Lisa was the perfect successor for the throne. A great fighter, a smart strategist, and a fair leader to her people.
The people of Almiana were all looking forward to the time that Lisa would be of age, and take her place.
There was one problem, onl...
As their fourth day of adventure began, the city guards arrived at the Strawberry Moon Inn for the formal investigation of Team Starfish. General Shindong insisted that they do it as a whole group instead of one by one, to which the guard captain agreed.
"Before we start, you must permit us to prepare some safety measures. I promise to tell you everything once we establish mutual trust.", said General Shindong to the guards. Once the guard captain agreed, Jisoo touched a rune near the bar, and a magical circle covered the entire first-floor lobby of the inn.
"This is a zone of truth. As the name implies, everyone inside must tell the truth for the next ten minutes. All of us must be willing.", said Jisoo as she joined the others.
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Everyone immediately felt the tug of honesty, and none of them resisted the magical effect. And once the whole group was seated, Jisoo sat down and nodded to the general.
"Thank you, Lady Jisoo. One last thing. To prevent others from eavesdropping on us.", said General Shindong as he cast a Zone of Silence on himself, covering the entire length of the table.
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"Why all the secrecy, General Shindong?", asked the guard captain named Caleb.
"I am sure that you've heard about Prince Lee's second trial."
Caleb nodded his head. He noticed his vice-captain writing things down and told him to stop. "Go on, general."
"Before I reveal everything, I need to ask. Are you loyal to the throne and its heir, Prince Lee Snow?"
The four guards, the vice-captain, and Caleb, all stood up and bowed their heads, shouting a loud "Yes!" in unison.
"Do you promise to keep secret everything we say here for the sake of the prince?"
"Yes! We would die for your highness, Prince Lee!"
"That is good to hear. Trustworthy allies are hard to come by these days. Thank you, all of you. As promised, let me tell you everything."
It took almost an hour for General Shindong to tell Caleb everything. He started with a brief summary of the first trial and their suspicions about Queen Sayeon. He explained what happened during the champion selection and why they formed two teams, how they, Team Starfish, were the decoys, constantly under threat ever since they left Almiana four days ago.
