"Mr. Adelious? Could you kindly regain yourself?" A soothing deep voice was being spoken near him as Nico woke up from his nap.
"Huh?"
Infront of Nico, sat a person that looked to be in their early 30s, wearing a dark blue and golden robe drafted across their body, with pale blonde hair and jewel-like fire red eyes, the person carried an extremely dignified air around them, even as they were sitting.
"...!"
"Your...Majesty!" Nico's eyes widened as he sat stiffly in his seat.
Was he watching me sleep?!
He played with his fingers as the King stared at him, hoping to bring some warmth to himself as he waited to be questioned, but to his suprise, his fingers were not cold at all.
His head turned slightly as he heard fire crackling in the fireplace.
'...did the king light the fire for me?'
"You must have been extremely tired." The king spoke.
"So much so, that you managed to sleep in such unbecoming conditions." The king sighed as he looked at his head advisor, who stood beside him.
"Why did you not light the fire for our guest, Sir Adelf?" The king titled his head in their direction.
"My apologise, your Majesty. It slipped from my notice." Adelf placed his right hand over his heart to feign remorse.
"Rather, i assumed the intrud–, the visitor, would be able to conjure their own fire, since they were able to break through our heavily guarded defenses and appear inside our halls unnoticed." The head advisor stared at Nico with utter distrust.
'He doesnt seem to like me very much...'
But more importantly, i need to clear up this misunderstanding.
"Um– i am sorry to interupt." Nico's words caught the attention of the two people infront of him, who were exchanging a intense staring competition.
"You see..."
It's no use lying to them, since they have already seen me appear from thin air.
Furthermore, if i recall, magic was not an uncommon thing in this world. In fact, it was the pinnacle of it.
"I came...to warn you, your Majesty"
Yeah, right! As if i am going to tell them that they are just background characters in a story i wrote. I am not trying to speed-run my death again!
"Warn me?" The king raised his eyebrow.
"Yes. In the near future...you will be at war." Nico mumbled.
"....."
"Hahah!" The king burst into laughter.
"War? We are the largest kingdom in any known territory. Only a fool would declare war on us."
"Thats right. Do not try to fool us and state your true intentions." The head advisor aggressively nodded.
"No! Ofcourse i wouldn't try to fool his Majesty. I am being honest. Soon, your country will be at war and the one who starts the war will be none other than your neighbor, the Kingdom of Apərne."
"....."
The entire room fell silent upon the information Nico had just revealed. Why wouldn't they? The Kingdom of Apərne was Sõvel's most relaible and close ally. They wouldn't betray them.
"What nonsense. Do you consider us foolish?" The head advisor glared at Nico, breaking the silence.
He then turned towards the king. "Your royal highness, as your majesty's advisor, i humbly urge you to throw this delirious individual out of the palace at once!"
"..."
Instead of responding to his advisor's worried words, the king simply observed nico in silence.
"...How did you break through the palace defenses?" The king spoke slowly.
"Huh?" Nico blinked.
"I don't sense you to be a particularly powerful individual. " he paused. "Nor, do you seem to be one of my kingdom's subjects."
Nico fidgeted in his seat.
"So, who are you?" The king didn't blink, as if he was seeing into Nico's soul.
...what do i do?
Should i just tell him i came here by accident? That i actually meant to come here after the war? Or, do i just say im lost?!
Think, think!
"I'm..."
"Papa!!" The door to the waiting room burst open as a child with pigtails came running into the king's arms.
"Look! I made a flower crown for you!" She jumped up onto her father's lap, placing the crown atop his head as he held her in place.
"Papa looks pretty now!" She giggled as she hugged him.
"Anastasia. Papa's in an important meeting right now." He calmly stated as he hugged her back.
"Meeting?" The little girl turned around to look at Nico.
"!"
Light golden blonde hair tied in pigtails with a butterfly bangs, royal purple jewl-like irises and blushing bright fair cheeks. An otherworldly child was staring at him.
"Oh!" the little girl exclaimed. "Its our guest! He's here!" She smiled happily.
"Guest? What do you mean, princess?" Adelf asked curiously.
She clapped her hands together. "I had a dream about him. He is going to help us win the war!" She giggled.
"The war?" The king asked.
"A dream?" Sir Adelf questioned.
The girl laughed. "Yes! We can trust him. He will help us!"
Both Adelf and the king fixed their gazes on Nico, and then eachother.
Before anyone could speak another word, someone else opened the room door in a hurry.
"Your Majesty! Pardon me for my intrusion!" A guard huffed as he walked into the room.
"What is it?" The king was staring to get irritated with his meeting being distrubed in a constant flow.
"I-its the Kingdom of Apərne, they have declared war on us!" The guard informed in a panic.
"...!"
"...."
"...?!"
Adelf flinched back from the news, but the king remained still.
"Sir Adelf." The king spoke in a firm tone. "Inform her majesty of this news and summon the royal council at once."
The king rose from his seat and walked to exit the room as he carried the little girl in his arms.
Just before he left the room, he looked at Nico and declared "My daughter seems to trust you, so i shall do the same. From now on, you will be treated as an honored guest in the Kingdom and you will be required to attend all formal meetings until the duration of your stay has ceased."
"Your Maj–" Adelf was about to protest, until the king gave him a deafening stare.
"The decision is final." The king then left the room with the drowsy child buried in his arms.
"...."
Adelf turned to Nico, supressing a grumbling sigh. "Someone will be here shortly to guide you to the council hall. Excuse me." He seemed to have a lot to say, but kept to himself as he rushed out the room.
When the doors final closed shut, Nico was left alone in the silence.
'...What just happened?'
War? Now?
Why now? Why couldn't it happen when he wasn't here?
'Honored guest? Attend all meetings? Help win the war?!'
Nico slumped into his seat.
"This is absurd." He mumbled.
The day couldn't get any worse than this.
***
'I was wrong. It can get worse.'
"Due to the agreement of the council," The queen raised her right hand to her chest. "Sir Adelious will now be known as the new head of the Mages Correlation, and as a secret member to our kingdom who will help us win this probable war at all costs."
Adelious watched as every noble around him, including the king and sir adelf, raise their right hands to the their chest.
"All those against, speak now."
The entire room fell silent.
'?!'
Someone, anyone! Please speak!?
Wait, i can have a say too don't i?
Adelious shot his hand upward. "I–"
"Since there are no objections,"
'Huh?!'
I have an objection!
Adelious kept his hand raised as he tried his best to gain the queen's attention by staring at her with great intensity.
The queen announced to the hall. "All those in favour say 'Sõl'."
It didn't work.
'... Surely, no one is going to vote for a stranger to be elected as a hidden piece to win the war." Adelious inwardly consoled himself as he lowered his hand.
"Sõl." The entire room responded in unison.
'?!'
"Then, we have come to an agreement." The queen immediately shot a look at Adelious. "Sir Adelious, from now on, you will be the outsider who will lead the mages and the help win this war."
"Wai–"
"There were no objections." The queen's icy tone made Nico immediately shut his mouth. Clearly, his opinion didn't matter here.
He turned to look at the king, who was still seated beside the queen, as a final attempt for a desperate plea of help.
The king, upon noticing this, simply give a half-hearted shrug, as he turned to escort his wife out the meeting hall.
'....'
Am i...actually doomed?
<20 minutes before>
Nico was seated in the front row with a group of other high-ranking nobles, as they all faced her royal Majesty the queen and his Majesty the king, who were seated on thrones facing the rest of the council.
An emergency meeting was currently being conducted in a large circular auditorium to discuss the sudden declaration of war from an allied Kingdom.
"Your majesty's! This is adsurb! The Kingdom of Apərne would never declare war on us! In all our years of coexistence–"
"Yes, yes, but what if they decided to throw centuries of peace in order to gain more power?"
"Nonsense! Our Majesty the King, is the biological brother to the ruler of Apərne! Why would he declare war on his own family?"
"The ruler of Apərne even attended our Majesty's wedding, did he not?"
"That was decades ago! Perhaps, he had a change of mind!"
"What are you insinuating–"
"Cease your insipid yappering!" Duke harbinger, who sat at the very front row, ordered for the nobles seated at the back to be quiet. "The Apərne Kingdom clearly is not in their right minds" he turned to face the king and queen. "Your Majesty's, perhaps it was a false declaration!"
"No, it is not." Sir Adelf, who stood beside the queen, intercepted the discussion. He lifted his head to face the crowd as he said the next verse of the information. "As of a few minutes ago, a large group of soliders with unidentified military weapons will be heading towards our kingdom's boarders. They bare the royal seal of the Apərne Kingdom."
"...." the room fell silent. After all, this was a scenario even their head military strategist had not ever considered.
The Kingdom of Sõvel, going to war with the second largest Kingdom on the continent. Surely, this was not actually happening.
Escpecially considering, the two Kingdom's history with one another.
Yet, the queen came to a steady conclusion.
"It seems, our ally has decided to become a foe. However, we will still need additional confirmation." The queen turned to adelf, who stood behind her throne. "Sir Adelf, recruit a few of our head councils to confirm the situation personally."
As Adelf was about the speak, the king opened his mouth. "My queen, it is my home kingdom. Allow me to go and speak directly with my brother. Surely, this must be a misunderstanding."
The queen frowned, only for a moment, before regaining her posture. "The king must stay here in the event this is not an accidently declaration." The queen affirmed. "This Kingdom cannot afford to lose one of their rulers during times of peril." She placed her hand above the king's and gave it a sqeeze, as she turned to face the rest of the council.
'Ah...yes, that makes sense.'
After all, if the King goes personally and the other Kingdom actually wants war, nothing is stopping them from killing the king.
"Sir adelf, your words?" The queen spoke in a hushed tone.
"Yes." Adelf straightened his back as he stepped foward. "Instead of sending one of our people, i suggest sending the person who is claimed to help Sõvel win the war."
'...what?'
The council started to exchange looks among themeselves, as they whispered of the sudden news.
"Win the war?"
"Who? Is it one of the higher mages?"
"Ahem." Adelf called to order, ensuring the entire room stayed silent for his next sentence. "I'm sure some of you are aware, a new visitor has appeared openly in our Kingdom, presenting strong magical abilities that can possibly rival even our strongest mages."
The crowd began to visibly look around this time. Although not a word was being said, the question they wanted to ask was very obvious.
Who was he talking about?
"Although its debatable..." adelf mumbled quietly, before continuing. "Your majesty's, i strongly suggest we send him." Adelf pointed towards where Nico was sitting. "I am sure, he is more than capable of coming back unscathed to deliver the confirmation."
'What?!'
Nico's eyes widened as he glared at adelf, only to see him hidding the urge to slightly grin.
'You...!' Nico cluthed his hand. 'He did that not purpose!'
He just wants to get rid of me.
Does he think i am some sort of spy? Or...maybe he just doesnt like me.
Sir adelf kept both hands behind his back as he took one step backward, to the place he once stood. Looking down as he smiled to himself.
'...i am betting on the second.'
"Him?" The queen gave a slightly concerned look as she caught a glimpse of who her trusted advisor was pointing to. "And who...has calimed that he will help our Kingdom resolve this conflict?"
"Her royal highness, princess Anastasia. Your majesty." Adelf responded. Not a flicker of doubt in his words.
"My dear daughter? Is this true?" She turned to the king for confirmation.
"Yes, my queen. It seems, our daughter has been blessed with the gift of precognition." The king nodded as he smiled with pride.
"Not to doubt a member of the royal family, your Majesty's, but has this been confirmed?" One of the nobles seated raised their concern to the rest of the hall.
"...."
"Yes." Sir adelf finally looked up to meet the gaze of the noble that had spoken. "This has been confirmed today, by me."
"Aha!" Another noble spoke up, this time confident. "If Sir Adelf confirmed it himself, then it must be true!"
"Yes, i agree. He has been with us for centuries, after all." A different noble spoke up.
The rest of the nobles nodded along.
'Is he that trusted?'
And, did they just say 'centuries'?
The queen, despite the spontaneous agreement from the council, merely sat in silence, like a observer who had nothing to do with the situation.
She leaned in toward Adelf as she whispered, "Is the head of our mages correlation still missing?"
"Yes, your Majesty's. Its been a decade now." Adelf responded.
"...Very well." The queen laid back into her throne facing the nobles. "Due to the agreement of the council...."
***
"Sir Adelious?"
As most of the nobles had rushed out of the hall to have a private chat with the queen and king, a single noble stayed behind to greet the new head of the Mages Correlation.
"My humble greetings. I am Duke harbinger, the Crown's treasurer of Sõvel."
'...?'
Nico, who had been facing the ground contempleting his life since the end of the meeting, cautiously looked up to where the voice was coming from.
A middle-aged man with a dignified brown suit and dark brown hair that had a few slithers of silver threads was standing beside him. He bore a friendly smile, held a cane with his left hand, and wore a particularly bright emerald-green ring on his left index finger.
"Greetings, Duke." Nico could only nod in response.
'What am i supposed to say to a noble?'
"..."
"..."
Duke harbinger, nodded politely to Nico's greeting, but stood still with little movement after.
'...is he waiting for me to make the first move?'
Is that some sort of social custom in this world?
"Uh, please sit." Nico gestured towards the chair beside him.
It was only then, did Duke harbinger move to sit down beside Nico.
Once the duke had adjusted, he turned towards Nico and gave a friendly handshake.
"You came at a good time. The head of the Mages Correlation had been missing for some time now, and we were all worried with how we were going to lead the mages into battle without a leader." The duke spoke slowly, but with a slight sense of caution.
Nico's ears perked up.
'The Mages Correlation. I keep hearing that name. Is it important?'
Perhaps Duke harbinger gave of the air of an elderly man, but that didn't stop Nico from asking him questions he needed an answer to.
"Duke, if i may, what are the Mages Correlation?"
The duke's eyes widened like he had seen a ghastly goul peering behind Nico's shoulders. So much so, that Nico almost flinched back from the response.
"My, how do you not know about the Mages Correlation...? After her Royal Majesty the Queen gave you the title as head to the Mages!" Duke harbinger looked and sounded like he was about to have a heart attack, if he was not having one already.
"Ah, as Sir Adelf mentioned, i am not from this Kingdom. I have arrived here by chance, so i am not entirely familiar with the Kingdom's noble ranks and certain official groups." Nico tried to explain himself as Duke harbinger regained his composure.
"Oh, i see. Well..." The duke took a moment of thought before he continued. "As you probably already know, since you are a great mage yourself..."
Nico quietly swallowed a growing lump in his throat. ' I feel like people are using that title lightly. All i did was teleport inside the palace. Was it that big of a deal?'
"This Kingdom is ruled by the laws of magic, and those who wield an advanced specialty of magic are the mages within the Mages Correlation." Duke harbinger nodded to his own words.
"Almost everyone can use magic to a basic degree, but those with a stronger skill to wield it, become mages. However, around a decade ago, the head to the Mages Correlation went missing, along with a few of his inner-circle disciples. Since then, the Correlation has been somewhat scattered." The duke shook his head with a frown.
"However!" His sudden enthusiasm made Nico jolt in his seat. "With you here as the new head of Mages, we are sure to have things back in order very soon!" The duke gave a bright smile as he stood up.
"Forgive me, for a i must be on my way." He gave a slight head bow as he held his cane with both hands on top of eachother.
"May the grace of Espernous's light, guide you." The duke hummed as he walked out of the meeting room.
'...Espernous?'
Nico was still seated as he watched the duke leave. He had gotten an answer to one question, only to be left with three more.
'One step foward, 3 steps back.' Nico sighed as he started to move himself out of the room and into the hall.
He began to walk aimlessly, and without realising it, he had gotten lost.
Luckily, before he could start to panic, Nico saw a familiar figure slightly further down the hall.
'...!'
Nico walked quickly to catch up with the figure.
"Sir Adelf!'
"..."
Is he ignoring me?
"Adelf!"
Sir adelf sharply turned around. "It is 'Sir' Adelf to you!" He protested.
His ears were red as he turned back around to fulfil his desire to be as far away as possible from the intruder.
Nico gave a defeated look. "Do you have a problem with me?'
"Hah." Adelf turned back around to face him sharply in the eye. "Is that not obvious?"
"Why?" Nico asked. Of all the people who could have disliked him, it had to be the most trusted advisor to this Kingdom.
"Because you aren't from here!" Sir adelf's voiced raised, "and you definitely didn't come here for a noble purpose."
"...I came to warn this Kingdom about the war..." Nico wanted to say his reason boldly in defense, but all he could do was manage a mumble.
Was it even true?
Adelf clenched his fits upon noticing this. "Wonderful! What a coincidence for you to show up the very day we get the news." He grinned visibly as he gave his remark. "I'm sure your warning five minutes before war was declared has been most helpful, Mr. Adelious."
He gave a slight moment of silence to fill the room before turning back around and walking away. "Hmph."
Nico, stood in the hallway watching as Sir Adelf's figure grew further and further away.
'....'
'Damn it.'
"....Library."
Adelf paused. A faint whisper was making his ear twitch. "Come again?" He replied without looking back.
"Could you please, lead me to a library...?"
Nico was fumbling with his fingers and he kept his head tilted down. He couldn't protest to what Sir adelf had said, but even so, he was stuck in this world and soon, he would have to go be a spy in enemy territory.
He needed to learn more about his world in order to have a chance to survive.
"...."
Adelf flicked his wrist to signal for Nico to follow him, before continuing his walk.
"..!" Nico quickly paced himself to catch up with him.
As Adelf led him to the Library, a voice behind thanked him.
"..."
...
"We are here." Adelf opened the doors without touching them as he stood at the side.
'...So even a royal advisor can use magic here?'
Nico bowed slightly to thank him as he entered the Royal Library.
His gaze moved from right to left and repeat, as he marveled upon the sheer size of the room, filled to the brim with old and new books alike.
To a writer and a reader such as himself, this was his own version of heaven. That is, if the library was filled with modern-day light novels instead of history books.
"Then, good day." Adelf turned and walked away.
"Ah, yes–" the doors abruptly came to a close before Nico could finish his sentence.
"...he must really like slamming doors in peoples faces." Nico turned away as he looked around the library sections. From Sir adelf, this was something he had to get used to.
"34, 35..." he counted.
There was around 35 sections dedicated to the upkeep and record of Sõvel's history.
'....'
Nico placed both his hands on his hips as he mumbled to himself.
"This will take more time then i thought..."