The village prepared a modest feast to celebrate the construction of the wall. Modest because the war was coming and it wasn't time to waste food. But they felt safer, the summer wasn't too hot and everyone was in a good mood despite all the rumors.

Nero and his family took a table at the far corner of the village square, just a few meters from their house. The way the village bachelors were looking at Crystal was making the nereid uncomfortable. Not to mention that there was a racial bias against her because she belonged to Coriander's main race. Nero wondered what they'd do if they knew she was once royalty.

"If you don't want to stay here, you can go home or to the shelter," Nero said and held her hand.

Crystal shook her head. She was uncomfortable but she had the same determined face she wore when they were in the Dungeon, training her to surpass her fear.

"I need to get out of my shell. I know very well nobody in this village save for our family and friends can hurt me even if they tried, so I can stay here," She said. With a smile and a squeeze on his hand, she finished. "But I am happy you care about me."

"Yeah, what are siblings for? Taking care of my troublesome sister is a burden I have to bear," Nero mocked.

Crystal released his hand and showed him her tongue. "Apparently to annoy me, it seems."

"It is funny," Altia barged their conversation, with some mugs of mead as a peace offering. "How you two are already bickering among yourselves. Here, have some drinks so you can blame it on the alcohol."

The trio talked a bit about the latest village gossip, the surprise pregnancy of the cordwainer's daughter. Nobody knew who was the father, and she wasn't too keen on revealing. There was a betting pool on the race of the child already. Nero saw on the corner of his eye Mrs. Katia, sneering at them. He paid her no mind. He was focused on the two slightly drunk villagers coming to their table. The two sat down on the bench without asking first. These two were veteran Adventurers, levels fifty-something if Nero remembered right.

"Hey, beauty! You're Byron's new daughter?" One of them slurred.

"How about you come with us for a while? We can dance and talk. And dance. And drink," The other proposed.

"I'm sorry. I'm indisposed," Crystal said politely. "I'm afraid I'll have to decline your invitation."

"Eh? Gyuron, what did she say? Was that a yes or a no?" The first one asked.

Nero quaffed his ale. Altia shouldn't fill the mugs halfway. "She told you to go home," He groaned and slammed the mug on the table. Funny, it's empty. "Would you mind?"

"Shut up, level zero," Gyuron barked. "You're the one responsible for all the deaths our village suffered. The lambs from the next village were mocking us because so many of ours died!"

Gyuron reached across the table and grabbed Nero's collar. He pulled and Nero found he could easily resist but he didn't.

"Do you mind?" He asked. "This is a new tunic. You'll rip the fabric."

He punched Nero's face. Nero moved back to mitigate some of the impact but it didn't hurt as much as he thought. The Vigor bonus from the [Heart Bond] was surely handy.

"My turn," Nero grabbed Gyuron's hand and pulled to the side, away from the table.

The drunk minnid kicked the table, spilling some drink. Altia stood up and pulled Crystal away from the potential spill while Nero twisted Gyuron's arm on the ground. He felt movement behind him.

"[Charm]," Crystal said her Skill name out loud. She then said in a low voice some orders. "Drop the chair and go home. Sleep once you reach your bed."

Nero pressed the arm a bit. "Now, Gyuron, you will go away from here, and leave us alone. And next tier, get some decent-grade Class and Skills. Your Attributes are really bad."

He released Gyuron and the drunkard scuttled away. Nero uplifted his chair and sat back, watching Altia wipe the table and Crystal's chair. The girls sat again.

Crystal sighed, "Spending eleven mana at once is a bother."

After he downed his next mug, he spoke. "These two are green on both tiers. I think Hatti, the one you charmed, has a yellow Skill on the second tier. Razzer's three-to-one and the lack of common sense will be the doom of these villages."

"I'm sorry, three-to-one? Who's Razzer?" Crystal asked.

"You don't want to meet him," Altia answered. "He's a leopard-kin merchant that trades cards at that ratio. He stays for two weeks in the village that had new activations, then he's gone for the next month and a half."

Crystal had indignation plastered on her face. "Three-to-one? And the villagers just agree to be ripped off like that?"

Nero sloshed his mug and took another swig. Wasn't it empty? Nah. It seemed his high Endurance was making him resistant to alcohol. "And what other choice do we have here in the boonies? Altia and I were lucky our parents gave us the right cards. But even though Honeywitch is just a few hours by train away, almost nobody goes there to trade or buy their cards. I bet half of the villagers you are looking at never went more than five miles away from this table here."

He slapped the table. Maybe he was a bit tipsy, Nero admitted to himself. But he erected a bleeding wall and probably spent a lot of gray cards doing that because to hell with them. He'd make his people safe even if it meant crossing the border and slapping some sense into Serena's parents. Oh, wait. She's my sister Crystal now. Yeah. Lovely sister.

"Why are you grinning, Nero?" She asked.

"Nothing."

"Someone is Du-rank!" Amaryllis flew and landed on Nero's head.

"He, he," Nero snickered. "There's a fairy on my head. Where did my mug go?"

The pixie dropped down from his bangs and stared in his eyes upside down. "Do you believe in fate, Nero?"

The two ladies next to them kept watching the duo's antics.

"I think they're both gone," Altia commented.

"Shh," Crystal hushed her. "I want to see where this is going."

"Fate?" Nero asked. "Do you mean there's some bastard that decided to stick a zero to my cap? Fuck fate."

"You're special!" Still upside down and hanging from his bangs, Amaryllis giggled and bopped his nose.

"Altia, I think I drank a bit too much. I'm seeing too many fairies."

Byron and Rhynne returned to the table in time to hear that. The drunk duo was oblivious to the newcomers.

"Have any of you seen Glom?" Rhynne asked.

"Not now," Altia answered. "I think he went home earlier."

"So, Nero Zero!" Amaryllis recited. "You earned my respect when you talked me down on that stupid overflow idea. Yeah, stupid."

"Shush, silly pixie," Nero rose a finger to his lips and ended up kissing her hair, drawing another round of giggles. "Mom will be pissed at you if she finds out you wanted to hire me to do that." He looked up. "Hello, mom. You heard nothing!"

"Of course," Rhynne looked at them with slitted eyes. "I heard nothing."

Amaryllis turned around. "Oh, hey Rin. You know, I had a vision about your son."

"And did he blow up a Dungeon in your vision?" Rhynne asked.

Nero tried to get Crystal's mug but Byron snatched it. Unwilling to confront his father, he pouted.

"Yeah. And the war ended because of that," The pixie answered and laughed when Nero blew her hair off of his nose.

"And you wouldn't tell me that you wanted my son to blow up a Dungeon. Altia, would you be a dear and detox these two, please?"

A green mist dropped on them. Amaryllis released Nero's hair and flipped back on the table like a gymnast.

Rhynne picked up one of the strongest people in the continent by the wings. She added a new depth to the expression 'speaking eye to eye'. "Mary? Is there something you want to tell me now that you sobered up?"

"Of course!" She said, nonchalantly. "Your son's moral fiber is unbreakable. I tested him with three orange cards. He scolded me then walked away."

"Tested," Nero played with the word on his lips. "I don't think I remember being tested. More like bribed, cajoled, coerced."

"If it helps," Altia added. "She wanted to hire the three of us as a team."

Amaryllis looked behind her. "No, it doesn't. Thank you anyway."

Byron was looking at the ale in the mug he kept from Nero, pondering over the mystery of fermentation.

Crystal hugged Nero then talked to Rhynne. "Mother, let her go. Even if it wasn't a test, my brother had enough discretion and resolve to outright refuse the deal."

"Yesh," The pixie nodded. "Cris is right. You have a wonderful son, RIn."

Rhynne released her wings but Amaryllis knew better than to try to run away. "Is the reason you stuck around all these weeks to keep Nero from telling me that?"

The fairy opened her mouth, closed, opened again, and warbled. "Ah... Of course not. I'm here to repay the Eye of the Azure Drake. The army would've drafted all the villagers around here if I hadn't curbed them. They're desperate, RIn."

"What cards did you offer him?" Byron asked.

Everyone looked at him, nobody expected him to enter the conversation. So Amaryllis, Crystal, Nero, and Altia told him the whole story of that fateful meeting at the guild. The girls even showed their Class cards, while Nero explained he'd traded a third-tier purple-grade [Verdant Growth] for the two Classes.

The mood lightened and the conversation shifted to other subjects. Altia excused herself and went to have a "friendly" conversation with the ladies that added Nero to the betting pool of who was the father of the cordwainer's future grandchild. Nero watched Katia skulk toward the front gates but left the evil woman to her won devices.

Glom showed up. While Amaryllis was the hyperactive kind of drunk and Nero was the "try to look cool" one, Glom was depressive. He jumped on the table and scuttered for a bit before sitting on his haunches.

"I want to go home," The squiig squeaked. "I have work to do."

"You guys should let me take him to the capital. I bet I can do the round trip in less than a day," Nero challenged his parents.

"He can," Amaryllis affirmed. "He's faster than that metal monstrosity people like to travel in."

"Okay," Rhynne capitulated. "We'll talk about this tomo--"

She was cut off by blaring trumpets playing a fanfare outside the village walls. The music caused everyone to react differently. The veterans at the table became wary. The villagers, curious. Crystal, however, was frozen with dread and had tears running down her eyes. It took Nero a minute to process everything. There was someone outside the village gates and it caused that reaction on his sister. It meant she knew that fanfare and it triggered...

"Sister! Get in the portal, now!" He opened the portal to the shelter, thankful that his amulet saved three points of mana.

He tried but Crystal didn't move. Nero lifted her, chair and all, and walked into the shelter. He set the chair on the stone next to the archway and jumped back, closing the passage after him. A crier was shouting but he missed the beginning of the proclamation. The end, though, set his blood boiling.

"...ness Prince Tyre of Bast!"

He looked for his seniors' guidance. He met Amaryllis' eyes. "Make yourself scarce kid. Let us deal with the troublesome visitor."

"Why is he coming here now?" Rhynne mused.

"Obvious," Byron answered. "Someone ratted us out."

Rhynne elbowed her husband. Glom raised a hand.

"No offense taken," The squiig groaned.

Nero looked around. Someone was missing, in such an important moment, and for a futile reason. He focused on his [Heart Bond] and found her easily. "I'm going to get Altia to a safe place. I'll meet you at home in a few moments."

He switched to his stealthy [Rogue] build and used invisibility. He ground his teeth as he stomped and weaved around the villagers. Why did she have to go and enter a stupid argument regarding a stupid betting pool? Even Byron's name was on the list. Nero couldn't move too fast or risk detection but with the perception of the people around him, that wouldn't be a problem. Nero dodged around the townsfolk and checked his mana. He'd need to use a card to replenish it in the shelter.

Reaching Altia, he came from behind and grasped her wrist and waist. She was in a heated argument with the village gossips but all of them stopped to listen to the commotion. The gates were open and a procession of soldiers was entering.

"Make silence and move with me. No time to argue, wife," He whispered in her ear.

After her initial freeze, her honed battle instincts kicked in and she moved along as he led her to a spot behind the village houses and out of sight. Nero opened the portal and pushed her inside, closing it behind them.

"Nero!" Knazer called. The eanling boy was holding an empty chair.

"Where's Crystal?" Nero asked in a hurry.

"In the water," He pointed in the beach's direction. "Sister is there with her."

"Nero, what is going on? Why did the prince..." Altia paused as the context hit her.

"Shift gears, Altia," He scolded her, his anger seeping out. "There's no party anymore. Fuck those gossips. Sister is having a breakdown. Go and do your woman thing to calm her down."

She glared at him and silently stomped down the stone path to the beach. Nero dropped lying on the grass and let his mind run its course. He needed to sort his feelings, to get his level head back. If the prince was here, he'd bring at least a company of knights. It was better if they hid and let the adults sort it out. His anger flared and he wanted to burn the prince and his entourage for what he did.

The feeling of powerlessness was overwhelming. Nero would be dead before his attack reached halfway to prince Tyre. He roared in frustration. Even the badgers were avoiding him.

"What is going on outside?" Knazer asked.

"Crystal's rapist is out there," Nero grumbled and punched the grass, using every scrap of willpower to keep from screaming and lashing out at the air. "His bleeding Highness prince Tyre came to Hom. You can guess what he came for."