"Great Imperial Majesty," wrote Yosef at the start of his letter. "I am happy to say that our visit to Livia has been peaceful. The king even praised her highness for her etiquettes. From there, we resumed our journey and went to Runera, where her highness tried to kill the man that we are here to meet."
Yosef sighed and decided to present what happened in a better way. It was because the emperor's health could not take such a direct hit after momentary relief.
"I should write her good behavior after her bad behavior. Maybe that will ease the shock," pondered Yosef before sighing. "That would be like using bondage to reattach an arm. I should build him up, only to break him down."
His writing got more details as Yosef started building for the suspense that was to come. Finally, he made sure that the emperor would feel proud of his granddaughter when he reads most of the letter, and in the end, Yosef revealed the latest incident.
After writing it down, Yosef threw it into the fire. A green smoke puffed out of the fireplace, and he sighed in worry. The emperor should have received his letter now.
A hurried knock arrived at his door, and Yosef walked toward the door and opened it. The source of all mischief stood behind the door, looking downward.
"I cannot sleep," said Jasmine as she pushed him away to get into the room. Yosef was astounded that someone can be casual about entering someone's room.
"You cannot enter my room late at night. There will be rumors," frowned Yosef as he looked outside.
"No one will believe I sleep with an old man," she said with confidence, almost laughing. "I checked the surrounding. No one is watching us."
"The Lord of Runera gave us privacy," said Yosef as he closed the door. "What an odd man, right?"
"How did you know I want to talk about him?" glared Jasmine, her green eyes reflecting the dancing flames. "I feel something amiss."
"Do you think he has fallen too?" frowned Yosef because he felt quite the opposite of that. Those fallen beings were lifeless, almost feeling like hollow containers. However, the Seika was a man of… substance.
"Are you an idiot?" snorted the princess in a very mannerless behavior. "That man killed a fallen being. There is no way that he is one of them. Rather, he is the only person who destroyed an Ender."
"Then, what do you mean by your words?" mused Yosef as he sat in front of her. "Are you having feelings for him because he defeated you?"
"I was not defeated!" she protested before looking down on her hands. "I am just…"
Yosef was confused by her behavior. It was the first time he saw her looking lost since she was born. This princess radiated unwavering confidence since she was young, almost overconfidence.
'Can she truly have feelings for him?' blinked the general. 'Can the girl in front of me be a maiden in love rather than a mischievous devil?'
"His face," she blurted out. "I want to rip it apart every time I look at him," she squeezed her hands tightly until they were pale. "It reminds me of that bastard for some reason."
"That bastard…" muttered the general and realized she was talking about her father and his friend. "I cannot see it. Your father was a gentle and thin man. There are no similarities between them."
"I know that his face is different and that he acts and speaks differently. Those eyes are also far from normal. However, have you seen how he treats his people?"
"He reminds me of you," sighed Yosef, and she glared at him.
"That is very offensive. I am not that kind to you."
"Kind?" Yosef tilted his head in confusion. "How was he kind in any way to his people? He almost burned down that dwarf and frightened the city."
"I followed him for a while before I attacked. That man is a kind piece of shit who helps anyone he meets. I hate his type the most, gutless bastards."
"I thought that common sense says we like kind people," Yosef leaned forward. "Why do you hate him for being kind?"
"You are not your sharpest today, Yosef," she sighed. "I said it earlier. His actions remind me of the bastard. That man is only being kind because he knows that he will abandon these people one day, just like my hypocrite father."
"I see what is going on," stood Yosef from his chair. "You are projecting your irrational hate toward this man because he reminds you of your father."
"That is what I just said," she spat.
"However, you like him. The only reason you would be affected by a person's actions is that you like them," grinned Yosef. Jasmine was silent.
"He is alright," she muttered to the side. "However, I know that he has a plan. The people of this city cannot be left for his bidding. We need to save it!"
"Are you asking me to overthrow the lord of this city?" laughed Yosef, but she looked serious. "I will not abide. This city likes him, and even if he leaves one day, he built the greatest city in this kingdom in less than three months. This man will be remembered kindly."
"All those leave will be remembered kindly," stood up Jasmine. "You have seen his artifacts. This man is a threat to our empire as well because there is no way we can face him with only our bodies' strength."
"A threat to the empire," muttered Yosef. "I will watch and see for myself, your highness," after he said that, Jasmine left his room. Yosef was happy that she did not use her authority to force him, proving the emperor taught her well.
The things she said bugged him for some reason. Yosef did not see it earlier because it has been so long since he met his friend. However, when he placed them next to each other, something was uncannily similar despite being different.
"What is it, exactly?"
***
The City of Runera was built less than ninety days ago. First, it started as a camp, then came the divine tree, the architect Rumi drew a map, and the Seika built houses out of thin air.
The city was blooming like a flower bud, spreading its petals. The high-rise buildings were countless, connecting the earth and sky. Flying ships and boards traveled the air carrying the dreams and hopes of the people.
Arthur stood atop the divine tree where the workshops were built. A man walked to stand beside him, looking at the city. The two did not say anything, only admiring the work that they had done.
"I believe you were here once before, right?" said Oriole beside him. "The Runes Apprentice Cup. Does this city look like Runera now?"
"It still has a long way to go," smiled Arthur as he took a deep breath and spread his arms. "I love this city, Ori."
"I know, and so do I," he said before looking at Arthur's left arm. "You are using it all the time now?" he was talking about the mechanical arm attached to Arthur.
"I want to get used to it before I need it," replied Arthur as he clenched the iron fist. "I cannot believe that after all this time, we are achieving our old dream, Ori."
"You cannot call it a dream when it was a simple club activity," laughed the grandmaster. "We wanted to build a golem, and now, we are building something far stronger than it. I wish we were all here," the grandmaster raised his wrist and stared at his bracelet.
"You know," muttered Arthur as he looked at the initials that Ori was reading. "There will come a day where I have to kill her."
"This is the path she chose, and I will not blame you for that," smiled Ori. "I only miss when life was simpler. Then, we did not need to create weapons of mass destruction, nor did we need to kill our friends."
"Life has a way, somehow," sighed Arthur. "My life changed over eight months ago, or maybe more. It will be a year soon. I cannot believe how can something so small such as losing your job, destroys life as you know it."
"You can only be proud that you survived everything," said Oriole as he grabbed Arthur's shoulder. "We both changed a lot, but here we are, after twelve years and in another world. Life will always change, but we strive to hold dear things."
"I can only do that," said Arthur as he grabbed Ori's wrist. "Thank you for helping me, Ori. Now, and before. Let us go and see them, then."
The two walked side by side into the workshops, where giant metallic monsters were pinned to the walls. Runemasters and blacksmiths worked together on different ones, fighting and discussing how such an artifact exists.
Arthur and Ori walked toward the center of the hall, grabbing the attention of all present people. They gathered behind the two and followed them into the giant object at the end.
"Uncover it," said Arthur, and a knight bulled the giant cover, revealing what is underneath. "We did it, Ori, our first mecha!"
