Liora is a girl who never follows a set schedule. Like any child her age, she often loves romance stories. She enjoys imagining relationships between adults and seeing more in them than there really is. And tonight, the fact that they left at the same time is perfect for her! It's not the first time she's tried this, but usually the invincible palace guard Zirus stops her. This time, though, the great guard was busy with other matters, so Liora easily slipped away and raced to catch up with Eishen and Maven… Their love might finally be about to bloom! …Or at least, that's what she thought.
But in front of her stands an unknown man fighting to capture Maven… Could this be a love rivalry?! The battle is incredible, and their opponent is actually super cool! He's followed by blue-green spirits, but also black and red ones. He wears an eyepatch like a pirate and stays eerily calm…
The mission had been going smoothly until now, but Her Majesty made a huge mistake by knocking over some crates. Liora lets out a startled squeak. She had hoped no one would notice her, but it's a vain hope: everyone saw her—starting with Eishen, who looks furious to see his queen outside so late at night, then Maven, who seems terrified to see her so close to a man like Oracio. And Oracio himself is clearly frustrated by his men's inability to catch a single innocent little girl.
Oracio sighed, exasperated.
"Is this a joke? Tyr-a-nyk, you disappoint me… But you know what? It's actually perfect!"
Oracio pulled a detonator from his pocket—a beautiful piece of Empire craftsmanship he'd bought on the black market. With a deft motion, he triggered several explosions throughout the alley, leaving only smoke and wreckage behind. When the smoke cleared, Liora was gone… and so was Oracio.
Panicked and furious, Eishen charged down what appeared to be the path they had taken: a hole in the ground leading to a long tunnel, as though everything had been prepared in advance. Maven tried to follow, but Gamma the rest of Oracio's men blocked her.
"You're not going anywhere, dragon girl! Your people want you alive, but dead isn't exactly forbidden either, haha!"
In the tunnels, Liora ran to escape her pursuer and soon reached an enormous area—it was Oracio's base… an underground network with paths branching off in every direction, reaching every corner of the city.
"Wow, it's so huge! I want to explore everything!"
Suddenly Oracio dropped down in front of her, his vibrating blade ready to strike at any moment. He planned to sell her to the Empire.
"Little one, I'm afraid you won't be exploring anything… The Empire wants you captured, and I intend to make them pay five times the usual price—for you and the robot. That said, I'm curious how you managed to steal one of the Empire's robots. They're famous for their unbreakable loyalty. And an android type, no less? My my, you're far more valuable alive… So don't force my hand."
Liora felt a pang of fear at how dangerous this man was, but she was also annoyed.
"Hey, you didn't even ask me! I want a chance to answer too!"
Oracio looked mildly surprised, though not really… She was still just a child trying to act like the adults in her family.
"Very well then. Tell me before I take you in… What is the one thing that comes before everything else?"
Liora beamed with excitement, but then realized she didn't have an immediate answer.
"Umm… the thing… the most important thing? Haha, uh… yeah, umm… The most important thing is…"
She thought hard because she really wanted to get it right.
"My life, right? The most important thing is my own life? I'm a majesty, so I have to bring a magnificent kingdom to my people… If I die… how can I ever achieve my dream? And if I disappear, there won't be anything more important left, will there?"
Oracio stepped closer, then sat down with a smile and gently patted her head.
"Who on earth raised such a clever little girl! Life! Life is incredibly important—and for us, it's our own!! Nothing matters more… No matter who we have to beg, no matter what evil we commit… The important thing is that we survive."
Liora stepped back a little, then looked straight into his eyes.
"No… We have to survive! But hurting others isn't allowed… On the contrary, we must survive while doing good—otherwise we survive only to be hated by our own people… You, you're a bad King!"
Oracio gave her a confident smile.
"As long as my people survive and I survive, I'm an intelligent king, little queen."
The air crackled with tension. Liora refused to lose to such a wicked king.
End of chapter.