The departure was quick, and was not grand in the least. There was no celebration, no christening of the carriages, just a quick goodbye from the families of those who were headed to the Starlight Grove.

  Nux, Bellum, and Arden stood in a line in front of a carriage the size of a large train car. It was a magical vehicle called a magicarriage, and it was essentially a train that ran on magic and without rails. It wasn't as fast as the trains on earth, but they were faster than horse-drawn carriages. What further drew comparisons to train cars was the fact that it looked just like a steampunk Victorian-era bullet train.

  There were six magicarriages in total. The first and last consisted of highly trained soldiers acting as guards for the journey. The second and fifth held all of the supplies needed for the journey. The third held all of the Valtorin staffers, including cooks, doctors, alchemists, and quite a few others.

  The fourth one was the center of attention because that’s where Nux and his crew of three were saying goodbyes to their loved ones.

  Matching the three of them were three other people that ranged from exceptionally attractive to being the embodiment of Venus. The three were naturally Nux's family. His silver-haired sister the princess stood between the one-two punch milf-dilf combo of their parents as she talked to Nux. The father had white hair and a rugged countenance, while the mother was blonde with soft features. Arden took special care not to pay attention to two particular soft features in specific.

  “So who are you going to smite first?” Nux's sister asked.

  “Come on, Rin,” Nux said in admonishment after a yawn. “I'm going on this expedition to save people, not to smite them.”

  “What's the point of having god-like powers if you're not going to smite people with them? Seems like a waste to me.”

  “That’s why I'm the heir,” he said smugly.

  “Settle you two,” the tired looking but still happy and hopeful dilf said. “But your sister does bring up a good point, Nux. Can I make a request for your powers?”

  “I'm not going to smite anyone, father.”

  The dilf recoiled and turned to his wife with an exaggerated look of mock hurt.

  “Friede, please talk some sense into our child!”

  The mother held her hand over her mouth to cover her soft laugh. It sounded comforting to all who heard it.

  “Nux, dear, don't misuse your powers.”

  The father threw his head back with a groan.

  “I wouldn't dream of it, mother. You have my word that they won't be misused.”

  Rin nodded in response to Nux's words.

  “Yeah, he's definitely going after the Merja family.”

  Arden was pleased to be witness to such a nice family dynamic. He hadn't read as much as Sya, but the few fantasy stories he did read always had infighting among members of the noble family. That was no problem here. There were no sappy goodbyes or heartfelt messages. They all assumed that not only would Nux return, but that he would return as an elevated being.

  Arden would have felt left out had it not been for two reasons. Firstly, he already said goodbyes to everyone before coming here, and secondly, Bellum was standing next to him with no lover or family to wish him luck either.

  ‘Poor guy,’ Arden thought.

  Bellum turned to Arden and looked at him with a small scowl, noticing his expression.

  “What's with that look?”

  As Arden returned to the original conversation, he realized princess Rin was looking at him with embarrassment burning on her face.

  It seemed she was still embarrassed about what happened yesterday. That was how Arden interpreted it, and it was the correct interpretation. Nux saw wrongly. He saw his sister blush and try not to make eye contact with the outworlder in his employ. The same outworlder who disappeared for most of the day yesterday. His smile stiffened as she spoke to Arden.

  “Um, please take care of my brother. I know he can be a pain.”

  ‘You don't know the half of it,’ Arden thought, thankful that he still had all of his teeth after the brief fight yesterday.

  Hiding a mischievous grin, Arden nodded, then hooked his two thumbs together and waved his hands, giving off the appearance of a bird flying.

  The five high-ranking members of the Valtorin family looked at him with confusion. After a few seconds, Rin spoke.

  “Ah! I get it! He's saying he'll watch over Nux like a hawk!”

  Arden put on a fake smile and nodded his head. That was not what he meant, but it wasn’t like there was any point or method to easily correct it.

  As Nux tried to glare daggers at Arden, Rin moved onto Bellum.

  “Take care of them both. I know you and Nux are strong, but please come back safely.”

  “It will be done, young miss.”

  A worker from the lead magicarriage appeared before the family and bowed.

  “Lords, we are ready for departure.”

  Nux and his father nodded their heads, stoicism returning to their faces. Nux responded.

  “I see. We’ll board now then and be on our way.”

  The worker returned to the lead magicarriage as Nux’s group gave their final goodbyes to the leaders of the Valtroin family. Nux shared a prolonged hug with his family.

  Arden thought that he would be unbothered by the display of emotion but he was wrong. He felt his heart stir in sadness, remembering the warmth of his parents before their unfortunate deaths at the hands of a Celestial. Silently, he prayed for the expedition’s success. He didn’t want to bear witness to anymore families torn asunder.

  Bellum subtly nudged Arden. It only took a second for him to get the message. Remembering that he was a servant, or was possessing the body of one, he needed to act like one. He slid the sliding door in the middle of the magicarriage open and stood there as Bellum stepped aboard first, and was quickly followed by Nux then himself, after which he promptly shut the door.

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  The first thing Arden did before observing the cabin was open a few of the windows. Nux and Bellum wondered why, until they heard the voices of Nux’s family yelling their farewells. Arden stood to the side and allowed the pair of warriors to lean out of the windows, just as the mechanical pulsating whir of the magicarriage’s magic mechanisms fired up, lifting the vehicle half a meter into the air.

  Arden leaned against the opposite wall smiling to himself as he felt the magicarriage begin to move forward. The journey was beginning.

  His smile widened somewhat upon seeing Nux’s happy face at being able to say goodbye to family again. It was fun to be an asshole, but it was also rewarding being a good person. After a few minutes of listening to Nux shout goodbyes, he and Bellum pulled themselves back into the cabin. Arden closed the window for them.

  “Hey outworlder,” Nux said, causing Arden to stiffen up.

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  “There’s no use hiding it. We both know about you now. Regardless…”

  Nux took a deep breath before continuing.

  “Thank you for letting me say goodbye to them.”

  “I was just doing my job.”

  As the expedition began, Arden finally got to look around the cabin. Luxurious was a way to describe it. So rich that it made Arden want to gag and not eat another bite was another way. It was an exercise in decadence. Even the Usurper’s Throne would tell it to tone it down a bit, but strangely, Arden thought that it meshed together pretty well.

  Only the finest mahogany wood was used for the furniture frames, with ornate carvings carved into the sides of all of it, including but not limited to a grandfather clock, several table sets, and bookshelves. Carpets and rugs covered the floor making it comfortable to walk on, even if barefoot. Arden had to give the prince a dry, disbelieving look when he saw the centerpiece of the carriage. A royal throne made of gold that seemed to shimmer like a twinkling star.

  “Really?” Arden asked. “I know you were selected to become a saint by the star god, but did you really need a golden throne?”

  “It wasn’t my idea,” Nux said defensively. “I’m much happier with a modest throne, or no throne at all. I’m supposed to be a hero of humanity, not the king of humanity.”

  “If you do become the hero of humanity, you’ll have as much respect and authority as a king anyway. Probably more, thinking about. Most kings I know from my world’s history were hated by their populace. Imagine your reputation if you saved everyone in the world.”

  Nux had to admit that Arden had a point. Whether he wanted the position or not, he wouldn’t be looked at as a mere hero or a mere king. He would be so much more. He didn’t want the gig, but if it meant keeping his people safe, then he would accept it without hesitation.

  Speaking of his loved ones…

  Nux’s eyes burned holes into Arden who realized that he had done something wrong. The only problem was that he didn’t know what it was that he did wrong.

  ‘Am I being too informal?’ Arden wondered. ‘That’s not going to change, but I don’t think that's the problem.’

  Arden glanced at Bellum to see if he knew what was wrong with the prince, but Bellum didn’t appear to care, as he pulled out a drink from one of the magic minifridges and started going to town on it.

  ‘It’s a bit early for that isn’t it?’

  Bellum must have felt unfairly judged by Arden, because as soon as Bellum saw Arden’s face, he defended himself.

  “What? We’re pretty much on vacation.”

  “You’re no help,” Arden said, then finally returned to looking at the angry Nux. Clearing his throat, he spoke casually to him. “Hey there.”

  “What did you do with Rin?”

  “What? Your sister? Nothing.”

  “Don’t lie to me! I saw the way she was looking at you. She was fidgeting so much, I thought she’d fallen in love!”

  From the counter that Bellum was drinking at, he stopped to spew slander at Arden.

  “She could do so much better,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “I agree!” Arden said. “I haven’t even said anything to her! It seems a bit weird to fall in love with someone by just looking at them once! I’m only like a six, maybe a seven with the outfit.”

  “Then why was she so embarrassed to be around you!?” Nux raged, shaking Arden by his suit jacket.

  “Dude calm down! Stop shaking me, it feels not good! Blame your whacked out priest for embarrassing her yesterday!”

  The shaking stopped and Nux calmed down.

  “Father Aldren?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” Arden said, straightening his jacket. “Actually, I wouldn’t say anything really happened. When I was out with him yesterday, we ran across your sister who offered us drinks.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  “Well,” Arden continued. “The pope called her princess and she said that she’d only give us drinks if I didn’t speak to her with formalities.”

  “...Oh.”

  Bellum burst out laughing from his spot across the way. Arden and Nux glanced at the somehow already drunk bodyguard.

  “Is he going to be ok?” Arden asked.

  “He’s a lightweight, but he’s still more than able to do his job while under the influence.”

  “Do you get mad at everyone who you think your sister is interested in? Cause if so, step one of saving the world should be to rid yourself of that sister complex.”

  Nux sighed.

  “Of course not. If anyone wanted to woo her, I'd make sure it's done correctly in the proper channels, but I wouldn't get in the way of whoever she loves. The problem is with you, outworlder.”

  Nux plopped himself down on one of the chairs at the table and folded his hands together like he was about to start talking conspiratorially. Arden took the hint and sat facing him, matching Nux’s pose.

  “You have a lot of fun, don’t you?” the prince asked.

  “I try. I’m more a fan of living than surviving, and fun is imperative to that. That hand sign I threw out there when we were saying our goodbyes had no meaning, I just thought it would be funny to see what everyone made of it.”

  “Are you like that in your home world as well?”

  “Yes, though it's been hard recently. My turn for a question. Did you figure out I was an outworlder from yesterday's convo, or did the pope rat me out?”

  “It was the pope,” Nux confirmed. “He knew you were lying thanks to his mental link. It can also read through some memories.”

  Arden tensed up. If his memories were read, did that mean that they knew about the Starborn system, or that he had seen the destroyed version of this world briefly?

  “He couldn't see much,” Nux said. “Only that you were telling the truth about being an outworlder and knowing about what's going on. There was some interference that prevented him from going through all of your memories.”

  Arden visibly relaxed, something that Nux was able to pick up on. There was something that the outworlder wanted to keep hidden. For the safety of his world, Nux needed to figure out what that was.

  “We know that this place, this ‘StarFall’ or whatever you call it is a trial to you. I don't know what that entails. I'll be honest. I despise you. Whether you chose to undergo this trial or not, the existence of you and your trial make light of this world and what we are going through. Being the one who has to save the world is bad enough, but now I have to worry about interdimensional interlopers as well. The worst part is I don't know if you are with me or against me. So give me an answer so I can take the next step.”

  Arden sat silently in thought after Nux’s tirade. They knew that he was being tested. That alone was enough of a variable to really shake up the trial.

  But that wouldn't change anything.

  Above all, Arden had to survive. Just like how Nux would save the world for his people, Arden would do all that he could to return to his. It was fortunate that both his and Nux's goals were aligned.

  “I'm not against you,” Arden said. “You don't have any proof, but believe me when I say that stopping the StarFall is the best thing I could do right now. I have no interest in this world, like you said, but aiding in its downfall would be detrimental to my goals.”

  Nux narrowed his eyes.

  “And what is your goal?”

  Arden looked out the window. The landscape was rushing by them as the magicarriage continued at great speeds. Everything out there looked faintly blurry, but the color of the landscape was clear to Arden. Green, the color of life.

  “To survive.”