“Where am i..?” John muttered.

John opened his eyes, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar ceiling. 

‘It’s not the same one as the inn, the bed feels comfortable.’ He thought.

“Where’s Ariel?” John questioned.

He hastily looked around in search of her, but she wasn’t here. He was the only one here. 

John got up from the bed and made his way to the door but somebody else had already opened it before he got there. 

The man walked inside the room and John felt a strong anger after seeing him. He was the one who cheated in our fight. 

“Where.. Is she..? I’ll say this now… If you laid a finger on her…” 

John’s surroundings began to freeze as he let out his blood lust. 

“Whoa, calm down. I’ll explain, ” The man said.

“Explain?! You went back on your word!” John shouted. 

‘Why am I so mad… ‘John wondered.

“The king requests to meet you.” the man said.

“Oi… You still haven’t learned a lesson? You really think I’m going to believe you after everything you just did?” John asked as he got up. 

With an emotionless expression, John slowly walked towards him. With each step, a trail of ice would be left. John was walking on the cold ground, barefoot, yet he couldn’t even feel it. 

“Even I’m mad at you, you little ****, but I can’t oppose orders from above, even I’d like to know what they want with a kid like you.” 

Without listening to him, John continued to walk, ‘why… Why was I so angry?’ 

” You’re not really planning on fighting in the palace, are you? And you know what happened before.” The man spoke.

He was starting to get nervous, you could tell just by looking at him. 

“Y-your friend is safe in one of the guest rooms!” The man shouted. 

And in that moment, John stopped.. 

“Explain yourself.” said John.

“F-First of all, Sorry for kidnapping you. I was told to test your skill but didn’t expect you to be able to win or use chant-less magic. Please understand that I had to follow my orders and capture you alive.” The man said.

After hearing that Ariel was safe, John had calmed down. 

“Alright, Let’s just get this over with.” John replied.

“O-Okay…” responded the man.

‘That explains his neat clothes, completely unlike before.’ Thought John. 

Without saying another word, the man took John to the king’s chamber. As they passed through the corridors, there were many maids and neatly dressed people, Upon seeing that, John could tell that this wasn’t a joke. 

The only one Inside was a man. He looked like he was in his late 40s at most. He sat on his throne and looked at John. 

John walked up to the throne and bowed his head with his knees on the floor, something William advised him to do. 

“Lift up your head, young boy.” The Kind said.

John lifted up my head and stared at him. Long Silver hair and White eyes. He gave off vibes of a competent man. 

“What is your name?” The Kind asked. 

“John Fox” He replied. 

“How’s our kingdom? Is it to your liking?” The King asked.

“Surely an orphan like me wouldn’t have many positive views on it.” John replied.

“You’re right.. It wouldn’t be normal for an orphan to have a good experience in a society. Just like it wouldn’t be normal for an orphan to use chant-less magic.” The King said.

‘He got people to spy on me?’ John wondered.

“Who taught you how to use chant-less magic? It’s a lost method, The ones who do know are few in this world.” said the King.

“It’s self taught.” John replied. 

“So you’re saying a kid who hasn’t received any education is able to pull off Chant-less magic as if it were nothing? Haha, are you trying to lie to me, boy?” The King spoke.

The look in his eyes were as if they were looking at trash. If not for John’s knowledge, he was sure he would have disposed of him on the second. 

“Not at all, I simply understood the concept and became able to use it.” John answered. 

‘That’s not accurate, I understood the concept of an element to be able to use it, but there’s no point in telling him that. I don’t like the look in his eyes. Nor this kingdom.’ John thought. 

“Interesting.. So you’re saying you understand the concept of magic..?” The King questioned. 

“In a way.” John responded.

“That itself is already perfect. Our court mages have been trying to figure out the concept since they were kids and have only gotten so far.” The King replied.

Obviously, Magic is science, this world’s education is clearly behind. Therefore, someone like John, who is from another world and has learnt about these things, has no difficulties using it. 

“Say, would you be interested in working for the palace as a teacher? We can make your pay way higher than what you could make as an E-rank adventurer, and you would have your own territory and house.” The King offered.

‘So he wants my knowledge, and after that he’ll most likely dispose of me so that I don’t teach it to others.’ John guessed. 

‘Why would I assume that? Because of the way this kingdom treats the commoners. They separate the kingdom into 2 sections, the commoner sect and the noble sect. Commoners are not allowed to enter the noble sect, and some are killed if they do.’ John concluded. 

If John wasn’t invited by the king himself, he would have been killed by now. The palace is located in the noble sect, after all. That just shows how little they regard the lives of commoners. 

If a commoner like John were to possess valuable knowledge, they’d naturally want to get rid of it, to keep a balance in the kingdom. And to increase its overall strength. But John had no interest in staying in this kingdom or getting involved with your corrupt society. 

“Could I have some time to think it through? I’d also like to consult it with my friend, and there are a few things I left unfinished back in the inn.” John answered.

“Very well, You have a week to think about it, during that time you and your friend can go finish what you had to do.” The king replied

John left the Giant golden room and was greeted by William who took him to Ariel’s room. 

“Ariel, how have you been?” John asked as he walked inside. 

Ariel, who had been sitting on her bed, got up and ran towards John. 

“John!!” She said as she gave him a tight hug. 

“I’m back,” John said. 

“There are a lot of things that I have to tell you!” She said as she continued to hug John. 

“I’m interested in hearing them, but let’s leave it for later. We have something we need to do now.” John whispered to her, while making it seem like a normal hug. 

“Ahem, while I’m glad you are happy to be reuniting, the king would like his answer as soon as possible, so please go finish what you have to at the inn.” Said will 

“Understood, what we have to do will take a few days, but I’m sure the answer will be before his deadline. But I would like to return as soon as possible.” John replied as he stopped hugging Ariel. 

Will nodded before leading them to their inn. 

————————————————————- 

The palace was quite far from their inn, since it was in the commoner area. The castle was in the middle of the kingdom and Noble Area. 

When John first came into this world, he didn’t realise it was a noble area, so he tried going inside, but got stopped by the guards. At least 80% of the kingdom is mainly for nobles, which is why he never really took the time to explore the rest of. 

The discoveries, magic, they were all exciting, but John hasn’t done anything that made him truly feel like an adventurer, all he’d done is subjugate monsters. He wanted to explore this world, see new things. Fight a dragon, make a party. 

‘The king’s offer was boring. I’m not going to spend my days teaching people how to fight. But I couldn’t exactly tell him that. The education I received holds a lot of power, which is why he wouldn’t just let me go. So my only option is to grab Ariel and run.’ John thought. 

John was honest to gain his trust, but he was sure he’s still wary of him. 

‘That’s fine, I already have a few countermeasures even if he sends people to watch me.’ John thought. 

From what the innkeeper told John, this kingdom has a severe lack of adventurers. That’s because of the inequality between the commoners and nobles and because it has no dungeons. It’s also surrounded by other kingdoms making monsters difficult to find. The knights are all that’s needed to take care of them 

‘I’m sure that’s not the only case, but either way, adventurers are people who travel around, I believe I’ve spent enough time in this kingdom, I have enough funds, so I think it’s time for me and Ariel go exploring.’ John decided.

“Get ready” He said.

Will was no longer with them, so John didn’t have to worry about him overhearing it. 

“what?” Ariel asked. 

“I’ll explain it later. For now, just follow my lead,” John muttered as he gestured to her to be quiet. 

She nodded without saying a word. 

They walked inside and he began to pack his things. That said, he barely had anything. Only a few sets of clothes which he had bought for himself and clothes Ariel had gotten herself. They had a few bags they got from shopping, so they put their clothes inside of them. 

John made sure the necklace he was going to give to her was still in his pocket before heading outside of the inn. He made sure to thank the innkeeper for the information before heading towards the exit. 

“John, wait a minute!” Ariel said. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked. 

“Well, we’ve been packing up our things, and you even told the gatekeeper that we were leaving. Where are we going?” Ariel asked.

“There’s no time to explain, but all I can say is that we’re running away.” John answered.

“But I heard from William. The king offered you a place in the palace, so why?” She asked 

“I’ll explain it on the way,” John said.

With a worried expression, Ariel didn’t say anything. Seeing this, John thought she had the right to decide, and that he shouldn’t force her. 

“A-Ariel… If I told you we were running away for our own good, would you still want to come? You’d be leaving the kingdom you’ve lived in ever since you were a kid…” John asked. 

As if finally understanding, she nodded and with a smile she said, “If John’s going, then I’ll go with you, we’re partners after all, right?” She asked 

“Right” John replied. 

John smiled back at her and grabbed on to her hand before muttering the words. “Furtim, Silentium” 

Ariel gave him a confused look before trying to say something. However, to her surprise, no sound came out. 

John motioned at her to wait and that he would explain it after they left. 

Furtim is a camouflaging spell. John had started practising this spell when he got noticed by the scouts back in the goblin settlement. 

For the first spell, furtim, John had to understand that in order for a person to see an object, light needs to reflect off of it and hit their eyes. So the only thing he needed to do was to use his mana as a cloak to intercept that light, preventing it from reflecting off of him and from escaping if it makes it inside. 

That way, to others, they will appear invisible. But since they are inside the Anti-Light magic cloak, made by coating them in his magic, they won’t have any problems seeing things. The cloak also prevents their magic from being detected. It’s a great stealth spell. 

As for the next spell, Silentium. Sound waves exist as variations of pressure in a medium such as Air. They are created by the vibration of an object which causes the surrounding air to vibrate. 

With this mechanism in mind. Just like the Anti-Light magic cloak, John made an anti-sound magic field. By imagining a small magical sphere around them where sound waves can’t go inside or come out of and imagining that any vibrations in the air around them ceased to exist. 

It’s a simple method and a powerful combo. Which hardly wastes mana. Anyone who knows how to freely manipulate their magic can do it. The only reason why they probably can’t is due to the difference in education between John and the people of this world. 

John made the field big enough to fit the two of them, but small enough so that other people don’t realise. As they left the inn, John noticed that there were a few things off. There seemed to be a few people who were acting as if they were doing something but in reality were keeping watch over the inn 

As John held on to Ariel’s hand, they headed towards the city gates. 

After a carriage finally appeared in front of the gates and was about to leave the kingdom, they hopped on the back without anyone noticing and waited for the carriage owner to finish talking to the gatekeeper 

After they were done, the gatekeeper opened the gate, and the carriage went through. 

Around half an hour after the carriage left the kingdom, John undid the spell and they could finally talk again. 

The first thing John did was to look back at the kingdom with a relieved expression. 

“You can talk now, Ariel,” He said. 

“A-Ah, I can… So John, can you finally explain?” She asked. 

“Of course” John replied. 

*** 

“So we were going to be used, and you decided that leaving the kingdom would be the best option?” Ariel asked 

“Yep” John replied. 

“Pffft” 

They both started to laugh as we sat on the back of the carriage. 

“Imagine the look on the king’s face when he finds out we left,” John said. 

“He’s probably be like, ‘What?! Guards!” Said Ariel as she imitated him 

“But you don’t regret the choice, right?” John asked. 

“Of course not, I think that it was the best decision,” Said Ariel. 

“But weren’t you born there…?” John questioned.

“I didn’t really like it, and adventurer’s travel, so It’s fine, and that doesn’t mean I won’t ever be able to come back. When I’m older and stronger… I’ll come visit,” She said with a determined look on her face. 

Seeing this, John felt like a burden had been lifted off of his chest. 

“That’s good,” John replied. 

“Ah, by the way. Where are we going? I get that you use some sort of concealment on us so that we wouldn’t be seen leaving the kingdom. I could also feel that there were some people watching our inn as we left, so I don’t need you to explain why we rushed. But where are we going?” Ariel questioned.

After hearing Ariel’s question, John began to nervously sweat. 

“I-I don’t know.. But Isn’t that what makes it more exciting?” said John.

“W-well, I guess…” Ariel said as she looked away. 

“W-Why are you looking away?!” John asked.

They let out another laugh before as they stared at the sunset. Ariel, who looked worried while they were sneaking out, now looked like the weight on her shoulder had been removed. 

And John, who was starting to feel disappointed at how boring the kingdom was, felt excited now that he could finally experience something new. 

‘Some people may think I’m rushing, but from the very get go, my objective has always been to travel around the world. I was given 10 Gold coins by William as an apology for what he did and now I have 15 gold coins in total.’ John justified to himself.

“Ah! That reminds me.” He said.

John then pulled out the 2 connected necklaces out from his pocket. 

“Remember the thing I told you I had to do before sprinting off? I wanted to get this necklace. I was also going to give it to you, if we hadn’t been interrupted.” said John.

He handed over the sun part of the necklace to Ariel before continuing. 

“They’re 2 in 1, in other words, they’re connectable. The one I gave you represents the sun, and mine represents the moon. When you connect them it represents a whole. What do you think? Perfect for partners like us right?” John asked with a smile on his face. 

Ariel, who had been quietly listening, put on the necklace and showed him a bright smile as she said, “Thank you.. I’ll treasure it!” 

Shortly after, she lowered her head to cover her face. 

“Um.. Ariel, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to force yourself to wear it..” John said. 

She lifted up her head in a rush and as tears flowed down her eyes said. “No! It’s not that! It’s just I was really happy and didn’t know what to say..” 

“O-Oh.. I see..” John muttered.

Now this time, John was the one that lowered his head to cover his face. 

“You don’t have to be that happy…” John quietly whispered to himself.