The Boring Life of Prince Kant Maybale

Howard sat down on Kant's comfortable red armchair to help him relax and properly digest all the new information he managed to extract from that knight. He now knows how magic works at the fundamental level; what it can do, and some of its limitations, along with a list of books he can read to expand his knowledge.

He also discovered that this society seems to have grasped the concept of an individual, which is something that cannot be said for the primitive kingdoms back in the old world. Howard wondered what sort of crazy historical events this world had gone through. 

There were still some other subjects he needed to touch on; National politics, geography, Culture, Architecture, International borders, and whatever else he considered useful to know, or important for his survival. Though he would have loved to learn about these subjects, he felt he had read enough books for today. 

All that time he wasted skimming through those pages, hopelessly trying to find the information he needed was still burned in his mind. He did not wish to go back to the library, at least for now. Besides, he doesn't need to rush things, he can always read up on whatever he wants later. 

"I guess I should do what… Kant usually does I guess…" he muttered. His statement sparked a question. What does a prince like Kant Maybale usually do in his free time? Does he have sword practice or something? Does he even have practice at all? 

"Probably not. The kid had just recovered from a serious injury. They are probably waiting till he is safe to train again," he thought. Howard, feeling the crushing weight of boredom eating away at him, starts using Kant's brain to try and dig up some new memories for him to chew on. Though it took a while, his mind did surface something. 

"Arts!" he proclaimed. He was receiving memories of Kant holding a paintbrush in his right hand, drawing something on a blank canvas! Usually, he would draw paintings of his family members, historical battles, and whatever interested him at the time. 

Although Howard himself wasn't an artist as he mostly designed everything using a 3D Software tool his whole life, it presented him with an opportunity to answer another question lingering in his mind. Did the skills Kant had acquired over the years transfer onto Howard? 

Howard got up from the armchair and walked over to the closet where Kant kept his art supplies. Inside, he found a couple of brushes inside a wooden cup, a canvas, a canvas stand, an apron, and a box with 3 cups filled with red, blue, and yellow paint. 

"Welp, it is time to use these bad boys…" Howard remarked.

…

3 hours had passed by in the breeze. Howard places the brush down on a cup filled with water. Bits of his skin, especially the fingers and hands, were all covered in small amounts of paint. He had made some mistakes, but in the end Howard felt proud of himself for his accomplishment.

What used to be a blank canvas now portrayed a beautiful woman with long chestnut hair, a pair of cocoa-brown eyes, and a slender hourglass figure adorned in a black velvet dress. Standing beside her were three short figures, two twin boys and 1 girl all smiling at the viewer. The twin boys shared their mother's features, brown hair, brown eyes, all that. The girl on the other hand had silky black hair, with a pair of green jewels stocked in her eye sockets.

"Wow Howard. You have really outdone yourself there," he remarked. Howard was never really a good drawer. Although he could draw sketches of complex machinery, he was never good at depicting the human form onto the canvas. This test proves to him that Kant's art skills, and whatever other skills he may possess, have transferred onto him. 

Looking at the picture, he felt his heart ache a little. He misses his family back in the old world. Although he was sure they were doing fine without him, from time to time, he wondered what they were doing right now. 

"I guess I will never know." 

Howard walks back to the armchair to sit back down. While he rested his legs, he pondered what other activities Kant did in his spare time. His head turned to face the recurve bow hung on top of his bed. As soon as his black eyes glanced at the magnificent weapon, his mind started to generate ideas.

"I always wanted to shoot a bow..." 

He gets up from his chair and yoinks it out of its place. Before he leaves the room, he packs some arrows into his leather quiver and hides the canvas of his old family. Once he locked the door to Kant's room, Howard made a quick detour to the bathroom to get rid of the paint stains sticking onto him, before being ready to head outside for the first time!

Howard could not lie, he was a little excited to see the outside world! The stained glass windows found everywhere did not provide him a good view of the outside world. For all he knows, the sun could be blue, and the green purple! 

As he approached the large wooden doors leading to the outside world, the two knights to the side, tasked with guarding the entrance to the palace, denied Kant from going through. 

"Excuse me, gentlemen. I would like to pass on through here…" he stated. The knights looked at each other before facing the prince. 

"We apologize, your highness, but we cannot allow you to leave the palace."

"And may I ask why?" Howard queried. Although he didn't show it, Howard was confused. Why was the prince not allowed to leave the palace? Howard knows Kant had been allowed to enter and exit as he pleased before. Why not now? What changed?

"These are the direct orders of King Danial Icarus Maybale and Queen Malinda Maybale! If you wish to leave the premises, then you must consult the king first," the knight answered. 

"Alright then. I apologize for disturbing you," he replied. He hid his frustration from the knights under his calm and polite facade. Most of the activities Kant partake in often happen outside. With a source of entertainment blocked and his plans to explore the outside world canceled, Howard returned to Kant's room.

Just before he kept the bow back in its stand, Howard decided to take an arrow from his quiver and draw from the bow. Although he couldn't shoot it, Howard tried to emulate how it would feel to aim a bow. 

The world suddenly starts to shake and blur. Howard immediately dropped the arrow on the ground to make sure he didn't fire it in his room. He throws the bow on his bed and quickly makes his way to the armchair before he loses his balance. He can start to hear voices ringing in his ear.

...

"Good shot, your highness! It's a bullseye!" Sonny claimed.

Howard finds himself under the bright yellow sun, touching a field of green gas. In the distance, he sees a bunch of circular wooden targets, painted in red and white circles. Some of them had a few arrows stuck to them, while only one had hit the center.

"Well, that is one way to get outside," he remarks. Sonny approaches Kant, praising him for his shot all while Howard listens in. It seems the prince doesn't keep that bow in his room for nothing. 

Their conversation was soon interrupted by a man all dressed in chainmail. He ran over all the way to the lords, screaming…

"A demon is coming! A demon is coming!" 

His attempts at drawing Kant and Sonny's attention were successful, as they immediately turned around to face the soldier. He stops just 4 feet from them, bending down to catch his breath. After which, he stood up and looked them in the eye to deliver his message. 

"My lord! A pierrevol has been spotted headed to the town! What are we going to do?" the soldier asked Sonny. 

"Where was it spotted? Where is it coming from?" 

"They said they spotted it coming from the North Side of the town! It was about… 12 minutes since they saw it. The scouts came back as fast as they could." 

"So that the Pierrevol is about… eh…" 

"6 miles away from the town…" Kant stated, as if he were some human calculator.

"Assemble every guard in the town; Peasants soldiers, knights, mercenaries, whatever you can find. We need to organize a defense of the town against the pierrevol. Go, now!" he instructs.

"Right away, my lord," the soldier replied, before going on his way. Sonny turns to face Kant. 

"Listen, your highness. It appears we won't be going fishing today," he joked, followed by a chuckle.

"I think eh… I think it is time you get out of here, your highness. Call back the knight security force and leave the town."

"And leave you here to face that monster all by yourself?" 

"We will be fine! We can take care of it! Besides, your knights have already helped us enough! Just get the hell out of here! Your safety is more important than some small town!" Sonny replied. 

He tried persuading the prince to leave the town, while Kant argued back with him. It wasn't until the leading knight commander came in. 

"Your highness, I don't mean to frighten you, but most of our knights are busy fighting some threats the local scouts had detected coming over to the town. We only have a few knights left at our disposal and I don't think they will be enough to escort you out of the town safely," he told them. 

Kant and Sonny were both dumbfounded. While Kant remained quiet, trying to properly process the information given, Sonny started screaming at the knight officer, his anger blowing up in the commander's face. 

"What do you mean? Can't you just… call them?" Sunny yelled at the knight commander. 

"Unfortunately, this town doesn't seem to have enough messengers to inform every one of them! Besides, if they are still fighting those demons I speak of, that means they are occupying some powerful demons approaching the town!" the knight commander argued back, trying to keep his cool.

"Well it wasn't your damn job to defend the town! It's the town's job! Not yours!" Sonny continues to yell. The commander appeared to be rapidly losing his patience. 

"And what? Risk a demon from ruining his birthday? We had specific instructions to keep the demons away from this town," 

"Oh? Your top priority is to keep the town safe? Not to.. protect the oldest living child of the royal family? Now that…" before the conversation can get more heated, Kant stepped in and cut on Sonny. 

"Calm down, Sonny. Calm down," he told Sonny, preventing him from provoking the commander further. Once Kant was sure Sonny had calmed down, he turned his attention to the commander.

"Sir Herrold, I apologize for my friend's behavior. How many knights do we have at our disposal?"

"Including myself, 3 your highness," he answered. 

"Tell them to assemble with the town's local guard. Inform them about the situation at hand, and tell them that I will be taking charge. You got it?" Commander Herrold nods. 

"Yes, your highness." 

"Good. Now get going," just as Herrod was about to leave to perform the task he was given by the prince, Sonny jumped in claiming…

"Hey! Hey! You can't do that! This is my town! It's my job to defend it!" he yelled at the knight. Sonny then turns to face Kant.

"Your highness, you cannot be serious? You will get hurt if you take charge! Please. Let me handle it," he asked nicely. Howard was amused by how his demeanor shifted so quickly, from anger to concern. 

Kant gives out a sigh, before holding Sonny's shoulders with both his hands. Keeping eye contact, he tells Sonny what he thinks.

"Listen Lord Sonny. You have been a very good friend to me ever since the day we became friends. For that, I want to help you defend this town we both hold so dear to our hearts. Please, head back to the castle and remain there while I take care of the demon."

"But…"

"No Buts. I have to do this Sonny. I cannot just… keep being a leech on all of you! This is a chance for me to prove to everyone that I am worthy of being a member of the royal family!" he argued. 

"Don't worry. I will be fine. I promise, I won't get injured," he speaks. Sonny remains silent, probably trying to process what Kant had told his friend. 

"Can I at least fight alongside you?" he asked. Kant smiled. 

"Of course. Let's go." 

…

Howard found himself back in Kant's room in the present time. He gets up from the armchair and places the bow back on the stand. He then lies down on his bed, to take in the new flashback he saw.

He had many questions he had no answers for. Questions like "What is the standing of the knights compared to nobles? Can Sonny, a lord of a small town Howard presumes, actually scream at a high-ranking member of the Legion of Knights just like that?

But what most puzzled him was why the security force did not have its own messengers. Why did it rely on messengers available in the small town? Why did that commander, Herrold Wingman if he remembers correctly, only keep 2 other knights around when he knows he cannot use it to allow Kant to leave?

Was it incompetence? Did he simply rise to the ranks of the Legion of knights because of some corrupt elements in the system? Or was there something else at play?

"I smell with my little nose something fishy…" he muttered.