System's POV

Thirteen didn't expect Carina would warm up to him so easily. Another thing he didn't expect was her chattiness.

Once she started talking, she wouldn't stop!

Perhaps overwhelmed by her awe of the teenage boy's performance, she instinctively thought that he was someone with whom she could get along.

But there was a deeper meaning to Carina's closeness to Zion.

She was, in fact, cannon fodder, so she felt at ease being around him.

As the System of Cannon Fodders, Zion was like a soothing lavender to everyone considered as his people. Upon meeting him, they would gravitate to the young man and feel like they were the best of friends.

Zen and Alnair didn't know if they should pity the teenage boy or feel suspicious of him because of how easily Carina warmed up to him.

Still, since Thirteen only replied when talked to, their journey toward the royal palace was mostly Carina talking about everything that happened during the day.

How she didn't like her lessons.

How her classmates always flatter her.

And how the boys in their class always try their best to be in her good graces.

"You know, it's very obvious that they're just trying to suck up to me," Carina complained. "In their eyes, I'm just a stepping stone to become cozy with my family."

"I think they need to go to the doctors and have their eyes checked," Thirteen replied. "I mean, if they don't see you as a little tiger cub who could make their ears fall off from their heads, they're probably smoking some kind of weed or something."

"… I don't know if you're praising me or insulting me." Carina blinked.

""Pffft!""

Alnair and Zen couldn't help but chuckle after hearing Thirteen's witty exchange. The teenage boy had said the words that they always wanted to say to Carina but dared not to.

"Of course, I'm praising you," Thirteen answered. "This is the first time I've met a person who talks as much as you. You're impressive enough to put a submachine gun to shame."

Zen was no longer able to hold back and laughed out loud, making Carina pout and hatefully kick her Uncle on his shin.

But her kick only tickled her Uncle, making his laugh louder.

Even Alnair, who was wary of Zion, started to warm up to him since no one in Artem had ever dared to talk to her sister like that.

'This guy is great!' Alnair grinned as he looked at his sister, who now looked like a chipmunk with her cheeks puffed out.

"You… you're a very mean person," Carina complained. "If I only knew you were a bully, I wouldn't have invited you to our home!"

"Well, if I only knew you could wake up the dead with your incessant chatter, I wouldn't have let myself be tempted by food either."

"W-Wha—! Y-You! You're a bully! I hate you!"

Zen's and Alnair's bodies were both shaking as they tried to hold back their laughter. This was the first time Carina had met her match.

Usually, she was the one bullying people. But now, she was the one being bullied, and they felt like giving Zion a thumbs-up for doing it.

Of course, they held themselves back, knowing that if they acted upon their impulse, there was no telling what the pouting young lady would do.

It was even possible that she would become feral and start biting them!

Thirteen glanced at the window of the carriage and noticed that they were just about to enter the gate of the Palace.

He had seen it from a distance, but this was his first time seeing it up close.

Now that he was going to meet the Celestial of the City of Lyra, he would be able to get a better opinion of her personality.

He would like to know her political stance and see if there would be a common ground between them.

Thirteen had many plans on how to incite a civil war in Artem. One of them was by making Erasmus enforce unreasonable laws that would greatly trouble the populace and make them suffer.

This would build resentment towards the Royal Family, and once it happened, it was only a matter of time before a war broke out.

Of course, there was another reason why a civil war was important.

Thirteen wanted to know who among the High Archons or the Celestials had the ambition of ruling Artem.

He would mark these people and put them at the top of his Kill List.

Thirteen wanted Erasmus to remain as the King of Artem, but there was always a chance that someone would try to replace him due to his failure during the past war.

Since that was the case, he would speed things up a bit and give them more reason to oust him.

Once all sides were biting each other's throats, Thirteen and his army would sweep in, eradicating all opposition.

Ironically, Queen Miriamele had gone so far as to propose Zion as Crown Prince. Her reasoning was that in taking the Moon Princess's cursed blood to grant her a second life, he had effectively become her son with King Astrion.

The blood of the Leventis Family now flowed in Rhia's veins, while the blood of the Artem and Chandrean Royal Family now flowed in Thirteen's.

Although this logic was flawed, Queen Miriamele believed she could make it happen!

As long as Erasmus declared that Zion was his son and crowned him the Crown Prince, no one would be able to oppose it.

And for that to happen, all opposition must be destroyed, no matter what.

Thirteen thought that this plan was radical, but if it would lessen the casualties of the war, he was up for it.

This war was to prevent Artem from invading Pangea again. If it could be done peacefully, then he was more than happy to stop a war from happening.

Unfortunately, this was not possible.

Due to Erasmus absorbing King Astrion's memories, he knew for a fact that the King was very suspicious of the Celestials and some High Archons because he believed they were aiming to usurp the throne.

This might be paranoia on King Astrion's part, but there was solid evidence of some people planning to rebel against him.

Right now, he needed to confirm whether the Celestials truly had the intention to take over Artem.

If not, he would try his best to make them his allies and ensure that both worlds would be able to live in peace.