Alfred still had things to do. He mounted his extravagantly decorated steed and galloped all the way to the Royal Palace. Carriages scrambled out of his path in a panic. Alfred enjoyed seeing the lower classes in disarray; it reminded him of how noble he was.

"Aphelion, you have arrived." A fair, delicate hand extended from behind a silk curtain. The Golden Rose Knight Commander knelt on one knee, kissing it with reverence and love.

"Yes, Mother. My great and wise Queen."

Only Her Majesty the Queen called him Aphelion. It was different from the "Alfred" spoken by everyone else in Storm City, and it made him feel a special intimacy from his adoptive mother.

At his side, the Iron Crown Knight Commander didn’t spare the fop a single glance. He was focused only on reporting the situation to the Queen:

"Rebellions have broken out across all of El Island. The main force of the Rebel Army has entered Belanster, which is the base of the Pseudo-Council. The authorities and postal services in other cities have also been impacted.

"Towns in the north are still maintaining order, and the ports are all under the Kingdom’s control. We’ve lost contact with most cities in the south. Some of the administrators we dispatched have already fled back to the main island; we’ve taken them into custody after finding them."

The Queen withdrew her hand and asked, "You’ve only mentioned towns. What about the countryside?" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

The Iron Crown Leader fell silent for a moment before deciding to report the truth. ’In any case, El Island isn’t under my Knight Order’s jurisdiction.’ "We’ve basically lost control. Due to the famine, the vast majority of farmers have risen up in revolt. They now make up the bulk of the rebel forces.

"Meanwhile, the Gray Elves in the towns are threatening administrators with bombings and assassinations."

Alfred’s eyes widened. "They still have the energy to rebel? Doesn’t that just mean we didn’t take enough of their grain?"

The Iron Crown Leader chose not to engage with the young "genius." Instead, considering his good relationship with the Burning Lion Knight Order, he tried to cover for their failure:

"There have been reports from all over El Island of attacks by strange powers and unidentified creatures. During the battle of Belanster, for instance, giant trees grew to block cannonballs, and during the firefight, the Rebel Army apparently used Extraordinary Power to assassinate our Knights.

"It’s still unclear if this is the Druid Sect re-emerging, or..."

The Queen finished the Knight Commander’s hesitant thought: "Or it could be the Earth Holy Mother."

"Yes. Judging from the manifestation of the power, we can’t rule out that possibility, especially with the appearance of bizarre, flesh-like plants that, in conjunction with the swamps, have caused heavy casualties among our soldiers and police. I humbly suggest we suspend our cooperation with the Underground Sect and demand to know if they are operating on El Island."

"I understand." The Queen’s response was noncommittal. She was behind the curtain, so no one could see her face or discern any fluctuation in her tone.

Alfred suggested, "Why not let the four Elf corps handle it? Let the Elves kill Elves." Historically, four of the Kingdom’s Twelve Knight Orders were composed of Elves. In the age of cold weapons, they excelled with the longbow, and they were also the first legions to be converted into rangers and foot soldiers during the wars with the continental nations.

The Iron Crown Knight Commander frowned at this immature proposal. "The relationship between the Kingdom’s Elves and the Gray Elves is... delicate. There’s no need for us to provoke those four Knight Orders..."

"To clean up external enemies, we must first ensure stability on our own island. We must be vigilant for any actions the resistance organization might take on the Kingdom’s main island to support the rebels. The Iron Crown Knight Order has been keeping an eye on things within Storm City, I trust?"

"Yes, we’ve already begun to close the net."

"Excellent," the Queen said in praise, then turned to Alfred. "And the matter I entrusted to you?"

"I have already conveyed your will to the council members, Mother. I guarantee they won’t cause trouble at this critical moment for the Kingdom."

"Good." After saying this, Her Majesty the Queen dismissed them from the Royal Palace.

She waved her hand, and the curtain drew itself open.

The monarch of Istani, who still had no partner, was said to be supremely beautiful and was known among the common folk as the "Pure Queen."

The face that emerged from behind the curtain was indeed one of exquisite beauty. She tucked her hair back, revealing long, pointed ears.

...

Benedict was certain he was being followed. In his past work as a detective, he was always the one doing the following. The two men behind him now seemed rather clumsy.

The real problem was that the two were too tall and strong, clearly martial artists of some kind. Their ill-fitting plainclothes were stretched tight, making them look like gang enforcers.

As he wove through the crowd, he tried to recall who he might have offended. ’The mob? I’ve been short on cash lately and collected a bounty for reporting smugglers. I’ve also gathered evidence of an affair for a client...’ But when Benedict passed the resistance organization’s stronghold in Storm City, he noticed similar figures loitering nearby.

The actor-slash-detective’s pupils contracted. He gave no sign, walking straight past and heading for the museum.

"What’s he going to the museum for?"

"Does he have accomplices there?" The Iron Crown Knight was puzzled, but could only follow.

CRASH! SMASH! Ignoring the screams of the museum-goers, Benedict shattered the expensive glass and began stuffing as many of the exhibited Gray Elf artifacts as he could into a bag. He actually had an enchanted Storage Bag. ’For either an actor or a detective, that small bag is likely worth ten years’ income.’

The commotion attracted the museum’s curators and guards. The Iron Crown Knights arrived as well. They all rushed into the exhibition hall, only to see a tall, thin man wearing an ancient wooden mask.

"Sir, what are you doing!" the director was still shouting when an Iron Crown Knight pulled a firearm from under his plainclothes trench coat and fired a shot at Benedict, but he dodged it with a bizarrely flexible, twisting motion.

"I was going to buy a ticket, but for now, the performance is free..." He drew two daggers and began to dance, spinning and leaping as the sharp blades flew closer to the Iron Crown Knights.

But the Knights were no pushovers. They didn’t bother reloading the firearm, instead throwing it directly at Benedict, then drawing their Warhammers to engage.

Metal clashed on metal. Benedict was gradually losing ground. ’A solo performance is too difficult. I have no proper stage or accompaniment, and most importantly, no good audience.’

Although Benedict was astonishingly agile, weaving between the Warhammers as his daggers continuously slashed at the Knights’ bodies, the two Knights wore Chain Armor under their plainclothes. It protected their vital torsos, and injuries like cuts to their hands weren’t enough to stop them from fighting.

The fight in the museum didn’t remain at a stalemate for long. The Knights began to feel dizzy.

’Damn it! The daggers are poisoned!’ Although the Knights had been very careful, each small cut had allowed the toxin to enter their systems. For their specially trained bodies, this amount of poison wasn’t fatal, but it was enough to numb their limbs and slow their movements, giving Benedict a chance to escape.

He didn’t get greedy for another strike. He quickly shook off his pursuers, put away his mask, shed his overcoat, and sprinted toward the Golden Harp Theater.

’Good, this place hasn’t been discovered...’ He burst into the backstage area, bit his finger, and smeared the blood on a makeup mirror.

The mirror’s surface rippled and abruptly went dark. Benedict leaped through it and arrived in an underground world.

He was still in the Golden Harp Theater, but this one was in the Shadow City. ’No wonder Rorschach looked familiar.’

"Did something happen on the surface?" His companion hadn’t yet realized that Storm City had begun rounding up members of the resistance.

"I’ll tell you in a minute, I have to do something." Benedict ran straight for a small building next to the theater.

BANG BANG BANG. He knocked urgently on the door. "Caroline! Caroline, are you there?"

The door opened. The person who answered didn’t understand the Elf’s urgency. "She’s here. Who are you?"

"...What are you doing here?" Benedict stared at Rorschach behind the door. He never expected this kid to be living in Caroline’s "home." Perhaps because of the fight and the frantic run, the Player’s face was alternating between pale and flushed.