Walking down the corridor towards the royal stables, the Master and Disciple pair remained silent.

Even after leaving the main palace, Celestina subtly signaled Lucas to hold his tongue.

Lucas was naturally curious about what exactly had just transpired, but figuring it wouldn’t matter if he had to wait a few more minutes to find out, he kept his mouth shut.

Upon arriving at the stables, where Vanessa Clark and two Golden Hawks were standing by, Lucas felt they were finally far enough away from whoever it was his Master was trying to avoid, but just as he was about to ask all the questions which had been swirling around in his head, a subtly familiar voice called out to him from behind, "Boy, serve me."

It wasn’t so much a question or a request as it was a command, and the person it came from caused Lucas’ heart to leap up into his throat.

Immediately, Celestina, Vanessa, Lucas, and the stable workers who were nearby all turned towards the unexpected newcomer and bowed, "Greetings, Lord Envoy."

Lucas didn’t know how or even when Alexandros Ateo managed to sneak up behind him, but that wasn’t the issue right now; he had to come up with a way to refuse this ’offer’ without somehow offending this man and getting himself killed.

Wracking his brain as hard as he could, Lucas decided his best bet was to put on an act.

"M-M-My Lord Envoy," Lucas stuttered on purpose, keeping his head bowed, "I... I would like nothing more than to become the follower of a powerful master such as yourself, but..."

"But what?" Alexandros questioned sharply, a faint pressure leaking from his figure.

"B-But... My Master saved m-my life, and the lives of my family. I-I swore an oath to become her Disciple, and m-my father told me I should never break my word," Lucas replied in a hesitant tone.

"Hmph, naïve," the Imperial Envoy scoffed, a clear look of contempt flashing across his face.

As far as he was concerned, promises made by the weak, to the weak, were meaningless; only strength mattered.

What good was loyalty if you didn’t have the power to back it up?

Figuring the boy before him was a foolish lost cause, a child who still clung to notions of justice and righteousness, Alexandros turned to Celestina and demanded, "Give him to me."

"No," Celestina replied bluntly.

Everyone was stunned silent.

No one present could believe that a mere Complete High-Rank Adept from a Mid-Sized Kingdom would dare to openly defy the will of an Imperial Envoy, including the Envoy himself.

Rather than becoming upset or enraged however, Alexandros actually grinned, a sneer forming on his face, "An old, washed-up hag thinks she can say no to this Lord?"

Celestina let the insult wash over her like a gentle breeze, not even twitching in the slightest as she declared, "Lucas is the first True Disciple I have ever taken. I’m not handing him over to anyone."

"And if I insist?" The Envoy pressed.

Instead of answering directly, Celestina reached into her Space Bag, pulled something out, and tossed it over.

Alexandros caught the object casually, but upon glancing down at it, his pupils shrank.

Swiftly releasing his Soul Sense, the Imperial Envoy carefully inspected the object, a token of sorts, before glancing up at Celestina with a frown.

Being glared at by Alexandros, Celestina showed no fear, only a calm, quiet confidence.

"Tch, you think this trinket is enough to protect you from me?" The Lord Envoy growled menacingly, releasing more of his cultivation pressure.

"Certainly not," Celestina replied indifferently, "If Lord Ateo wishes to execute me, there is little I could do to stop you."

Glowering at the red-headed woman, who despite being nearly twice his age yet half as strong was still standing so calmly in the face of his threats, Alexandros began feeling a bit unnerved. It was a sensation he had not expected to feel anywhere outside the Large-Sized Kingdoms or the Empire itself.

Glancing back down at the token, the Imperial Envoy, who should have been able to act with impunity, hesitated.

The craftsmanship, the materials, the impregnated aura, all signs pointed to this being a legitimate token.

It was only a mid-grade token, but the force it represented was one that none would dare to take lightly, even the Imperial Family, much less a lowly envoy like Alexandros.

Still, there was a 99% chance he could get away with forcefully taking this woman’s Disciple and extracting the information he wanted out of the boy, but on the 1% chance something went wrong, his career, and possibly his life, would be forfeit.

As he was weighing his options, though, Alexandros unexpectedly received a whisper in his ear from an unexpected source, a whisper that finally tipped the scales in his mind away from risk and towards caution.

Grumbling under his breath, Alexandros flicked his sleeve, tossing the token back to Celestina before he strode off.

Only once Lord Ateo was out of earshot did everyone breath a sigh of relief, Celestina included.

There had been no guarantee that her gambit just now was going to pay off; after all, a token was just a token, a symbol of deterrence, not actual deterrence.

Silently thanking her old friend, Celestina slipped the token back into her Space Bag before promptly mounting one of the nearby Golden Hawks.

With a flick of the reigns, the majestic beast rose into the air as Celestina called out, "Take Lucas directly to Falcon’s Bend. The convoy should reach there by tomorrow, so he can rejoin them then."

Having given the order, Celestina turned her mount to the south and flew off, eager to leave the capital and resume the hunt for the Saberclaw Raptors.

Vanessa also wasted no time, helping Lucas up onto Starlight’s back and strapping him in before taking-off as well.

And so ended Lucas’ brief first trip to the capital.

It was eventful, eye-opening, and more than a little stressful.

Lucas was also now more determined than ever to strengthen both himself and the forces supporting him.

The experiences he had in the capital, particularly with the Imperial Envoy, had been a profound reminder of just how dangerous the world was, even in a supposedly ’safe’ place like the Rockwell Kingdom’s Royal Palace.

Those without the power to protect themselves would always be subject to the mercy of the truly strong.

He had been lucky this time, sheltered from prying eyes and greedy hands by his Master’s mysterious connections, but that would only last for so long and go so far.

Even today, if Lord Ateo had been determined to take him and extract his secrets, there would have been nothing Celestina or anyone else in the Rockwell Kingdom could do to stop the Imperial Envoy.

It was possibly they could seek justice, or even revenge for Lucas in the future, but what good would that do him in the mean time?

The only solution was to become so powerful and important that others wouldn’t dare to touch him or those he cared about.

Thinking so, Lucas let out a sigh, for he wasn’t some naïve child or reckless edgelord who thought that by just doing his best and plowing ahead he could somehow overcome all the obstacles in his path.

Lucas knew that growing stronger personally was a long and arduous process, and making a force or organization stronger was an even longer and more difficult slog, especially if he was aiming to build something stable and lasting.

Still, there were some plans he had been thinking about putting off that he could instead accelerate, and some projects he felt might be useful but were somewhat difficult to implement right away that he could strive harder to realize.

Having come to this conclusion, Lucas turned to his travel companion and asked, "Big Sister Vanessa?"

"Hm? What’s wrong, Lucas?" Glancing down at the boy sitting in front of her, Vanessa tilted her head curiously.

"Can you take me directly to Misty City?" Lucas requested.

Pursing her lips, Vanessa seriously considered the ask, but soon shook her head, "Sorry, Lucas. I can’t afford such a large detour. I have to return to the Southern Province to coordinate the aerial search for the Saberclaw Raptors."

Hearing this, Lucas did his best to not look disappointed, but he didn’t have much success.

Noticing her little brother sulking somewhat, Vanessa smiled helplessly and patted his head, "Don’t let what happened just now get to you, Lucas."

"Haa..." Shaking his head, Lucas mumbled quietly, "How can I not let it get to me?"

*Bonk*

"Ow!"

"Stop being so serious," Vanessa scolded, "I know you’re feeling anxious, especially after the stunt that arrogant bastard just pulled, but rushing to try to fix things isn’t going to work. Trust me, I’ve tried."

"Hm?" Tilting his head up, Lucas directed a curious glance Vanessa’s way.

Ruffling the boy’s hair roughly, Vanessa smiled wryly, "Let’s just say there’s a reason Allie is stronger than me, despite my Innate Talent supposedly being higher than hers."

Realizing he had touched on a sensitive subject, Lucas decided to drop the matters.

He also understood that Vanessa was right, rushing wasn’t going to help.

Arriving in Misty City 3 or 4 days ahead of schedule might have allowed him to start up some of his projects sooner, but considering many of the things Lucas wanted to achieve would probably take years, or even decades, a 3-or-4 days head-start really wasn’t meaningful.

Guess I’m still not mature enough, Lucas thought to himself, letting out a small chuckle as he leaned back, trying to relax and enjoy the starlit ride through the sky.

.....

"Why did you tell me to stop?"

"There was something odd about that child, something... ominous."

"Ominous? How so?"

"Someone left a mark on him, someone very powerful."

"Oh? That only makes me more curious..."

"Careful, my young partner. Don’t go losing your head merely to satisfy your curiosity."

"I know, I know. I won’t take any action personally. That said..."