Rowan was skipping out of the prison door while still holding Cardin in his arms like a precious baby chick that might fly away. Lark was walking beside him with a calm expression on his face. Outside the prison, the knights were still running around like chickens without heads and shouting orders to each other.
Rowan blinked his eyes when he saw it.
"Sir Lark, what is happening outside? Why are the knights running like that? Did a monster appear in the plaza?" Rowan asked in concern.
"There's—"
"Or maybe they are capturing another kind and innocent person again?"
Lark gave him a tired look.
"No." Lark replied with a sigh. "But after the hero's funeral ended, the bell rang."
"What bell?"
"The temple bell."
"Oh?! You mean the one that broke a hundred years ago?"
"It wasn't broken." Lark corrected. "It just never rang again. But today, the bell rang twice after the funeral."
"Oh. I see." Rowan said while nodding his head. Then he looked at Lark again. "So what does it mean?"
"You didn't know?" Lark asked him back with raised brow.
Rowan shook his head.
"Hah... You're hopeless, kid." Cardin commented.
Lark gave Rowan a look as if he was sharing the same thought as Cardin.
"...It means there is a new prophecy." Lark finally explained. "The townspeople were panicking so the Emperor summoned the guards and knights to control the crowd. I heard the priests are still trying to translate the message."
Rowan slowly nodded his head again.
"Oh! I think that makes sense!"
Then he blinked his eyes again and looked up at Lark.
"Then why were you in the prison, sir Lark?"
"I was checking if the prisoners tried to escape using the commotion." Lark casually explained.
Rowan nodded again in understanding. But Cardin suddenly spoke in his arms.
"Huh? But that's not a vice commander's job." Cardin said. "And he knows it."
And without thinking, Rowan repeated the exact same words out loud before his brain could process it.
"That's not a vice commander's job. You know it." Rowan said.
Lark stopped walking. When he looked at Rowan, he was looking back at him with a startled look on his face. And Cardin would have facepalmed if he had hands.
"...What did you say?" Lark asked with a raised brow.
"Well... That..."
"Vice commander, huh? And where did you hear that?"
Rowan panicked and waved his free hand.
"Oh! I just... Uhmm..."
"Well?"
"...Ah, yes! I heard from my left ear that sir Lark is the vice commander! Yes, yes! That's right!"
Then Rowan pointed at the air like he was accusing an invisible people. Lark looked at the direction he was pointing at before be stared at him for a painful second. Rowan could only lower his head in response.
"...That was now in the past." Lark finally said while looking away. "Since my commander and mentor died, I gave up that position."
Rowan's eyes softened.
"Oh... My condolence, sir."
Lark shook his head.
"No need for that. I just don't want to serve under Sir Marken. He's obviously a..."
Lark paused for a second before his jaw clenched. Rowan leaned forward and curious about his next word.
"Because Sir Marken is obviously a...?"
Lark's lips twitched as if he was fighting the urge to say something very insulting to the newly appointed commander of the knights.
"That bastard is a coward." Cardin muttered.
But Rowan accidentally blurted it out.
"Cowa—"
Lark quickly shot him a sharp look. In an instant, Rowan shut his mouth it made a clicking sound.
"...I mean..." Lark stiffly said. "Sir Marken is just... difficult to work with."
Cardin snorted loud enough that Rowan almost dropped him again.
"Yes, yes. Difficult. Very difficult. Very very difficult. Extremely—"
"Enough of that." Lark lightly warned him.
Rowan shut up again.
As they continued walking, Rowan secretly whispered to Cardin again.
"You almost got me in trouble again!" Rowan whispered to the rusty sword.
"And yet, you keep repeating everything I say. Fantastic." Cardin sarcastically replied.
That made Rowan puffed his cheeks like an offended hamster.
"I can't help it! You talk inside my arms! It echoes in my head too!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Rowan and Lark continued walking back to the square. Although the term "walked" might not be the right word. Cardin already lost count how many times Rowan tripped and bumped his way forward while Lark followed behind him like a babysitter assigned to the most fragile duckling in this world.
While Rowan was looking around to find his father, he noticed that the people were all looking in one direction.
"That's the temple." Lark said while squinting his eyes.
"Oh..." Rowan whispered although he didn't know why he was whispering. "Can we see what's happening there?"
Without waiting for Lark's reply, Rowan quickly followed the crowd. He also tried to slip between bodies just like what he did earlier. But this time, there were too many people and he got stuck between a tall man's elbow and someone's bag until Lark had to yank him back.
In the end, Rowan stood on tip toe while slightly wobbling and tried to peek over the sea of heads.
In front of the temple, a priest wearing a pure white robe dramatically raised both of his hands. His robe was so white that Rowan thought he was glowing too much. He also have a long white beard that reached his chest.
"People of the kingdom!" the priest said in a booming voice. "The prophecy has spoken! A new disaster will fall upon our world!"
In an instant, the crowd gasped as if they had rehearsed it.
"It says that a new disaster will befall our world and our kingdom!"
The people immediately exploded in panic.
"Is it more monsters?!"
"Is it more taxes?!"
"Are we all going to starve?!"
Lark pinched the bridge of his nose when he heard the people's different concerns. Soon, the priest lifted his hands again to catch everyone's attention.
"But do not fear, everyone! The prophecy also speaks of a new hero who shall arise and defeat the upcoming disaster!"
There was a short silence after that. But soon, a loud cheer erupted in front of the temple.
"Bless the gods!"
"A new hero!"
"I hope the hero is handsome!"
Rowan nodded along. He was also a little concerned when he heard the prophecy. But at the same time, Cardin snorted in his arms.
"New hero, my blade." Cardin said. "Whoever that person is, I hope he suffers every miserable thing that the former hero did. Freezing nights, crappy food, getting stabbed, getting poisoned, getting insulted... Hah, the memories."
Rowan blinked his eyes in confusion. Then he slowly tilted his head down at the sword. Beside him, Lark also muttered something under his breath.
"Whoever this hero is, I wish they will feel the same pain and discrimination my master endured. It's only fair."
Rowan blinked his eyes again.
"Cardin, you and sir Lark are actually thinking the same thing." Rowan whispered to the sword. "Is that telepathy?"
Cardin did not bother giving Rowan a reply.
After the priest finished speaking, Rowan glanced up and saw the crowd murmuring in excitement and worry. There were people whispering about the new hero and sharing their opinions about who it would be.
"I wonder who is this new hero." someone in the crowd said.
"Maybe it's sir Marken!" another one replied. "Isn't he the new commander that His Majesty appointed earlier?"
"No, no. It must be a noble! Only nobles can become heroes!" another one said while adjusting their overly fancy hat.
Cardin snorted at that.
"I hope they are handsome with a shining armor and perfect hair!" a fourth person declared as if saving the world required a full grooming routine.
Cardin snorted again. But this time, it was louder and full of annoyance.
"Didn't they know the former hero was a commoner?" Cardin suddenly said.
"The former hero is a commoner?" Rowan asked.
"Yes." Lark said and assuming that Rowan was talking to him. "He was a commoner who was given a noble title later on after he saved His Majesty from an unfortunate... situation."
"Oh..."
All of a sudden, a man in the crowd raised his hand and shouted at the priest.
"High Priest! High Priest! Can you tell us who is our new hero?"
The high priest who was still standing tall in front of them suddenly flapped his robes before he raised a finger.
"We don't know yet who is this person. But!"
The high priest silently looked at the crowd for a dramatic effect before he continued.
"There is a way to know who is going to be our new hero. And that is..."
The high priest turned around and grabbed the item covered in a red cloth from the other priest standing behind him. When he pulled the cloth, everyone gasped when they saw what it was. Rowan also gasped thinking he was required to do it.
And the High Priest was holding a rubber ball in his hands.