Branch 1, Leaf 2: King's Declaration

Year 2901, Kingdom of Maulaphete, before the Arrival.

People were astonished by the display of the young man; the same goes for Nicholas. People could see the hard work that the young man went through just to get to that point of time — a toned body full of battle scars; you could see it from his shoulders down to his seemingly big hands.

Nicholas snapped off his trance and dismounted his horse to confront the young man. Everyone around could hear the heaviness of Nicholas' the aurum armor except for the young man who is fixated on the view towards the castle.

"What do you think you are doing here in the middle of the street? Hey! Who do you think you are?" Nicholas approached the young man, angrily, pushing a finger on the young man's nape. Nicholas noticed the books that the young man was carrying.

"Are you the one who was supposed to bring me those books? Give them to me now and I'll give you your payment" Nicholas tried to grab the books but the young man noticed it and was able to dodge.

"Do that again and I'll –" the young man replied; not realizing who his facing. When the young man looked up to see Nicholas' face, he sees a silhouette of a muscular man yet the young man thought that the thing in front of him is a honey-glazed chicken; rather a honey-glazed turkey because of how big and shiny Nicholas' armor is.

The young man started to drool and approaches Nicholas with eating intent!

"H-he-hey I don't like how you look. Don't come near me or else I'll kill you" Nicholas points at the young man as he retreats slowly,

The young man blindly attacked, trying to devour, Nicholas. As a precautionary measure, Nicholas leaned back, raised his right hand and slaps it across the aggressive young man's face. The crowd gasps because the young man collapsed from Nicholas' strike and one by one surrounded the unconscious young man.

Coincidentally, a maiden passed by and saw what happened. She was curious as to why a crowd is surrounding something. She got closer and noticed a body laying on the floor. She then approached the crowd hastily.

"What do you think you are doing? You're not supposed to surround an unconscious person like that!" her remarks startled the crowd and people started to disperse as to give way to the lady. "And you? Aren't you supposed to be the one that ensures the safety of these people? Answer me!" she points at Nicholas as if she was going to stab his throat upfront.

"Who do you think you are? Are you an adviser of the King that you could point at me with those hands?" Nicholas stated as he grabs the hands of the maiden.

"Let go of me, you scum!" she yelled loudly, "I am a War Saint and an Apprentice Healer. I am under Master Sahamrak Bonafid, an Oracle, and my name is Julie Von Schmirtz" the maiden implied.

"Did you hear that? She's the disciple of the Oracle. Our kingdom's Oracle; the one who arranges the messages of the Celestial Beings. Nicholas is in big trouble now." a commoner whispered.

Julie Von Schmirtz, also known as the Herbalist or Herb Seeker. She is known mostly in her contributions to the kingdom; one of the best at identifying the medicinal properties of herbs and its applications and the youngest to actually participate in war as a War Saint, a kingdom hero who focuses on defense strategies, healing and recovery spells.

"I'm sorry for neglecting my responsibilities, and I'll use my stabbers to pierce my heart if this happens again." Nicholas was shocked that he subconsciously let go of her hands and forced to bow down and ask for forgiveness.

Julie rushed towards the young man disregarding Nicholas' apology. She picked the young man and fix his position for easier diagnosis and after seeing his face, she immediately asked for help to bring this man to the closes Herbarium; a place or a store that can accommodate patients and with an abundance of medicinal herbs.

"Why are you taking him to the Herbarium? This young man won't be able to pay for it. Look at how poor his equipment is." Nicholas stated with a mocking expression

"If I'm not mistaken, the King ordered that we should welcome a young man that carries the Triad Book of Knowledge and goes by the name of Hiro. As you can see he carries the books and we'll only know his identity if he is not injured, many thanks to the headless turkey." Julie declared, then she added

"This young man will play a big role tomorrow, during the King's Declaration"

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