"It all started a few months ago when the former when the former King passed away. The former king had two sons Prince Armakan and his younger brother, Prince Sharrkan. Due to the fact that Prince Armakan was the son of the second queen, he wasn't the first in line to succeed the throne. However, his younger brother was still only nine years old, so Prince Armakan was the one enthroned." Narmes says and Annalise's mouth drop open in shock. Just because he was nine, Sharrkan was passed over when the throne was rightfully his.

"However, there were those who disagreed. The following month, the second queen passed away. It was sudden and unexpected. Shortly thereafter, the same sorts of sudden deaths began happening throughout the city. All of the victims were people that stood behind the young King Armakan. King Armakan was losing his supporters one by one. At the time, the former king's faction started calling the series of mysterious deaths a 'curse', and began promoting the younger brother, Prince Sharrkan, as the legitimate heir to the throne." Narmes says.

"Hmm." Annalise says as she thinks. Sinbad had a look that showed he was thinking too.

"However, there was something we realized. The death of the second queen, as well as the death of the current King's supporters... they all died because they were poisoned. So that made it likely that someone in the former King's faction was poisoning them." Narmes explains.

"Huh?" Annalise asks.

"If you realized that, why didn't you do something?" Sinbad asks.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any definitive proof that it's someone from the previous King's faction. But if we let things continue like this, our internal struggles will only continue. What are we supposed to do?" Narmes asks.

"That's enough, Narmes." A voice says and Annalise gasps with everyone else.

"King Armakan!" Narmes says.

"These travelers are from a foreign country. We've caused you enough trouble because of our country's problems. There's no reason to drag you any further into our problems." Armakan says, "It would be better for you if you left this country as soon as possible. I'll arrange for a guard to escort you on your way home. Furthermore, let's end this conflict. Tomorrow, I'll go to the tomb of the royal family." Narmes gasps.

"You mustn't! If something happens to you—!" Narmes says.

"Narmes, this is the only option left." Armakan says.

"Then, we will accompany you... to the royal tomb... no... to the place that used to be the royal tomb. The mysterious structure it became." Narmes says.

"Structure?!" Annalise shocks.

"Please wait a minute! Could that structure be..." Sinbad says.

"Oh, you're travelers, so of course you don't know... the truth is we have one more problem in this country. Within the borders of our country, a mysterious structure appeared overnight. No matter how many soldiers we sent to investigate it, not a single one ever came back." Narmes says, "That structure is in a place of enormous important to our royal family... the royal tomb where generations of past kings were laid to rest... ever since that structure appeared, our royal tomb has changed to become part of it."

"To us, the royal tomb is the most sacred place in Heliohapt. It allows past generations of kings to watch over us and is the place where all new kings succeed the throne through a formal investiture..." Armakan explains.

"An investiture?" Mytras asks.

"Yes... Here in Heliohapt, it has been a custom since ancient times for the heir named by the previous King to be formally named King in a Ceremony held at the royal tomb. However, currently, the royal tomb has turned into something entirely different. To this day, we have been unable to hold a formal investiture for King Armakan. The words of the former king are carved into his sarcophagus, but if we can't enter the royal tomb, we can't verify what is written there." Narmes explains. "In other words, we have no way of knowing if Lord Armakan is the legitimate heir to the throne. Nobody knows the identity of the true heir."

"I see what you mean. Due to the circumstances, the previous King's faction is trying to put forth someone else as the true heir to the throne?" Jafar asks.

"Exactly. They made up the idea of the 'curse' thinking that they could use the uncertainty of the crown to topple Lord Armakan's reign." Narmes says, "We believe he is our king. If we could just prove that Lord Armakan is the legitimate king, then all of this conflict would come to an end. If we could just visit the royal tomb. If that mysterious structure would just disappear."

"I think we might be able to help with that." Annalise says with a giggle as she looks at Sinbad, Put your mind at ease, your majesty."

"Please leave the structure... no, the 'dungeon' to us. We'll take care of it." Sinbad says.

"That structure is undoubtedly one of the many dungeons that are now appearing around the world." Annalise says.

"A dungeon is a dangerous place. However, if you conquer it, the structure disappears and the place it stood will return to the way it was before. We've already conquered two of them." Sinbad says.

"Sinbad, just who in the world are you?" Narmes asks.

"Wait just a minute!" A voice says.

"Vizier Gafra and Queen Dowager, Lady Patra." Narmes says.

"Oh, Narmes... how deplorable making up lies about us scheming to poison people and passing it off as a curse." Petra says, "It seems like the one capable of leading our country correctly is my son, Sharrkan should be king after all."

"That's it. I'm going to murder her." Annalise says and Sinbad grabs her around the waist to hold her back. Annalise growls in anger as she struggles to get free. She stops as they notice something coming towards them being carried by some men.

"Our King... the true king who inherited the will of the former king, please show yourself. The second Prince, Lord Sharrkan." Petra says and Annalise's eyes widen.

"Sinbad, I want to keep him." Annalise whispers.

"You can't keep the prince." Sinbad whispers back.

"He's sooooo cute!" Annalise says as she squeals.

"Aren't you worried?" Jafar whispers.

"He's nine." Sinbad whispers back, "And she said the same thing about you and Masrur."

"But this one isn't a stray." Jafar whispers back. Annalise lightly hits them both in the head.

"I can hear you." Annalise whispers.

"Are you always like this?" Serendine asks.

"Yes." Hinahoho says.

"Annalise has actually gotten worse." Drakon says, "Well, better at scolding Sinbad."

"How dare you insult us by denying Lord Sharrkan the crown that legitimately belongs to him?! Narmes you're an embarrassment as a consul." Gafra says.

"That's it." Annalise says and goes to attack them and Sinbad holds her back.

"I've said nothing but the truth! You're using the fact that we've been unable to enter the royal tomb to have our formal investiture and aiming to take the throne for yourselves, aren't you?!" Narmes says.

"Hmph, with such uncertainly surrounding the throne, you sure seem to think you know everything. That's just further proof that Lord Sharrkan is the legitimate heir. The majority of the people already support the Former King's faction. Just what is it going to take for you to accept that's the way things are?" Gafra says.

"Gafra! YOU BASTARD!" Narmes says and gets stopped by Armakan, "Lord Armakan?"

"I am the 36th King of Heliohapt. I have accepted the responsibility and have the resolve needed to be King. No matter what you do, or what schemes you put in place, I will never waver." Armakan says, "Remember that."

"Shut up, false King Armakan. The one who should be seated on that throne is me. I was entrusted with the will of the former king and as the most direct line of succession, I am the one that should legitimately inherit the crown. Besides, I saw it. The name that my father, the former king, had carved into his sarcophagus... was my name. For generation before the king dies, he would summon a mason and bestow upon him the name of his successor. The mason would carve that name into the King's sarcophagus. Then, as it is forbidden for any living person to know the identity of the heir before the investiture, the mason must die alongside the king. However, the former king's mason came to me to please for his life. He said he had a wife and child to think about. Of course, such behavior is unforgivable... in the end, that mason was beheaded. However, the name that was carved into the sarcophagus at that time was..." Sharrkan says.

"Lord Sharrkan's?" Narmes asks.

"Wonderful! If that's true, then you are, without a doubt, the legitimate heir to the throne! Why didn't you tell us that sooner?" Gafra says.

"If that's true, they we must prepare for your formal Investiture at once and we must make a formal announcement!" Petra says.

"STOP THIS FARCE!" Armakan yells and Annalise jumps in shock, "How foolish... you want the throne so badly that you're willing to go that far?! You're a disgrace to the royal family! Never show your face in front of me again!"

"Your majesty! P-Please wait a minute!" Narmes says.

"How typical of the young King to lose his composure." Gafra whispers and Annalise and Masrur hears them.

"That's right. At any rate, with this it's decided that Sharrkan should be king." Petra whispers.

"That's right... now we no longer need to prevent the investiture. In fact, we must visit the royal tomb as soon as possible to declare Sharrkan as the heir to the throne." Gafra whispers and Annalise's eyes narrow. He speaks louder to Sinbad and the group.

"Travelers, you said you know something about that mysterious structure? Perfect, I'll give you a special mission. Get rid of that 'dungeon' and return the location to the way it was before. Make it so that we can enter the royal tomb." Gafra says, "You'll be rewarded for your help. We're even give you the right to trade with Heliohapt. It's an important mission for to fulfill as foreigners." Annalise grabs onto Sinbad's sleeve and he like reads her worry through her touch.

"Understood. Please leave it to us." Sinbad says.

"Then we'll come collect you tomorrow morning. Now we must make the necessary preparations for the investiture." Gafra says.

"And inform the former king's faction of our victory." Petra says as she and Gafra follow Sharrkan away.

"Is it really okay to help them out, Sin?" Hinahoho says.

"Yeah. If it was a dungeon, I intended to conquer it from the very beginning. Domestic affairs have nothing to do with us, so it's not our problem. More importantly..." Sinbad says.

"He's being controlled." Annalise says.

"You got all that?" Sinbad asks, "How?"

"It's the same for when I knew that we had to save Jafar from his darkness and save Masrur from being a gladiator." Annalise says as she places her hand on their heads, "I get this odd feeling that he's someone we need to rescue."

"Her mother's intuition has kicked in rather early." Hinahoho says.

"You could call it that. I do treat Jafar and Masrur like my boys. But it's close to the same for him." Annalise says as the two looked up at her as she stared at Sharrkan. Annalise blinks confused as he comes back towards them.

"Eh?" Annalise says as he gets down and walks on his own. He orders the men who were carrying his chair to walk away and they do as they are ordered. Sharrkan looks at Annalise and Sinbad.

"I also have something I wanted to speak with you about..." Sharrkan says, "I'm grateful to your foreigners... thanks to you, I was able to divert my mother and Gafra's attentions... In this palace, I'm always supervised by the two of them, so both my ability to express my own views and the actions I can take are restricted. I'm not allowed to do anything on my own."

"I knew it." Annalise says as she leans towards him to move to his height, "What is it your highness?"

"The truth is... Mother and Gafra are unable to control my brother, so they want to make me king and control the throne through me. Even though I know that, there hasn't been anything I could do to stop them... What I said before... the story about how my name was carved into the sarcophagus and about the mason being beheaded... it was really... all a lie." Sharrkan says and Annalise's eyes soften.

"I see. You said it for a reason." Annalise says and Sharrkan nods.

"Because if I didn't say something, then mother and the others wouldn't have let you anywhere near that mysterious structure... asking complete strangers and foreigners on top of that... for help may be a mistake. But there's no one else I can ask. Please get rid of that dungeon." Sharrkan asks.

"Only if you answer me one thing." Annalise says.

"Hmm?" Sharrkan asks.

"Do you want the throne?" Annalise says.

"Ever since we were born, my brother and I have constantly been forced to oppose one another... I had to bear the weight of that situation. But the ones who wanted the conflict were only the ones around me. I never wanted that. The truth is... I wanted something more normal.. I don't care if I'm hated. As long as Heliohapt can return to being the way it should be." Sharrkan replies, "That is my responsibility as royalty. Please help us. Please bring the conflict in this country to an end."

"Well, that's good enough for me. Sinbad, let's go capture dungeon number three. If the Djinn is going to give me a freaky outfit, I'm ready for it." Annalise says.

"Oh yeah, Baal and Valefor do have a funny sense of humor." Drakon says.

"It's only because she's going to be Sinbad's queen one day." Hinahoho says.

"We'll capture the dungeon and you will find your answer."Annalise says and she smiles.