Benjin and Aerstrone stood at the harbor by the sea, both dressed in fine outfits. Each of them had a sword hanging from his waist, while their white capes fluttered in the wind.
Five knights stood behind them, wearing silver armor and holding spears. A sun symbol was engraved on the chest of each knight's armor.
Aerstrone looked around at the people nearby. They were all staring at them from a distance, something he clearly didn't like.
"Uncle, aren't people staring at us a little too much?"
Benjin glanced around. He saw numerous ships with people loading cargo onto them, as well as the people who had been watching them. However, the moment Benjin's gaze fell on them, they quickly returned to their work.
Benjin gave a small laugh.
"This isn't anything new. You should get used to it."
Aerstrone gave him an annoyed look.
"Seriously, Uncle? We didn't even sleep the whole night, and we came here early in the morning. And then having people stare at me like this... I don't like it."
Aerstrone became slightly irritated.
"And besides, why are we even working with those government people? Just because they helped us once when Shakky needed help? Our ancestors never trusted outsiders, so why should we?"
Benjin heard him and placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him slightly closer.
"Listen, Aerstrone. Right now, you're a prince, and soon you'll become king. A good king must be willing to join hands even with his enemies if it's for the sake of his people."
Aerstrone raised an eyebrow.
"So you're saying we should cooperate with those government people for our own benefit?"
Benjin chuckled.
"Exactly. Sometimes, a profitable deal always begins with a little loss."
The people around them continued working while secretly watching the two of them. Some even began whispering among themselves.
"Oi, isn't that Prince Benjin?"
"Isn't he the same Prince Benjin... the Brother Slayer?"
Benjin glanced toward them. The moment his eyes met theirs, the workers immediately lowered their heads and returned to work.
Benjin touched the hilt of his sword, but before he could draw it, Aerstrone spoke.
"Looks like they've arrived."
Benjin looked ahead.
A huge ship was approaching the harbor. It was incredibly tall and long, with cannons mounted all around it. Just by looking at it, it was obvious that this was a warship.
A completely red flag fluttered above it, with two white wings in the center that were easily visible even from a distance.
The ship slowly approached and finally reached the harbor.
Aerstrone and Benjin watched it closely. The knights standing behind them and the people around the harbor were also staring at the ship. None of them had ever seen a vessel this large before.
All the other ships in the harbor were barely half its size.
Aerstrone stared at it in amazement.
"This thing is really huge... and really cool!"
They could see several people standing on the deck. They wore black pants and white shirts with red stripes running across them.
Seeing Aerstrone's expression, Benjin laughed.
"Ahaha. That's only a glimpse of what they have. They own even more impressive ships than this."
Aerstrone pointed toward the people standing on the ship. They were holding something in their hands that he had never seen before.
"Uncle, what are those people holding? They don't look like spears."
Benjin looked toward the people on the ship. Unlike Aerstrone, he wasn't surprised. Instead, he simply thought for a moment before speaking.
"So it's true... they've made guns mandatory for all their people now."
The people standing on the ship were holding rifles.
Aerstrone became curious. He had never even seen a gun before.
"So those are guns, Uncle?"
Benjin rested a hand against his jaw and became serious.
"Yes. Those are guns. I didn't expect them to allow all their people to carry them after so many years. In a magical world, the existence of something that has no connection to magic yet is this dangerous... It's honestly frightening."
Aerstrone was still listening when a long staircase began descending from the ship.
Both of them looked toward it.
It was made of something that looked like wood, but it was moving like an escalator. It was completely new to Aerstrone and everyone else there, except Benjin, who had seen one before.
Aerstrone curiously asked,
"Uncle, how is that staircase moving like that?"
Benjin laughed.
"Aerstrone, that's called an escalator. It runs using Electro Stone. You don't have to walk on it. It carries you down by itself. Just watch. They'll probably start coming down on it soon."
But just as the staircase reached the ground, someone suddenly jumped down from the top of the ship.
"Finally!"
Both Benjin and Aerstrone were slightly surprised.
The person landed effortlessly after jumping from such a height.
Everyone stared at the person carefully.
At first glance, she looked like a small girl wearing a white outfit.
After landing, she stretched out her arms and said,
"Wow! I'm finally back on land after so many days. I don't even know how long I've been stuck on that ship. I thought I was going to die from all that salty water!"
Everyone stared at her.
Who was this girl who had just jumped from such a height?
Then, a sweet voice came from above.
"Mira, you can't just jump off the ship like that!"
Another girl jumped down and landed beside her.
Everyone looked at her.
She had green hair and a curvy figure. She wore a white coat over a black pair of shorts and a white outfit.
A few moments later, several people began coming down using the escalator. They were carrying rifles and stood in front of Benjin and Aerstrone.
Then another girl slowly descended from the ship.
She wore a white shirt and tight white pants. Three golden stars were attached to her shirt, and a golden chain ran from her left shoulder to the pocket on her shirt.
Her clothes gave her the appearance of a general.
She wore a black hat with the same Jolly Roger symbol as the one on the ship.
She had blue hair and brown eyes.
Behind her, a white coat fluttered in the wind, making it clear that she was someone important.
Four scientists followed behind her, all wearing white coats—two girls and two boys.
They all came down from the ship.
The blue-haired girl walked toward Benjin and extended her hand for a handshake.
Benjin shook her hand.
The blue-haired girl introduced herself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Shivali, the lieutenant of this ship."
Benjin smiled and introduced himself as well.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too. I'm Benjin, the younger brother of the king."
Benjin then looked toward Aerstrone.
"And this is my brother's son, Prince Aerstrone."
Lieutenant Shivali extended her hand toward Aerstrone as well.
Aerstrone stepped forward, shook her hand, and introduced himself.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Prince Aerstrone. Welcome."
Benjin glanced behind Shivali at the people wearing white coats.
"Aren't you going to introduce the others?"
Shivali looked behind her.
One of the female scientists with red hair stepped forward and extended her hand.
"Oh, sorry. My name is Silcha. We're from RDS, which stands for Research Development Staff. I'm the head of the team, and these are my companions—Lihana, Ranger, and Poll."
The others raised their hands in acknowledgment.
Aerstrone greeted them as well, then pointed behind them.
"What about those two? Aren't they with you?"
Aerstrone was pointing toward the two people who had jumped down earlier and were now fooling around nearby.
Shivali glanced in their direction and shouted,
"Idiots! Stop fooling around over there and introduce yourselves!"
Hearing her, the two of them quickly ran back.
"Yes, sir!"
The green-haired girl stepped forward.
"My name is Zaya, and I'm a lieutenant of the Emperor Force, Division 8."
The small girl standing beside Zaya, who was only slightly taller than her waist, stepped forward as well.
"I'm Mira. I'm also the fifth member of Emperor Force, Division 8. It's nice to meet you."
Benjin laughed.
"Of course. It's nice to meet you too. I'm Benjin, the king's younger brother, and this is Prince Aerstrone."
The moment Zaya heard the word prince, a huge smile appeared on her face. She immediately grabbed Aerstrone's hand and gave him a vigorous handshake.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince! Are you still single?"
Aerstrone gave an awkward laugh.
"It's nice to meet you too, but... I'm still pretty young."
Hearing that, Shivali immediately glared at Zaya.
"Will you stop with your nonsense? I don't know what unfortunate moment it was when they decided to send you on this mission with me."
Benjin smiled and turned toward Lieutenant Shivali.
"By the way, Lieutenant Shivali, I thought Captain Abarai was coming with you as well."
Shivali smiled at that.
"You're right, Prince Benjin. Captain Abarai was supposed to come with us, but he had to leave with the Vice General to pursue some rebellious pirates. So he left this mission in my hands."
Shivali then turned her gaze toward the sea.
"By the way, Prince Benjin, while we were approaching your kingdom, we spotted quite a few pirate ships sailing around your waters."