Chapter 88: Spar

"But!" Deon started.

"No 'But's! how could I entrust your safety to a woman defeated by mere F-class ants? And she couldn't even protect her own brother so how will she protect you?" the king's rage shut Deon up.

The queen, who was quietly listening to the conversation, looked at her youngest son in pity.

It was the first time that Deon had wanted something so badly that he even talked back to his father, the king. Although the queen agreed with her husband, she felt bad that Deon was put into such a situation when he just came back from a horrible experience.

'Of course, my son, who is kind-hearted and generous to a fault, would be so grateful to the people who protected him from danger, but the king is right…'

'Oh, goddess Kariyah, what do I do?'

The queen racked her brain for a compromise. She did not want Deon to think that no one in the family listens to him but she also wanted him to give up on the Dame on his own.

'From what I can infer, that lady is weak, right? Then there should be no problem if I do this…'

Then the queen made her finally made her move.

"Your majesty, how about a spar?"

All the men in the dining room turned their heads to the queen.

"Our son may feel it unfair if we don't give the dame a chance to prove herself. So, why don't we arrange a spar with the royal knights?" she continued.

Deon's eyes sparkled with gratitude for his mother's unexpected backup.

Seeing that his wife uncharacteristically offered her insight on the matter, the king was left with no choice but to give in.

"Alright…" the king sighed in resignation, "I shall allow an official match between the lady and three royal knights."

"T-three?" Deon asked with wide eyes, thinking it unfair that Dame Nora would have to fight against three trained knights just to earn her spot, but the king was adamant in this decision.

"It's three or nothing, Deon," the king firmly laid his choices, "If you don't think that lady would win, fair and square, then we can end this discussion and you can forget about her."

Deon bit his lips and looked down with his fists clenched tightly on his lap.

As Deon was apparently stunned speechless, Mikael decided to interfere. After all, he was the one who asked the young prince for this favor.

But more than Arthur's promised reward, Mikael also wanted Nora to become their ally because she was undeniably strong and loyal. His sharp intuition told him that a huge storm was brewing in this world and when that time comes, he wanted Deon to be surrounded by people who would unhesitatingly protect him. 'Nakama power' may sound cliche but Mikael believed that one man can only do so much.

"Kid, let me take over for a second."

<Skill: Full integration Lvl. max is activated.>

As the Host's eyes changed into pale green, Mikael kept his head low.

"Then, let me add another condition… father," Mikael whispered.

The word 'father' left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth. He, who never thought he would utter that word ever again, felt it foreign, but Mikael cast the unpleasant feelings aside and continued his act.

This time, all heads turned to the youngest prince.

"A condition?" the king said, mildly surprised by his son's sudden shift in attitude.

"Yes, father. Just like how you decided that the dame must defeat three knights, I would like to decide when the spar will take place."

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"Oi, wimp! What are you planning to do?"

Cail pointed an accusing finger to Mikael, but the king held up his hand and urged Mikael to continue.

"I believe it is only fair to give the Dame time to recuperate from her injuries if she's to fight with three top-condition knights."

"So? When do you plan to hold the spar, son?"

"In a month, father."

'Tch, what can that slut even hope to achieve in a month? The weakling just wants to prolong his agony.' Cail inwardly snorted.

"Sebastian, inform the Knight's Captain of a spar in a month and tell him to choose three of his best subordinates." The king told the old butler as he stood from his seat. Then, he turned to his youngest and said,

"I assume you're satisfied with this, Deon?"

"I am, father."

The rest of the royal family followed the king out while Mikael canceled the full integration.

"Sir, what do we do? At this rate, Dame Nora is sure to lose!" Deon worriedly asked on their way to his bed chamber.

"Don't worry. We have Sir Finn. We'll figure this out, I promise."

'What does Sir Finn have to do with this?' Deon wondered. It's at times like these that he just couldn't figure out how Mikael's mind worked, but he trusted that his ghost partner had a plan carefully thought out.

They entered Deon's room which was double the size of Mikael's old apartment.

"Haah… Every time I see this, it makes me happy that you're my partner." Mikael went out of the Medium and drifted on top of Deon's prince-sized bed.

On the far side of the wall was an ignited fireplace that kept the winter cold away.

'Wait a minute… cold?' a thought suddenly crossed Mikael's mind. He felt like he forgot about something important when an image of a minibus-sized egg flashed in his memory.

"Ah! The egg! Deon, hurry and pull out the egg!" Mikael swooshed close to a sleepy Deon.

The young prince's drowsiness instantly vanished at Mikael's call, "Right! I have to return the ring to grandpa Sebastian tomorrow!"

All National treasures are kept under maximum security and items may only be removed from the treasury with the consent of the king thus, when Deon returns Nostalgia and the space ring to Sebastian, smuggling the giant dragon egg out would be very difficult, or worse, the butler might check its contents and find the egg inside. Then, Deon would have to come clean about the egg's identity which may cause chaos within the castle.

The young prince hurriedly snatched the space ring from his pocket and ran to the fireplace.

"Oi, kid! Where are you going?"

"To hide the egg, sir!"

"What? Where? There?!" Mikael, perplexed, pointed to the blazing fireplace.

To his surprise, the young prince moved the horse statue on top of the mantel, revealing a small, almost indistinguishable pinhole. Deon took a thin wire stuck between the fireplace bricks and inserted it in the hole.

Then, like all the old castles that Mikael had seen in Earthen movies, the floor rumbled and a square section directly in front of the fireplace moved aside, uncovering a set of stone steps leading to an underground room.

"Whoaa! What the hell?! You had a secret basement?!"

--Chapter end--

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