triple his team's number.

"You've been busy," Albert told Telken as he observed the great number of robed individuals hastily running around the cleared out space, carrying one thing or another. While we walked, the scene around us gradually transformed from a dense forest into a land of ruins and concrete ground. Surrounding us were heaps of ancient looking walls half sunken into the ground, merging into nature after time had done its job.

"Indeed," Telken agreed easily. "We've gathered about five teams now, although some are lacking their members. No matter, we have the number of hands we need to unearth the treasure."

"S-So you won't be needing us then," Kendra tittered, as she tripped slightly over an outcropping rock. Or was that a bone?

Telken laughed. "Oh no, I'm not so barbaric as to force children into manual labor, no, no. An adviser of mine, the brains of our combined teams, well... Although she is lacking in every other aspect, at least she has her intelligence. Bah, but that's all there is to her. She isn't even easy on the eyes!"

I coughed. "Yes, and what about her?"

"Oh, she has her ideas. I doubt they are true, but I'm here to appease her," he said with a shrug, easily sidestepping a fern I was wishing he would collide with. "She was the one to lead us here after receiving the dream commune by Jorish here."

"It's Jordan, sir," the named boy said.

Telken waved his hand around as though his name didn't matter. "Well, either way, her contributions are not to be made light of, even if she is a mere girl."

In front of me, I saw how Kendra's shoulders twitched at the teenager's words. I, having lived through many years now, have grown used to hearing such repetitive insults. Although the wound still hurts, I have grown used to it. But Kendra, who was not only a girl, but also one who had only been recently upgraded to nobility, would still be very sensitive about such matters in a child-like manner.

Fighting the urge to pick an unnecessary fight with Telken, I could only stay quiet. Soon enough, we had reached our destination.

Ruins and vines paved way to a huge circle embedded on the ground, a wide area etched with runic symbols travelling in a spiral manner towards the center. Now finally stepping into an area with no trees or buildings to block out the sky, we were greeted by constellations unknown to us. With a start, I realized that these stars were unfamiliar to my eyes. My previous guess was right. This realm was different from ours.