The king cleared his throat, stroked his glorious beard, and looked away with a blush. For all his graciousness he still could not simply ignore Shizuka's dress - or lack thereof in their eyes. The way her skirt pulled up on her legs as she bowed before him was too alluring, and thus too distracting for him to appreciate her gesture. Thankfully his queen was as kind as she was beautiful, and reached out to hold Shizuka's hands between hers.<br/><br/>"You have a noble heart," she declared, though most of the men in the room were not fully aware of things to hear her. Just as the king's eyes had dropped to Shizuka's legs, so had theirs as they gazed up Shizuka's skirt to the chiding glares of the women next to them. "I shall place my hope in you, beautiful warrior. Take this."<br/><br/>Opening Shizuka's hand, the queen glanced beside her and took from a nearby servant a bag of gold, placing it onto the girl's palms. The king spoke up then explaining, "this is a gift, to help you prepare for your journey. You must gather allies and arms if you are to succeed in your endeavors. The road to the demon king's castle is long and fraught with dangers... Sir Reiner!"<br/><br/>The knight-commander stepped forward and pounded his armor on his chest in salute. He glanced aside at Shizuka just once before fixing his gaze on the king with pride and loyalty brimming in his eyes.<br/><br/>"This is our finest knight, the last of his line and of his kind I fear. Such courage we will never see again should he, too, fall to the army of the demon king. I cannot spare him, but I can ask him to guide you from here. Is there anything more you wish to ask of me, hero?" the king added. His wife held up her hand though, and interjected.<br/><br/>"Surely she has time to rest here before her journey begins. Tell me, child, what is your name? Where are you from? You must have many questions."<br/>