As they walked out of the room, Nero kept replaying the audience with the King in his mind, paying attention to each person's reaction during each replay. [Mind's Library] at first seemed like a useless Skill, and it was if you thought about usefulness in combat, but for these situations it was invaluable. The whole meeting used up all twenty-one of his memory slots and it wasn't enough, but well worth it. Even the inane banter before they got down to business was useful to study their reactions. Nero could focus on one person's body language to the expense of anything else, and shift. With that, he got all those little cues about their intentions and feelings. Another benefit was that the 3% Attribute bonus wasn't halved when equipped in the [Skill Booster]. He obtained sixteen Attribute points, more than what he'd obtain with a halved orange. These values would only grow with him.

The reactions from the three princes were strange. Aliah he discarded right off the bat. She was only in it for giggles and to rib at her siblings. The king winced every time she opened her muzzle. Aslanbek was... sad when he was released? That's strange. And the youngest Ahadi looked like a fanboy. He had a slim build and short stature for a leonal. He also had that bookish and curious aura around him, someone that would not be out of place in the gadgeteering department.

The King was harder to read but not impossible. He was annoyed and disappointed with Aslanbek, especially when he put emphasis on his edict and how it was intended to avoid just that kind of trouble. The edict was not for exactly meant for the King's stated purposes, however. It was also a bribe, an olive branch, and an attempt to shut them up. Amaryllis and Xalazuniox were right. Nero had no doubt the King would've resorted to assassination if the cost of murdering them wasn't so high.

Nero still hadn't sorted his feelings for the sudden godfather he obtained. He didn't mind being associated with Xalazuniox as the Dean's power and influence was another layer of shields protecting him and his family. But why didn't they talk to him about that beforehand?

"An Anima crystal for your thoughts?" Serena, or Crystal, whichever persona she was using right now leaned next to him and stopped his musings.

"I was replaying the meeting, Your Highness," Nero mumbled without much impetus behind his words.

She held his shoulder and flagged the usher. "Would you excuse us for just a moment? I need to have a word with my brother." With that said, she promptly dragged him into a side room. How she knew it was empty was beyond Nero's knowledge but it was.

"What is going on, little brother?" She asked once they were alone behind a closed door, both hands on his shoulders and an inquisitive and worried gaze reading his eyes.

Nero clenched his teeth, swallowed, and glanced at her with puppy eyes. He considered lying or dismissing his worries for a moment but decided to be open with her. Nero gently grasped her wrist and met her gaze.

"I'm afraid. Your knights are here, you got peace with Bast, closure. I look at you dressed and clad in jewels. I'm--"

"Afraid I'll go back to being Princess Serena?" She guessed softly but her voice hung at the 'pri'. Nero nodded. Her eyes moistened. She blinked small tears. "Never. Not if my father comes himself to drag me back to the Reef Palace. Oh, brother. My beloved little brother. My hero and savior. Cast me away not."

She pulled him in a tight embrace. Nero clasped her waist and couldn't help but shed some eye water as well. "I don't want to lose my sister," He confessed. "But I am afraid your father might drag you here. He did order his men to invade Bast."

"What would you do if he does?" She asked in a teasing tone.

Nero snorted a chuckle. "Out of two altercations with Royals, I won two times. I know where I'd bet my Essence."

"There you go," She released him and poked the tip of his nose. "Growing up among luxury is surely great, don't you think?" She didn't let go of him but her gaze wandered through the posh and slightly brutalist decoration of the inner palace.

"Looks like at a first sight, doesn't it?" Nero mused. "Tell me, sister. Why renege on that?"

"These walls are merely a gilded cage. As a princess, I wasn't free. I was a commodity to be traded away for political gain. One that failed at that. Being one of the fay races, we bred true with the kin and the folk," She trailed off for a while. "So the leonals of Bast desired to marry me with Tyre to help keep the next generations from growing too inbred."

The weight of her words wasn't lost on Nero. "That's terrible."

"A Royal womb for sale, that's what summarizes princess Serena's existence," She concluded. "Serena is a persona, silly brother. I loathe keeping posing as her. Once we're out of this palace, I'll be just Crystal, peasant, and Adventurer."

Nero nodded, wiped his tears then hers. They smiled at each other. After that, he felt relieved that his fears were unfounded. He grabbed her hand and motioned to leave.

"Let's go out before they start some weird rumors. If palace gossip is half of what the stories tell. We'll get this mission done and resume our normal life."

"Too late to silence rumors the moment we walked in," She quipped with the tip of her tongue out. "And that score? It's three out of three."

Princes Aslanbek and Ahadi joined them in a meeting room, to discuss the missions. Nero and his extended family, most of Aslanbek's knights and all twelve of Serena's. The heir to the throne was leading the talk.

"We are departing to retake Honeywitch in two hours," Aslanbek commanded. "Princess Serena's knights will assist us by neutralizing and dissuading any troops from Coriander that may be present. We are at an armistice, so refrain from engaging or, if not possible to avoid confrontation, killing Coriander nationals. We do not expect strong opposition but we can't be sure. There are at least two Knights at large. The usurper Hye-Sung should not have much high-leveled personnel with her. Nero will teleport us two miles outside of the city and we'll infiltrate the walls at night. Prepare yourselves. Sir Botolf will give you your detailed assignments. That's all."

The knights from Bast stood up, saluted, and departed. Only the cadence of the footsteps and the metal armor clacking as they moved filled the silence.

"Princess Serena, would you mind sending your men to the waiting room?" Ahadi asked with a soft and friendly tone.

"Of course I wouldn't mind," She replied with a fake smile. With a nod from her, the knights from Coriander also vacated the room.

"There is one more subject we need to talk," Aslanbek said after the door closed. "After my return, we researched your ability to bring me to the Dungeon, Nero. Ahadi has something to tell you."

Prince Ahadi's eyes shone with delight. "Nero, we found a description of the [Dungeon Keeper] Class. Among the information we gathered, the [Dungeon Keeper] has the power to move the portal. Our surveyors are trying to find where the portal to the Dungeon is without any results. Would you tell us?"

He was a bit annoyed that they guessed the Class correctly. Despite being a unique black Class, he suspected each Dungeon could have one. That would be the reason that the Dungeon name was in the Class title. If Nero could have his way, the portal would be in the middle of the city's main square for all to see. But he couldn't. He tried to put it inside his shelter but it didn't work. The portal can only be placed in the real world.

There was little to gain by lying to them. They wanted to build goodwill with the Royal family and end the antagonizing cycle. So Nero went for extreme candor.

"Nowhere," He volunteered. Ahadi's eyes widened for a moment. They didn't have full information.

"I can't move the portal. Just place it. I haven't decided on a spot but I want to put it somewhere I can access."

They could very well pressure him to put the portal in their basement and lock it up. Nero would only be able to delve there once every hundred days. The doubled Attributes were too valuable to pass. He could strengthen his whole party with Accolades in that Dungeon. Now he regretted not putting it in the middle of nowhere. He only kept from setting the portal out of spite. Before, Nero wanted to smear the Dungeon name in the face of these arrogant leonals. Now he wasn't so sure but his window of opportunity was closing fast.

Everyone else in the room was quiet, listening to the princes talking. Their presence was reassuring. After some moments, Nero hoped they didn't know about the cooldown of his teleportation ability, given that the information Ahadi presented was wrong.

"We wish to buy that Dungeon from you," Aslanbek dropped the bomb. "Name your price."

Nero stared at the crown prince with a deadpan expression. "Do you have a location in mind? You know very well I won't allow myself to be barred from delving there with my party. If you wish to hide it, I will respect that wish and place it somewhere nobody will ever find it."

Like a hidden chamber in the middle of a granite block inside a mountain. A pillar with a two hundred yard drop. Even if it overflows and causes a stampede, the monsters wouldn't go anywhere without falling to their death.

"You wish to harvest artifacts of the previous kings, is that correct?" Xalazuniox asked. "Or are you hoping that the ones Tyre equipped will show up again?"

Aslanbek smiled. "As expected of the Dean, that's correct. We believe that our brother's imprisonment in the Dungeon will create dozens of new cards that will only drop in that Dungeon. The crown wishes to access the Dungeon and gather those artifacts for our use."

"Put it in the main square of the city," Amaryllis said as a challenge. "This way anyone can access, you can access, the crown won't waste a single crystal on it. I can offer the guild training grounds if you want. The Guild will make sure the Dungeon is accessible and taken care of. The crown can set one out of every seven days as an exclusive day for delving. Nero is right, any flat price for selling the Dungeon is not worth it for him in the long run. For letting you get exclusive delving days, you'll forfeit a cut of the Dungeon tax."

"One out of every three days," Aslanbek replied.

"One per week is good enough. Nero could put the Dungeon inside his pocket dimension and you'll never see its glimmer ever again," Amaryllis set her foot down.

"One per week and the crown has exclusive rights to buy any card a delver finds in the Dungeon at a flat price. We'll have a truth-teller and garrison there to protect our interests."

"At a fair price for the card's level, type, and color," Ahadi added.

"Deal!" Amaryllis made a gavel appear and hammered the table. "Sold to the tawny-furred leonal."

Aslanbek frowned. Amaryllis looked at Nero with a 'praise me' expression. He rubbed the pixie's tiny head and the fairy giggled like a child. It was a very good arrangement for him. He had a passive income in perpetuity now. Much better than hiding it somewhere or giving it away out of spite.

But they couldn't get rid of the princes. Aslanbek and Ahadi 'invited' them for lunch in the palace. The young prince was very interested in approaching Nero and they found out they had a common interest. Cards.

"Kherghak's series of cards came up when we were gathering information on you," Ahadi candidly dropped the bomb while they ate dessert. "Did you hear of them?"

Nero chuckled. "Only the chains. Are there more?" He was very interested.

"Yes, didn't you check Aluphina's Catalog? There are three known cards with Kherghak's name. [Chains of Kherghak], [Kherghak's Shackles], and [Kherghak's Noose]. The speculation around them is awesome. They think it is a series of cards meant as a kind of soft execution. You force the person to take them and watch their level cap plummet into nothingness!"

Nero smiled, a bit embarrassed. Did he hear about that Aluphina person before? From where? "Aluphina's Catalog?" He asked.

"They mentioned it during the meeting when the tribute was offered," Altia reminded him.

Nero closed his eyes for a few seconds as he replayed the memories. Yes, they mentioned it.

"Aluphina Eilinove's Absolute Card Compendium is an encyclopedia with twenty-seven volumes. It lists all the known cards," Xalazuniox explained from the other side of the table.

"At least all the cards that are known to Aluphina. A lot, but not all of them. It is not like that gnome woman knows everything," Amaryllis snarked while she snacked.

"But people send submissions to her all the time," Ahadi defended.

"Then she doesn't publish stuff because she wants independent confirmation," The pixie raised her voice. "Then she goads the gullible to send her the cards for confirmation, and out of every six, one 'disappears' during shipping. And hells forbid her from purchasing insurance. There's a reason the guild and her don't look face-to-face. Once is happenstance, twice is a coincidence. Forty-three? Someone is stealing cards!" She was furious at the end.

"Nobody has ever proven..." Xalazuniox started but the pixie's glare made him stop.

Amaryllis was having nothing of that. "Really? We tallied the submissions and even investigated some. One out of every six we were aware of, forty-three missing cards. Do the math. Oranges and purples. Zuni, you know very well the value of a new card. You traded with our boy for one."

"I stand corrected. I was not aware the guild had investigated the matter."

The pixie sighed. "They covered their tracks and cut off their tails in a very timely manner. We had one guy that was willing to talk, he ended up dead the next morning."

It wasn't so strange Nero never heard of it if there was such bad blood between the Guild and the catalog organizer. "Why don't the Lyceum start their own catalog?" He suggested. "I'm sure the Guild would cooperate with the Lyceum in this matter."

"Amazing!" Ahadi gushed and chuckled. Leonal chuckles were a scary throaty growl. "The Kingdom's library would surely be glad to assist in this endeavor!"

Aslanbek shook his head but looked tenderly at his younger brother. Young and naive. But if Ahadi could bridge the chasm between the parties at the table, it was what the Kingdom needed. "I approve," The crown prince declared.

"So, Kherghak. You mentioned two other cards?" Nero asked Ahadi.

"Three. You know one of them?"

"[Chains of Kherghak]," Nero nodded. I have it.

Ahadi smiled, showing pearly white fangs. "Of course! Your cap is zero, there's no demerit in using them! Would you want the other two? What am I saying, of course, you would! They would be perfect gifts to show our appreciation for your tribute!"

"What do they do?" Nero asked, clearly excited.

"[Kherghak's Shackles] require [Chains]. It gives you two or three first-tier Skill slots but divides your level cap by either four or six. It must be at least one more than the value you chose for the Chains. You went for five, right?"

Nero shrugged and smiled. "Zero divided by anything is still a zero. There was no reason to choose anything else."

"That's insane. Someone with both would dump their level cap to one-thirtieth of the original," Altia remarked. "Anyone with both would be at most level fourteen."

"Yes. The third card must come after the other two. It's called [Kherghak's Noose] and it lowers your level cap by the product of the first two. A straight reduction. Anyone with all three would become level zero."

"Just like me," Nero added. He was surprised that he didn't feel any bitterness from stating it anymore. Instead, he found himself proud of what he achieved. "Your offer is most kind, Your Highness."

"Then it is settled! I'll personally find these two cards for you," Ahadi declared and slapped Nero's back.

"What does the [Noose] grant?" Altia asked.

Ahadi grinned. "It grants resource regeneration and unlocks a Health resource. It is based on Vigor and automatically heals wounds as you take them."

Nero's eyes went wide. That was awesome and without any major issues for him. It would be just free healing. He should also procure a copy of the catalog, Amaryllis' objections notwithstanding.

They finished the meal with a cup of tea and it was showtime. Nero could teleport them inside the city but Aslanbek rejected the idea. His portal was in the low-class district but it could jeopardize the whole operation as dozens of presences would pop at once and alert the enemy. By approaching from far outside they would have time to deploy defensive measures. Nero created a transition box just for the operation with new portals. The opening in the castle was inside a prison cell for nobles awaiting judgment. Well protected but with amenities. Aslanbek knew Nero could reopen the portal anytime and found this an acceptable compromise.

Altia, Crystal, and Nero would stay with Coriander's knights and give support. The former princess might need to make an appearance to convince Coriander's troops to not fight. They wouldn't engage in any case, and the trio was ready to jump into a portal Nero would open and stay out of trouble.

The portal opened and they walked into a farmland road. The whole city glowed in the distance, clouding the budding stars of the newborn night with smoke. Honeywitch was on fire.