The Royal Knights were marching behind one person, Irene Aegis. People moved to the side as they let the knights pass. They were headed straight to the stadium set up in the middle of the plaza. A knight jogged over to the other knights in the back of the line.

"Where were you?" Questioned one of them.

"Sorry. I had to use the bathroom. Please don't tell Irene about this." The new knight pleaded.

The knight sighed. "Just be careful from now on. And make sure to use the restroom beforehand."

"Thanks." The new knight smiled. "You're a lifesaver."

August 3rd. The day that changed everything.

Integration was complete. I marched along with the other knights. I am the new knight.

It was a gamble pretending to be a knight that went to the restroom, but it worked. It doesn't seem that this knight knows the knight I'm disguising as.

Because of this, he didn't suspect a thing. Luckily this infiltration mission will only last for a couple minutes, so It shouldn't be long enough for them to realize that there's an imposter among them.

I'll save Irene, and then pretend to be a Royal Knight for a little longer before finding an opportunity to escape.

Irene walked up the stairs on the side of the podium, the rest of the knights shortly following. She walked up to the mic at the middle of the stage, tapping it.

Behind her, a couple feet away, the Royal Knights stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a line, facing the crowd. Our job was to sit here and look pretty.

If one examined the knights, they would notice that most wore helmets. Their armor was identical, with the only difference being their size and the intended gender of the wearer. A few didn't wear helmets however.

I looked like the ones with a helmet and full set of armor. I also had my cheap sword strapped to my side. I'm hoping not to use it because of how cheap and fragile it is. It's mostly so I don't rouse suspicion as a weaponless knight.

In the middle of the Royal Knights was Cyrus, Irene's right hand man. Well, for now at least. His helmet was off, showing his pretty boy face. He had baby blue colored hair. It was combed downwards, right next to his right eye.

We all stood still as the crowd around the stage grew bigger. Irene was pretty loved by the public.

It's part of why this day was so devastating in the anime.

"Hello everyone." Irene said. Her voice was light, very similar to Iris'. However, it was slightly deeper and more mature sounding. Her tone was so regal, but in the good way.

She looked almost exactly like Iris. Her hair was in a bun instead of a ponytail however, that being the biggest difference between them. Her pointy ears were completely shown. The proud trait of an Elf.

She didn't wear armor. Maybe it was because this was only a speech, or because she had her knights. Instead she wore a simple blue dress, with golden trimmings. Her earrings were also golden, matching her dress.

I don't think it's real gold but she is a princess...so who knows?

"To all of you who are here today, thank you. And to all of you watching this through the television, thank you as well." Irene said. She waved towards the drones that flew from the sky, which gave anyone at home a chance to watch her speech.

"Rifts have been opening more often than usual this year. I understand that you may be afraid. Trust me, we all are. The rifts can come at anytime, at anywhere." Irene continued.

"But everyday we're getting stronger. Brandon Tsuki recently reached Tier 15 at the age of 21. History is being made. And everyday we're getting closer to stopping the suffering that the rifts bring with them." Irene stated.

"Recent research has led to an incredible discovery. I'm here to announce that-" Irene continued, but then it happened.

One of the knights suddenly rushed forward from the line, dashing straight towards Irene with his sword pointed towards the target.

He would have made it. Irene would have died, stabbed straight through the heart. But not this time. Because the knight soon found himself slamming into the floor, another knight standing above him.

The knight groaned in pain as he laid on the floor, knocked down by my fist. I was quick enough to catch up to him.

And now...

This was the moment that changed everything.

Everybody stood in shock. It was if the world had gone silent. Irene, the crowd, the knights. I could even feel the disbelief through the cameras of the drones.

Someone had attempted to assassinate the first princess of the Aegis Family, and failed. It's a little crazy, knowing I just changed a major moment in history.

The knight got up, swinging his sword at me. I dodged it, giving him another punch across the face, sending him stumbling backwards. He then rushed at me and continued to swing at me in rage as I dodged every one of his strikes.

Irene sparked with electricity, before quickly appearing behind the knight. The knight turned around in surprise only to receive the sparking fist of Irene straight into his face, sending him into the ground knocked out.

Cyrus ran over, the rest of the knights following. "Irene, are you alright?!" He asked.

"I'm fine." Irene stated. "I should have been prepared for something like this. Always expect the unexpected."

She looked towards Cyrus. "Make sure you remember that. We're lucky he was ready for an attack. Or else..."

She shook her head. "I'll have to do more training. And then I'll have to train you guys more. I can't believe I let a traitor slip into our ranks, and then let him almost kill me."

She looked towards me. "Thank you."

"Just my duty, Aegis." I said, saluting her and trying to mimic what a knight would say to their Captain.

She seemed to scan me, looking me up and down. She then nodded to herself. "You may go back to your position. Thank you for your help."

I nodded, walking back to my position. Cyrus and the rest of the knights also did. We all stood shoulder-to-shoulder again, except with one less person who was knocked out on the stage.

Irene grabbed him by the back of his armor, dragging him over to the mic.

"Every day, we face threats. Whether it be from monsters, people, or even our own allies." Irene stated. "As we have seen today, we can't afford to stop being vigilant. Today could have ended much differently."

"That's why we'll continue to strive. We'll continue to become more and more stronger, so that we can protect the ones we love. That's why I have an important announcement. Aegis Family research has discovered something incredible." Irene continued.

"An Arcana can be upgraded." She revealed, dropping a bomb upon us all.

My mind went blank. Everything stopped once more, but this time for me as well. An Arcana...being upgraded?

This isn't possible! I've never heard of this! This never happened in the anime!

Upgrading an Arcana?!

"We have successfully been able to have a D Rank Arcana wielder upgrade their Arcana to C Rank. We are still experimenting and researching with how this is possible, but we have discovered that it is indeed possible." Irene stated.

That's insane! This could change everything! A D Rank Arcana wielder could have the potential to become an S Rank!

"Thank you all for listening. Together, let's create a better tomorrow." She finished.

The crowd cheered and clapped, showing their love for the first princess.

She left the mic, walking back to the rest of the knights. "You all are dismissed. You may go to your usual posts. However, you..." She said, pointing at me.

"Come with me. I want to have a private word with you." She stated.

Fuck.

The longer I stay, the better chances they have discovering that I'm actually not a knight.

But I can't run away either. Irene is incredibly fast and powerful. She's Tier 8! That's FIVE Tiers above me!

I'll just have to ride this out. She'll probably thank me again or something and then dismiss me. Then I can disappear.

"What about me Irene?" Cyrus asked.

"You go deal with the traitor. I wish to speak with this knight...alone." Irene restated.

The way she said that gives me chills...

Cyrus didn't seem to like it, but he nodded. "Alright."

He walked off, allowing me to follow Irene. As we walked down the steps, she led me to behind the stage. From there we walked to the nearest street where a limousine was seated.

The door was opened by a butler, letting Irene go inside. "Come on in." She said. I got into the limousine, sitting across from Irene.

To think that I'm actually in a real limousine...

The door shut, and the butler got into the driver's seat. He started to drive, most likely heading to the Aegis Mansion. Irene closed the window between the butler and us, not allowing the butler to see us.

"So...now that we're alone..." Irene started.

I'm getting goosebumps. I don't have a good feeling about this.

"Who are you?" She asked.

Shit. Please don't tell me she knows.

"What do you mean?" I replied, playing innocent.

"You can drop the facade, I know you're not Fuji." Irene stated.

Fuck. So the guy I disguised as is Fuji?

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Well, I didn't assign Fuji as one of the knights to follow me today, for starters." Irene stated.

Oh, I messed up bad then. She could kill me in a moment. I'm just going to have to listen to her. Fuck...

The disguise was destroyed, and now in front of Irene sat a different man. A sixteen year old with blue-green hair and emerald eyes. Me.

Irene's eyes slightly widened. "Not what I expected. You're younger, and with some sort of illusion magic? You must be an Arcana Wielder, likely an Adventurer-In-Training..."

Her intuition is scary.

"I'm sixteen, only two years younger than you." I sweatdropped.

"Still younger than I expected. Anyways, good try. Unfortunately for you, you disguised as the wrong person. Fuji doesn't use the Dragon Fist style, nor does he call me Aegis. He calls me Miss Aegis despite how much I tell him it's not needed." Irene continued.

Her observation skills are also incredibly scary. She was able to see that was the Dragon Fist style? How does she even know that?! That's a Taiyou Technique!

"So, who are you?" She asked once more.

"...Ken Kage." I sighed.

"Hmmm. I feel like I've heard that name before..." Irene muttered.

"There's no way you have." I denied.

"Hmm. How did you know?" She suddenly asked.

"How did I know...about what?" I replied, confused.

"How did you know I was going to be assassinated?" Irene restated. "That's the only reason I can think of why you would disguise yourself as a Royal Knight today."

"You're scarily smart..." I sweatdropped. "You could say I had a...vision." I lied.

I watched anime. That's how.

Irene hummed to herself. "Well, I wish to thank you one more time. There's no doubt if it wasn't for you I would be dead. I never would have thought I'd be betrayed by one of my own knights."

...

"What Tier are you?" Irene suddenly asked, changing the topic. "And don't lie."

"...Fine." I hesitantly replied. She'll know if I lie, as much as I hate to admit it.

"You need to become better at lying. How else are you going to trick people?" Loki commented.

I get it, I get it.

"Tier 3." I answered.

"Amazing..." Irene muttered to herself. She closed her eyes, lost in thought. After a couple seconds her eyes reopened, a decision finalized.

"I wish to ask you something." She stated.

"What is it?" I wondered.

"I want you to become my bodyguard." Irene stated.

What?