The King's Guard's Level
Prince Alexander stands before them elegantly with a broad smile on his rough beard but handsome face, even though his clothes look dirty and his shiny black hair is messy.
"Hello, everyone. Please, re-sheath your sword and go back to your seat and your… dessert." Greeted the bearded man calmly while he looked at the dessert and wine on the table.
"What the hell, Alex!" Suddenly, Lady Ayana yelled at Prince Alexander. "Have you ever heard the words advance notice and front door? Well, use it!" She continued, scolding Prince Alex's dramatic entrance.
"Alright, alright. Don't get mad. I wanted to surprise you guys. Well, a little theatrical entrance might enlighten the mood, right?" Replies Alex with a slight laugh.
After saying it, he walked toward an empty seat in front of Lady Ayana and gently sat, followed by everyone else.
Tristan and Valeria just stared at the guy and said no word. But their gaze evidently shows they are glad Prince Alexander is back in the group.
As Alexander settles on his seat, he takes a big piece of cheesecake and chocolate cake, pours wine into the glass until the brim, and gobbles it simultaneously without paying attention to everyone looking at him with a mix of surprise and relief.
And for another five minutes, he continued to gobble the dessert and drinks without saying a single word. Meanwhile, Lady Ayana, Tristan, and Valeria only watch silently, as if they understand how starving the prince is.
"It's delicious desserts and wine, Ayana. And your old house looks impeccable even though you haven't lived here for a while. You must have an outstanding team of house staff. Lend me a few, will you? Might be helpful for my castle." Said Alexander with a groan and smile.
"Okay, cut the crap, Alex. How is it going with your diversion task? You looked horrible. Is it really that tough?" Lady Ayana asked, her questions seemingly acted as greeted, too, from the way she said it.
"Oh, I am good. I am a bit tired and hungry, but no scratch. Just trails 600 miles in 24 hours. I think I have misled the drones and then disappeared from those drones well." He said while grinning proudly.
"Drones? So it's not only one drone?" Valeria spoke. She couldn't hide her surprised feeling.
"Yupe, Princess. King Narakorath spares no expense to stop us from preventing them from gathering all the mythical beasts." Replied Prince Alexander. Then, as he turned his gaze to Tristan, he continued, "By the way, Tristan, I'm proud you could defeat Frigusfera. That thing is one of the mythical beasts that Narakorath somehow managed to sneak through Phaenon borders."
"Owh…you know about that? How?" Said Tristan, surprised.
"That thing told me before he died." Said Prince Alexander calmly with a flat face.
His answer shocked Tristan even more, making him speechless.
"Hahaha…your surprised face looked stupid." Prince Alexander laughed and teased Tristan,
"I was kidding. Lady Ayana told me about it just before you guys arrived at the village." He adds, still with a flat face even though he just laughed.
Suddenly, with a mouth full of cake, he looked at Tristan and continued, "By the way, you do know that only one mythical beast can talk like us, right? And we are still too far from where it was seen the last time. And I hope that beast will be the beast Narakorath failed to tame."
Tristan just stares at Prince Alex with an empty look with his mouth slightly open. In the back of his mind, Tristan just realized he should have been studying with Daggo about the mythical beast more in detail. And even memorize each and every one of them.
"Prince…Uncle Alex, sorry to ask you about something stupid. Did you just say you trailed 600 miles in 24 hours? If you did it nonstop, that's like 2 minutes 48 seconds." Valeria suddenly spoke with awe apparent in her tone. Then she continued, "I didn't know you could run that fast and that far. The last time, you told me we could run faster than the mortal beings of Sovrentia but never told me how fast."
Tristan, who heard and digested every word from Valeria, became awed too. Now he realized he never attempted to measure how fast he is now. He clearly remembers his Personal Best in the New York Marathon, which was 2 hours and 45 minutes or 6 minutes and 18 seconds per mile pace.
After emptying his mouth, Prince Alex answered Valeria." Well, that's the bare minimum pace of every Cresentia's King's Guard. And I know the Sovrentia Queen's Guard is close to that. So, I expect you and Tristan to go way faster than that by tomorrow afternoon."
Tristan and Valeria almost choked hearing Prince Alex's words. The idea of achieving the strength of the most formidable soldiers in their Kingdom in less than a day is jolting their minds.
Within seconds, it was Lady Ayana who spoke. "Tristan, Valeria, I know you guys could do it. I've shared with Alex about how powerful you are, Tristan. And with that power, you can easily achieve the level of Cresentia super soldier, The King's Guard! Alex and I also believe you can help Valeria achieve that level..." Her tone and gaze showed a calm and calculated mind.
"Helping Valeria with my power? How?" Tristan replied quickly while looking at Valeria and Lady Ayana alternately while both women were looking at Prince Alex.
But their gaze failed to bother Prince Alex. He didn't budge and remained focused on gobbling the food and drinks on the table.
The room fell silent for a minute, with only the sound of Prince Alex chewing and drinking could be heard. Then, as he finished swallowing the food and emptying the last wine bottle, Prince Alex finally spoke.
"I will teach you to share your newly gained power with Valeria. It's never been done before, but I theorize that your power will help Valeria unlock her potential much faster than any training she needs to unlock her inner power." As he finished his words, Prince Alex looked at Tristan and Valeria.
From how he looked, Tristan could sense Uncle Alex had no choice but to speed up his and Valeria's level to match The King's Guard's Level.
'But why?' Tristan's curious mind couldn't help but ask inwardly.