Alfred remained outside the cellhouse, his face fixed with confusion as he tried to understand how a huge bird was sleeping in the passage.
"Young prince, please don't move. I'll get you out of there as soon as I slay this beast." Alfred took a fighting stance, ready to launch himself forward.
"Wait, Alfred, I summoned it!"
Sylus was quick to speak, his hand holding the iron bars so he could push himself up.
Aria had taken up most of the space in the cell with just his head, so the best he could do the moment he could get to his feet was to press his entire body against the wall in order not to get crushed to death.
Alfred, on the other hand, paused.
"What did you say, Your Highness?" He took glances at Sylus and then at the bird.
"I said, 'Wait, Alfred, I summoned it!'"
"This creature that spawned out of nowhere belongs to you, my lord?"
"Yes, here, watch—"
With the little space he had, Sylus managed to turn his head, giving him just enough distance to whisper to Aria.
"You are kind of taking up too much space here, Aria. Mind turning back to your original size?"
Aria raised his head and tilted it to the side a bit.
'Can my summon not understand me?'
Seeing as the summon did not respond to the prince's words, Alfred went back into attack mode, eyes locked on the beast.
"Prince, please stay still. I'll get you out of there—"
"No, Alfred. Don't harm the bird! I promise you, this is my summons. I just haven't learned to communicate with it."
"But Your Highness, you are not a mage of the west; this should not be possible for you."
'He does have a point.'
Before Sylus could think of a lie, Aria had begun acting up.
It seemed as though it was afraid of the closed space and was trying to move out while grabbing Sylus along with it.
Its beak had closed on Sylus's collar, leaning on him while shaking its body violently.
"You foul beast, unhand the young prince!" Alfred wanted to attack as soon as possible.
Nothing should happen to the prince, not while he was there and could prevent it.
"This is just how we play, Alfred. It doesn't mean any"—
Sylus's words were cut off when Aria managed to move part of his body out, resulting in Sylus falling to the ground while still being dragged.
"That's it!"
Just as Alfred was about to move, he noticed Zani had stood to her feet and was moving closer to the beast, rather than away from it.
While the prince's safety was top priority, he couldn't overlook her just walking toward danger like an idiot.
He wanted to call out to her, telling her to run away, but what she did next left him speechless.
After clenching her small fist, she suddenly leaned forward and landed a very light punch at the bird's buttocks as she yelled.
"D-don't bully the young master!"
The impact was so small that it would barely make a dent if the target were a pile of forms.
However, to everyone's surprise, the bird did indeed stop hurling Sylus like a doll.
Right after that, it transformed back into a small bird and flew close to Zani, landing on her head to caress its face on her.
Alfred was jaw-droppingly confused and surprised at the same time.
'Young master? Is that what she's calling me now?'
Sylus slowly sat upright, his eyes picking up on Zani fast.
She remained, looking up at the raven on her head as if trying to communicate with it.
'Was she able to control it because of her aspect as my first subordinate?'
That wouldn't be too far off; the aspect was fairly specific about it.
"Your Highness, please explain to me what just happened here…" Alfred could swear he got older in the past moment.
Sylus looked at him.
"As I said earlier, that is my summon, named Aria. He will be the one to help deliver the raw materials to Malgon for production."
Alfred took his time to examine the bird one more time.
"You summoned this gigantic bird?"
"…Yes."
The only reason the bird was that big in the first place was because of his {Lord of the People} aspect.
Not something he could explain to Alfred, so there was no use trying.
Alfred sighed, "You really are a prodigy, like His Majesty often says…"
"Father calls me a prodigy?"
"He does. I have never seen him speak so highly of someone, not even the first prince."
'Dude, I genuinely don't want to remember Lucas right now.'
Sylus now stood up from the ground, overlooking the broken iron rods and stones scattered before him.
"Well, Father isn't someone you can understand so freely. Anyway, with Aria's help, you can pass any route and still make it before the raw materials expire. Air travel has always been the fastest, so this should benefit you greatly."
"Your Highness is right; the bird did look big enough to carry a large amount of items at once," Alfred added.
"Yeah, as long as you give him food and water, neither his speed nor endurance will reduce."
Alfred smiled, his face brimming with warmth and gratitude.
"I am so thankful to the stars that I happen to be alive to watch you grow into the man you will become. I have lived my life to its fullest with this miracle."
Sylus didn't understand what he meant, but he took it as Alfred was feeling grateful.
With one hand on his waist, he replied,
"No worries, I'm just doing my best to help this country and my father."
"I hope I live long enough to see you become king."
Sylus paused for a while.
Alfred was the first person to show his support for Sylus being king.
Most of the nobles who had come to the palace only came to see the inheritor of the Catalyst Star, but deep down, they wanted Lucas to take the throne; he was the first prince after all, and the eldest.
It was only logical that people would bet on him.
"Thank you for saying that. You won't regret it when I become king."