And my capital was living in such peace and prosperity, giving me a melancholic feeling of my time when I was without a class.

I didn’t miss that pathetic life, but I had to admit my capital gave me an image of the most prosperous human capital and big cities back in my time.

“Look for those folks working at MIT. tell them the king wants to see them at the central palace.”

I stopped one of the dragon rider girls and gave her such an order before turning my chariot and heading towards the central big palace.

I was the king here, and I got a chance to see and enjoy my status as a king for once.

I went towards that palace and when I got near, I noticed the presence of a big shield surrounding the entire central area of the capital.

It wasn’t that strong, but not that weak either. I didn’t know who did it, but they did something good here.

I passed without any problems. It seemed this shield could identify people belonging to my kingdom, granting them instant access.

When I got down towards my palace, I saw large open green fields inside a big and towering wall.

There were many defences here, towers, weapons, and lots of troops stationed to defend the palace.

Was that palace very important? I didn’t know that.

Yet it gave me a formidable feeling, like this belonged to one of the mightiest races in the world, not to what to be considered weak humans.

If such an arrangement was done just to give this feeling then I supported it. Of course such a thing would come from none but Isac.

She was trained and raised as a paragon, and that explained her knowledge about such weird things like architecture and also etiquette.

I descended and let my chariot land on the grand green garden here. Once I did, I saw lots of soldiers running fast, in such a neat organisation, giving me a good impression about them.

They weren’t weak, and they must have seen lots of fights to reach such an order. Even while running, they kept their formations and lined up, making me smile while watching them coming.

“Lord! We salute our mighty lord and king!”

And just as they arrived near me, they stopped, did something like a military salute by hitting the blunt side of their swords and weapons over their chests, while shouting in such a way.

I waited until all of them arrived. In front of me, at least ten thousand troops were standing and waiting for my order.

“Who is your leader?” I moved my eyes around. Such a force must have a capable leader.

“We are, my lord,” and when I saw the two who stepped forward, I couldn’t help but feel bitter.

All the joy and pride from before turned into sorrow and regret.

They were the two lovers, Alex and Leo. their love ended them up falling from being two of my closest friends and being two of my mightiest and most trusted generals into such a state.

Was this bad luck? Or was this fate? Or was this just a small hiccup before they’d regain their former status?

I didn’t know the answer to that, only fate would.

“How are you two doing all this time?” I overcame my inward feelings and asked the two with a wide and fake smile.

I was happy to see them, and not happy to see them here to be honest.

“We are great, lord,” Alex said while Leo didn’t speak. This dude had such a troublesome look over his face, making me realise he was blaming himself for what he did to himself and his girl.

Of course he was the one to be blamed. He was the man, and he should take much responsibility towards his girl.

He risked everything in such a dire situation of a risky war, making decisions against what I gave him. He didn’t act smart and just followed his heart.

What a fool! In the end he let himself and his girl get demoted, and now they were working as two pathetic leaders of such a force, securing an empty place without much importance to me or my kingdom.

“Let’s get inside and talk,” I started to descend the stairs, giving myself time to think about these two.

And when I thought about them, I couldn’t help but recall my Karoline and Hilary. One went missing and the other got possessed. I was placed in such tough situations where I chose the best for my people and kingdom.

If I was Leo, I’d leave everything behind and chase after Karoline. Or perhaps he’s lead everyone to long and unmatched wars, ending up losing everything and getting nothing done at the end.

Love was good and great, I could get that. But one had to work his mind instead of his heart, especially when his decisions wouldn’t just affect himself, but many people around.

Sigh!

I paused when I reached the second floor. I kept Hilary locked up for a long time already. Should I call her out? Should I release her?

For a second I was tempted to do it. But when I considered that we were on Earth, I decided not to.

I would try her out when we were away from here. Even if she did something stupid, she got nothing much to threaten my kingdom and people with.

After all, my second Earth was a calm place without many dangers and challenges there. Not like here, where my kingdom was surrounded with tons of enemies waiting for a half chance to come at me.

So I kept walking down the stairs and then the two familiar faces welcomed me down below.

“Lord, this way,” Alex was acting all formal while Leo kept his silence. I walked in the centre while the two kept accompanying me.

But I didn’t go towards the palace first. I went to inspect the forces here.

“Nice soldiers you got,” I said in honest praise.

“Don’t mock us lord, we know this is just a generous arrangement from Isac and not from you.”