"Since you are willing to answer some questions, then how about we head to a more appropriate place to talk?" proposed Philip, King of the Gales Kingdom.
"A more appropriate place?" Bai Zemin blinked in confusion.
"I don't know much about the customs of you orcs, but here in Gales we people usually sit down to have a conversation." Seraphina snorted as she looked at Bai Zemin clearly still upset at what had happened earlier even though she had been the one who had jumped at him.
'This brat... She's really earning herself a good spanking or two!' Bai Zemin had to restrain himself to keep his change of mood from showing on his face. He tried his best to ignore the princess with ponytails and while looking at the king he nodded politely, "In that case, Zemin will follow in Your Majesty's footsteps."
"Hey, don't ignore me!"
... Under the guidance of a maid who was surprisingly level 23, Bai Zemin accompanied the king, the queen, and the second princess of the Gales Kingdom to a large garden located at the back of the vast castle.
Bai Zemin had lived in luxurious villas for short periods of time while he was still on Earth, after all he and his troops were constantly on the move to expand and save as many humans as possible. However, today was the first time he fully understood the phrase 'there are mountains beyond mountains'.
The castle's decorations could only be described as majestic, even a simple porcelain vase seemed to be so expensive that even if Bai Zemin's parents sold their old house seven times they probably couldn't afford it. However, leaving aside the castle built according to medieval times but as luxurious as any modern high-class residence, what left Bai Zemin most breathless was the back garden.
There were all kinds of colorful wild plants; from mutant flowers with purple leaves to golden roses adorning the well-maintained lawn that was so green that Bai Zemin was even suspicious about its natural authenticity; there was even a kind of labyrinth made of green hedges!
In addition, along a white path made of stones that cut the wide garden in two halves were giant statues of warriors with armor, swords, axes, spears, and shields. The bronze statues were approximately 12 meters tall and looked majestic and powerful; Bai Zemin counted at least 40 such statues along the walk but there could be more as there were several branches off the main path.
"Each statue represents each of the 59 kings that the Gales Kingdom had from its birth to the present day." Explained Seraphina Di Gales, the second princess of this kingdom. She noticed Bai Zemin's interest along the way so in a respectful voice she introduced: "Each of the 59 kings bled and died for the good of Gales, it has always been so. Many see it as a curse that the king of each generation has on his head, but to me it is not a curse but an honor."
"Honor?" Bai Zemin looked at the young girl walking a step or two in front of him and asked in a deep voice, "You think dying for the sake of your country or your kingdom is honorable?"
"I, Seraphina Di Gales, may lack in many respects.... However, if it is for the good of the people of this kingdom I will gladly die." She said in a serious voice, completely different from her previous childish self.
Bai Zemin looked at her silently as they walked, but he did not touch on the subject in depth again. He only said a few words that left the young princess thinking before falling silent.
"When you die, it's over. No more greetings, no more hugs, no more hearing the voice of those you love... Not even goodbyes. When you die, it's all over. Are there really honorable deaths and cowardly ones that run away?... I wonder about that."
Bai Zemin would not allow his troops to escape from the battlefield, he would personally behead them for treason. However, he did not hate those people nor did he call them cowards for their actions.
Death was not terrifying, the real terror was never being able to feel a caress or hear a word from those truly important to us again.
However, it was quite probable that Serpahina had not experienced death firsthand yet, and that was the reason why she could say such words. For a person like Bai Zemin who danced hand in hand with the reaper thousands of times to get to this day alive, the words "honorable death" were just that, nice words with no real meaning.
King Philip and Queen Helena walked a few steps ahead of the two younger ones. Hearing the words Bai Zemin said, the two could not help but be more curious about him. The Gales Kingdom had no shortage of soldiers, and among them were many brave young men, however, Philip and Helena doubted that there was a young man of 20 years old with enough experience to understand the depth that rested in the seemingly simple words that Bai Zemin had just spoken.
A few minutes later, the four were sitting under a large natural treeline where a round limestone table and four stone chairs had been set up. By the time the four arrived, the maids had just finished serving several appetizing looking desserts and one served a cup of red tea for each of them before stepping aside and walking back, awaiting future orders.
Noticing the puzzled look on Bai Zemin's face, King Philip explained with a smile, "My family and I usually enjoy tea time here unless something keeps us busy. That's why there are four chairs."
"Oh, I see." Bai Zemin nodded. He didn't touch the desserts on the table and the teacup at all until he saw Seraphina tasting hers with a happy expression on her face.
The king pretended not to notice Bai Zemin's little act and continued, "My other daughter, the first princess of Gales, is currently busy organizing an important competition that takes place every 15 years among the kingdoms of the world. It turns out that this time the competition will be taking place here, in Gales, so you will probably see the city more lively than usual when you decide to pay a glance at it."
"Oh." Bai Zemin nodded not knowing what else to say about it. After all, he didn't care too much about any competition or any first princess of Gales since the only reason he was staying here was to see if he could get technology, resources, ideas, or anything that would be useful to bring back to his world.
Philip was no fool, on the contrary he was very intelligent or else he would never have been crowned king among his 4 brothers. Noticing Bai Zemin's lack of interest in the matter, he no longer pressed the point and instead looked at his wife.
Helena looked at Bai Zemin and asked in a kind voice: "May I call you Zemin? I feel like the word 'young' is not necessary."
"Of course." Bai Zemin replied as he calmly took a sip of tea.
His movements were not even 20% graceful compared to those of Seraphina Di Gales or the king and queen, however, every movement of Bai Zemin's arms demonstrated authority and control that did not go unnoticed by Philip and Helena.
The queen continued, "So, Zemin. Would you mind telling us a little bit about the reason you were unconscious in the Forest of the Ancients?"
Forest of the Ancients? Bai Zemin quickly remembered the name of that forest in which he had appeared and after a moment's thought decided to answer honestly.
"At that moment I was running in the opposite direction of the surprise attack that a coward threw at me after running away after seeing things difficult for him. The reason I fell unconscious was not due to injuries caused by others or that attack I was trying to escape from but because my soul and physical body were damaged after I used a special skill."
In fact, it was a good thing that Bai Zemin decided just being honest as Philip and Helena nodded without any trace of surprise on their faces. The two of them had more or less come to that conclusion but they just wanted to hear the confirmation.
"Eh? Your soul is damaged?" Seraphina looked at Bai Zemin with surprise. A trace of wariness shone in her eyes as she said in a low voice, "You.... Better rest well and don't use active skills until you recover. Soul injuries take a long time to heal, one of my uncles was injured by an enemy mage's spiritual skill over 3 years ago, but he still hasn't fully recovered..."
Bai Zemin smiled slightly as he felt the care in the girl's voice. She was really a good person despite her somewhat annoying and shouty attitude.
"Don't worry about it, even though I don't look like it, I'm pretty strong. I'll recover before you notice."
"W-Who's worrying about you?!" Seraphina's eyes widened and her face turned apple red as she raised her voice in an attempt to cover her anxiety, "You think a princess as beautiful and talented as me would be worried about an orc like you?! Dream on!"
Bai Zemin shook his head wordlessly. Holding a conversation with this girl seemed to be something impossible.
"Seraphina, you are not being honest with your words, again." Helena reprimanded in a gentle voice.
"Hmph! I don't know what you're talking about, mother." The second princess folded her arms and looked away, looking like a little pig who wasn't afraid of boiling water at all.
Philip shook his head and focused on Bai Zemin again as he asked with a powerless smile on his face, "Zemin, would you mind telling us what kingdom you come from? Your physical characteristics are somewhat distinctive and if it were not for the earring you would not be able to understand or communicate with us, which means you are definitely not from Gales. If possible we would also like you to tell us about that attack and your enemy... That explosion that happened back then... Not only did it shake the capital of Gales, but it also took out at least 1/20th of the Forest of the Ancients."
The king was a tactful person and did not mention the treasures on Bai Zemin's body, after all, such a thing was seen as rude and impolite. Leaving aside the amazing Legend grade storage ring, each and every treasure Bai Zemin had was of the highest quality among those of its ranks, there were even some that left the King of Gales himself drooling!
Besides, what King Philip was most interested to know about was the attack that Bai Zemin was fleeing from. That explosion had frightened Philip not only by its power but by the fact that all the soldiers who approached the area of the explosion came back with physical deformations of varying magnitudes while the most severe ones had died after two days.
Bai Zemin finished the piece of cake in his mouth and proceeded to take a sip of tea before answering the king's question. He needed to organize his next words carefully as what he was about to say was no small thing let alone insignificant.
"Actually, that attack I escaped from wasn't a magic skill.... Probably no one in this whole world knows the name of that weapon of mass destruction that shouldn't exist."
"Oh?"
Bai Zemin was not only getting King Philip's attention but now Queen Helena and the second princess Seraphina had returned their full focus to him even though the second princess was looking at him sideways in a failed attempt to feign lack of interest.
"The name of the weapon my enemy used to attack me is nuclear bomb... More specifically, a nuclear missile."
"... Actually, I know the name of some bombs such as electromagnetic field bombs or mana bombs... but this is the first time I've heard of nuclear bombs." King Philip muttered to himself, looking at his wife and daughter only to see that they were both as perplexed as he was.
"That's only natural, Your Majesty Philip." Bai Zemin paused, and after taking a sip of tea and setting the cup down on the table said in a deep voice, "After all, I am not someone from this world."
The expression on King Philip's face froze as he heard Bai Zemin's words. It was not only the king but the queen was the same, surprised or perhaps shocked by what she had just heard, which was completely normal; something Bai Zemin expected.
However, there was one person who had a different reaction than what Bai Zemin was expecting; this person was naturally the second princess of the Gales Kingdom, Seraphina Di Gales.
What happened next was something that Bai Zemin did not expect at all and somehow made him doubt many things.
Queen Helena slowly turned her face and looked at her daughter with wide eyes as she muttered under her breath, "Don't tell me...."
"C-Coincidence! It's a coincidence I tell you!" The second princess began to wave her hands as if in panic and her face turned red again. She turned to look at Bai Zemin and kicked him under the table while shouting loudly, "Orc! Quickly tell them it's a coincidence!"
"This..." Bai Zemin was dumbfounded as he watched the strange exchange between mother and daughter.
... What the hell was going on here?
He expected all kinds of reactions, but apparently, there was something else involved here. In fact, Bai Zemin now doubted whether the expressions on the faces of King Philip and Queen Helena were frozen by his words or by something related to the second princess.
"Hahahaha!"
Suddenly, King Philip began to burst out laughing. His laughter was very powerful, and probably because of his happiness even the ground shook slightly.
He looked at Seraphina and said in a cheerful voice, "Girl! Don't tell me your invocation skill finally worked!"
* * * * * * *

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