The party ended smoothly, and everyone had a good time, including Lux, Eiko, and Gaap.
King Septimius also said some parting words to end the merry event, after which everyone left the Royal Palace to rest for the night.
However, there was one person who was still feeling anxious even though her birthday celebration had ended two hours ago.
This person was none other than Princess Shayna. Seated on her bed, she stared at the shimmering rows of text that were in front of her.
Even though the Kingdom of Agartha was located deep under the ground, they were still able to hear the worldwide announcement when the first Mythical Guild in the world was founded.
However, Princess Shayna never thought that she would be invited to join that same Mythical Guild, and more especially not by the person who declared that he would go to the Pantheon of Exile in order to free her sister from her dark prison.
Princess Shayna didn't know why Lux decided to invite her to his Guild, but more than that, she was surprised that he did it so casually.
'Does he not know what will happen if this information spreads in Agartha?' Princess Shayna sighed in her heart. 'This might cause a revolution of sorts. Everyone, who has the ambition to achieve greater heights, would definitely fight for the opportunity to join the Mythical Guild that had been the talk of the Kingdom for several months.'
Princess Shayna pondered for a bit when a realization came to her.
'W-Wait! Could it be that he doesn't really care if his Guild's Name is spread in Agartha?!' Princess Shayna felt that she had grasped the reason Lux decided to invite her all of a sudden.
'His base of operations is on the Surface World, so he probably won't mind even if this news reaches the far corners of our Kingdom. Since coming to and leaving Agartha requires a very strict process, this news would likely be contained in our Kingdom, and never reach the surface.
'Also, he understands that Agarthians dream about going above ground, so he is using this opportunity to bait them to join his Guild and expand his forces. Simply put, our Kingdom is the best recruitment place for his Guild, and once he has gained countless strong members, he could potentially use it to conquer territories in the Surface World!'
Princess Shayna's imagination ran wild, and the more she thought about it, the more she believed that her conjectures were close to the truth.
'I underestimated him.' Princess Shayna shuddered after realizing just how formidable the Half-Elf was. 'It seems that the one that has come to free my sister is truly an exception among exceptions.'
The Princess of Agartha then took a few deep breaths in order to regain her calm. Now that she somewhat understood Lux's reason for fearlessly inviting her to his guild, only two questions remained.
The first question was whether she should accept the invitation or not.
The second one was whether she should share this information with her Father and have him deal with the Half-Elf, who planned to use their Kingdom as a recruitment ground for his guild.
First and foremost, Princess Shayna was a Princess of Agartha. Her loyalty would always be to her Kingdom.
If someone dared to cause trouble inside it, then she would definitely not sit idly and let it happen under her watch.
However, after thinking things through, she also felt that she was overreacting a bit.
'Sir Lux seems like a kind and caring person,' Princess Shayna thought. 'He wouldn't use the Agarthians to wage war on those on the surface… right?'
Princess Shayna wanted to know the Half-Elf better before making a decision. Right now, Lux's goal was to free her sister from the Pantheon of Exile, and to this end, the Princess was on her side.
As for the Guild Recruitment, it was still in the gray area.
After taking a few deep breaths, a look of determination appeared in the Princess's eyes. She then moved her right hand toward the rows of text in front of her and chose Yes.
"Welcome to Heaven's Gate."
Princess Shayna heard a voice welcoming her to the Guild, but even with her enhanced senses, she was unable to tell if the voice came from a girl or a boy. Even so, as soon as she had accepted Lux's invitation, she heard a familiar voice inside her head.
"Welcome to my Guild, Your Highness," Lux said. "Since you were taking so long to make a decision, I thought that you were going to reject my invitation."
It took a while for Princess Shayna to regain her bearings after hearing Lux's voice inside her head.
While the Princess was still reeling from the shock, the Half-Elf began to explain that all members of Heaven's Gate had the ability to communicate with each other telepathically, on the condition that they were on the same plane of existence.
"Why?" Princess Shayna asked. "Why did you invite me to your Guild? What is your purpose?"
"Would you believe me if I told you that I invited you because I trust that you were someone who could keep secrets?" Lux answered.
"We've only just met. How did you come to assume that I was trustworthy?" Princess Shayna inquired.
"Half-Elf's intuition."
"Huh?"
Lux's chuckle reverberated inside the Princess Head, making her feel as if the Half-Elf was making fun of her. However, his next words made the Princess' annoyance disappear.
"Jokes aside, I invited you because I could tell that you really care for your sister, Aurora," Lux stated. "Since you care for her, that means that you are on my side. Your father might be scheming something behind our backs, and I need someone in the Royal Family to warn me beforehand if he plans to do something to sabotage my attempt to rescue your sister."
Princess Shayna pondered for a bit, and after careful consideration, she decided that Lux did have a point.
"Forewarned is forearmed, is it?"
"Exactly, Your Highness. As long as our goals are aligned, the two of us can be powerful allies and partners."
"You have taken quite a gamble, Sir Lux," Princess Shayna stated. "Tell me, what is your reason for recruiting people from our Kingdom in your Guild? Do you plan to use them to conquer territories in the Surface World?"
"Expanding lands and territories is not even among my list of priorities, Your Highness," Lux replied. "My goal has remained the same ever since I was born in this world. However, telling you what it is would be too cringey, so I apologize in advance for not telling you about it.
"Just know that the role of Heaven's Gate in the world is not to rule any Kingdom or Empire. We exist for a greater cause, which is something that you will understand in the future."
A few minutes of silence passed before the Half-Elf once again heard Princess Shayna's voice.
"Very well, Sir Lux, I will help you," Princess Shayna stated. "However, if there comes a time when you wish to harm the interest of Agartha, that is the moment when I will become your enemy."
"Good," Lux replied. "If that day comes, please, do your best to stop me, Your Highness."
After talking for nearly an hour, Princess Shayna finally laid down on the bed to close her eyes.
While she was confident that she was a good judge of character, it remained to be seen whether the Half-Elf would truly stick to his original goal or diverge in order to conquer the world, which was something that the Princess felt was very possible.
'I hope I didn't make the wrong decision today,' Princess Shayna thought as she welcomed sleep's embrace.
Although she still felt that Lux was a good person, she understood that people could change over time.
Just like how her loving father changed after the incident that had caused rifts between the members of the Royal Family of Agartha.
