Why are you here?

The young blond man then said, "My name is Exal. I'm twenty-one years old."

Gen then said, "Good. With that, we're done with introductions. Let's eat now. Do you have anything ready yet, Paco?"

And Paco said, "Yes. I was waiting for you guys to finish talking."

Paco then came over with the other chef and started putting several plates on the table.

Gen then said, "Make yourselves at home. You can eat all you want."

And Fir said, "Thank you very much, but-", but Gen interrupted him and said, "You're not going to say you're not hungry, are you? I was here the whole time, and I saw that you didn't eat anything. Or do you think I'm stupid?"

Fir then said, "No. Never."

"Good. Then I want to see everyone eating.", and then everyone took a plate and began to eat.

Gen then said, "What did you come to do in Tólis? The forest kingdom is quite far from here."

And Fir said, "We came to participate in the water temple event."

"Wow, you came all this way to participate in the event?"

"Yeah, we've been coming to the event for four years now."

"Wow, that's great. This is the first time I'm participating. Can you tell me what the event is like?"

"Well, the event always has three stages every year. The first is on the sand of the beach where the temple appears, the second is in the water between the beach and the temple, and the third is inside the temple, but they change every year, so there is no way for me to explain it to you. I can tell you how they were over the years."

"No need. Instead, tell me what it's like inside the temple."

"Inside the temple?"

"Yes, or does it also change every year?"

"No, it's always the same place, but the inside of the temple is weird."

"Weird? What do you mean?"

"The area where the third phase takes place is in the corridors of the temple. There, you have to collect some strange orbs that keep moving through the corridors, and after that, you have to pass a test to reach a door."

"And after the door?"

"No one knows. No one has made it past the door so far."

"No one has?"

"No. On the way to the door, if you miss something on the test, you are sent out of the temple."

"What? Really? You mean each person only has one chance to get to the door?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the event is a group event, so even though each person only has one chance, the group has at least four chances."

"I see, but if, even with multiple chances, no one has ever made it to the end. It must be a very difficult test."

"It really is."

"Another thing. I know you only come here once every year, probably, but have you ever heard of any ruins around here?"

"Ruins? Well, besides the water temple."

"Not that I remember."

"Hmm, okay."

"Have you tried talking to the guild leader? He might know more about this region."

"Not yet, it's my next stop."

Everyone then continued eating and chatting occasionally. After a while, everyone was satisfied, and Fir said, "Gen, thanks for the food. We'll be going."

And Gen said, "Okay. Can I ask you just one last thing before you go?"

"No problem. What is it?"

"Well, I just wanted to understand what the son of the forest king is doing in Tólis."

After hearing this, Fir's group was startled, and after a while, Fir said, "What do you mean, Gen? Did you see the forest king's son in the city?"

And Gen said, "Yes. You had to see him. He was in a restaurant eating and drinking with a large group of people, but for some reason, he was saying his name was Exal instead of Alex, and he was saying he was twenty-one instead of nineteen. Don't you think that's funny?"

"Gen, I think you're confusing things."

"Oh yeah? What do you think about that Exal?"

Exal then said, "I-I don't know what you're talking about. You've got it all mixed up. There's no way the son of the King of the Forest is here in Tólis. He's probably at home, training with some guards or eating something good. It doesn't even make sense for him to leave the country."

And Gen said, "But what about the water temple event? Wouldn't he be curious and come to see what it's like?"

"No. He wouldn't come. Even if he were curious, his father would never let him leave the country for a place so far away with only three people. That would certainly put his life at risk."

"Well, you're right, but what if he was here secretly? Maybe even his father doesn't know he's out of his kingdom."

"He would never do that. He knows it's too risky for him to go out like this for nothing."

"So he probably had a specific reason for being here, and that reason was something his father didn't want spreading around, and so he sent a small group of trusted people, along with his son, to solve it."

"No, you're wrong. There is no reason for the King of the forest to hide anything."

"Is that so? Maybe he's trying to hide why several awakened monsters attacked all the desert cities in large groups. Almost creating a major catastrophe."

"N-No, if something like this were his fault, the King of the forest would have personally gone to the desert to clean up the mess."

"Well, I thought about that too, but maybe he has a reason why he can't do that. Maybe something to do with important officials or even his family."

"N-No, you're wrong. It has nothing to do with that. If it were something like that, the King of the forest would have taken care of it as quickly as possible to avoid as much trouble as possible."

"Not if it had to do with one of his offspring." 

"N-No. That's not it. You're wrong! Nothing happened!"

Fir then said, "Enough, Alex. There's no more need to hide. He knows why we are here."

And Gen said, "Hahaha, to tell you the truth, I didn't know. It was all speculation, but the young prince gave me all the information I needed."

Alex then said, "I'm sorry, Fir."

And Gen said, "Hahaha, it seems you are still a bad liar, little cub. You should learn more from your sister."

Alex then said, "You! How do you know that name?"

And Gen said, "What name?"

"Little cub. Only my sister calls me that."

"O-Oh, everyone knows your sister calls you that little prince. If I'm not mistaken, she calls you that in public, doesn't she? What's the surprise that I know?"

"The surprise is that even though everyone knows, only she calls me that."

"Well, that's because no one wants to annoy you, but I'm not afraid of your father. After all, I may not be as strong as him, but unlike him, I have no ties to any country."

"... What about me lying badly? How do you know that?"

"I heard rumors about that."

"You also heard rumors that my sister lied well?"

"Yes, it was the same rumor that said you lied badly."

"You are lying. I know that."

"Well, it doesn't matter if you know. Now explain to me why you are here in Tólis, and don't even try to run away. Believe it or not, I wish you no harm. Maybe I can even help you."

Alex then looked at Fir, and Fir said, "All right, I'll explain. We came out of the forest to solve the problem of the raids you mentioned, and as you already said, the King doesn't want information about this situation to spread too far, so he sent a small group to solve the problem."

"It is the princess who is causing this problem, isn't it?"

"... Yes. She once went into a trance while advancing her essence level, but when she came out of the trance, she was no longer herself."

"What level was she advancing to?"

"King."

"King?! That fast?"

"Well, she started to develop very fast from a few years ago, and when we realized she was already at the natural level."

"I see. What happened to her?"

"She ... turned into a monster."

"What?! She became a monster?! How did that happen?!"

"We don't know either. We think it has something to do with her essence. After she became a monster, she fled from inside the kingdom, gathered several other monsters around the forest, and then started attacking nearby towns with them."

"The king went after her as quickly as possible to eliminate the monsters, but she always defended them, which made it impossible for the king to kill the group that was with her."

"After several attempts to stop her, she came out from inside the forest and started attacking places around it. We are chasing her from the forest to here."

Gen then said, "Is she here in Tólis?"

And Fir said, "From the path she has taken, all indications are that she is."

"Got it ..."

Gen was then silent for a while, and Alex said, "Gen, take this.", and then held out his hand to Gen.

Gen then saw a stone in Alex's hand and said, "What is this?"

And Alex said, "It's a communicator. In case you hear something about my sister or monster raids, just break it, and we will know the direction you are in."

"Okay. If I hear anything, I'll let you know."

"Great."

Alex then handed the stone into Gen's hand, and briefly, during that moment, their hands touched.

Both of them then felt a shock, and Gen then moved his hand away quickly, letting the stone fall to the ground.

A reddish-like blood mist began to rise from his hand, and it then quickly took over his arm and began to move towards Alex, who was in a trance after touching Gen's hand.