Chapter 34 – We Won’t Give Up

Rhea was very pleased to meet Bliss. According to her, there was only one flowkra for each generation. This little flower would slowly turn into the leader of the forest – even leading the dryads! It was apparently common for heroes to have a good relationship with the dryads, so I guess this was par for the course. I decided not to overthink everything. The moment I accepted myself as some kind of mythical hero, I would trip over my own two feet. In my opinion, the "hero" was a dramatized name of individuals that made the best use of their skills to save people in times past. The title did confirm that heroes really existed, but it should not mean they are superior people. Especially someone like me. I was granted Fast Learning and other cheat skills that made my life on Vando much easier. I considered my life with vision to be a blessing. My two months in this world had already been more exciting and enlightening than the previous 38 years I had on Earth. And that's after I spent 22 days in a dingy prison cell! This world that I could only describe as a fantasy was a real world with real problems. For example, the current political upheaval that was taking place in the palace.

My group started to poke around the palace property. We knew the area well since we had been visiting the place for three weeks. We checked in with the three other beastkin a few times, but they were undisturbed. In fact, Pepper had prepared multiple dishes for the group. Bliss excitedly wanted to join Pepper's cooking ventures but then realized the danger I would be in without her. Quickly, she decided to stay on my shoulder. What a considerate little flower! From what I could determine, we were being kept in the dungeon to prevent our interference with the political changes going on. I had thought that the Crown Prince was acting against the other royals, but Rhea disagreed. We decided that the best way to find out was to get closer to the situation. I didn't really want to insert our group into the center of a political battle. That being said, they involved us the moment they had attacked and imprisoned us. It was time for some proper espionage. I activated my Presence Concealment and treaded closer to the crown prince's property. Using mastered Sound Sensitivity, all I needed was to crouch near the window of the prince's room to overhear the conversation. We hid in a nearby bush while I listened in.

"Your Highness, you can't just give in to her demands! You are aware that she never managed to hold on to Princess Danika"

"You might be right, Philard, but I cannot reject the part about the sinking of the whole royal family. I would be better off giving in to my criminal of a sister than letting her doom us all. That's not to mention all the adventurers she apparently stuck in the Dungeon Prison."

"I am afraid I do not have many options to offer, your Highness. Our firepower is insufficient to bring down your sister's men. Even you father has been vexed by it."

My Fast Mental Processing was quickly putting the story together. So it wasn't the crown prince that was scheming but one of the princesses? Clearly not Danika, so maybe the oldest? Princess Votelyn seemed so gentle and kind on multiple occasions. Talk about not judging a book by its cover! If the princess is the one trying to overturn things, it made a bit more sense. The crown prince was in line for the throne. He didn't need to seize anything. If the princess could coerce the crown prince into giving up the throne, Princess Votelyn would be able to inherit the kingdom. Why was Princess Danika involved then? I decided that it was worth the risk to speak with Prince Vozzuik. It did not appear that the crown prince would be able to threaten my group anyway. After a brief warning to my companions, I teleported my group directly into the prince's meeting room. Prince Vozzuik and his attendant Philard were both quite surprised by our unexpected arrival.

"How, er, when did you get here? Did you just teleport?"

"Hello Prince Vozzuik. I'm glad you're still safe. It looks like your sister has created quite the mess around here." I decided that it would be best to speak with authority in this situation rather than being an outsider. We were already involved in this chaos so we might as well take control a bit.

"Sir Airey. I, well I, I'm so sorry about how I treated you. I was very suspicious of you and your group. I thought you were working with my sister Votelyn until your untimely and illegal arrests took place. You managed to protect my sister Danika long enough for her to escape through an underground pathway. She is hiding somewhere in the city while this dispute goes on. Votelyn, my ungrateful sister, is trying to take away the crown. Unfortunately, you ended up getting stuck in the middle of our pollical issue. I do apologize for the hardship you have likely been through in the past 3 weeks. I'm not sure how you escaped the dungeon, but I may have enough support still to safely get you off the palace property."

"I appreciate the offer but your assistance will not be necessary. We can leave any time we wish. My main concern is recovering peace in the royal family. I won't just walk away when a war is prone to break out. We won't give up. Tell us what your family's contingency is and what leverage the princess has on you."