The Martial Unity

He had completed all his political endeavors in the Kandrian Empire.

He crushed the Kandrian Throne War, emerging thoroughly victorious as the de facto next ruler of Kandria.

He obtained the intelligence he was looking for from the Beggar Sage. He found and won over the Silas Clan, bringing them over to the Kandrian Empire and using his grandmother's prophetic power to foresee visions of the Divine Doctor that gave him crucial information about the man's location and circumstances.

Now, he needed to meet with the guildmaster of the Adventurer's Guild and get even more information. Once that was done, it would be time to switch with Master Reina and head to the Beast Domain.

Naturally, his plans to visit the Panamic Adventurer's Guild brought up concern in his faction.

After all, he was an extremely high-profile target.

There were many parties that had powerful reasons to kill him.

Naturally, it was not feasible to kill him inside the Kandrian Empire, where he was in his domain power, but they had no qualms about killing him outside it.

Rui was aware of this.

"Relax, I will commission the Sloth Sage to join my security detail," Rui assuaged their concerns.

No one knew why he chose the Sloth Sage instead of a defense-oriented Martial Sage, but it was fine nonetheless.

A Martial Sage was a Martial Sage.

They didn't know that the reason Rui chose him was because he would not be able to switch with Master Reina if another Martial Sage joined him.

He would have chosen to bring his grandmother along with him, but unfortunately, she was still busy helping her clan find its place in the Kandrian Empire and getting used to a new life; she could not leave her clan during this critical stage.

Rui informed members of his faction and orbit of the decision, stating it was a short diplomatic visit and he would be back soon.

That was a lie, of course.

While he didn't feel an ounce of guilt lying to his faction, he was unable to bring himself to lie to his mother.

And thus, he didn't.

"…Gone for a while?" Lashara's expression fell. "…How long?"

Rui winced, struggling to get to the point. "Probably more than a year, maybe a few. But no more than that."

She leaned in, pulling him for a hug.

"Mom…?" Rui returned her embrace.

She didn't reply, simply wordlessly hugging him, refusing to let go.

"…Don't worry, I'll be back." Rui tried to console her.

"…"

"…Please? It's important to me."

She finally relented, letting go.

She gazed into his eyes intensely. "…Come back safe."

"I promise."

She closed her eyes. "Tell everyone before you go. You will not leave them heartbroken a second time."

"…I understand."

He spent the rest of the day slowly breaking the news to the rest of the orphanage, coaxing them into reluctantly agreeing.

But ultimately, they understood.

"I am not surprised," Xanarn smiled. "This is your life path, after all. It is part of who you are."

"I can tell that you are undoubtedly going to do something extremely dangerous," Julian smiled wryly. "As I once told you, your life is yours, and you must bear the consequences of your actions, your family. Please ensure that you remain mindful of this this time."

Their words were not light, but they showed that they understood.

He was not someone who could spend his days in the orphanage, unfortunately. He explained it away as being busy with work inside and outside the nation where he would be unable to visit them.

This was a good cover that did not draw too much attention.

"Huff…" He heaved a heavy sigh after he departed the Quarrier Orphanage for what would be the final time for quite some time. Yet those weren't the only people he felt the need to speak to.

POW POW POW

Rui calmly blocked a flurry of attacks from Kane, returning them before Kane swiftly evaded them.

"You're up to something, aren't you?" Kane narrowed his eyes as he maneuvered around Rui.

"What makes you think that?" Rui smiled, amused.

"I can tell."

BAM!

A blindingly swift kick crashed into Rui's guard.

"Well, I'm not surprised that you can," Rui remarked.

They had been friends for a long time. Kane had a decent grasp of what Rui's thought patterns were like.

"Whatever it is, take me as well!" Kane pleaded, throwing a flurry of blows at Rui.

WHOOSH!

They crashed into a feint.

POW

Rui's leg clean sweeped Kane's leg, knocking him off balance.

WHOOSH!

His fist stopped an inch away from Kane's jaw.

"Not this time, Kane," Rui remarked. "There's too much at stake, and bringing additional people drastically increases the probability of something going wrong. On top of that, the risk is too high."

Rui was firm about that. Kane wasn't at the level where Rui could confidently bring him along. Unfortunately, although he didn't say it, Kane was too much of a liability at his current level of power.

"Come on!" Kane protested.

"No," Rui shook his head. "You might die."

Kane's eyes intensified.

He gritted his teeth.

"I would rather die than be left behind."

Rui's eyes widened.

The weight of his words weighed down on the atmosphere. His voice was earnestly sincere; he meant every word he uttered.

"…Kane."

"Besides, the Beast Domain isn't about strength; it's about survivability, isn't it?" Kane asked. "I'm an assassin. I have skillsets that extend far beyond active combat, and I've grown far better at them than I ever was before. I can offer you a much higher degree of stealth, you know?"

It wasn't the most compelling argument, rationally speaking.

Rui could conjure up a number of powerful rebuttals as to why his logic wasn't sound.

For one, while it was true that he had much more Martial-

oriented skillsets outside of combat than Rui did, it was also true that the skillsets of an assassin did not overlap with that of a hunter or an explorer.