Remy steadied his breathing as they marched back to the front of the Sanctuary. He smoothed his hair back, pulling a ribbon from his pocket to tie the very end of his locks into place. Squaring his shoulders, he brushed stray ash off his cloak.

“Are you worried?” Lloyd asked.

Remy huffed. He cut a look at Lloyd. “You’ll see.”

A ragtag group of men and women in armor, robes, and strange clothes stood around the entrance of the Sanctuary. They looked up as Remy approached. One, a woman in silver armor with blonde hair, stepped forward.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the little Rat Prince. Hello, Re-mouse.”

Lloyd glanced at Remy, lifting a single eyebrow in curiosity.

Remy looked down at her. A difficult task, as she stood several inches taller than him. He didn’t acknowledge her statements. She would only get worse if he did. “Hello, Guildleader.”

“So? What’s the trouble, Prince? Cockroaches coming for you? Ants invading your quarters?” the Guildleader, Louise Mannon, asked, putting her hands on her hips.

“The Sanctuary is overrun with dream eaters, like this one,” Remy said, thrusting the nurse who’d helped him find the other dream eaters forward. She squeaked in surprise, looking back and forth between Remy and Louise.

Louise’s brows raised. “A real monster. Congratulations, little prince. Maybe one day you’ll be half as much of a man as your brother.”

“Eradicate the remaining dream eaters. This one will point them out,” Remy said, patting the nurse’s shoulder.

“I will?” she squeaked.

“If you want to live,” Remy said evenly.

She licked her lips nervously.

“We’ve got Detectors on the way. Hopefully the dream eaters in the hospital don’t eat too many people while we’re waiting,” Louise commented. She nodded, and her men moved forth. They jogged deeper into the Sanctuary to investigate the rooms.

“I’ve killed most of them already. I only called you to clean up the scraps,” Remy said firmly. He looked at Lloyd and tossed him a nod, then marched off.

“You killed dream eaters? You?” Louise asked disbelievingly.

“Send the Fourth Prince my regards,” Remy called over his shoulder. He exited the Sanctuary, leaving the adventurers and the dream eater behind.

Outside, Lloyd looked at Remy. “She has the favor of the Fourth Prince, so you can’t touch her?”

“More or less. The Fourth Prince is galivanting about as an adventurer. Fortunate for me, when it comes to succession; he’s basically taken himself out of the line. As a result, however, the Adventurer’s Guild has taken his authority as their own. They run around with near impunity. The king and my elder brothers can rebuke them, but no one else. They run roughshod over the civilians and nobles.”

He paused. “I don’t so much mind them trampling over the nobility—gods know they could use a bit of trampling—but the civilians eventually see the adventurers as emblematic of the abuses of royalty. Unchecked power. The inability to challenge them.”

“And that’s problematic?” Lloyd asked.

Remy gave him a look. “They loot and pillage like an occupying army, and the king turns a blind eye because the Fourth Prince is ‘managing’ them. If that doesn’t add to the aggravation of the ordinary population, I don’t know what does.”

“Ah. For my kind…” Lloyd trailed off. He turned to Remy and grinned. “Very different cultures.”

“Right. Well. Let’s not make my world like yours, hmm?” Remy murmured.

Lloyd nodded. “Yes, yes.”

“Without the dream eaters destroying the Sanctuary from within, this problem is basically solved. I just need to lobby the king…no, more likely, sympathetic nobles, to provide additional funding.” He pursed his lips, then shook his head. “It isn’t an urgent issue, so for now, we’ll put it to the side. I need to pursue routes of funding. Nobles with deep pockets, or the ability to assign parts of the budget.”

“Is that your next goal?” Lloyd asked.

“No. My next goal is even more urgent than that.” Remy lifted his finger and pointed across the town. “In three months, Duke Leone, one of the most outspoken supporters of the king and the monarchy’s policies is revealed to be a human trafficker. Kidnapping the peasants and shipping them off to the highest bidder. Nobles with…unique taste, mines, foreign armies, you name it. His close ties to my father mean that suspicion falls on the noble family itself. Did Father know? Did he look the other way? Did we benefit?

“As far as I’m aware, my family had no connections whatsoever to the human trafficking. In truth, it doesn’t matter if we did or not. If I want to remain in power, and not get beheaded, I need to act now. Put an end to it, once and for all.”

Lloyd followed Remy’s finger. He raised his brows. “We’re killing the noble?”

Remy waggled his finger. “Subtle, Lloyd. Subtlety. If I march up and assassinate the man, my actions look unjustified, I get thrown in the dungeon, and I lose precious time while everyone figures out that I did, in fact, have reason to assassinate that noble. No, no, no. Crude assassination is not the way.”

“Then what?” Lloyd asked, crossing his arms.

“Duke Leone is holding a grand ball…” Remy checked his pocketwatch, checking the small magical boxes where the date ticked away. “In a week. At that ball, we need to find proof that Duke Leone is, in fact, trafficking humans. If I, the prince, am the one who reveals it, the story changes from ‘the abuses of monarchy, protecting that scum’ to ‘the good and noble monarchy, who even enforce rule of law on their closest allies.’”

“And what if your father was, in fact, supporting Duke Leone’s unsavory business?” Lloyd asked.

Remy snorted. “It doesn’t change that this event contributes to the monarchy’s downfall. I can’t allow it to come to pass. If my father was deliberately turning a blind eye, then I must have the support of the people, to the extent that he can’t risk taking action against me.”

“A tough job for the man known as the Rat Prince.”

“I have the Second Prince to thank for that,” Remy grumbled. He shook his head. “I need funding to achieve my goals, but I also need the support of the populace if I want to keep my head on my shoulders. Building my favor among the nobles and the ordinary citizens alike…” He let out a long sigh.

“Shall we just hope that your father was truly unaware of Duke Leone’s unusual hobby?” Lloyd suggested.

Remy shook his head. He gazed to the horizon, and his eyes glazed over. “Maybe we just go rogue, at that point. Tear off and declare myself king of some city, turn it into a city state.”

“Why not?” Lloyd asked.

Remy looked at him. “Why not what?”

“Why not tear off? Go rogue? Run away?”

Remy squinted at him. “Aren’t I your Champion? Are you encouraging me to forfeit?”

Lloyd shrugged. “I represent the demons. We value individuality. If you don’t want to fight, my Lord won’t be happy, but he won’t kill you either. Even continuing to survive in the world, far away from the location of the Challenge, is enough to frustrate the Goddess, and that counts as a win to my faction.”

“Have you fallen so far?” Remy murmured.

“With no victories at all in the past five hundred years, my Lord’s standards are low, yes,” Lloyd agreed.

Remy took a deep breath. He shook his head. “I can’t run away. I want my country to succeed, not merely to survive as a human being. Besides, I have no power anywhere but here. Anywhere else I go, I’m starting from zero. My head is on the line here, but in three years. That’s three years of relative security and stability to build toward something better. If I hare off into another country and declare myself king, my head is on the line immediately. Not to mention, I have no power.”

“You have my Lord’s system,” Lloyd pointed out.

“I don’t think I’m going to be a one-man conqueror. Plus, that’s begging the Goddess’ Champion to end my pitiful life,” Remy pointed out.

Lloyd’s smile widened, a strange look on his earnest and tanned face. “But it would be amusing.”

Remy gave him a look. “Are you deliberately giving me bad ideas because you think they’re funny?”

“Maybe?” Lloyd said mischievously.

Remy sighed. He shook his head.

They walked on for a few beats before Remy spoke again. “I’ve got points, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Purchase the skill that allows me to communicate silently with you. For the rest, put half into magic, and hold the rest in reserve. I want to be able to buy a skill when my back’s up against a wall.”

“As you wish,” Lloyd replied. He snapped his fingers.

Heat swirled into Remy’s stomach. He touched it and took a deep breath. Strong mana circulated through his system. “Can I buy other spells?”

“Other than your fire? Yes,” Lloyd said.

“Other than my fire? For example, could I learn a sleep spell? Or an ice spell?”

Lloyd nodded. “Naturally.”

Remy lifted his brows. Spells were exceedingly difficult to learn. Usually, a person was born with the ability to learn spells from a particular category or element. With years and years of training, they might master all the spells of that school. With decades of nothing but studying magic, down to the tiny ephemera of mana constructs, one could hope to learn one other school of magic. But with Lloyd’s help, he could just buy more spells? I think I underestimated how overpowered the Champions are.

Remy glanced at Lloyd. “How much do they cost?”

Lloyd turned his eyes upward. He rested a finger on his chin thoughtfully. “A hundred points would buy you another fire spell. A thousand would buy you access to another spell school.”

“Ah,” Remy commented dryly. Not as overpowered as I thought.

That is a bit of a relief, though. It means the Goddess’ Champion won’t be able to use every spell known to mankind, either.

“Don’t lose heart, prince. The more powerful monsters you destroy, the greater goals you accomplish, the more points you’ll accrue.”

“If every monster gave five points forever, I could pretty much give up on earning other spell schools right now,” Remy agreed. Though, on the other hand, if the points didn’t scale, I could spend a few days stomping bug monsters and make out like a bandit.

Ah, well. Upside, downside.

He straightened his spine and headed back into the palace. Remy took a deep breath. So much left to do. But plenty of time to go. And the Sanctuary was already far more functional than it had been in his original timeline.

A good start. But there’s a marathon before me. And the next barrier is one of the biggest barriers ahead.  He nodded at Lloyd. “Let’s prepare for the ball.”

“As you wish.”

“But first… I have a date with a very important lady.” Remy swished his cape.

Behind him, the guard who’d followed him out to the Sanctuary, who he’d abandoned in the room, jogged to catch up.

--

Back at the Palace

The rat stood on her hind legs. Reaching a paw through the metal bars, she jiggled the fastener. Her muscles strained, and the metal squealed. She paused, ears and nose twitching. No one entered her room.

The other rats snoozed in the cage. None of them had been enlightened. The superior only saw fit to enlighten her. And what a fantastic choice he had made, picking her over the lazy, contented other rats. She would prove his choice correct.

Again, she reached through the bars. Her claws latched onto the hook, and with a click, it dropped. The door to her prison swung open.

She snuck her nose out, then her head. Left and right, searching for motion. Nothing.

Her intelligence was only enhanced so far. She understood that the boy with the long hair and the serious face was her superior, her boss, in a sense. And she understood that the tub was what had granted her intelligence. What she didn’t understand was why he’d hidden that jar from her.

Surely her superior had plans. Designs beyond her ken. But she couldn’t understand why he would hide the tub from her.

There was only one answer: he hadn’t yet seen her value. Her little black eyes glittered with determination. She would force him to see her. To truly see what she could bring to the field. Then, he couldn’t ignore her potential.

She scurried over to the cabinets. With a hop, she grabbed onto the handle. She swung back and forth. Her paws slipped on the slick metal. She dropped back to earth.

Without hesitation, she leaped up again. And again. And again. Finally, she balanced on top of the bar. She leaned her weight against the cabinet, using that to brace herself atop the handle. Her little heart beat rapidly. She let out a breath. She’d been cooped up in that cage too long. She needed to grow more muscle.

At last, she stood up again. She swayed, barely holding her balance. Her claws wrapped around the bar, gripping so tight they ached. She gripped at the upper bar. Her paws slipped, struggling for a hold. She swayed out, almost falling out away from the cabinets altogether. Slamming her little body toward the cabinet, she caught herself with her shoulders. She panted. Exhaustion welled up inside her. She sat there for a moment, tempted to give up.

But no! She would not give up! It was time. Her moment to shine. Standing up on her tiptoes again, she jumped toward the handle and latched on with all her strength. Her body dangled there, swaying side to side from the force of her leap. She kicked at the wall and scrambled up. Standing atop the second bar, she caught her breath. Her eyes shone.

The first barrier, down.

She gripped onto the bar with her back feet and stood up again. Pressing her forefeet against the top of the set of cabinets, she clung on to the bar. She pushed. Her muscles strained. Her whole body shook. She gritted her teeth, refusing to give up. The cabinet shifted. Wood groaned. A little more. Just a little more!

The cabinet snapped open. She flopped into it with a thump, falling into a mess of bedside accoutrements. For a moment, she laid there, slightly stunned.

Abruptly, she jumped to her feet. She shook off the stun and looked around. A stone tub. The miracle elixir had been in a stone tub. Patting through the ribbons, combs, and rings. Tub. Tub. Tub—

There! She pounced. In a moment, she clawed open the little stone container. Without hesitation, she gobbled down the contents. The purple eye on her forehead glowed brighter. Understanding sparked in her heart. She sat upright, sniffing the air, thinking desperately.

The problem wasn’t that her superior hadn’t seen her value. The problem was that she was but one small beast. A single being. But rats lived in communities. Many rats, working together for the greater good. Enlightening only herself was no good. She had to enlighten the others. Gain a pack for her superior, so that he could utilize them properly.

And the first step, was to find more of the miracle elixir and bring it to her people.

She sniffed the box, snuffling at the remnants and scraps, then lifted her nose. Ever so faintly, she could smell another source of the elixir. There was more. And she would obtain it.

For the good of her superior. For the good of the pack.

She hopped up onto the edge of the cabinet and leaped down. Time to climb through the halls.

--

She scurried through the walls. The dusty holes teemed with other rats. They weren’t fat and lazy like the rats in the cage, but neither did they share her newfound intellect. They could be enlightened in due time. But for now, they were but beasts. Beasts, but with the potential to be so much more.

Ahead, the passages split. One climbed up, one wound to the left, and the third angled off to the right. She paused, lifting her nose to sniff the air. The scent of the miracle elixir grew stronger to the left. She skittered off, following her nose. Stronger and stronger, until she was almost choking on the scent. But as the miracle elixir grew stronger, so, too, did a dangerous scent. One she didn’t recognize. One that made her hair stand on end.

The paths grew dusty. Not many rat tracks cut through the dust. Up ahead, sunlight shone through a crack as the paths opened up to a room. The dangerous scent was so thick that she almost choked on it. It emanated from that light, but so did the miracle elixir’s scent.

Her paws stopped moving. Her heart raced. Paralyzed, she stared at the route ahead. Every fiber of her being told her to run.

But the elixir. The elixir!

She shook her head. Intellect. Intellect! Her mind was stronger than her instincts. Forcibly, she lifted one paw, then put it down. Another step. Another. With each step, her motions grew smoother. Her body pushed ahead. Before she knew it, she drew up to the crack in the wall.

The floor beneath her angled down, and she peered out at a bedroom. It was far more ornate than her superior’s, draped in fine fabrics, the walls covered in fine paper. Gold touched the corners, and large mirrors and fine art hung from the walls. But it was the furniture that caught her eye. Delicate fabrics, bulging with stuffing. Her eyes shone. So much nesting material! She could make such a soft bed!

She shook her head. No, no. She wasn’t here to make beds. She was here to retrieve the miracle elixir. But that scent… what was it? Why did it terrify her so?

Slow motion in the corner. A flicker of tongue. Slow, cold coils. The glitter of vicious intelligence.

Her eyes widened. That…that was a being beyond her powers. A creature too powerful for her to handle. The long, ropelike body, covered in armored scales. The shining red eyes. The pale white fangs, to match the white scales. Its eyes met hers, and paralysis gripped her. She could no longer move. Neither advance nor retreat. It controlled her entire body.

The final boss. The last barrier between her and enlightenment.

A human stepped into view. The final boss turned away, looking up at its superior. Control returned to her limbs. She faded back, vanishing into the darkness.

Instincts and natural weapons weren’t enough against that beast. She needed a plan. A plot. To use her newfound intellect against that monster.

She would be back. And next time, she’d defeat it.