The Crown Prince In Hiding

Dan left Nora to continue her conversation with the Demon King in the hidden room.

The young man stood out on a terrace that jutted from the cliff face, framed by glowing tree roots in shades of purple, green, and blue, dim and beautiful.

”Rafinya.”

”Yes, Mr. Fury.”

She stood behind him, hands clasped at her back.

”The highest rank a Luminus noble can reach is Supreme Commander of the Knight Forces. That is no easy feat. Combat skill alone will not make you a five-star commander.”

”Yes, Mr. Fury.”

”Hold on to that strength. But you need to stop thinking like a duelist. You need to start thinking like a commander. Soldiers are a nation’s military might. Last time, I showed you an important lesson in Tampa Bay. This time, I will explain to you how a military is organized.”

”Understood, Mr. Fury.”

”But first, come with me.”

”Where are we going?”

District Two, the Beach: The Sea.

She had been here during the day. But at night, Rafinya understood immediately why Fury had suggested coming now.

Because above them was a sky blazing with the brilliance of countless stars. The light of the Milky Way and billions of galaxies shone brightly enough to make a person weep.

Waves lapped softly and gently against the shore. The beach at night was black, melting into the darkness around it.

The glow of mana crystal flakes cast a faint light across the sand, and across the shoreline trees behind them, and beyond those, towering hexagonal cliffs lined up in rows.

The young man in casual white walked ahead. Rafinya followed at a slight distance.

Dan stopped. He looked out at the sea, then pointed.

”The tide is out right now. You’re welcome to go catch some crabs or fish to eat.”

”Does Mrs. Casca do that often?”

”That’s what I’m about to show you.”

”!”

Fury led Rafinya to the mouth of a cliff opening. It was a cave.

Rafinya noticed scraps of white-and-gold fabric fluttering in the wind, tied up as a flag. The color had almost entirely faded, but the shape was still clearly recognizable as human-made silk.

”This is where Casca used to live.”

Dan lit a fire nearby, then led the way inside. It was not a particularly large cave. It was a dead-end space roughly the size of a single mid-range apartment.

Inside were tattered carpets, dull-colored fabrics, and simple household items: a knife, a pot, a jar, a basin, piled together in one dusty corner. In another corner lay a rug that served as both bed and prayer mat. A handmade wooden cross had been nailed to the deepest wall of the cave, in the direction the rug faced.

”This is my wife’s home.”

Dan turned and pointed toward the far end.

”She prayed there every single day. No one could talk to her during it. Even I couldn’t interrupt.”

”You haven’t cleared these things out?”

”Casca comes and goes. I don’t want to put her in a bad mood. You understand.”

”Oh...”

They walked out and continued along the beach.

Then Rafinya asked.

”Mr. Fury, who is the guardian of District Two?”

”You’re looking at him.”

”It’s you, isn’t it?”

”What makes you think that?”

”This place feels like Anfield. You’re possessive of where you live. You wouldn’t let anyone else look after it.”

”Sharp instincts.”

Guardian of the Beach District: Prince FURY.

”I had a feeling from the start...”

If it had been Nora, she almost certainly would not have guessed.

”I can’t swim... but I love the sound of the sea.”

It calms me.

”My usual spot is up there.”

He pointed to the top of the cliff.

(Waves crashing against the rocks. The distant chirping of forest crickets.)

”Besides the sword, do you do anything else?”

”I’ve devoted my entire life to the path of the knight. I don’t have anything else.”

He listened. He nodded.

”I once devoted my life to unifying this land too. Until the war ended.”

The question he left for Rafinya was this:

”If you become a five-star knight, what will you do after that?”

The young woman froze. Dan continued,

”Don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to lecture you. I’m just asking out of curiosity. I don’t want you to end up the same way I did.”

”What happened to you?”

”Emptiness.”

”...Emptiness?”

She repeated what he had just said, pressing for more.

Dan did not elaborate. He leaped over a large piece of driftwood beached on the shore. The young woman jumped after him.

”One day I looked up at the sky, and the question came to me: do I matter at all beneath that vast sky above? The answer was no. I don’t matter in the slightest.”

He turned. Rafinya saw eyes clouded with sadness.

”I’d been thinking that way for a long time. And then when I came across Professor Darwin’s book, it only hammered home the reality that I was right.”

The young man jumped down from a rocky outcrop. Rafinya followed.

”So I set a goal to find our common ancestor. That is what gives me the will to keep going. But once I find it... I don’t know whether that emptiness will come back for me again.”

He spoke of things too difficult to fully interpret. To this day, Rafinya still remembered it clearly as one of those small, fleeting moments when the Demon Prince spoke of something deeply personal to her.

Even if she didn’t understand all of it.

”It might sound contradictory coming from me... but if you find a trusted companion to keep by your side, they might help you on the day that emptiness comes to visit. The way Casca once helped me. Just a suggestion.”

He left her with several messages to reflect on, and before she knew it, he had led her to...

”We’re here.”

Rafinya saw a group of Diablo at the edge of the sea.

She shifted her focus to look at them... and her eyes went wide.

Among them was Freya. And many others she did not recognize.

And on their side, the moment they noticed the two of them approaching, they shifted from sitting casually to standing at attention.

”Your Grace~”

Freya’s fanged mouth broke into a wide grin the instant she saw Dan, but it snapped shut just as quickly when she spotted Rafinya.

”Hey, what... this brat again?”

”Huh?”

A white shark Diablo standing beside Freya let out a booming exclamation. He pointed Rafinya out to his companions.

”That’s her! That’s the kid I was telling you about! That’s the one!”

”Wait, seriously?! That kid?!”

Rafinya froze.

They seemed excited.

The large shark Diablo dove back into the sea, and an instant later, a young man with white hair emerged from the water in human form.

This time she recognized him.

Benfiga, wasn’t it?

”She was insanely fast, like, one second and the sword took the head clean off! And the fire was scorching hot too! I saw it with my own eyes!”

”For real? You’re definitely making that up.”

She didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed Rafinya’s name had begun to spread as a rumor among the Diablo.

”Rafinya, these are the Marine Diablo. They live with the water.”

”Your Grace, what are you doing dragging this girl out here in the middle of the night?”

Freya circled around behind Dan. Her 1.9-meter frame draped her arms over his shoulders and rested her chin on top of one.

”Or did you bring her here for us to gang up on and eat?”

”Don’t be ridiculous, Freya.”

Dan flicked the tongue of the Diablo woman who was trying to lick his ear, producing a sharp snap.

”I brought her here to get to know all of you. Rafinya.”

”Yes, Mr. Fury.”

”Introduce yourself to them.”

She looked at the group of over ten Diablo staring at her with raw curiosity.

”...I’m Rafinya. I’m from Luminus.”

(Gasps)

”Luminus!”

”She’s from Casca’s homeland!”

”Seriously? I thought those people hated us.”

”I’m under Mr. Fury’s mentorship... um...”

And that was about it for her introduction style. She looked at Dan as if to ask, what now?

But just then, a humanoid crab-shaped Diablo raised a hand and spoke in the human tongue.

”Benfiga says you’re the real deal. You really burned those Shadow guys to a crisp mid-air?”

”I’m sorry, what?”

After a moment, another Diablo poked its head up from the water. It resembled a sea turtle.

”They say you’re strong. Truth or just bragging?”

Rafinya: ”I honestly don’t know either...”

”Then how about a round? Let’s go.”

”Excuse me?”

Rafinya was completely bewildered. She turned to Dan for help.

Dan was already over there. He had gone to sit on a rock and watch the situation unfold.

”Mr. Fury.”

The Prince spoke to his student.

”Give them a show, Rafinya.”

He said,

”Show them what you can do. Make them respect you.”

Her eyes went wide.

”But I’ve never fought a Diablo before, Mr. Fury!”

”You have. Me.”

”...Is this really okay?”

”You’ve earned my respect. But not theirs yet. Show them.”

The young man rested his knee up. Freya leaned against him at his side.

”Don’t disgrace the name of having me as your Mentor.”