01x02 - The King, Under Attack

[bunniefuu]

This man, in spite of being an emissary,

had plans on the life of our king.

A grave crime that, in accordance with law,

is to be punished with immediate execution.

Yet, the council has shown him mercy.

He and his family will be

escorted back to their country,

where they will await sentencing.

Dear!

Papa.

Wait, please!

It's true that I attempted to harm the king!

But that was my crime alone!

I beg you, spare my wife and child!

Returning home would mean

suffering worse than death

Which I accept as my punishment!

But my family, please

Please, spare them, King Grey!

Know your place.

The king is the light which guides us.

This trifle is not worth his consideration.

Judgment has already been passed!

No!

Mama!

Please, O King, spare them!

The king has carried out

judgment by his own hand

But, behold! This is true mercy.

The two of them have now been

spared endless suffering!

You have my thanks O King.

Now you can be just like Daddy!

Why not?!

With this body, a weapon like that

would get me k*lled before

I was within striking range.

Okay, come right at me!

Attaboy, Arthur.

I see.

What do you think, Daddy?

I think Arthur might need a proper teacher.

The King, Under Attack.

No. Absolutely not.

You said you'd train him yourself!

And that was the plan.

But he's just so talented.

He'd have a lot to gain from a real mentor.

I can teach him a bit of magic—

Your magic is a special case.

But

He was able to cut through this

when it was reinforced with mana.

And he's only four!

No way

It's what's best for him.

I'm still against it!

There's no way I can leave my sweet little

Arthur in some far off town! Never!

But think about his future!

I'm thinking about his present!

Don't you want him around?

Of course I do! He's my sweet little guy!

Then what's wrong with things as they are now?!

Right Wait, not right!

Look, his future is on the line!

Don't you get that?

There are times when emotions cause

someone's perspective to become narrow.

No.

You can't just say "no."

Absolutely not.

Of course I love him, but we're

talking about two separate things.

That is why I proposed a third option.

"No" means no!

Why not?!

Are you seriously considering sending

this little angel off on his own?!

Can't we all go?

He's brilliant!

Our Arthur really is a prodigy.

We should start packing right away.

People are going to be calling him a genius!

They have so much energy.

Really!

Maybe even more than a genius!

Yeah!

Arthur, introduce yourself.

I'm Arthur Leywin. It's nice to meet you.

We met before, but you were even smaller

back then, so you probably don't remember.

No, I remember.

These are the Twinhorns, the party that

Reynolds and Alice used to belong to.

I believe his name was

I'm Adam Krensh.

I'm Angela Rose! And look

how cute you've gotten!

Little cutie!

I can't breathe.

Th-Thank you.

Durden Walker.

She's Jasmine Flamesworth.

And I'm Helen Shard.

It's nice to have you along, Arthur.

Thank you, Helen.

All right, let's get moving.

Are you looking forward to

your first big trip, Arthur?

Such a primitive method of transportation.

Nothing like what I had in my past life.

But not without its charms.

We're apparently headed for a city called Xyrus.

It should prove interesting,

but there is one issue that

presents itself in the meantime.

This world is dangerous.

Adam, Helen, and Jasmine are Augmenters.

Angela and Durden seem to be Conjurers.

They move well. I need to

become like that soon.

We're gonna be eating well tonight!

No need to hold back, okay?

Okay!

We're in the middle of a trip. No sense in

expecting much in the way of amenities.

At least it's fresh.

What's wrong?

I'm just full already.

Honey, your arm

Oh, I didn't notice.

One second.

Alice.

Go ahead.

Alice is apparently a special type of mage,

called an Emitter, with healing powers.

The rarity and value of her skill makes

healing people in the open inadvisable.

She could become a target.

Part of the reason she and Reynolds were living

in the country is the anonymity it offered.

You should be healed now.

Thanks, Alice.

Reynolds, I was hoping to get a

little exercise in before bed.

Mind if I borrow Arthur?

I doubt this will be simple exercise.

Which is worrying, but not

worth objecting about.

Has he forgotten that I'm only four years old?

You ready?

Y-Yeah.

Now, how far can I take this?

Okay, let's go.

It doesn't look like he'll be holding back.

Too slow!

Arthur!

As expected. This body is too light.

You okay?

Thank you.

You went overboard.

Never heard of "restraint"?

Back off! You guys weren't the

one fighting the little monster!

What kind of hellish training

have you made him do?

Nothing, I swear.

Wh-What?

How did you do that?

Tell me.

Uh

I know that look.

Eyes like that are a sign that someone

won't relent until they get what they want.

The journey's proceeding apace.

I'm learning many new things,

and sharing knowledge from my past life

also is also proving enlightening.

But there's been one unexpected development.

I heard it was your birthday, and I wanted

to thank you for what you taught me.

Th-Thank you, Jasmine.

She seems to have taken a liking to me.

There's a rope here.

Oh, neat.

You never see Jasmine warm

up to someone like that.

Tell me about it.

My son is just that cute!

Hey, we should get going!

Okay.

Come along, Arthur.

Okay.

What's wrong?

Nothing. I'm fine.

What is it?

Bandits!

Not good.

We're completely surrounded.

Leave the women and kid alive.

And don't hurt 'em. They'll be worth less.

It seems every world is plagued

with this sort of thing.

Go!

It's okay. Mommy is with you.

Right, Mom.

On an individual basis,

we've got the advantage. But

Thanks!

There's strength in numbers.

Honey!

Don't!

Don't move!

I'm not hurt that badly,

but we'll be in real trouble

if they learn about your power.

Reynolds

Take your mom and get away from here.

What are you saying?! I can fight, too!

I'm already strong enough.

Then use that strength to protect her.

She's going to have another baby.

That explains it.

I'm counting on you, big brother.

Okay.

Give it up.

Go, Arthur!

Rey!

Don't let them escape!

You're wasting your time.

Sorry, but this time I'm serious!

Don't let them escape!

Hurry!

We'll handle this.

Go, Arthur!

After taking so much, I'm on the run

in order to avoid losing something.

Perhaps this is karma.

But

We should be okay now!

Look out!

I won't go down without

taking you with me.

Arthur!

Arthur!

It feels so strange. I've gained nothing,

but my heart feels fulfilled.

I think I finally understand

What that man was asking of me.

And why the two of them cried.

The lack of hesitation in sacrificing

oneself to save their family,

contrasted with the tears one sheds at

the thought of never seeing them again.

Joy and sorrow, together.

And when it comes time to choose

Oh, yeah. I was gonna be a big brother.

That would've been nice.

It would've been nice

to become an older brother.

Where am I?

Good morning, Arthur.