As the maids served the dinner in front of them, the king and his attendants waited patiently. When the maids left, the king finally began to speak. Ki and the others looked at him, listening carefully.
"Before I tell you anything," the king said, "I want to ask where you are from. Based on your language and clothes, it seems you are foreigners."
"We are from Earth," Zephyr answered jokingly. Septh looked worried that Zephyr's answer might offend the king, while Ki quietly touched the food in front of him.
The king responded, "Earth? Last time I checked, there is no kingdom called Earth on the map. Is it a small village or something? Or perhaps... from a different world?"
This statement caught the three off guard. Septh and Zephyr looked at him, surprised. Ki moved his gaze from his food to Richard. "You know something, don't you?" Ki's voice was calm and collected.
The king cut a piece of steak in front of him and took a bite. "What do I know?" Ki and the others waited patiently as the tension grew. "What do I know?" the king repeated. "In this world, there are cases of people who claim they are from another world. Of course, we didn't believe such phenomena at first, but as more cases became common, it became undeniable. It got to the point where some people even faked it, pretending to be one of these cases."
"Why would they do that?" Septh asked, leaning forward.
"Because all other worlders have something special about them. It seems they are chosen because of their extraordinary skills. They become masters, surpassing the elites of this world in physical prowess, skills, mental abilities, and more."
"Is that why we are receiving such treatment? Even though we are strangers, you treat us like special guests," Ki said, taking a bite of his food.
"You are half correct," the king replied, glancing at Ki. "Yes, we want to keep you, but that is to prevent other rulers from using you as weapons. A hundred years ago, different kingdoms began to study other worlders. They spent efforts, gold, and even lives. Eventually, they learned how to use such phenomena. They learned how to summon and abused this knowledge to create armies of elites. But the process was brutal. They sacrificed innocent lives to create a summon, but only 20 percent of these summons were useful. So they eliminated the rest. They repeated this, sacrificing many lives. They later trained the summons to get stronger, but the training was so brutal that out of a hundred summons, only 20 would survive and be branded as the official royal army. But I'll use the term 'personal weapon'—a puppet."
Zephyr managed to collect himself from the king's words and spoke for the first time. "Why didn't the summons fight back if it was so brutal?"
"That's because after being summoned, they performed a ceremony that made the summons forget their identity. They used this method to win wars for ages until the declaration of a ceasefire years ago. Those who knew the procedure of summoning were executed, and the writings were burned. The agreement also included a ban on this method. It was understandable why they did that."
Zephyr was taken aback. He felt his stomach tightening. He hesitantly asked, "Then what will happen to us if we are captured instead?"
"You might be used or killed," the king answered with a straight and dark face.
"Then what do you want from us?" Ki asked directly, his face serious.
The king smiled. "We want to help you harness your abilities and, in return, ask for your aid in protecting our kingdom. Your skills could turn the tide in our favor. We offer you training, protection, and a chance to fully realize your potential. But know this—our loyalty must be earned."
Ki and the others exchanged glances. The king's words hung heavy in the air, laden with implications. They knew that accepting the king's offer would change their lives forever, but the promise of mastering their newfound abilities and possibly finding a way back home was tempting.
"We will consider your offer," Ki said, his voice steady. "But we will make our decision in our own time."
The king nodded. "Take your time, and should you decide to join us, know that you will be welcomed as allies and friends."