At the same time, Tsukasa appeared silently in the alleys of the Royal Capital.
He had left behind the small, warmth-filled world of the inn and was once again immersed in this massive city.
The slightly harsh afternoon sunlight filtered through the gaps between buildings, spilling onto the cobblestone streets.
Tsukasa raised his hand, pushing his slipping sunglasses back up the bridge of his nose to block out some of the light.
He stood at the entrance of a relatively quiet alley, his gaze fixed on the center of the Royal Capital—the towering complex of buildings in the distance, the Royal Castle, which symbolized the seat of power in the kingdom.
"Tsk... maybe I should just teleport straight in."
Tsukasa stood in the quiet corner and muttered to himself, "Although if I get caught, I'll likely be mistaken for an assassin... I'll just say I'm an attendant of Emilia when the time comes."
His Cursed Technique allowed him to compress the space between the starting point and the destination, achieving an effect similar to instantaneous movement. He had used it before when dealing with the mabeasts in the village.
The reason his desire to go to the Royal Capital was so strong was, in part, because the Royal Castle likely housed the person he was dying to spar with—Reinhard.
Yesterday, Emilia and Subaru had tried to contact this Sword Saint, but it didn't go well.
It was said that because a so-called Sin Archbishop of Pride had been active lately, Reinhard was busy pursuing him.
A guy who could make him personally go out to hunt him down...
Tsukasa was quite interested as well.
'I'll just ask about it when the time comes.'
Thinking this, he prepared to activate his Cursed Technique.
But at that moment, the Six Eyes fed back an interesting piece of information. He shifted his gaze toward the direction of the Royal Castle main road, his lips curling slightly.
—
"Brother, you've got quite the sharp eyes. To be able to spot my and princess's dragon carriage and hitch a ride."
At that moment, inside the moving luxurious dragon carriage, Al looked at this uninvited guest who had barged in so brazenly, his tone filled with a mix of amusement and helplessness.
Priscilla, meanwhile, leaned lazily against her exclusive seat, which resembled an armchair, half-covering her face with a folding fan.
Her red eyes swept over Tsukasa, her tone carrying her habitual mockery. "So haven't we met again? However, how does it feel to be stopped outside by your own people, wandering around pitifully, and finally having to rely on me to give you a convenient lift?"
Facing her teasing, Tsukasa casually found an empty seat in the carriage, sat down, crossed his legs, and responded indifferently, "You're the host now, just take me in. Don't do anything unnecessary, and that'll be fine."
"Oh my, brother."
Al immediately interjected, trying to ease the atmosphere, "Princess just has a sharp tongue sometimes, please bear with her."
"Hmph."
Priscilla fully opened her folding fan, covering the lower half of her face, leaving only her eyes, which were sparkling with interest, as her gaze lingered on Tsukasa.
"How about... I fire Al? I'm becoming more and more interested in you. Do you want to become my attendant? As for the benefits... they would be much better than what you have over at Emilia's."
"Princess! Please spare me!"
Al immediately let out an exaggerated wail, clutching his helmet with his only remaining right hand.
"If this keeps up, I'm afraid I'll have to go eat at the same table as those three kittens next door."
"How tedious." Priscilla snorted and ignored him.
The carriage fell into a brief silence.
Tsukasa symbolically chose to ignore Priscilla's words.
At this moment, there was only the slight jolting of the dragon carriage as it moved and the sound of wheels rolling over the road.
Before long, Tsukasa's gaze swept over the almost exaggeratedly luxurious decorations inside the carriage, finally landing back on Priscilla, his tone carrying undisguised teasing. "Priscilla, are you some kind of nouveau riche? This carriage... the exterior is covered in gold leaf, inlaid with jewels everywhere, the earth dragon pulling the carriage is decked out in gold and silver, and even the reins and saddles are meticulously carved. It's fine to pursue style. But this level of exaggeration, running it through the streets... don't you feel a bit embarrassed?"
"Very regrettable, brother."
It was Al who answered him, spreading his only right hand and putting on an expression that said, "I'm also very helpless."
"Although the kingdom is vast and rich, the only one who can sit in such a shamelessly luxurious dragon carriage and parade through the streets without changing expression is probably princess."
Priscilla remained leaning lazily in her seat, noncommittal about their assessment, as if accepting Al's statement.
The luxurious gold-and-red dragon carriage drove steadily along the main road leading to the Royal Castle.
Tsukasa's gaze turned back to Al's empty left sleeve, and he gestured with his eyes, his intention quite obvious.
"Oh? Are you asking about this?" Al looked down at his severed arm, his tone becoming casual, yet carrying a hint of imperceptible reminiscence.
"Nothing special. It's just the price I paid for making a pretty common mistake back when I didn't know my own worth."
Seeing that he seemed to have fallen into some kind of memory, Priscilla, who was beside him, tapped her palm lightly with her fan and commented, "Al, don't put on that depressed expression. It lowers the class of my dragon carriage. Although I've been quietly listening to you two chat, it's all just old history, which makes me bored."
She paused, her tone slightly disdainful. "It's just like those clowns who brag about their hometown being on the other side of the Great Waterfall."
"Great Waterfall?"
Tsukasa keenly caught this unfamiliar term, raised an eyebrow, and turned to Priscilla. "What kind of place is that?"
Priscilla, upon hearing this, showed a flash of surprise on her face, then lightly tapped her chin with her folding fan.
"Oh? You actually don't know? That is the end of the continental plate. There is no land at the four corners of the world, only a violent torrent that washes everything away—people call it the Great Waterfall. Occasionally, there are boring fools like Al who brag about coming from there."
After listening to Priscilla's description of the Great Waterfall, Tsukasa nodded thoughtfully and did not ask any further.
The thought of going to see that legendary end of the world did indeed flash through his mind, but... obviously not now.
The carriage swayed slightly, and the streetscape outside the window was gradually replaced by more magnificent and orderly buildings, the outline of the Royal Castle's high walls becoming increasingly clear.
Al, sitting opposite, adjusted his posture and touched his helmet with his only remaining right hand, his tone filled with undisguised curiosity. "Speaking of which, brother, when you get to the Royal Castle, do you intend to barge straight into the Royal Selection meeting site?"
Upon hearing this, Tsukasa withdrew his gaze from outside the window, leaned back into the soft seat, and replied with a somewhat lazy tone, "I'll probably go. After all, I haven't seen it before, so I might as well take a look."
He paused, as if imagining the scene and said, "Whether those high-and-mighty big shots are the same as the peddlers and street urchins, getting red-faced and arguing endlessly."