“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen of our beloved Golden Empire, to the third ever War Game!” A pale skinned cat-eared woman shouted into a device, which amplified her voice to spread throughout the entire stadium.

I watched the arena erupt into a deafening blend of cheers, although no amount of joy around me could sway the annoyance dwelling within my chest.

A hand took my right, and another, my left. I looked over at Vanessa, and Hazeel respectively. “Don’t worry about it too much.” Vanessa smiled, squeezing my hand.

“Anything that Rexir’s father throws at us, we can handle.” Hazeel spoke, intertwining her fingers with mine.

I sighed, looking down at the place where Rexir’s brother and sister had come out and started to do stretches. “I don’t know. I’m not sure why we’re still playing out this farce of the emperor’s if what truly affects his decision is the fight the three of us have.”

Hazeel grabbed my cheek, and turned my face towards her. “You shouldn’t say that out loud. This is important for Rexir. It’s his chance to show himself that he can live as someone who isn’t in his father’s shadow.”

I sighed, and squeezed her hand. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m just sick of getting dragged into fights that we didn’t start.”

She tucked her long hair behind her ear and kissed my cheek. “Well, we can worry about that when we get there. For now, just relax and enjoy the show.”

I opened my mouth to respond, and flinched when a warm, salty, and flavorful fried potato was shoved into my mouth.

I nearly choked on the thing, and sent a pointed look over to the culprit, who was giggling. “Like Haze said, relax. You have plenty of time to go into battle mode later.”

I sighed, and heeded her advice, my focus entirely on enjoying the delicious morsel in my mouth.

---

Rexir watched with bated breath as Hann and Zare finished their warm up exercises. They had begun with some light stretching, but had moved on to a quick sparring session towards the end.

To be honest, it terrified Rexir. He had remembered his sister as a pure mage, so enrapt in unlocking the mysteries of the planet. Unfortunately, now she was a fully dedicated spellsword, with a blade that was at least twice the size of her own body to boot.

Her pale pink armor reflected in the sunlight, and a crown-like helmet adorned her head.

It would be comical, if it weren’t so terrifying. Then, there was Hann. The younger Minami brother had wanted to be a sword-wielding samurai like their father from a young age.

The visage in front of him couldn’t be any more different from that image. He was dressed in tattered robes, or clothes that were crafted to look that way. A cowl partly hid his face, but Rexir would recognize his brother’s lanky form anywhere.

An assassin… Rexir frowned. That was a deadly combination. Ideally, Zare would tank the damage from Rexir, and Hann would find opportunities for critical strikes.

“Don’t worry, Rexy.” Leresa swung her arms around his abdomen, and buried her face in his shoulders. “We’ll get through this. Part one to the story of the greatest ruler the Golden Empire never had.”

Rexir smiled despite himself, and placed his hands on hers. “Let’s get this fight underway then, my love.” Leresa whispered reassuringly into his ear.

---

“Grr… why is she getting so close to him in public!? That harlot!” Zare growled, and Hann sighed in response.

“Zare, your personal feelings about their relationship aside, you should be focused on the match at hand, right now.”

“Please, Hann. It’ll be as easy as sending Jeeves to fetch me tea.” Hann opened his mouth to argue that she was missing the point completely, but immediately closed it as he felt the air around him shift.

He shot a glare to the site of the disturbance: Rexir and Leresa. The former had knelt, and taken Leresa’s hand in his own. Rexir looked into her eyes, with a smile on his face.

Hann resisted the urge to groan at the couple’s public display of affection. “By the Hunter’s Oath, I shall be your shield.” Hann barely caught that last bit, but what happened next shocked him into silence.

Rexir’s body was enveloped in a golden light, and soon, it was gone, replaced by a golden sword, the likes of which he’d never seen before. Leresa took the weapon amidst the complete silence of a shocked crowd, and her grip seemed to echo throughout the stadium.

Soon, the crowd came to their senses, and cheered for the display of never before seen magic. “I hope you’re ready.” Leresa spoke, but there was something else in her voice that made Hann flinch.

It seemed that her voice was overlaid with Rexir’s, the two resonating and creating a vibration in his chest. “Zare, now!” Hann roared, and started running for the Silver Princess.

This was completely outside their predicted attack pattern. They had initially wanted to focus on Rexir, and lead Leresa away so they could propagate two one-on-one attacks, but that strategy was no longer viable.

“You always did have a bad habit of thinking when you should be paying attention to your surroundings.” The Rexir-Leresa hybrid spoke, hitting Hann in the back with the flat of her blade.

He rolled to the ground end over end, and eventually came to a stop. Hann blinked, and when he opened his eyes again, Leresa was standing in front of him.

‘It feels like I’ve been hit by a godsforsaken warhorse.’ Hann thought, willing himself to get to a kneeling position.

“Sorry, Hann. I hope there are no hard feelings after this. I know the medics will tend to your wounds perfectly.” Leresa’s voice was the only one that came out as something opened beneath Hann, and he fell through, watching as the sunlight got further and further away from his grasp.