"Hey, which room is the noble lady staying in?" The drunk soldier slammed his palm on the desk, the receptionist hesitating.
She was one of the few who Alaric had paid before hand.
Thus she was reluctant to disclose their location, aware what these drunk guards wanted.
"Room 3," a voice sounded behind them, Philip, seated, enjoying his meal.
"Good boy." One of the drunk guards walked to him, patting his back playfully, Philip forcing a smile.
The drunk guards awkwardly climbed the stairs to the room upstairs, the ground floor a lobby and a dining, the upper floors the lodging area, a relatively small inn.
"What is he playing at?" Philip pinched the bridge of his nose, remembering the words of Alaric.
If anyone looks for us, no matter who, point them in the right direction.
He followed his young master's words, yet he could only smile awkwardly as the people present gave him strange looks.
To them, he had betrayed his young master who was kind enough to hire them, though they knew it was just charity.
They looked at him, their gazes speaking volumes.
He could even hear some whispering.
"Wasn't he part of them?"
" Why was he betraying them?"
" There are truly filth in this world"
" How could he do that to such nice masters "
He almost spat out his beer, a pang in his chest.
"I will never betray them..." He turned to them, everyone averting their gaze, side-glancing at him as if he were gum sticked to the ground.
"Young master, why?"
The sound of thunder reverberated, startling everyone present, the stench of burnt flesh filling the room.
"What happened?"
" Was that thunder"
While others panicked, a few running out of the inn, Philip buried his face in his palm.
"I knew this would happen," he said inwardly.
Several minutes later, guards clad in crimson entered the inn, sober unlike those who came before them, some of the villagers standing by them, pointing towards room three.
Three soldiers, each with a different shade of red-colored hair, pink, brownish red, and a lighter tone of red.
The man with brownish red hair's armor was darker, crested with four blood-red claw marks, the badge of a captain.
A Fourth Resonance mage with numerous battle merits, the captain of the soldiers stationed in this remote region.
They rushed to the room, the door already ajar, three of their comrades lying unconscious, foaming at the mouth, the stench of burnt flesh emanating from them.
The culprit, Raika, seated on the bed, Alaric lying on her lap.
The two detached from the chaos they had caused, relaxed as if there weren't bodies lying in front of them.
"How dare you!" The captain jumped in a fit of rage, his body crackling with blue lightning, ready to attack.
The rest were already brandishing their magic, eyes bloodshot.
Raika, who wasn't paying attention to them, raised her head, her indifferent gaze more insulting than actual words.
"You!" One of them shot forward, flames erupting from his feet, his clenched fist enveloped in flames.
A wall of lightning crackled between Raika and the warrior, not yellow but blue.
"Stop!" the captain shouted, his voice shaky with fear.
His comrade, the pink-haired youth, unable to halt his momentum, slammed into the wall of lightning.
Luckily, the power of the lightning was weak, his pink hair raised into a bush, his body slightly charred.
He came to a stop before Raika's feet, the latter's gaze on the captain, who had already brought down the wall of lightning, kneeling on one knee.
"I greet the Thunder Princess."
"Huh?" The other two, eyes widened in surprise.
They quickly went on their knees, heads bowed as they gave reverence to the queen of the Vulcan Kingdom.
"Lightning... Are you a member of my clan?" Raika said with raised eyebrows.
"Yes, Thunder Princess. I am privileged to be a member of the Raijin Clan," he said politely, Raika nodding in understanding.
The Raijin Clan was a fire clan blessed with the lightning variant; 90% of their members gained lightning as their variance when they entered the Fourth Resonance.
"Good..." Raika nodded again, remembering the wall of lightning he had conjured, a difficult feat for most Raijins.
For him to do so easily meant he was a seasoned warrior.
"Thunder Princess, please, what happened here?" he, gathering a bit of courage, inquired.
"Those people dared to look at me the wrong way..."
"They tried to sexually harass my mother, not knowing who she was," Alaric quickly interrupted.
He knew his mother's words could be misunderstood due to her aggressive nature and thus had to clarify.
"Oh... ok." The captain, a bit surprised that Alaric could speak so fluently, had his attention drawn to his blue hair, a glint flashing in his eyes.
The rumored cursed heir, he thought, his gaze meeting Alaric, who noticed him staring.
He quickly averted his gaze, turning towards the three who had collapsed on the floor.
He quickly recognized them.
"These f*ckers..." he gritted his teeth, as he knew they were surely guilty.
"Thank you for sparing their lives. I will take care of them..." He rose to his feet, head bowed as he gestured for his subordinates to take care of the three.
"They have already been punished," Raika shrugged, the captain noticing the said punishment, the hair on his body standing on end, cold sweat drenching his back.
He knew the Thunder Princess was terrifying, even more so as he was from the Raijin Clan, but never once had he thought she could commit such cruelty.
"The ...then... I will take my leave. If you need anything, please let me know." His head bowed, already at the door, ready to bolt out of there.
"Wait," Alaric called out to him, he almost cursing him out loud.
"Yes, young lord." He forced a smile.
"I heard there is a tower here. Could you take me there?" Alaric sat up.
"No problem, young lord. It's a bit late, so tomorrow morning."
"No problem. Then tomorrow."
"Thanks for understanding." The captain bowed, his steps hurried as he left the inn, praying tomorrow never came.
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A/N
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