I could no longer treat Calix the same as before.

On the other hand, Calix spoke as if nothing had changed, in his usual manner.

“Don’t stray elsewhere, stay close to me.”

I nodded at his words, deliberately averting my gaze.

Since it would be unreasonable to leave the castle in the splendid attire of the Crown Prince, he was dressed perfectly as a mercenary.

I fidgeted with my fingers, debating whether or not to pick up the leather belt lying next to him.

Normally, I would have helped him put it on without a second thought…

‘Get a grip, this is work, work. You need to separate personal and professional matters!’

Shaking my head vigorously, I picked up the nearby belt and stood in front of Calix.

He glanced down at me as if to say, “What?”

“I’ll help you, Your Highness.”

At that, Calix chuckled and took the belt, putting it on in one swift motion.

Then, grabbing a small vial of unknown purpose from the table and stuffing it into a tiny pocket on the belt, he said,”I’m not a child. I don’t need help.”

“But Your Highness, you are the Crown Prince of the Empire. You must maintain your dignity.”

“Oh, now you’re giving advice too. You’ve improved a lot.”

It seemed like he wasn’t even listening to me.

Regardless, Calix ran his hand through his hair and chuckled.

I couldn’t understand what he found so amusing.

We didn’t even know what would happen once we entered the Elves’ den.

“You’ve tied your hair up today.”

At Calix’s words, I awkwardly touched my tied-up hair and smiled.

“I didn’t want it to get in the way…”

I had learned from experience in several urgent situations.

It’s best to tie your hair as tightly as possible.

“We’ll sneak out of the palace secretly.”

Calix glanced out the window, seemingly annoyed.

“My kind brother mustn’t know about his younger brother’s absence.”

Then he reached into thin air and pulled out a paper that looked unmistakably like a magic scroll.

I gaped at the strange sight.

No matter how many times I see it, I just can’t get used to magic.

“The moment you use magic above a certain scale inside the palace, the court magicians will detect it, so we need to use the scroll after we’ve left the vicinity.”

Calix said, holding the scroll in front of my eyes.

“I’m telling you this so you’ll remember, so listen carefully.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“And, I’ll say it again, but never leave my side.”

His words of warning made my head spin.

If things went wrong when we faced the Elves, our lives could be in danger.

All I could do here was trust Calix.

I nodded.

“Let’s go.”

Calix’s mind was working perfectly.

We left the palace through a secret passage below the Crown Prince’s quarters.

Soon, he threw the vial he had prepared into the passage, breaking it as he closed the door.

“How annoying. They’re not to be underestimated.”

As he said this, the sound of something collapsing came from inside the passage.

It seemed like more than just one or two had followed us intentionally.

Startled, I turned to look at Calix, and he lightly wrapped his arm around my waist and threw the scroll above our heads.

Golden light burst from the scroll, enveloping us both, and soon our vision flipped.

Just like when we were sucked into the Temple of Fate.

Thud.

As soon as our feet touched the ground, his low voice was heard.

“To think they’d set shadows in my secret passage that I dug just in case…”

“Your Highness, may I ask exactly what these shadows are?”

At my words, Calix looked at me with a slightly incredulous expression.

“…Why are you curious about that now?”

“Pardon?”

Of course, I didn’t understand the meaning behind his question.

Calix sighed briefly and explained patiently.

“Simply put, they’re beast-human hybrid informants. Their intelligence is significantly lower than humans, but once tamed, they’re easy to use. Unlike humans, they know exactly who their master is.”

I quietly looked at Calix, then grasped both his hands tightly and said,”Your Highness, please don’t distrust humans too much.”

If only that damned distrust of humans could be fixed, he might be able to increase his subordinates a bit…

“Right. You mean I should expand my damn forces, is that it?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Calix sighed with a thoroughly displeased expression.

“Once this is over, let’s start looking into it properly. That force you want, I mean.”

It was an answer I liked after a long time.

I nodded vigorously with a bright smile.

“But that doesn’t mean you should give trust recklessly.”

“I can handle that much on my own.”

Of course, of course. Calix is smart, so he can handle it well.

As proof, didn’t he find the Elves’ residential area on his own?

Then, belatedly noticing the eerie scenery, I shrank back with a start.

The Elves’ residential area was none other than near the Hamel Mountains.

The Hamel Mountains are the source of magical energy.

“What on earth are they doing? The trees are covered in magical energy.”

Calix drew his sword and poked at something black that was drooping from the trees like slime.

“It’s the corpse of a dead magical beast.”

Ugh, I grimaced and shuddered.

“Fortunately, we’ve got the coordinates right.”

He said, seeming pleased as he shook off the black substance clinging to his sword.

He seemed to have no fear at all.

The sun was already half-set, making it dark, and here he was calmly saying it’s fortunate we got the coordinates right.

I cautiously approached Calix’s side and asked carefully.

“Your Highness, aren’t you nervous?”

Calix raised his eyebrows as if to say ‘What are you talking about’ and grasped my hand.

“If you don’t disappear somewhere else, is there any reason to be nervous?”

Then he smiled as if to reassure me and said,”Compared to Leviathan, the Elves are very easy opponents.”

His tone didn’t show even a hint of nervousness.

Funnily enough, it made me feel a bit relieved.

“I made some modifications while you lent it to me.”

And Calix reached out and put the translation necklace from before around my neck.

My heart started racing at Calix’s sudden closeness.

Whether he knew about my troubled feelings or not, he flicked the necklace with his finger and said.

“Don’t be too scared.”

“……”

“Elves are physically weak as much as they’ve mastered magical power. So when dealing with them, you just need to prevent them from using magic.”

He pointed to his sword.

“This is for magicians.”

And he ran his thumb across his throat, smiling menacingly.

‘Somehow, you seem scarier.’

Does he mean he’ll cut them all down if necessary?

His overflowing confidence was somewhat reassuring.

I fidgeted with the hand Calix was holding and looked around.

According to Calix’s research, the Elves’ residential area is protected by a barrier similar to the Temple of Fate.

So, should we go where there’s fog?

I sniffed around, trying to catch a scent.

Areas with fog should have a unique earthy, damp smell.

“…What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for the barrier, Your Highness.”

When I came to my senses, Calix was staring at me intently.

I hurriedly covered my face.

What came was belated regret and embarrassment.

“Could you please stop staring, Your Highness?”

I wanted to run away, but unfortunately, my other hand was held by Calix, so I couldn’t.

I felt him tightly squeezing our joined hands.

It was even more embarrassing.

“Looking for the barrier… Well, that’s a unique way.”

“You said the Elves’ residential area is covered in fog, Your Highness.”

“So, you’re trying to find the fog by smell.”

I could feel Calix’s gaze on me.

“Your Highness, your gaze…”

“I wasn’t looking.”

“You are looking.”

“…Is it not allowed to look a little?”

At Calix’s words, I turned my head abruptly to look at him, dumbfounded.

His expression changed strangely. Ironically, I should be the one making that expression.

“Don’t glare at me.”

“I wasn’t glaring, Your Highness.”

“The lies are coming out smoothly now, aren’t they?”

I decided to just keep my mouth shut.

Despite the serious situation, he seemed to be having the time of his life for some reason.

Did he hate the palace that much? Sorry to say, but honestly, he looked like a dog out for a walk.

An ill-tempered pup, no, doggy, that is.