CHAPTER 192: CHAPTER 191 - TO THE PALACE.

The sun was now dipping, its warm glow blanketing the capital in deceptive calm.

Citizens walked past a group of seven moving down the stone-paved streets—a strange bunch, perhaps, but dressed finely enough that no one gave them more than a curious glance.

They looked like an entourage from a high noble family. And technically, they were.

Raven led the group with the air of someone who owned every inch of ground he stepped on.

His coat fluttered slightly behind him, hands in his pockets, his eyes steady and half-lidded like he was two thoughts ahead of reality.

On his arm, a faint tattoo shimmered—Omni, his sentient sword, currently residing as a lazy ink design that occasionally pulsed with bored sarcasm.

Behind Raven walked Clara, hair tied, eyes sharp, the very picture of a bodyguard who also happened to be his first girlfriend—and maybe the sanest one.

Siris trailed to the side, head slightly tilted, humming something that probably shouldn’t be hummed in polite company.

She glanced at every shadow like it owed her something. Jessy walked backward, tossing a short sword in the air and catching it just to keep herself from stabbing someone who annoyed her.

Rufus walked like he was either lost or following a divine whisper only he could hear.

Alex... Well, Alex was walking with a squirrel on his head.

"Do you think shadows have taste?" Alex asked aloud, scratching his chin in deep thought.

Nibbles, the heir to Acornia’s throne and survivor of three demon ambushes, face-pawed with a dramatic sigh.

He remained on Alex’s head like a crown of judgment.

"They probably taste like night," Alex nodded. "Or purple. Do you think purple has flavor?"

"Stop thinking," Nibbles muttered in Squirrelian, already regretting his life choices.

"They’re... not gonna stand out, right?" Jessy muttered, eyeing Alex.

Clara snorted. "Only if someone notices the philosophical squirrel on his scalp."

Meanwhile, Raven didn’t even glance back. His voice slid out smoothly.

"They can act like idiots all they want. The people only see what we want them to see."

Jessy raised a brow. "Which is?"

"A controlled group of high-ranking nobles. Dangerous, competent, and rich enough that if they burned a merchant’s stall on the way, the merchant would thank them for the exposure."

"...Damn," Rufus said. "That was good. I need to write that down."

"I already did," Omni’s voice muttered from Raven’s arm. "Takin’ notes for the autobiography. Gonna call it ’Sharp Blades and Sharper Laziness: The Raven Von Vaise Story.’"

Clara rolled her eyes.

Then, her eyes turned toward the direction of the grand palace, worry flickering in her eyes. ’Please be safe, Selena.’

Raven, of course, noticed her expression, but he didn’t say anything. After all, he didn’t want to let the others see that he was equally worried.

So, instead of showing his worry, he turned toward Jake, who was walking silently behind them.

"Hey, Jake."

Jake looked up, his expression blank as always.

Raven continued while pointing at a stall. "You see that fruit seller? His products look quite high-quality. Why don’t you get some for us without anyone noticing?"

Everyone turned toward Raven, their expression confused.

"Are you asking him to steal?" Jessy raised a brow.

"But why? Aren’t we plenty rich?" Rufus scratched his head.

Squeak!

Nibbles, however, raised his paw righteously.

Alex, as if on cue, translated, "He says, ’It isn’t stealing when the fruits look so tasty. This is called appreciation.’"

Everyone deadpanned while Clara shook her head. "Raven, you turned this squirrel into something evil."

Raven shrugged. "I just made him see the truth. He is enlightened."

Nibbles nodded.

"How would it feel to stab an enlightened squirrel?" A murmur from Siris echoed, and everyone, for the first time, paused in their tracks.

"Siris," Raven turned to her, his hand on her head as he smiled at her. "Please, no friendly killing."

Siris pouted. "You always say no to stabbing."

"Today I won’t," Raven spoke with a serious expression. "If things didn’t go as planned, and if people tried to stop us. Then, you are free to go on a stabbing spree."

Siris’s eyes sparkled as she held his hand above her head. "Really?"

"Really," Raven nodded, making Siris almost squeal in joy if not for the fact that she was enjoying his head pats.

It was then that Jake, who had vanished from their group, reappeared, now carrying eight apples.

"Wow," Rufus whistled, taking one of the apples. "You would make a decent thief."

Before he could bite the apple, it was snatched away from Jake, who didn’t seem to like what he had said.

"Wait," Rufus chuckled nervously. "I was kidding, man."

But Jake wasn’t listening anymore.

Others took one apple each, even Nibbles, while Rufus kept begging Jake to give him one.

"What a lively group I have," Raven muttered while staring at the sky.

Clara, leaning closer to him, raised a brow. "Since you’re feeling talkative, let me ask you this—why aren’t we going to the demon base? Why are you rushing it by sending Crisaius and Argon—the big guns?"

"Hm?" Raven tilted his head as Clara continued.

"Didn’t you say, ’I can crush demons like stale crackers’ after your soul power upgrade? So, why are you sending them instead of going yourself?"

Raven blinked once.

Then smirked.

"Why would I do extra work," he said, "when I have two living disasters who can clean up for me?"

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the best answer. I’m not a protagonist with a martyr complex. I’m the type who lets the enemy overthink while sipping tea and sending the monster under their bed after them."

"...Okay, that’s kinda sexy," Siris admitted with a shrug.

"Besides," Raven continued, gaze cool as it passed over the palace’s distant silhouette, "Crisaius and Argon are powerful. They are the reason why the demons never tried to infiltrate the Vaise family. I want to let them have some action."

"Raven," Clara’s gaze remained the same, as she was sure there was more to it.

"What?" Raven turned, trying to play innocent, but under her constant gaze, he sighed.

"Alright, alright," he raised his hands in surrender. "I don’t want to go there because no matter where I go, trouble follows. If I went there, then who knows, the demon sovereign himself might materialize to wipe us out."

He looked at his hands, then at the group. "Even if this wipeout is meant to be clean without any obstruction, the moment I join, it would turn into a mess. So, I would rather not take part in it."

Yes, despite having the power to deal with the demons, Raven wasn’t doing it because things could never be easy for a protagonist.

If he were to defeat all the demons in the stronghold, then something new would pop up, or maybe someone close to him might get injured.

He didn’t want that, so he wasn’t going to participate in the raid.

A moment of quiet followed Raven’s words—his explanation lingering like an echo.

The group slowed slightly, their thoughts caught in the ripple of unexpected depth he’d just revealed.

But, for some reason, they couldn’t find words to refute it.

They had known him for a long time, so they knew how right his words were.

He wasn’t just avoiding trouble. He was managing it. Strategically. Coolly. Like a king who didn’t need a throne to rule.

Even Clara, who knew him best, found herself blinking.

Then—

"Yo." Omni’s voice hummed through Raven’s arm, laced with that smooth, lazy gangster drawl. "That whole speech just now? That was textbook protagonist shit, boss."

Raven groaned. "No, it wasn’t. It was original."

"Oh no, no, it was. ’If I go, the Sovereign might appear~’ Cue tragic flashback music, slow zoom on your eyes, thunder rolls in the background—" Omni continued with mock drama.

Jessy cackled. "I knew it! We are in a chosen-one plot!"

"Hah..." Raven sighed, now rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I think he’s secretly the main character of someone else’s story," Rufus muttered. "Like, the guy you’re not supposed to mess with, but then everyone messes with him anyway and dies horribly."

"Hey, I’m a perfectly reasonable human being," Raven said, placing a hand on his chest in mock hurt.

"Yeah," Clara deadpanned. "Reasonable until you start calling demon sovereigns minor inconveniences."

Nibbles squeaked from Alex’s head.

Alex translated immediately, "He says, ’Let’s just be glad he’s on our side.’ Also, he wants another apple."

"Greedy rodent," Jessy muttered, tossing the extra (technically Rufus’s) Jake had given her at him.

Nibbles caught it mid-air like a war veteran who’d done this before.

Raven chuckled and sighed. "Well, jokes aside... there’s something I haven’t told you guys yet."

Everyone looked at him.

He turned, walking backward now, hands still buried in his pockets, coat fluttering. "After we save Selena—and meet up with Lia and Graye—I’m taking all of you into one month of seclusion."

That dropped like a stone into water.

"Wait, what?" Clara blinked.

"Seclusion?" Rufus tilted his head. "Like... in a cave?"

"Somewhere quiet," Raven said. "No palace schemes. No demon cults. No squirrels yelling about divine fruit."

"Squeak."

Alex whispered, "He said, ’No promises.’"

Raven continued, "I want all of you to grow stronger. This world’s shifting fast, and I don’t want to play clean-up every single time something goes sideways. Besides... you all deserve more than being background characters in a war someone else started."

The others looked at each other, surprised. Jessy stopped flipping her sword. Siris tilted her head, a faint smile playing on her lips.

"You’re serious," Clara said.

"Dead serious," Raven nodded. "The moment this mess is over, we vanish for a while. I’ll deal with the training. Argon and Crisaius can deal with politics and demons. I’ve done enough."

At that moment, Jake, who had gone ahead to survey, reappeared, as silently as ever, stepping into the circle like he’d been listening the whole time.

"They changed the guards," he said, his voice clipped and low.

Raven raised a brow. "Changed?"

Jake nodded. "Just now. It’s not a shift rotation. It’s a replacement. New uniforms. Higher aura density. They’re strong."

Everyone paused. The tension in the air rose just slightly.

Clara narrowed her eyes. "They knew we were coming."

"Of course they did," Raven said, his expression calm. "This is their version of puffing out their chest. New guards, strong mana, maybe even a fancy speech ready at the gate."

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Jessy snorted. "They want to show us they’re not afraid."

"They’re afraid," Raven said, glancing ahead. "They’re just pretending not to be."

Siris raised her hand innocently. "So... can I stab them now?"

Raven smiled—almost tenderly—and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Not yet."

Siris pouted.

"But," he added, "if they say something stupid... go wild."

Siris grinned, eyes gleaming like knives in the dark.

Clara muttered, "Here we go again..."