Precedence System: I Take My Rewards In Advance

”Do we really need to board something like this? Is this even fast or just luxury?”

”Both,” Elinox answered.

Zishan looked at her.

She took a seat across from him and rested one arm along the side of the seat. ”Skyforge is one of the fastest Aether Crafts in the Kingdom of Olmost. The only vessels faster than this one are the Mana Cruisers of the Royal Family.”

Zishan stared at her for a moment before leaning his back farther. ”So it’s fast and luxurious.”

Elinox nodded. ”Yes.”

”That’s unfair.”

Elinox’s brows moved slightly. ”To whom?”

He shrugged. ”Poor people.”

Elinox stared at him for a moment, clearly unsure what kind of answer he expected.

Skyforge had already carried them far from the western station, but Zishan barely noticed that they were moving. For something so huge, the vessel flew far more smoothly than he expected. Mana moved through the transparent channels beneath the floor, brightening whenever Skyforge changed direction.

Even the windows looked expensive.

The windows ran along most of the cabin wall, their dark surface clearing as Zishan moved closer. Far below, forests, roads, and scattered settlements passed beneath Skyforge, showing him parts of Cyrune he had never seen from the military routes he had been dragged through so far.

The furniture also caught his attention.

’I haven’t tried first class or VVIP seats on planes before, but this one is definitely way beyond that in terms of capacity and convenience. No turbulence at all! Damn... and there’s no need for anyone to drive or pilot it or whatever they call the plane driver on Earth...’

The sofas were already excessive enough for Zishan, but Skyforge somehow had more. Small tables could slide out from the walls, there was a compartment filled with chilled drinks, and part of the cabin could even be turned into sleeping quarters. He had also been told there was an actual bath somewhere inside.

Zishan had stopped asking about the price of individual things after that. He suspected the answers would only make him emotionally poorer.

Ollie sat beside him at first, trying very hard to look awake while staring through the window.

That lasted perhaps fifteen minutes. Then, his head began dropping every few seconds until Zishan finally noticed how tired the little boy was.

”You can lie down if you’re tired,” he said.

”I’m not tired,” Ollie mumbled.

But his eyes were already closed.

”I don’t want to inconvenience Big Brother...” Ollie mumbled again. ”He might need me any time...”

Zishan looked at Ollie, his eyes softening. ”Don’t worry. We’re safe now, and you don’t need to work again like you did on the battlefield... let loose and rest well.”

He then looked at Elinox, while the latter looked at the young boy.

Zishan lowered his voice. ”He’s asleep.”

Elinox nodded. ”I have eyes, but yes.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. ’Tch...’

Elinox almost smiled as Ollie’s head slipped sideways against Zishan’s arm. Zishan shifted carefully so the boy would not wake up, but Ollie only slid farther down until his head came to rest across Zishan’s lap.

Zishan smiled and looked down at him while the boy settled there, as if he had somehow planned the entire thing before falling asleep.

He had seen Ollie exhausted before, especially during the battles, but he had never realized how much of that exhaustion the boy had learned to hide.

Ollie barely had a proper sleep schedule at the station. If someone needed a message delivered, supplies moved, or an extra hand somewhere, he was usually there, which meant he slept whenever he actually got the chance.

Ollie was still young, and the military schedule had clearly been wearing him down. Without the same Mana training as the older soldiers, those broken hours of sleep were catching up to him fast.

Zishan looked at the boy’s face. His breathing had become slow and even, and one hand rested loosely against Zishan’s leg.

Zishan carefully moved a strand of hair away from the boy’s forehead. ’Sleep well, little guy.’

He did not move him again.

The journey continued quietly for a while, until Zishan’s attention returned to the landscape outside. ”So the capital has Elves? You said there are other races in Cyrune.”

Elinox looked away from the window. ”Yes.”

”Are they grumpy?”

”Why would Elves be grumpy?” she asked, confused.

”I don’t know. Elves always feel like the type of people who would stare at you because you stepped on the wrong grass.”

”Which Elves have you met?”

”None, though...”

Elinox waited.

Zishan adjusted Ollie’s head slightly when the vessel changed direction. ”That’s why I’m asking. I just heard about them being grumpy...”

”There are thousands of Elves living in and around the capital. Some are pleasant, some are unpleasant, and most probably have better things to do than monitor where you step.”

”So they’re not generally grumpy, huh...” Zishan tilted his head, resting one finger against his chin.

”No.”

”Shy?”

”No.”

”Arrogant?”

”Some.”

Zishan nodded thoughtfully. ”So some of them are arrogant. At least I got one thing right somehow.”

Elinox gave him a strange look before explaining that the races in Cyrune were not all that different from Humans in that regard. You could find Elves, Dark Elves, Dwarves, Beastfolk, Orcs, and Humans all over Olmost. The capital just had more of them mixed together than most places.

Cyrune was also home to races Zishan had yet to encounter, and Elinox warned him against assuming someone’s profession, temperament, or abilities simply from their Race.

Zishan listened while gently patting Ollie’s shoulder. ”So an Orc could be a healer?”

”Of course,” Elinox answered, crossing her arms over her chest.

”An Elf could be terrible at magic as well?”

”Yes, not everyone is naturally talented at magic,” she explained.

”A Dwarf could be tall?”

Elinox paused. ”Yes, I guess...”

Zishan’s entire understanding of fantasy suffered minor structural damage. ”What about the beards?”

”What about them?”

”Do Dwarves have thick beards?” he asked, brushing his fingers along both sides of his cheeks.

She nodded. ”Some do.”

”Even the women? Like, do you even have Dwarven women? Damn, they must be bulky...”

Elinox stared at him.

Zishan stared back.

Then, she finally asked, ”Why are you so interested in Dwarven facial hair?”

”I’m collecting important cultural information, you know... so I wouldn’t offend some of them somehow when the time comes...”

She gave up trying to understand his standards.

Zishan continued looking through the window as the land beneath them shifted from heavily damaged military roads toward regions that looked far less affected by the war. He saw villages surrounded by cultivated fields, long stone roads connecting larger settlements, and distant towers built around glowing Mana formations.

It was the first time Cyrune had started looking like an actual world instead of a collection of places where soldiers happened to be dying.

Another thought reached him. ”Does Olmost promote slavery?”

Elinox’s attention snapped toward him. ”No. Why would you ask that so casually?”

Zishan shrugged without disturbing Ollie. ”Different world. Different laws. I don’t want to arrive at the capital, see somebody walking around with a chain around their neck, and find out everyone thinks it’s normal.”

Elinox’s eyes narrowed into slits. ’What do you mean, different world? Different laws?’

”Slavery is illegal in Olmost,” she replied.

”Excellent. Your Kingdom has gained one point from me!” Zishan said. ”Honestly, I’m not a fan of slavery, though.”

Elinox looked at him, but her mouth remained zipped.

A few minutes passed before Zishan found another subject. ”Did you attend an academy?”

”No.”

He turned toward her. ”University?”

”No.”

”Some ridiculously prestigious noble school where everyone graduates with honors and hates each other? Or a school where nobles bully commoners and spit on them? Shit on them? Pee on them? Anything?”

Elinox’s brows drew together. ”You have very specific expectations about my childhood.”

”Of course! You’re eighteen, you’re a High General, you have five Mana Affinities, and you own a flying mansion. I’m trying to determine which part of your life was normal.”

Elinox stared at him even longer than before.

But she eventually explained that she had never attended an academy in the way he imagined. Much of her education had been tied directly to the military regimen she had followed from childhood.

She learned theory, tactics, Mana control, weapons, history, command principles, and other subjects through instructors before being required to apply them in exercises instead of spending years learning solely from textbooks or going through useless sparring sessions

It was not unusual in the capital, especially among young people preparing for military or magical professions. Practical application carried enormous importance in Olmost, and students headed toward specialized paths often learned through a mixture of instruction, supervised training, examinations, and field experience rather than separating education completely from practice.

Zishan listened carefully.

”So your school was basically people teaching you something and then making you suffer until you proved you understood it.”

Elinox thought about it. ”That description is crude, but I guess that works...”

”Is it inaccurate?”

She thought again and shook her head. ”No.”

”Military school.”

”I did not say that.”

”You didn’t have to, but basically, it’s still school. Just in the military. You could’ve said that earlier.”

Elinox exhaled through her nose.

Zishan smiled before another question arrived with enough force that he stopped looking outside. ”I bet you have a boyfriend already.”