A blonde haired boy looked out upon the carriage window as they approached their destination. The city of Azralia was just up ahead, and it was the first time the boy had seen it. The carriage he rode in had two people on the driver's seat, another one on the roof, and two sitting upon a balcony built into the back. It was a large and extravagant carriage, darkened black with golden bordering, and seals painted in blue. The outside was clearly dignified, but anyone who knew their materials would realize that carriage was also basically a fortress. Leaving aside its durability, its mass and density would likely prevent even a troll from breaching it, or even being able to knock it over for that matter. A dragon could pick it up and drop it from the sky, and it would still be in one piece. Furthermore, it was enchanted to always land on its wheels and maintain the peacefulness of the ride on the inside, so they might feel some shaking here and there, but none of them would ever be killed most likely. Even if it looked like they would face a lethal impact, other enchantments would then suspend them safely and keep all the occupants alive and well. Furthermore, the carriage drivers had their own front compartment they could retreat into.

  The carriage was as wide as two eighteen wheelers incidentally, and pulled by some of the strongest of mystic beasts, which were far different from monsters. These ones especially had been bred and trained by the royal family themselves, and they would only serve them and those the royal family told them to serve. They appeared to be half lion and half dragon, with a glorious main and fluffy body, but with scaled bits on their legs and a head that looked more like a dragon. Known as Denfaris, they were a symbol of the Ronia Kingdom's royalty. As far as anyone knew, only they had these majestic beasts, or those with strong connections to them.

  The blonde haired boy with sapphire blue eyes looked out upon the city walls, built high and mighty, and let out a sigh.

  "Its finally in view. How annoying we couldn't just go here ourselves".

  He spoke that way to another passenger in his carriage, a boy with silver-white hair and sapphire blue eyes like him. He appeared to be a bit younger than the prince himself, who was only eleven years old. And yet, as they looked at each other, their eyes betrayed their appearances, suggesting a wealth of more experience than their years would normally allow. Especially for the other boy, who seemed to see into the far distant future.

  "It would be good to get used to such things you know. You already travel faster than most, thanks to being royalty".

  "Surely there are faster means we have access to. Did we really need this overdesigned carriage? Why not ride the Denfaris right here? It would have taken half the time".

  "Because you are royalty, this is an official visit, and most importantly of all, there have been dangerous monster movements out here. Its not like you are riding around the Royal Territory, or the Maira Heartlands. This is the frontier, and your father would never have allowed it".

  "Oh shut up Ruka".

  Aruu, or rather, Ruka, pouted a bit when he heard that. "Hey, I am your senior you know?"

  "Yes yes. But you seem grumpy too. I am right, right Sebastian?"

  Sebastian just sipped some tea, acting as the perfect butler.

  "My master is a great individual capable of a great many things".

  "...Sebastian, as your master, I am concerned about the way you worded that as a response to that question".

  "I am eternally loyal to you, master. As is my entire household".

  "Kind of crazy that you look so much older, but it was Ruka who saw your birth".

  "Oi, making me sound like an old man still hurts you know?" Ruka mentioned. "Besides, its getting to be a bit of a pain. I have been so involved, all of my various aliases are getting mixed up now" Ruka complained. "Anyways, I wonder if we will see Riza".

  "Thats right. I have yet to really chat with him yet privately" the prince muttered. "What can you tell me about him? Before the Hidden, or current".

  "Before is a mystery. Honestly even some of the current is a bit of a mystery. He keeps a lot of secrets, even for a group like ours. I know he has been plotting something for decades though, not that I have any idea what it is. Green has concerns though, but Black seems to have some idea, but is sworn to secrecy".

  "Eh? Why?"

  "No clue. He did promise nothing he is up to would have any negative effects for The Hidden or The World though, and he never breaks a promise".

  The Prince, Astazia Regaliz, the fourth prince of the Ronia Kingdom. Ruka AKA Aruu AKA a whole lot of other names, the wielder of the Godblade Ashiago, and clearly an immortal. And Riza Luminar, a grandpa who still looks like a thirteen year old, a famed magic knight and adventurer, and the Captain of the Order of the Silver Wind.

  They all had three things in common. They all appeared younger then they are. They all had wisdom beyond their years. And all three of them were members of a mysterious organization known as The Hidden. The Organization has a true name, but The Hidden is what they use to conceal it. Using various codenames, they have an unknown structure and an unknown reach to others, and only a few outside their numbers knew of them, such as Sebastian. The Oracle knew of them to a degree as well, but that couldn't be helped. Still, the Oracle could not outright figure out their identities, due to their own power at work.

  "Still, remember. Even when we meet Riza, even if it appears like we are in private, you must not talk about matters of The Hidden, Zia" Ruka warned him. "You never knew who might be listening, and as a prince, you have higher odds of being spied on. Furthermore, you have higher odds of being kidnapped and tortured for information, so this is very serious".

  "Mhm. I gotcha. I know I am the youngest and newest of us all, but...surely you dont think I would slip up that easily do you?"

  "I have nothing but concerns given your position. If I am being honest, if it wasn't for all the great information and influence your position gets us, I have half a mind to fake your death and get you set up with a new identity. But we already did that recently with Black, so we dont want to be too overt. Seriously, I get Black is distressed by a few things he is going through, but I wish he would reign his emotions in more".

  "Does he really get that emotional?"

  "Yeah. He is extremely expressive and social too, despite the fact he tries to seem cool and collected. Meanwhile, Green is the opposite. He acts all energetic and hyper, but really he actually is calm and collected. Well, both have been around for several decades now though".

  "Who is the oldest of The Hidden. You?"

  "Nah, it would have to be Orange probably. I suppose it could be another, but that seems highly unlikely".

  While smalltalking in secrets the rest of the world was dying, and occasionally killing, to know, they were approaching the city proper. The main northern gates came into view, and they could see everything in stunning detail. The gates were not decorative like many of the gates within the Royal Territory, but in exchange, they were far more reinforced and massive, and would bring even modern tanks to tears if they tried to breach them. They were designed to keep trolls and worse out from their interior, and clearly no one had tried to skimp the bill here.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Furthermore, those were only the outer gates. There was actually two gates, but for them to be solid metal door type gates indicated a lot.

  "Woah. I cant see a single sign of embezzlement anywhere. Its so different from the Empire's Frontier gates. And an annoying amount of ours as well".

  "Indeed. This city was set up properly. None of the tell tale signs of corruption that is seen in other human cities is seen here".

  "You sound half in awe, half vexed. Are you planning to kill some people again?"

  "Hmf. Nothing to concern yourself with".

  "You promised no assassinations" Astazia said with a pout.

  "Sometimes things are necessary. I am not exactly thrilled with the reports of everything going on here. There is a lot going on everywhere right now, the Revival of the Demon King always seem to increase impulses and desires within deviants and dastardly people. I swear, I wish someone would find a way to just end the Demon King forever already".

  As they complained, they finally made it to the front gate, where an unnecessary number of guards were there to protect them. At least thirty on each side, flanking them, with another ten in front making up their highest ranks. It was clearly to put on an impression, but the prince was troubled.

  "Are they trying to protect us, or intimidate us?"

  "Yeah, that seems rather excessive, even for royalty. Especially given the guys they have on the rooftops and bulwarks".

  The prince looked out and let out a sigh. "This is going to be trouble again".

  As if on cue, an attendant came up to the carriage and looked in on them.

  "Excuse me, your highness. There is a greeting party for you, hosted by Lord Valiance".

  "I see...did he bring any gifts?"

  "Yes sir...most will be sent to your father though".

  "...I have so many concerns, but I guess thats what happens. Are there any I can have?"

  "The non-alcoholic chocolates, and an advance payment on the taxes".

  "...before I accept, I suppose I should meet him first".

  "That would probably be for the best".

  The Prince and Ruka got out together, along with Sebastian and their bodyguards. They then left, and from another carriage, the heroes ended up accompanying them. It seemed like they were invited too, which made sense.

  As they approached, they noticed noble's knights supplementing the guard force.

  Oh joy, just what on earth are they thinking?

  As the fourth prince wondered that, the group made their way to the front, where they saw an incredibly fancily dressed noble adorned in various noble looking clothes. It was clear he dressed quite lavishly and had a great deal of wealth and prosperity, or at least, that is what these clothes and gems were looking to say. Along with him was various advisors, as well as his son.

  "Welcome, your highness, to Azralia".

  "Lord Valiance, I was not expecting you. I would think the lord of the city would have come here to greet me".

  "Unfortunately, he is dealing with a rather persistent rabble right now. However, I can safely escort you through the city".

  "I believe that would actually be my job" a young voice called out, as Riza Luminar in his full knight gear appeared. Along side him was his Vice Captain/Vice Commander, Andrea Valmont, and their entire knight division. It was truly a spectacular sight, seeing the full Order of the Silver Wind deployed.

  Valiance didn't lose his poker face, but he glared a bit too hard for a moment.

  "I mean, in the first place, if you want to escort a prince around, you should be mindful to wear functional clothes, not party clothes" Riza added, speaking nothing but the truth. Valiance had worn these to leave a good impression on his highness, but now it was used against him spectacularly. And Riza's entire knights force was there to keep them safe as well.

  "Lord Luminar, its a pleasure to see you again" Astazia, or just Asta or Zia for short with those he was close to, said as he greeted the count. "I see you are doing well here. Investigation going well?"

  "We recently got a lot of files and leads on human trafficking organizations, so its a major win. Of course, it appears they were not the only one around, but this will make it a lot harder for the others to operate as well, since there will be less competition to hide behind".

  "I am glad to see you are rooting out the rats. Incidentally, we wish to see a few places, such as the Mage's Guild and Adventurer's Guild. A quick stop by today should be fine since its late, so we can learn their locations, and then get a more detailed visit later on. We will be staying in the castle while we are here".

  "Good to know!"

  "Why, we can provide hospitality at my manor too..." Lord Valiance cut in, however Astazia shook his head.

  "We have to show deference to the lord of this city, Lord Nuunegal".

  "I see. Well if anything changes, or if you need anything, I am available".

  They nodded, although deep down, Astazia didn't trust Valiance at all.

  I heard a ton of things about you from Riza, you scumball! Ruka is absolutely going to find something on you to crush you!

  Those were the thoughts going on in his head, as the royal visit commenced.

  "Looks like everyone is starting to get even more busy" Kuroki noticed as the group of them were still going around and enjoying everything.

  "Should we wrap it up and head back?" Kaede asked.

  "I think we should be good for another hour or so, but lets be careful. People have been selling alcohol for awhile, so they might still be drunk".

  The group nodded at that, and then Kaede yanked Kuroki and Riku over as two bottles suddenly flew right where they used to be.

  "Now who the hell did that?!" Kaede yelled, annoyed. As if on cue, six drunk people came over to them. Clearly inebretiated to the point logic or words was meaningless on them, they were all incredibly tipsy.

  However, something about these six felt rather...familiar...to Kuroki and Riku.

  "Riku, these guys look familiar. Do we know them from somewhere?"

  "Now that you mention it, these guys do look familiar...where have we seen them before?"

  A lot had happened since then, so perhaps it was only natural for them not to remember the six that served as their proof of combat skills from back when they first joined the adventurer's guild. These six had picked a fight with them when they were joining, and thoroughly were defeated.

  "You brats! You used dirty tricks to embarass us so you could reach F-Rank! How dare you forget about us!"

  "Ohhhhh..."

  "Right, its those guys..."

  The two said that, but Kaede and Ryuu could tell from their expressions it was a vague recollection at most.

  "You two don't really remember them, do you?"

  "We both had basically arrived in the city, so we weren't really fully oriented. And a lot of other things happened".

  "I had to do a dungeon crawl right off the bat..." Riku moaned.

  "I had to go through a forest full of high level monsters right off the bat" Kuroki shuddered.

  "Shut the fuck up you damned brats!" one of them said, throwing an empty bear bottle at them. Kuroki deflected it this time with magic.

  "Hey, someone could get seriously hurt if you do that, idiots!"

  The man who was the leader just growled however.

  "Well maybe we want to have you hurt as payback!"

  Ooooohhhh, this is unexpected! A revenge match encounter with the guys who tried to pick on us as we were registering encounter?!

  While Kuroki had some truly idiotic thoughts swirl through his normally smart head, the ruffians closed in on them. None of the six had weapons on them on them though, so there was only one logical thing to do in this situation.

  Team Kuroki took out their whistles from the Goblin subjugation the guild organization, and blew as hard as they could before running away. This would alert every guard in the area to them and that they were in distress for this situation.

  "We cant just one sidedly beat up unarmed people, we could get in serious trouble!" Kuroki complained.

  "Yeah, so just keep running, intercepting, and only using magic to trip them up or minor attacks!"

  Riku growled as he heard Kaede's words. "Beating them up would be so much easier!"

  "Yeah yeah!"

  The drunks gave chase, but while they were adult adventurers with adult adventurer trained legs, they were also really drunk, so this left the kids with a real and actual chance. They might actually be able to escape from this group. Though, as it turns out it wasn't all that necessary since they got mobbed by guards pretty quickly. The six of them apparently had some killer headaches though on account of four very loud whistles going off right near them at once, but that was probably just a coincidence right? Right? RIght?!?!

  Either way, that ended up getting resolved rather quickly and easily again, and Kuroki and group had done their duties as proper law abiding folk and did not just beat a bunch of people who were already weakened to a pulp. Last time it had only taken Kuroki and Riku after all, and they had a much better grasp of hteir abilities now and how to control them.

  Well, they were all relieved it ended so easily and it did not soul the taste of the festival, so they kept enjoying the food and seeing the sights. Everything was going well for them, that they forgot just how likely they were to draw trouble to themselves.

  At the same time, shadows began to spread out around the city, watching various buildings, as well as people. Whether this would be relevant towards anyone tonight or not remained to be seen however. But the night pushed ever onwards.