Request

"Which is why... I have a request."

'Oh?'

Indeed, the king had done some thinking. Unlike his kind disposition, he wouldn't be king if he was... you know... actually kind. Certainly, he preferred to be nice, but it was not a necessity. His life came first. Using somebody else to accomplish a goal was something he was familiar with. As such, given a fresh and unexpected opportunity, he wasted no time in developing this little scheme. One that could quite possibly stop the 2nd Heaven from going to war and one that, should it fail, held little to no consequence.

"I understand that you have not decided where you are headed in the 2nd Heaven, is that correct?"

Alex nodded.

"Then might I suggest heading to the elven kingdom of Aldoren?"

Alex widened his eyes. In the back of the room, Yuki widened her eyes as well.

"Are you implying that I go and spy for you?"

"Yes."

"Ok... okayyyy?"

The king sighed.

"The thing is, the situation is only getting worse. I can't send my own people as there may be spies in our midst. Trying to send them would only worsen the situation should they be discovered, but you are a free agent. Few know of your arrival and those that do will be monitored closely so I don't have to worry about a leak. I just want you to scope out the situation."

"Won't they be hostile to humans?"

"Some might, but generally they aren't attacking in case they aggravate us. They still aren't sure of which side we are on and they don't want to make the situation worse by driving us to the brink of war as well."

Alex hesitated.

Seeing this, the king made a placating gesture.

"I'm not going to ask you to infiltrate the royal family or anything like that, but I just want to know if the elves actually did it. I mean, I really can't believe that they'd jeopardize the peace that has been held for so long. It makes no sense."

"You suspect a third party?"

The king nodded.

"My request to you is this: go to the elven kingdom of Aldoren and discover the truth. You don't have to do anything about it, but allow us to solidify a standpoint on the matter. I don't want war. In return, during the duration of your stay in the 2nd Heaven, the Blanc kingdom will offer you it's full support in ascension and getting stronger. No holds barred."

"I accept."

"Now I kn-*cough* w-wait what?"

"I accept."

Alex looked at the king as if it was obvious. Alex was already going to explore the 2nd Heaven and he needed to get stronger. The added risk just made it a bit more thrilling.

The king gave him an odd look, then looked at his daughter who had a similar look on her normally indifferent face.

"W-well thank you. You've done us a great service. You can stay in our kingdom, naturally free of charge, as you prepare for your journey. Do you think you'll be able to leave in around a week?"

Alex nodded.

"That works."

"Great, until then, enjoy yourself and best of luck on your journey. Not to pressure you, but a lot of lives might lie in your hands."

The king was pleased. This was a good opportunity and it didn't even matter that they just met. If Alex was captured and spilled the proverbial beans, nobody would believe him if he mentioned his assignment was from the Blanc king. Nobody recognized him after all.

'Heh heh heh, let the games begin.'

It was time to discover the truth of the matter.