Author's Note:

*Runs, then jumps onto her knees and slides in front of the readers as she bends down to perform a dogeza*

I'm. So. Sorry! (シ_ _)シ This chapter took quite a while to write and that's because... well...

Half of what I have written... I didn't plan on writing >.>

This chapter was only supposed to be 8-10 pages... but it ended up being 19 pages instead...

And this was supposed to be a fluff chapter, but I ended up giving a history lesson instead! (;'Д')

And I was supposed to finish the 'I Don't Want to Play Pretend' chapters in two parts, but it ended up being in three instead!

Also, it took me a while for me to get into the groove of writing again after being unable to for a while...

Suffice to say, a lot of things has happened, but now I can give you chapter 8! I apologize for any grammar mistakes though; me and Editor-chan really did try and look it over several times!

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"Let's play 'Magic and War'!" Nicole insisted as he basically ripped Xander away from his books. After 2-3 hours of quiet reading, the young nobleman was already sick of just waiting for the Prince to move on to more exciting things. "Isn't this enough reading? I'm practically bored to tears already!"

"No one is stopping you from leaving, Sir Gallant," Edward pointed out irritably, his eyes not leaving the text of his grandfather's diary. Despite the harsh snub, his face was smooth and cool and his composure was very refined as if the rude words didn't come from his elegant mouth

Nicole sneered in response. "Is this how you always treat your guests, Rosetta?"

"Only to those that are unwanted, Gallant," Edward easily replied, using the ribbon attached to the diary to mark his place. While Nicole's control over his magic was weaker, Edward knew better than to let the nobleman out of his sight, especially when the other's temper flares.

And accordingly to Edward's prediction, Nicole's temper did flare, his magic subtly rising as the heat started to distort the air around his body. The temperamental teen turned around to face his cool and collected classmate, probably to make a very unpleasant retort in concern towards where Edward could shove his 'unwanted' comment in, but Xander quickly butted in before the argument could escalate.

"It's alright, Edward. We have been reading for quite a while now," Xander reasoned, wanting to reach over and separate the two arguing nobles but was unable to due to the little one sitting in his lap. For the entire time, Tanaka has been ignoring the ongoing interactions around him and continued on reading his chosen book, quite content with his warm and breathing seat cushion. "Let us play 'Magic and Wars'. It has been a while since either one of us has played it, I do believe."

"That's because it was a game for children, your highness," Edward pointed out with a sigh. "We're hardy at the age to play such a juvenile past time."

"Oh, like you can come up of anything better to do, Rosetta," Nicole sneered, his voice full of ridicule. "Such a big estate and yet, there's nothing exciting to do around here. No wonder you have such a boring personality."

Edward narrowed his eyes at the smug nobleman, his expression becoming colder by the second. "Better than having a frivolous one."

Once again, there was a fluctuation of the surrounding temperature, heat and iciness battling against each other, and recognizing the start of another fight, Xander tried to redirect the topic of the conversation. "I think the game is appropriate for someone of Thomas' age. We should include the little one in our plans as well since he had been so helpful and it would very irresponsible of us to leave him alone."

Looking at the comfy pair somehow already attached to each other, Edward expression looked almost rather pained while Nicole just clicked his tongue.

"Your Highness, Thomas is not--" Edward debated on whether he should tell the red-haired royal the fact that his brother was actually only a couple of years younger than them and not as young as his best friend had originally presumed. In the end, he didn't have the heart to embarrass his cheerful friend, especially since his brother has yet to say anything in regards towards his real age. It also seemed that Nicole was unaware of Thomas' real age because his big mouth would definitely rise up to the opportunity to mock Edward about Thomas' baby features. "I don't think Thomas would be interested in playing 'Magic and War'."

"How so? I mean, you do know young Thomas the best--" Edward tried not to flinch at the Prince's casual statement; he thought he knew Thomas pretty well since his younger brother was not subtle with his schemes and had yet learned how to keep his ill intentions off of his face, but with Thomas' recent attitude as of late, Edward found himself at a lost. "--but shouldn't we ask the little one whether he would like to join first?"

"That... would be reasonable," Edward conceded, though he could only imagine Thomas agreeing to play if only to gain the good impression of the Crown Prince. Then again, he was talking about the old Thomas, not this seemingly indifferent and completely quiet Thomas, who seemed to be ignoring their conversation the entire time while focusing on his book...

Xander, on the other hand, looked down at the young boy in his lap and smiled warmly, a little bit charmed by the little one's devotion and concentration on the book in his small hands. Xander was an only child between his father, The Ruling King, and his mother, The Ruling Queen. Since his father also did not take in concubines, he didn't have any half-siblings to interact with either. Xander was aware of the fact that the council have been worried about having only one heir to the throne-- though they were also relieved that a succession war would not happen either, but if anything happened to Xander before he could ascend his rightful place as King and before he could have children on his own, there would be no one to inherit Astria's throne.

But realistically, his parents were trying to have children for decades before Xander was born. Xander was their lucky star-- so his mother had told him once. After his birth, his parents then continued trying to have another child but was denied by the Goddess once again. Though his father was presented with the idea of taking in a concubine multiple of times, his father was very loyal to his mother and so, their family was inevitable small.

Though the majority of his classmates had always complained about their siblings, he had always wondered what it would be like to have one since his parents had always been trying very hard to give him one in the first place.

Since the Rosetta family had been working closely with the Royal Family for generations, Xander liked to think that he was well acquainted with Rosetta's themselves. Kyron Rosetta, Edward's father, was Astria's Prime Minister and one of the most influential figures in the Royal Court. Anais Rosetta, Edward's mother, was an elegant woman often known to be full of style and fashion. Both are celebrities within the noble circle and their admirers are numerous.

Of course, since Edward was in his age group, he was closest to the oldest son of the Rosetta. They were basically childhood friends and there was barely anything that Xander didn't know about his best friend. He also knew that his friend had two other siblings as well-- one was his adorable and dainty sister that he had met a couple of times inside the academy and outside of classes as well. The other was, of course, Thomas, who was the product of a tryst and Kyron Rosetta's illegitimate child.

This was the first time Xander had ever met Thomas. Before then, he had asked his best friend about the sudden addition of his family but Edward's answers had always been cold. It confused the Prince since there was a time when Edward had hoped for a little brother because having a sister close in age was too bothersome and irritating.

But now, for some reason, Edward seemed rather... confused. About his younger brother?

He had a feeling that Edward's family situation was just plain complicated without having to sugar coat it. His friend had a naturally calculative and cold nature and Xander could only imagine that Edward had come to be like this because of the environment he was raised in. But Xander never believed his best friend to be a bad guy-- in fact, Edward was actually very warm and kind to those he had considered his friends.

Though Xander is the Crown Prince (or maybe it was because he is the Crown Prince), he had a hard time making friends. In terms of fashion, servants, interests, and many other things, there weren't many things he could relate to his peers. For example, like Edward, when Nicole had suggested a visit to the Flower District to all of the young noblemen in their class, Xander also did not join along with the group. Nicole had accused Edward of holding the Prince back on having fun but in truth, it was probably the other way around. Xander did not want to participate in their frivolous activities in the first place and he was also conscious of his position as the Crown Prince. He could not be careless with his own reputation since he represents a part of Astria Royalty both domestically and internationally.

Edward, of course, understood. And so that he wouldn't feel left out, the eldest of the Rosetta siblings had also declined the invitation to keep him company. His friend had been teased by many of their male classmates since then and Edward had taken it in stride. Xander had a feeling that if he wasn't the Crown Prince, he would have been teased as well.

Either way, Edward had always been considerate and kind to him regardless of his status. Though his friend can be indifferent and taciturn even to some of the adults and their teachers, once you got past his icy demeanor, all that would be left was his friend's soft center.

So, Xander had then reasoned out that since his best friend had always been good to him, he would show the same courtesy to the family that had raised him as well. After all, he couldn't imagine the other Rosettas being anything but kind if this was how their eldest son came to be. Thomas was proof of that; the little one had been humble and generous during his visit without expecting anything in return.

"So, what do you think, young Thomas?" Xander inquired as he leaned slightly forward in order to address the boy properly, which was a little difficult considering their position.

Since Xander had moved to look at the youngest Rosetta's face, Tanaka was slightly disturbed from his reading, causing the transmigrator to look up at his living seat cushion. The height difference was slightly startling to the smaller of the two, especially when faced with the unrealistically handsome face of the Crown Prince. Of course, Tanaka was aware that since Xander is one of the capture targets in 'The Noblest of Love,' of course he would be unreasonably handsome.

Regardless, Tanaka had only blinked in response to seeing Xander's smiling and sparkling face, slowly processing what the 'Prince of Smiles' had said. "...What?" was Tanaka's elegant reply as his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

Edward had the urge to uncharacteristically sigh-- he had noticed that Thomas wasn't paying any attention to their conversations (which was strange because his younger brother would usually jump at the chance to get close to the Prince and promote his status), but he didn't really think that his little brother would be completely unaware of the current topic.

Nicole, on the other hand, snorted with a sneer on the edge of his lips, finding the younger Rosetta's cluelessness to be rather amusing. The Rosettas had always been perfect and faultless even among the nobility of Evadne; their prestige and power was only something that the Royal family can touch or reach. For generations, the Gallants had been forced into the shadows of the Rosettas and Nicole had inherited his family's bitterness because of it. He had always been several steps back in anything when it came to Edward Rosetta: whether it would be exam scores, magical prowess, connections, or even popularity amongst their classmates, Edward would always end up on top. Number one in their grade, number one in the magical practicals, and even number one in everyone's regards— the only one who could rival Edward's spotless record would be the Prince himself. And Nicole's resentment had only increased learning how talented the younger sister was in her grade, only one year below them, and the incredible reputation that Kyron and Anais Rosetta had in the noble circle.

But then there was the black sheep, Thomas Rosetta, the worst-kept secret in all of Evadne's nobility.

A five-tier aptitude with no existing magical talent and always failing the magic practicals every single week they were taken, Thomas Rosetta was the dark stain that the Rosetta's could never get rid of in their otherwise perfect family. Nicole never understood why Rosetta's had kept him in the first place, much less let him attend Evadne Academy.

Regardless, whenever anyone mentioned the bastard child around the other Rosetta's, their reactions in regard towards their youngest had always been cold. There wasn't a single ounce of pride or love they held for their third child.

This sore spot was something that Nicole had been trying to poke at for years, but Edward had never talked much about his family in the first place, much less boast about their achievements either, and no one in their class had the gall to bring it up. Edward's status was as distinguished as the Prince's; while being the Crown Prince's study partner and best friend, he was also the eldest son of the Prime Minister and heir to the Prime Minister's seat in the Royal Court. Most knew better than to make any of the Rosetta's their enemies, including Nicole despite his resentment.

He detested Edward and his family but that did not mean he had to act stupidly. The Gallant's do not have the power to properly fight against the Rosetta's around this time, but when they do...

Not noticing Gallant's or his best friend's reaction, Xander smiled patiently at Tanaka and clarified, "Would you like to play 'Magic and War' with us? I think we had stayed indoors and read enough for one day."

There's no such thing as too much reading, was something that Tanaka wanted to say out loud but refrained to. Since the proposition came from the Prince himself, would Tanaka even be allowed to refuse in the first place? Nanami, his elder sister from his past life, was the one good at communication and understanding the subtleties of politics, not Tanaka, who was often blunt to the point of offensiveness.

Then again, Xander was never the type of person that would force anyone to do anything they didn't want to. He also wasn't the type of person who would use his status as a Prince in such a way either. Xander was often overly excited and tended to get ahead of himself, but he had a considerate and sincere nature. It was because of his sincerity that made it hard for the heroine to turn down anything Xander had asked for-- whether it would be her help, her food, or her time, she found it difficult to refuse or say no for a variety of reasons.

Looking up at the sparkling and hopeful eyes of the Crown Prince, looking upon him with a warmth that Tanaka hadn't really seen with anyone else other than the servants that had been taking care of him, the transmigrator suddenly understood the heroine's hesitance.

"... I don't know how to play 'Magic and War'," Tanaka truthfully admitted since it was not a game he was familiar with. It sounded like some kind of card or board game, but do such fantasy/role-playing games exist in this world yet?

"Is that so?" Xander inquired with a hint of astonishment in his tone. For some reason, Edward also looked surprised as well. "Do you not play it with your friends or classmates?"

Ah. It seemed like 'Magic and War' was a commonly known game amongst children (or is it just popular among noble children? Well, it was not like he went out of the estate often to check what was normal between common and noble children. Or pay attention to the people around him to make comparisons in general). "I don't play it with my classmates," Tanaka stated without really thinking his words through.

Somehow his 'I don't play it with my classmates' translated to 'I don't play with my classmates' in the Prince's mind, which wasn't really far from the truth to be honest. Tanaka was often asleep during classes so he wasn't able to interact with anyone outside of his teachers, and when he wasn't asleep, he was either taunted or isolated from his classmates.

And since Tanaka hadn't mentioned his friends, Xander couldn't help but assume that the little one probably didn't have any.

Thinking that he probably stepped on something sensitive, Xander quickly changed the subject, "It's not a hard game to play, though some of the rules might be a bit complicated."

"Not that complicated," Nicole said rather unkindly, ridicule easily seen in his green eyes. "Basically, we break off into teams or 'countries' and we battle against each other depending on the cards or 'resources' we have available."

... That sounded a lot like some of the mobile games that Tanaka had played in his last life. Or even some of the strategy board games he saw some people playing a long time ago back when he was still in high school, though Tanaka wasn't sure how they were going to play such a strategic game...

Still, it sounded interesting and since Xander was the one that had asked him, Tanaka had no intention of rejecting the Prince's offer in the first place. It was really hard to say no to his sparkling face...

"I'll play," Tanaka conceded, invoking a delightful smile from the Prince of Smiles himself.

"Wonderful! Sir Gallant, Edward— do either of you have a War Rune mat?" Xander inquired as he looked over at the two noblemen.

Before Edward could respond, Nicole immediately exclaimed, "I do!" while patting a small bag tied around his waist. Judging by the complicated engravings decorated on the leather, Tanaka quickly realized that Nicole owned a spatial bag.

With a particularly nasty and smug grin, the haughty noble dipped his hand into the pouch and much to Tanaka's astonishment, a large, rolled-up mat with even more complex runes and engravings was pulled out despite the size of the bag.

Tanaka's eyes were subtly sparkling. While this was not the first time he ever saw a spatial bag, it was the first time he ever saw it being used. After all, he was often isolated from his peers and rather than using spatial bags, his classmates prefer to order their servants to carry or gather their things.

Noticing the little one's awed look, Xander couldn't help but chuckle and pat the little one on the head. While spatial bags were not rare among the nobility, they were not items that would be used carelessly and freely. Only the top percentage of nobles, such as the Gallant, the Rosetta, and the Theodora family could afford to give away these type of precious items to their children to use at their leisure. Young Thomas's amazement was not an unusual reaction even among nobles, but since Edward also had a spatial bag that he sparsely used ("The enchantments are too eye-catching," his friend had pointed out-- after all, there was nothing that screamed 'rich' more than having a heavily engraved bag on your waist), Xander had thought the little one's response was strangely exaggerated.

Maybe because of his age, the little one was probably not allowed to handle spatial bags on his own?

Either way, Nicole placed the rolled playmat near his side, his expression full of mischievous intentions. With a flourishing gesture, the smug noble waved his hand towards the item by his side: "Today, I have brought my family's 'Magic and War' Zafaran War edition--"

Suddenly, there was a frightening sharp rise of magic, causing Tanaka to jump in the Prince's lap while Edward suddenly pointed out rather tensely with his icy-blue eyes heatedly narrowed, "Those were banned."

"The sales of the Zafaran War edition was banned. That doesn't mean we can't keep the ones we had already bought before the ban," Nicole explained tersely, obviously annoyed by his classmate seriousness.

While the two noblemen continued to bicker, keeping Xander's attention occupied so that he could make sure their argument did not escalate, Tanaka turned to the source of the rapid, almost violent, rise of magic, looking at the familiar dark-skinned butler -Amir- with wide, limpid eyes.

Externally, it would seem like Amir was his usual elegant and perfect self, but his expression somehow seemed colder and his eyes are as lightless and deep as the abyss. For the first time since Tanaka had met the strange butler, the older man's magical aura had fluctuated, betraying a potential more akin to a second-tier magician instead of a third-tier. There was something unusual about the other's aura also; it somehow felt eerily... dark, but somehow controlled. It would creep through the air like trickling water, reaching out steadily and silently like the shadows. If Tanaka wasn't unusually sensitive to magical particles in the first place, no one would have noticed the incoming danger invading the surrounding space patiently.

Then, Amir noticed his wide-eyed stare and Tanaka had to keep himself from gasping when the butler's magical aura suddenly pulled itself back until it was once again restrained underneath his skin. Tanaka's mouth parted slightly, his mouth agape as the overbearing magic that was slithering through the air disappeared in a single instant.

Once the butler's magical aura was back to normal, Amir gave Tanaka his usual patented, insincere, smiling facade. For some reason, even though Tanaka was generally used to it, the transmigrator couldn't help but squirm uncomfortably when faced with this expression. Maybe because what had happened before that?

"Is there something wrong, little one?" Xander asked as he felt the young boy's restlessness as he was paying attention to his classmate's and best friend's debate, looking down at the youngest Rosetta with a concerning gaze.

Taking his eyes away from Amir's cynical expression, Tanaka looked back up at his seat cushion and shook his head, his curls swaying gently with the motions of his head.

Satisfied by the energetic response, though wordless and quiet, Xander turned back towards his peers while Tanaka decided to push Amir's strange actions aside and to try figuring out why the butler had reacted in such a way in the first place.

Was it about the game itself? But it seemed that the others had been talking about 'Magic and War' for a while now and Tanaka hadn't felt a spike of magic from Amir then... Maybe it was not about the game in general, but this 'Zafaran War' edition?

Thinking about the matter a little bit more, Tanaka realized that the cause of Amir's emotional darkening really wasn't that difficult to figure out.

The Zafaran War, or the 'Dark Mystics War' to some, was what Astrians had commonly named the war against the Zafarians, who presided in the country located southeast of Astria's borders: Zafaran. Tanaka remembered reading about it in his textbooks and in the books in Evadne Academy's library and Alexander's library as well since it was sadly skimmed in the game, probably because it was supposedly unrelated to the overall plot.

Though his interest in history was little to none, because of how similar Zafarian culture was to Arabic and Islamic culture, reminding him achingly of his best friend Basim, he researched over the subject vigorously (at least, as vigorous as Tanaka could be on a good day).

In his school textbooks and in the books in Evadne's library, Zafarians were described as poor, uncivilized type of people. 'Their laws are crude and their people unorganized,' one scholar had described with some kind of grudge in his tone. 'The culture is very barbaric and zealous and their magic unrefined. They practiced a lot of questionable magical arts, some that ignore moral principles,' another book had also stated in a strangely biased manner. Somehow, the author was able to convey their distaste for the Zafarians through their writing. Many of the texts he had initially found on Zafaran was very demeaning and put Zafarians in a very unsophisticated and primitive view.

After reading these type of negatives things several more times without any new information or changes to back it up, Tanaka looked for other places less known and common to find out more about Zafaran.

Surprisingly, Thomas' grandfather apparently had visited Zafaran before and had a more detailed and less bias outlook towards the people, the government, and their culture.

'A country mostly living in the harsh landscape of the desert, but the people had built their livelihood around it surprisingly well,' was the introduction that Alexander had given in his diary. The contrasting description, after seeing so many scornful and scathing texts on Zafaran, had made Tanaka blink several times in stupor. 'Many of the upper-class citizens are adorned lavishly with gold jewelry and colorful textiles, which is not unlike the nobility in Astria. The similarities, despite the fashionable and culture differences, made me laugh as I noticed this,' Alexander had also written, looking upon the Zafarians as people rather than barbarians or savages. 'The architecture is very unlike anything I have seen in Astria. Domed rooftops and intricate designs on their walls, some that are so complex and colorful that I'm afraid that I'm not artistic enough to describe them.

'The Zafarians are deeply religious and have a deeply-rooted cultural heritage that spans for more than 10,000 years. Of course, there had been changes to their culture since then, but the final product and integration was something I had the pleasure of experiencing. The desert of Dhahab, which serves as a barrier between Astria and the main population of Zafaran, is vast and takes up the majority of Zafaran's geographical landscape. Throughout the desert, there are dunes that are big as a mountain which are called 'ancient dunes'. Or عرش الريان, which directly translate to 'Rayyan's Throne' by the locals.

'Rayyan is the name of the God (or Goddess; I was intrigued how Rayyan has no true gender) that the Zafarians worshipped and they dedicated a lot of their daily lives to pray to them. Five times a day, the majority of Zafarians would stop what they were doing and pray to Rayyan for a few minutes: once at dawn, once at noon, once in the afternoon, another at dusk, and the last during the evening. Though I have tried to participate once with the family I'm staying with, they laughed and told me that they do not expect me to follow their traditions since obviously, I'm someone of a different culture. It was kind of them not to push or expect me to follow their religion, and they were very understanding people.'

Tanaka had enjoyed these type of explanations and stories written by Thomas' grandfather. He talked a little about the politics but kept it to a bare minimum; Alexander Rosetta was a scholarly man who detested conflicts (or, more specifically, found them to be troublesome), and he was also a straightforward man who hated the subtleties and underhandedness of politics.

Therefore, Alexander Rosetta was completely against the continuation of the war against Zafaran.

In many of the textbooks Tanaka had read, a lot of writers and scholars had described the war to be a holy crusade for the Goddess Ariadne; after all, wasn't it their duty as the greater nation to educate the poorer barbarians of Ariadne's grace? In others, and told by some of his professors in an 'educated and political' point-of-view, some Zafarians have been crossing their borders and sequestering their resources for decades before the war and the Zafarian government had done nothing to stop these stragglers. Also, there was an issue with Astrian's visiting the country and getting humiliated and attacked by Zafaran citizens. Apparently, what broke the camel's back was when an important Astrian official was visiting the 'uncivilized' and 'barbaric' country and had been humiliated by one of the Princes of Zafaran. There wasn't an explanation as to why or how; it was just enough to trigger the late King Dominus Regale to declare war on Zafaran.

But according to Alexander Rosetta's diary, the truth was that Dominus Regale was a mad and paranoid king. This ruthless ruler, since the start of his reign, had been expanding Astria into the nation that it was today and bullied other countries near their borders to forcefully take their land. At first, Thomas' grandfather was confused on why King Dominus Regale had declared war on a dry and arid place like Zafaran with little to no beneficial resources other than their spices and their access to the sea and ocean (of course, there was more to Zafaran than that, but most of the Astrian scholars were either ignorant or oblivious to it).

The war was already in its tenth year when Alexander was born and it wasn't until Thomas' grandfather was in his teens that he started participating and interacting with the royal courts. The Rosettas had a long-standing relationship with the Royal Family and had stayed in the Prime Minister seat for almost as long as the foundation of Astria, but that position was in danger because of how Alexander's unsubtle disgust of King Dominus Regale and his policies and in turn, he was unfavored by the King. Thomas' great-grandfather had no choice but to disallow his son to inherit the Prime Minister seat, which was fine for Alexander since he hated politics (and was really bad at politics).

But due to this incident, Alexander became infamous and a taboo within the noble circle-- though he didn't really care much of his reputation as long as he could study and research freely. He had written in his journal that he had never related much to his peers in the first place anyway.

During his time of ridicule and isolation, Alexander had made many discoveries in the nature of magic and created many magical devices that his rivals and competitors were too far behind to copy and recreate. Reluctantly, because of his unfavoured position with the King, he became a famous and prestigious figure in the magical research community.

Unfortunately, his findings helped advance the war with the Zafarians, which caused Alexander's great distress since he had no intention of using his research for such a thing. For years since his awareness of Astria's declared war against Zafaran, he had been the main proponent of ending the conflict. And the further he investigated about the cause of the war, the more disgust he felt for the country's nobility and royalty.

The issues in concern towards Zafarians crossing the borders and attacking villagers and taking money and resources were nothing but bandits making trouble. Both Kingdoms had their fair-share of bandits, but Zafaran had been more active in cleaning out their house. Unfortunately, unlike Astrian bandits, Zafarian bandits were tougher and had learned how to cross the Dhahab desert. Therefore, to escape from imprisonment and -for some- death, they took the chance to travel through the Dhahab desert and cross the border of the nearest country. There were many other countries that had this same problem as well.

The Zafaran government did well to cut them off before they could make trouble, but there were always some rats that had slipped through their fingers.

Also, in regards towards Astrians being attacked and humiliated by Zafarian citizens-- the only people that could afford to travel through the Dhahab desert at the time were nobles or rich merchants. The previous king's and Dominus Regale's reign had invoked a sense of superiority in Astria's nobility and the Church of Ariadne only encourages it. We are the Goddess' chosen people, they had often emphasized, feeding into the nobles' and Dominus Regale's ego.

The Zafarians are proud people-- proud of their culture, their heritage, and their livelihood, and many of the Astrian nobles around that time were haughty enough to trample on it.

Yet, Alexander couldn't imagine that being enough for their egotistical king to wage war on Zafaran. For one, crossing the desert would take too many resources and their armies were not originally trained to battle in such an environment. Though the Zafarian military was much smaller, they had the home advantage. They knew their way around the mountainous dunes, how not to sink in the sand, how to survive through the harsh temperature conditions, and were well acquainted with the desert wildlife, which is home to many poisonous animals that are often more active at night. It would all be too much like sending their soldiers to their deaths and Alexander had calculated that more than half of them would die in the Dhahab desert before they could make it to the actual battlegrounds. And since they were the ones attacking, all the Zafarians would have to do was lie in wait before clearing the rest of them out.

King Dominus Regale was mad, but not stupid. Despite so, he declared war nonetheless, and all for some spoiled noblemen who didn't know how to be courteous to locals and their traditions?

But then Alexander investigated the fate of that noble and found something shocking. When that very same noble, a Marquess by the name of Delvin Lennox, came back from Zafaran, he was unable to use magic. As a second-tiered magician with a strong fire-based element, this was a large hit to the Lennox family and the Astrian nobility itself.

Delvin Lennox had become deranged afterward, babbling to anyone about the monstrous Zafarian Prince, who had apparently destroyed his ability to use magic, and his golden eyes, the inheritable symbol and trait of Zafarian Royalty, that had gazed and torn into his soul. And after about a month later, the insane Marquess had fallen ill with a fever, causing further hallucinations and fits of insanity. Afterward, his body began to swell up, leaving his entire being sore and in pain, and then one day he-- exploded.

Tanaka had to read that twice to make sure he didn't interpret the text incorrectly. At first, the transmigrator had thought it was a metaphor for something else but apparently, Delvin Lennox did, in fact, explode into a carcass of shredded flesh and meat, causing his wife, who had been taking care of him at the time, to become traumatized and scarred. The cause was not clear-- at least, Alexander was not able to find the cause since Delvin Lennox died before he was even born and the coroner's report gave him no information as well, but it had spooked the King enough to start a war over it.

It was apparent that the King feared the Zafarians' mysterious powers-- if anyone were to mention 'golden eyes' to Dominus Regale, he would punish the person with a hundred whips to their backs and exile their family outside of the capitol.

Alas, as the decades passed, neither side had made any progress in overtaking the other. Or more precisely, Zafaran was always on the defensive while Astria was always on the offensive. If anyone were to look at the war in an objective view, it would be obvious to know which side had more malevolent and malicious motives. The Zafarians only wanted to defend their people and their home; they had no intentions of escalating the fight any more than it already was.

Alexander's diary had ended there. Not because he had stopped writing, but because that was the last page in the book and Tanaka had yet to find the second journal. But what happened next, even without Alexander's account, was something of common knowledge.

At the age of 68, despite the general longevity of most magic users, King Dominus Regale had died. It wasn't detailed to the public how the Mad King had died, just that he did and then came a long succession war.

It was because of the fight for the throne that the war against Zafaran was put on hold, which Alexander then used this opportunity to promote his support for Charles Windsor as the next King of Astria.

Charles Windsor was the grandchild of King Dominus Regale's younger brother and held a Duke title with his own domain in the west of Astria. His land was well kept and lush, poverty was minimized, he had done a lot of reforms over the banking and crop system, gathered the trust of all the merchants in his land, and had the adoration of the people inside his domain.

He was a responsible man who loved his people and was loyal to his country as well, but it took awhile for his closest confidants to convince him to declare his own rights for the throne. It was not until Alexander had joined his cause did he actively fight for the throne.

King Dominus Regale, for whatever reason, did not marry; Nor did he took in concubines and had children on his own. Both the previous King and Queen before Dominus Regale's reign had died, so it was difficult to determine who would be the next Astrian King to lead the nation.

Then Alexander's father, who didn't want to take part of the succession war, passed the Prime Minister seat to his son and though Alexander detested participating and attending the royal court, he took advantage of his position to give his support to Charles Windsor. In addition to that, Charles' wife, Marie Windsor, was a first-tiered magician.

The number of first-tier magicians in Astria could be counted on one hand. Generally, each country would have one first-tier magic user or none at all, but Astria had three instead. One was an old general that had no interest in politics, therefore the matters of succession. Many factions had tried to recruit him to their side, but he had stayed a disinterested party. Though there are some rumors recently about his succeeding his monstrous powers...

The other first-tier magician was the current pope, who was a child during the time of the succession war and therefore, the church could not use him to leverage their factions. In addition to that, Marie Windsor was not only a first-tier magic user, but she also had two elemental-bases that she could wield skillfully: fire and earth.

Tanaka remembered being woken up from his nap several times during his time in the academy due to the Queen's emotional behavior. It seemed that whenever Queen Marie Windsor was angry or upset, Tanaka would be able to feel her magic rising from all the way from his classroom. Evadne Academy was placed near the center of the capitol and was quite close to the Royal Palace itself, but to be able to detect that woman's magic all the way from the palace... Even if he did mention that the academy was close to the Royal Estate, the estate grounds had to be around 67,000 meters per square! Adding to the castle walls and the distance between the castle walls to the academy, how much magic did the Queen have?! Xander, your mom is too scary!

Suffice to say, no one from the opposing team would want to climb over such a big mountain, especially since this mountain had sharp rocks and bitter winds to push them over the edge of the abyss. Though it was described in history books that Charles Windsor had ascended the throne peacefully and that there weren't many people who had opposed him, Tanaka couldn't help but think that they definitely strong-armed the opposing factions to stay silent.

Regardless, once Charles was crowned king, he finally ended the war against the Zafaran and started concentrating on the domestic problems that were ignored or caused by the previous ruler. Charles had also started promoting international relationships and goodwill, hoping to mend some of the abuse Dominus Regale had done to the surrounding countries, which hadn't been going well in recent years...

Of course, the country with the biggest grudge against Astria was Zafaran.

And, if only judging by the origins of Amir's name and his appearances... Amir was definitely of Zafarian origins...

Oh.

The 'Zafarian War' edition must be something the game designers had made as propaganda against the Zafarians and to promote the war effort. Though Zafaran had the home advantage, it would be foolish to say that there weren't any casualties. Nearly more than half a century of war and battle, of course there would be conflicts that would devastate either side.

"It's just a game! You're making a big deal out of nothing," Nicole sneered, bringing Tanaka back to the conversation at hand. "I know for a fact that you don't have War Rune mat, Rosetta, so stop being such stickler and let's just use it."

Edward looked extremely unwilling and Tanaka could see his knuckles white as they curled into fists and his fingernails digging into the palms of his hands, but Nicole was not wrong. It was only a game, even if it might have been an offensive game that implied some ridiculous and rude stereotypes about Zafarians.

Though Tanaka could see how creating and playing this game could be insensitive in many different ways to the Zafarians and the people who had participated in the war, he had yet to understand the problem with the 'Magic and War: Zafaran War' edition.

Looking up at Xander's handsome face, Tanaka tugged on his sleeve with curious and questioning eyes. And when the Prince tilted his head down towards the little one in his lap, Tanaka cupped his hands and whispered, "Why is Edward so mad? What's wrong with 'Zafaran War' edition?"

Xander hesitated for a moment, though Tanaka wasn't sure why, before answering, "It's because the edition required one of the players to play as 'Zafaran'. Which was not necessarily a bad thing, but the game designers had purposely made it so that Zafaran would have fewer resources, skilled people, and so on. To be 'Zafaran' in the game would be considered a big disadvantage and the player would lose instantaneously most of the time."

...Ah. No wonder Edward sounded indignant. As the supporters of King Charles Windsor, who was promoting international relationship and goodwill, such a game would definitely be offensive to the other party.

Satisfied that he clearly won the argument, Nicole rolled out the mat on the tiled floor of the library and though Tanaka was a little bit worried about playing the game, seeing the frustration in Edward's eyes despite his cold face, the transmigrator couldn't help but marvel at the intricate engravings and runes printed on the mat.

Xander also looked discomforted playing the game as well, but he nonetheless stood up with Tanaka in his arms before placing the younger boy onto his feet.

"So, considering that there are only four people playing, I think we should just split up into four individual, separate countries," Nicole reasoned, though the way he kept glancing towards Edward indicated that he just wanted to pick a fight with his hated classmate. "So, who is going to be the country Zafaran? I call dibs on Red Country, by the way."

"Please wait a minute, Sir Gallant," Xander interrupted, putting a large hand on top of Tanaka's curly hair. "This is the first time Young Thomas is playing; shouldn't one of us help guide him through the gameplay?"

Nicole looked very irritated by the notion and Tanaka felt a little bit wronged by being glared at by such a person. Hey, it's not his fault he's a complete noob. He had only learned of this game today, okay?

"...I guess so," Nicole reluctantly admitted, an ugly expression passing by his features momentarily. "But playing with only three people is boring. Especially if one of us is going to be Zafaran."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that," Edward said tersely, his nerves already wrung and irritable due to his earlier debate against Nicole. "And I'm not sneaking anyone else inside the manor. It was already difficult enough to have the estate wards to temporarily recognize both you and His Highness."

"Spoilsport," Nicole snorted and Tanaka didn't think it was possible for Edward to appear colder than he already was. Even Thomas (meaning himself) had not been given such an icy look from the elder Rosetta. "Then..." As Nicole looked around the room carelessly, his green eyes suddenly narrowed in on the dark-skinned butler, which Tanaka couldn't help but tense in response while Amir just gave the young nobleman a courteous smile.

Of course, Nicole recognized the Zafarian butler that Edward often kept near his side; just like his unrealistic family, the handsome servant was perfect in everything he did, making his own butlers look clumsy and foolish.

With a malicious smirk, Nicole lifted his chin and gestured towards the dark-skinned butler while saying, "How about your Zafarian butler play as 'Zafaran'? I mean, isn't it rather befitting?"

"In what way is it befitting, Gallant?!" Edward actually exclaimed, his shapely eyebrows furrowing as he glared heatedly at the other nobleman in a way that Tanaka was surprised that Nicole didn't burst into flames (or ice?) right from where he stood. "You are being far too rude!"

"And you're being too sensitive. I'm just stating the truth--"

"I'll be 'Zafaran,'" a solemn, but a clear voice interrupted, not bothered by the surprised expressions he had garnered from the Prince and the two other noblemen.

Honestly, he was sick and tired of the loud and arguing voices. He was just tired in general-- if he knew that agreeing to play would lead to debates and so much excitement, he would rather just abandon the library and seek out a different napping spot instead.

But other than just being tired, he was actually a little angry as well. While Amir and his magic hadn't reacted to Nicole's insensitive babbling, that didn't mean Tanaka found it pleasant to listen to as well.

After all, Zafaran reminded him a lot of what Basim had told him about his home country, and he remembered how prideful his friend was of his traditions and his people. It didn't make Tanaka feel good, hearing it being bad-mouthed like this.

"Oh," Xander breathed out after breaking out of his stupor. "Then would you like me to assist you? Or do you prefer to play with your brother?"

Tanaka only shook his head and then quickly padded over to the dark-skinned butler standing near the library doors. "Amir," Tanaka called out with his usual small accent as he stopped in front of the older man. He didn't bother thinking about whether it would be appropriate to call the butler by his first name.

Amir looked faintly startled by the youngest's attention, but nonetheless bowed his head and turn his gaze down towards the little one. "At your service, Young Master Thomas."

"Do you know how to play 'Magic and War'?"

"I do," Amir answered promptly, not even questioning why the little one wanted to know in the first place.

"Play with me?" Tanaka instantly asked after the confirmation, his large, limpid brown eyes staring up at the older man earnestly.

Though the other people in the room were surprised, Amir only smiled with a flash of amusement passing through his dark eyes. "If that is your wish, Young Master Thomas."

Tanaka furrowed his eyebrows as if he was troubled by something the other had said, his small lips pouting slightly. Amir couldn't help but blink at the response to his statement.

"Do you want to play, Amir?" Tanaka rephrased instead, seeming chastised. After all, he didn't want to force the other to play if they were not comfortable with it since this game was made to mock Amir's people.

Amir paused for a moment, seeing the solemness in Tanaka's expression and allowed the corners of his lips to twitch up slightly. Honestly, this child...

First, he looked up at his 'employer,' Edward Rosetta, to verify his opinion over the matter and though the elder Rosetta looked conflicted by the situation, he nodded his allowance nonetheless. Turning his gaze back to the little one waiting patiently for his answer, Amir gave his patented smile and restated, "It would be an honor play with Young Master Thomas."

Tanaka: "......." Then why the flowery language? Is it really okay?????

Though Tanaka still looked doubtful, he nodded his head regardless and reached up to tug on the other's jacket to follow him.

With a chuckle, Amir allowed himself to be pulled away until they were on one side of the mat. Nicole sneered at the pair while both Xander and Edward moved next to the mat as well.

As the Prince and Thomas' brother were choosing countries to represent, Tanaka tugged on Amir's suit jacket once again and gestured for the older man to bend down. When the butler did, though not without a subtle raise of his eyebrow, Tanaka whispered to Amir practically on his tippy-toes since the other didn't bend down far enough for him to reach his ears, "You don't need to play with me if you don't feel comfortable. I can play by myself but Xan-- I don't think His Highness would let me."

Hearing the sincereness in the little one's tone, Amir had... softened, though nothing had changed in his outer appearances.

"It's no trouble at all," Amir reassured, his dark eyes somehow lighter as he straightened up once again. Though he would admit that he had some grievances in concern towards the Astrian's view on the so-called 'Zafaran War,' he did not expect for his dark mood to be discovered by the little one... How intriguing.

Either way, since Tanaka didn't see any discomfort in Amir's dark eyes or posture (in fact, it seemed that the butler is more... excited?... than anything else), his heart was put at ease.

Once again making sure that Amir didn't seem unwilling, Tanaka turned back to the mat on the floor as everyone else had finalized on the country they had chosen. Then the runes and engravings on the mat started to glow.

...--------...

Author's Note:

Well, great news, I'm pretty much better now! I mean, I still wake up in the middle of the night hacking up my lungs, but I don't feel as if the world is pressing on my shoulders now!（‐＾▽＾‐）

Well regardless, knowing my brain, it'll take a while before I could post up chapter 9. Details and plots kept spilling out of my head and it's impossible for me to cap it.

I'm incapable of writing short chapters, okay??? All those writers who are able to write chapters under 2,000 words skillfully, I'm so jealous of that skill!!!

It's impossible for me to post things in three days now OTL.

Oh, also for my readers who are Arabian or apparently knew some Arabic or are Islamic, I'm sorry if I got anything in pertaining towards your culture and language wrong. Zafaran is based on middle-eastern/Arabic/Islamic culture, but I do not claim to be an expert. I'm basically relying on Google-sensei to make sure everything is culturally appropriate and correct.

Well, either way, Zafaran is a fictional place and won't strictly be like other middle-eastern countries (probably a mixture of different middle-eastern culture though) but I do understand that people can be offended if certain traditions or cultural customs were portrayed incorrectly.