Everyone was completely stunned by Lythera’s declaration.
Mirelya was the first to react.
“W-What do you mean?! You two are going to be engaged?!”
Lythera nervously twirled a strand of her blue hair around her finger.
“Y-Yes… but it’s only temporary.”
Lysera looked at Ren, clearly worried.
“A-Are you okay with this, Ren?”
Ren shrugged.
“Look, all we have to do is present ourselves as an engaged couple and that’s it. Afterward, I’ll be able to leave, right, Lythera?”
Lythera continued fidgeting with her hair, looking a little embarrassed.
“Y-Yes… that’s right.”
Goro slightly furrowed his brow.
“Hmm… if I remember correctly, the arrangements of this kingdom are followed to the letter, aren’t they?”
Lythera quickly replied,
“You don’t need to worry about that. As soon as the presentation is over, Ren will be free to leave.”
Ren looked at everyone.
“It’ll be quick, guys.”
Mirelya puffed out her cheeks slightly, showing a hint of dissatisfaction.
“I-I want to go too…”
Lythera looked at her in surprise.
“Why?”
Mirelya looked away for a moment.
“I-I want to learn about your customs.”
Lysera raised her hand.
“I want to go too. If things get too dangerous, I can help.”
Dargan frowned.
“Don’t you two have to continue with what you were asked to do?”
Sylvara crossed her arms.
“Yeah. We came here to help you, not to attend a wedding!”
Garrick then made a suggestion.
“Let’s split up.”
Goro furrowed his brow.
“Split up?”
Garrick pointed toward his companions.
“Sylvara, Dargan, Goro, and I will go to Drakhtar. Ren, Mirelya, and Lysera will go to this engagement presentation.”
Goro lightly scratched his chin.
“But I can’t go back without Ren! I need him to introduce the seer, remember?”
Garrick stared at him.
“AAH, I forgot about that!”
Goro remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he looked at Ren, followed by Lythera.
“This engagement presentation, Princess… it needs to be quick.”
Lythera nodded.
“It will be. It’s only a presentation, a few questions, and then we’ll leave.”
Mirelya and Lysera watched the two of them closely.
At that moment, Sylvara stomped her feet hard against the ground and stepped in front of Garrick.
“Listen here! Don’t give us orders. We’re better than you guys.”
Garrick raised an eyebrow.
“And what do you suggest, then?”
Sylvara looked from side to side while scratching her cheek.
“Why do we need to wait for them? Let’s just grab Ren and take him back with us. Simple as that.”
Before anyone could respond, Sylvara suddenly dashed forward at an incredible speed.
She grabbed Ren by the arm and began pulling him away from Lythera.
However, when Ren had moved only a few meters away from her, his body suddenly stopped.
THUMP!
Ren fell to the ground.
Sylvara looked at him in confusion.
“Dude? Get up!”
Lythera calmly replied,
“He can’t… at least, not yet.”
She began walking toward them again.
Ren got back to his feet and looked at Lythera, completely confused.
“Ah… why did you do that?! I can’t move away from you!”
Dargan narrowed his eyes.
“An immobilization spell?”
Goro carefully observed Ren.
“It seems more like a contract. And it can also be activated through verbal confirmation.”
Sylvara’s eyes widened.
“What the… hell.”
Ren sighed.
“That’s why I told you I need to go to the presentation…”
Lysera looked at Mirelya.
“What does that spell do?”
Mirelya explained,
“There are some magical contracts that can be activated through verbal confirmation. But performing something like that requires a great deal of mana control…”
Lythera looked at everyone.
“You’re all invited. If everything goes wrong, we’ll just have to run.”
Ren’s eyes widened.
“Wait… ‘if everything goes wrong’? But you said—”
Lythera interrupted him.
“Relax, Ren. I only said if everything goes wrong.”
She began walking back toward the castle.
Ren’s eyes widened.
“W-Wait!”
Mirelya looked at Garrick.
“What do we do, Garrick?”
Garrick sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
Then he answered,
“Let’s go. We need Ren, after all.”
Dargan raised his shield.
“I’m going too. If everything goes wrong, I want to see the power of the man who marked my shield!”
Sylvara crossed her arms.
Goro raised one hand.
“I’ll stay with you for the time being.”
Garrick nodded.
“Alright.”
Lysera looked at Ren, who was already walking away, and murmured,
“Ren… I’ll protect you.”
As everyone headed toward Lythera’s castle, in the Kingdom of Dravenhold, Cedran Volf stood before a large statue.
The statue depicted a woman carved from stone with a divine appearance.
It stood within the palace gardens.
Cedran remained silently staring at it.
Goddess Luminarya… you watch over all of us.
Pray for us and bless us every day.
After a few moments, Cedran began pacing back and forth.
“I still don’t know what to think about all this…”
Suddenly, his secretary appeared behind him.
“Think about what, Your Majesty?”
Cedran jumped slightly.
“Ah! It’s you…”
The secretary looked a little confused.
“What were you talking about, sir?”
Cedran scratched his head.
“Nothing. I was just thinking out loud. Do I have anything important scheduled right now?”
The secretary replied,
“Well… the nobles are discussing who will be the next king.”
Cedran stopped walking.
“What do you mean? I’m the king, aren’t I? I’m not sick or anything.”
“It’s just that… all the previous kings at your age already had children. Your father, the former king, had children as well.”
Cedran became thoughtful.
“Ah… children.”
Then an idea came to him.
“What if… I told them I already had a daughter?”
The secretary immediately began trembling.
“WHAT?! YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER?!”
Cedran quickly placed a hand over the secretary’s mouth.
“Shhh! Calm down, Arthur!”
Arthur tried to speak anyway.
“But… but—”
Cedran interrupted him.
“I’m just joking with you.”
Arthur’s face turned slightly red.
“A-Ah, sir… please don’t joke about something like that again…”
Cedran scratched his head.
“Sorry. Heh.”
He then turned his gaze back toward the statue.
“But anyway… my reign isn’t over yet. There’s still so much I want to improve in this kingdom and for these people. I want every citizen to have a decent home and be able to eat regularly.”
Arthur nodded.
“R-Right, sir. But some of the nobles have already chosen several women to become your fiancées… future queens.”
Cedran’s eyes widened.
“They’re already deciding that too? Good heavens…”
Arthur handed him several documents.
“Tomorrow, we’ll have to visit the nobles’ estates.”
Cedran looked at the documents.
“Ah, right. I imagine they’re the Varkenthal and Draelmorn houses.”
Arthur replied,
“And the House of Rivenfall as well.”
Cedran raised his eyebrows.
“R-Really? But those nobles… they’re the most modest ones.”
“Yes. And the women recommended as potential wives are: Lady Seraphina Varkenthal. She would be an ideal political adviser.”
Cedran sighed.
“Just hearing that already makes my chest feel tight… Heh.”
Arthur continued,
“The second candidate would be Lady Elenwyth Draelmorn. I believe she would be ideal for maintaining stability and tradition.”
Arthur then closed the documents.
“Well, tomorrow you’ll meet them.”
Cedran raised his eyes.
“Wait. What about House Rivenfall?”
Arthur remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he answered,
“I don’t believe you need to concern yourself with them.”
Cedran frowned.
“I’m the one who decides that, Arthur.”
Arthur let out a small sigh.
Then he picked up the papers again.
“The candidate from House Rivenfall is Lady Nina Rivenfall. There isn’t much to say about her, other than that she could bring some discreet influences.”
He looked at Cedran.
“You’re not taking her seriously, are you?”
Cedran shook his head.
“I need to meet them first. Tomorrow will be an interesting day, although…”
Arthur tilted his head slightly.
“Sir?”
Cedran turned his gaze back toward the statue of the goddess Luminarya.
“Come to think of it, I’m more concerned about the people of this kingdom. But if this can help those people, then I’ll put my effort into it as well.”
Arthur smiled briefly and gave a small bow.
“It is an honor to serve you, King Cedran Volf.”
Cedran immediately began sweating nervously and scratched his head.
“A-Ah, come on… stop that. Stand up straight, Arthur.”
Arthur began walking toward the door.
“This kingdom has never had a king as humble as you, Your Majesty.”
He then closed the door, leaving Cedran alone before the statue of the goddess.
Cedran let out a heavy sigh. New chapters come out on g.com first.
He sat down on the steps in front of the statue and stared at the ground for a few seconds.
Then he placed both hands over his head.
“I really wish I could tell you… but I don’t even know what kind of world this is.”
Cedran lowered his hands and looked back at the statue.
“Could you answer me, Goddess Luminarya?”
He took a deep breath.
“Ever since I was a baby, I’ve been able to clearly remember my life on Earth… my parents, my job, my wife…”
His voice began to crack.
“My daughter…”
Sniff.
Tears began forming in his eyes.
Cedran clenched his fists.
“I can’t pretend that I don’t have a family. And besides… this world isn’t Earth.”
He slowly stood up and began walking toward the door.
“At least I managed to swerve the car away from that little boy…”
Cedran lowered his head.
“He had frozen in fear while trying to grab his baseball. But it cost me my life.”
He continued walking.
“I don’t remember how I ended up here after falling off that cliff. When I opened my eyes… I was a baby.”
Cedran looked up and began wiping away his tears.
But the more he wiped them away, the more his voice began to tremble.
“I-I just wanted to hug you all again…”
Cedran began remembering his old neighborhood, the street corner where his house stood.
He walked down the street with his work bag slung over his shoulder.
After a few minutes, he arrived in front of his house.
As soon as he approached the door, he heard laughter and the sound of something falling inside.
Cedran smiled.
“Ah, are you guys making a mess again? Haha!”
He opened the door.
“Tadaimaaa! — I’m home!”
Immediately, he heard his wife’s voice.
“Okaerii! — Welcome home!”
Cedran took off his shoes and stepped inside.
“How was your day, Yukiko?”
She answered calmly,
“It was normal. Takeo is upstairs with Aoi.”
“Ah, right. I’m going to go scare them.”
Yukiko looked at him and laughed.
“Be careful with those scares. She’s only six years old, dear…”
“Relax. I know what I’m doing.”
Cedran began slowly climbing the stairs, placing one foot in front of the other so he wouldn’t make a sound.
When he reached Aoi’s room, he heard a boy’s voice.
“My toy car is way faster than that doll of yours!”
A moment later, he heard the little girl’s voice.
“No, it isn’t!”
Cedran held back his laughter and opened the door just enough to peek inside.
Inside the room, seven-year-old Takeo was kneeling on the floor, pushing a small toy car.
“My car is going to reach that wall way faster than your doll! Just look at how fast it—”
Suddenly, a sound echoed throughout the room.
BAM!
The doll had been thrown against the wall.
Takeo was completely startled.
Aoi, on the other hand, stood with her arms crossed, smiling proudly.
“See? My doll is faster!”
Takeo immediately stood up.
“T-That doesn’t count! You threw it!”
At that moment, the door opened all the way.
Cedran could no longer hold himself back and burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha! I did not expect that!”
The little girl looked at him and broke into a huge smile.
“Daddy!”
Takeo smiled as well.
“Mr. Sakamoto!”
Aoi looked at the boy and said,
“You can call my dad Hiroshi, Takeo-kun.”
Cedran pointed at Takeo, still smiling.
“Actually, he’s right, Aoi.”
The girl looked confused.
“Really?”
Before Cedran could answer, Yukiko’s voice came from the hallway.
“I finished making the snacks!”
Takeo immediately ran out of the room.
“Aaaah! Auntie’s snacks are the best!”
Cedran laughed as he watched the boy run away.
Aoi also ran after him.
Cedran remained standing there for a few seconds, watching his daughter.
Then he thought:
I’ll finish preparing your seventh-birthday present soon, Aoi…
The memory slowly began to fade.
The children’s voices, their laughter, the house… everything became more and more distant.
Cedran returned to reality.
He remained staring at the sky for several seconds.
Then he murmured with a sad smile:
“Back then, my name was Hiroshi Sakamoto, and in this world, I had to grow up hearing the name Cedran Volf…”
“I-I miss you all so much…”
If you’re enjoying the story so far, please consider adding the book to your favorites!
It really helps support the story and lets me know that you’re enjoying the journey.
There are still many mysteries waiting to be uncovered, and as the story progresses, more and more of them will finally be revealed.
Also, just a little behind-the-scenes update: my current outline is already at Chapter 112, and the story is slowly heading toward its final arc!
Thank you so much for reading and supporting my work.
I hope you’ll stay until the end!