The World Dragon's Heir

Chapter 636: Different Worlds

Dominic cleaned himself up to a presentable standard, also known as dousing himself with a [Water Creation] spell, and then putting a clean mage robe on and combing his fingers through his hair.

"I can’t believe that actually works." Gordie muttered.

"He’s got magical hair, and it’s entirely unfair. I agree.

However, there is hope that our daughters might get the same advantage, and how great would that be for them? One of the longest parts of a Noble Lady’s morning routine is having her hair styled.

And heavens forbid that it managed to escape its braid during the night, and you have to remove tangles as well." Alexis added.

Dominic nodded. "Even worse, it’s not a spell. My hair just does that. I think that it’s connected to my horns. If I wear hats or hoods, they have a habit of coming off at the most inopportune times."

Gordie shrugged. "I doubt that anyone made a hat that is actually designed to sit on your head, so that might not be magical intervention."

"That might be true. I’ve tried everything to get them to stay where I want them, and even if I put them on with a hat pin, I sometimes still have issues. Maybe I’ll have to get a hatmaker to do something custom for me in the future."

"You should likely start with the armourer." Gordie suggested helpfully, already preparing to find someone who could fill the order.

The Duke did go into battle with a chain mail coif on, but that was not a proper substitute for a solid metal helmet.

"Ironically, he is the armourer. Or, his master is. You see, the Duke is a journeyman blacksmith, and worked in the Royal forges before he was elevated to the Dukedom.

Not only can he make his own armour, he made what he’s wearing, and most of our weapons as well." Alexis informed him.

"That’s... unexpected. Alright, I will put that one to the side.

What should I know about where we’re going? I heard something about Royals, does the Duchy have visitors right now?"

"There is a jousting tournament on to celebrate an alliance of nations signing an accord and trade deal. Currently, all six Kings are present in Wistover for the signing and following events."

"Is it too late to ask you to find out where I came from and send me back?"

Amie laughed. "Actually, I have a location traced for where you came from. The problem is that none of us actually has the capability to send you there.

Interdimensional Portals are somewhat beyond our abilities, you see."

"Any Archmage above level two hundred should be able to, or certain species with an affinity for it. I know the theory, if that helps."

Amie laughed. "There isn’t a single Archmage above level one hundred on the Continent, much less into the two hundreds. In fact, you might not find one in the world.

However, we do have some who know magic for moving between planes, though normally, it’s nothing so organized as a portal."

Gordie sighed. "Alright, I will make a note of that. They don’t just use a Dimensional Shift and a compass, do they?"

"Pops can make a Dimensional Compass if you want to try." Dominic confirmed.

Gordie shuddered in horror. "Thanks, but no thanks."

Amie tapped her nonexistent watch and Dominic nodded. "Alright, time to get a move on. Gordie, you can follow Dave to the Manor. Castellan Julio will show you around, and the maids will ensure that you don’t get lost.

No offence, but it’s better that I don’t bring you into the joust with us, given that we’re sitting right behind the Royal booths."

The Acolyte laughed. "I can only imagine the chaos.

Thank you for your understanding. Once I realized what was going on here, I was concerned that I might end up in a dungeon somewhere instead of behind a desk doing paperwork."

That would have likely been the logical thing to do. But with the Veiled Maids watching his every move, it was unlikely that he would be able to slip too much past them.

Amie finally managed to usher the whole group through the portal, and Alexis accompanied Dominic to the box seats, while her Royal Guards joined the Knights who had gone to fight in the seats behind them.

As the day was wearing on, the seats were less crowded than they were at the start of the morning.

But it was also getting close to dinner time, so many might have gotten up either to stretch their legs or went home to cook with the intention of coming back.

It wasn’t like they were charging an entrance fee to the joust.

They likely should have, Dominic realized. But this was a major event, so the Duchy would cover all the costs, and the local shops would make a killing on the food and drinks.

Just an all around good time.

Unfortunately for Dominic, their return had set off Crown Prince Claudius’ sister detector, and the Prince was coming over to make sure that no harm had befallen the very sister who had spent the entire day trying to avoid being bogged down with Royal Protocol.

At least that did give Princess Elanor an excuse to come with him, which would keep the Prince from getting too annoyed with her for avoiding him.

The booth wasn’t really large enough for the entire group, so the moment that the Prince and the youngest Princess arrived, Dominic made his excuses and retreated to go sit a row back with the Knights.

That put him out of the line of fire, and still gave him an excellent view from a spot where the Knights approaching to joust could find him.

"Perfect timing, Your Grace. There are only two more rounds left for the evening, and then the elimination rounds will begin at first light.

You made it back just in time," the knight seated to his left whispered.

So, he didn’t manage to buy himself much time.

If the jousts were about to end for the night, that meant it was time to head back to the Manor and all the formalities of a full Royal dinner to celebrate the end of the first day of the tournament.