Exiled Prince: I'm the Unexpected Extra in the Novel-Chapter 166: A Show at the Campfire & Onions

The War for The North [54]

Chapter 166: A Show at the Campfire & Onions

"A monster? This kid?" The bald man grimaced as if he couldn’t believe Kael’s words.

His gaze shifted between Cassian, who was still silently watching the fire, and the defensive Kael.

Rod jumped in with the excitement of a child telling his friends about his favorite toy. His eyes were shining.

"Yes, him!" he said, raising his voice. "Last week, you know that massive explosion that tore the sky apart... The attack that destroyed the two demigods of Obsidian Dawn... It was Cassian who did that!"

The bald man rolled his eyes. Listening to this nonsense on an empty stomach this early in the morning was getting on his nerves.

"I am not very familiar with your sense of humor," Marc said, his voice ice-cold. "But this wasn’t funny at all. There has to be a limit to lying. A child killing a demigod... Go to a daycare if you are going to tell fairy tales."

Rod shouted stubbornly, "I am not joking!" He pointed at the campfire, which was still roaring and had been revitalized by Cassian’s touch.

"Look at it! The fire is black! Does a normal fire burn like that? Have you ever thought about why?"

Marc and the others reluctantly turned their heads toward the fire. Indeed, the flames were not the orange and yellow hues they were used to. Pitch-black flames, wavering as if made of shadows, wrapped around the wood but produced no smoke. The heat, however, was strong enough to burn their skin.

"Black flames?" the bearded soldier muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Did... did this kid create this?"

Kael was tired of this distrust and the constant need to prove things. He exhaled in frustration and turned to Cassian.

"Cassian," he said in a weary voice. "Maybe you should put on a little show, huh? Otherwise, these blockheads won’t shut up. Show them who you are."

Cassian shrugged, maintaining his composure. "Ehhh... Sounds too tiring," he said, yawning. "Besides, there is no one here worth proving myself to. Why should I bother?"

"Arrogant brat!" the bald man snarled. "You were just talking nonsense! Now that your lie is exposed, you are backing out."

At that moment, Monica placed her hand under her chin and spoke with exaggerated, theatrical sadness. There was obvious mockery in her voice.

"What a pity..." she said, shooting a sideways glance at Kael. "If you could prove what you said... Maybe I could have gone on a date with Kael. I am interested in men who have powerful friends."

Hearing this, Kael’s eyes widened. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs. Then, like a hunter, like a tiger locking onto its prey, he turned to Cassian.

"CASSIAN!"

Kael lunged suddenly and grabbed Cassian by the collar with both hands. There was pure pleading in his eyes.

"Please, buddy! For me! My life is at stake here! I need to get that date!"

Cassian looked at Kael’s pathetic state and sighed. His friend’s love life was a tougher struggle than world peace.

"Okay, okay," Cassian said, pushing Kael’s hands away. "But on one condition... 3 dates! I can’t let you dump my friend after one date and leave him hanging! I want a guarantee of 3 dates."

Kael turned to Monica. "Did you hear that? 3 dates!"

Monica shrugged, thinking the kid couldn’t do anything and was just showing off anyway. "Agreed. If he proves it, 3 dinners. But if he can’t, Kael polishes my armor for a week."

"Deal!" Kael said without thinking.

Cassian got up and adjusted his furs.

"So," he asked Monica. "What would you like me to do, my lady? Is creating black flames enough? Or would you like something more... flashy?"

Monica laughed disdainfully. "Can you even do anything else? It is not like we are choosing from a menu."

Cassian smiled. "Of course. But I might ask for an extra fee to show those. Like a kiss for Kael?"

Monica snapped, "Just creating black flames is enough! Don’t show off."

Cassian adopted a playful role like a stage performer. His expression turned serious, but the mocking glint in his eyes didn’t fade.

He slowly raised his right hand to head level. He opened his palm.

"Watch," he whispered.

Suddenly, a sphere made of pitch darkness, swallowing even the surrounding light, appeared in his palm. Chaos Flames. The sphere swirled within itself, crackling and radiating pure destructive energy.

The onlookers’ eyes widened, their breath caught. The bald man straightened up. This wasn’t simple fire magic. This was something against the laws of nature.

Cassian’s lips curled. He didn’t stop. He didn’t lower his hand. Instead, he raised his other hand slightly to the right.

This time, the exact opposite of chaos, a blinding, golden light shone in his palm. It was like a small sun had risen.

Holy Mana.

The dark, gloomy, and cold campsite was suddenly filled with divine warmth. The light swept away the fatigue and fear on the soldiers’ faces.

Indescribable peace filled them. Even though most people here didn’t know what Holy Mana was, it was impossible not to be affected by the pure power it radiated.

Absolute destruction in one hand, absolute peace in the other. Cassian held these two opposing forces in his palms like toys.

A few seconds later, Cassian shook his hands slightly and canceled his spells. Light and darkness vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

"Is that enough?" he asked casually.

The onlookers were just recovering from their daze. The silence broke.

"You..." Marc growled, his voice trembling. "You are not a child... You can’t be."

Cassian laughed. "Ahaha! No, you are wrong. I am just a child. I am only 14 years old..."

Then he turned to Monica and winked.

"So, lady knight... Our deal stands, right? Make sure you show my friend a good time. Or else..." He pointed a finger at the flames he had just extinguished. "...I might have to put on a more ’fiery’ show."

Monica gritted her teeth. Her pride was hurt, but she had to keep her word.

"That thing you used... was Holy Mana!" she said, unable to hide her astonishment. "How can you use that? You are not a priest!"

"How?"

Cassian put his hand under his chin, pretending to think. He looked up.

"Because I am Cassian!" he said simply.

Monica snapped, "Stop mocking me!"

Cassian’s smile faded. A deep, weary expression, unsuited to his age, settled in his eyes.

"Don’t get angry, lady knight," he said calmly. "I know you are excited, nervous about going on a date with my friend... But the answer to your question is simple."

He sighed when he saw the curious gazes around him.

"There is no power gained without a price," he said, his voice a whisper but heard by everyone. "I can use this power because in return... I sacrificed myself."

He smiled again, but this time it was sad.

"I don’t think you would understand, but that is the situation. Come on, disperse. The show is over."

Just then, a familiar, cold, and authoritative voice was heard from behind the crowd.

"Cannon Hunter!"

Cassian ignored the bewildered looks around him and looked toward the person calling him.

Liora Stormvale.

She wasn’t wearing her usual armor; she had a thick, fur cloak and noble riding attire underneath. Her black hair was blowing in the wind. Her red eyes were fixed on Cassian’s.

Cassian waved casually like he was seeing an old friend.

"Cold Queen! Good morning!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn’t you be at the castle?"

Liora spoke in a flat tone. "When I saw you weren’t at the castle, I asked the maids. And they said you left early in the morning. So I thought you might be here. I wasn’t wrong."

Cassian frowned. "Is looking for me, visiting me the first thing that comes to your mind when you wake up?"

Liora shrugged. "What else could I do? My father... the others are busy. There is no one else like-minded to spend time with."

Cassian crossed his arms. "What am I? Your toy?"

Liora smirked. "Not yet."

Liora turned her eyes to the group around the fire.

"You have quite a few friends," she said, scanning the soldiers.

Cassian started introducing them like a tour guide.

"These two," he said, pointing to Kael and Rod. "Kael and Rod. Friends from Veythral."

Kael grinned, Rod waved.

"That grumpy man sitting there with a face like vinegar... Mr. Bald."

The bald man shouted angrily, "My name is Marc!"

Cassian ignored him. He pointed to Monica.

"This woman... Kael’s new, future, and forced girlfriend. Her name is Monica."

Monica objected, blushing, "I am not his girlfriend! Only... because of the bet."

"And..." Cassian looked at the other soldiers. "These are other NPCs whose names I don’t know."

One of the soldiers jumped in, "Hey! We have names!"

"Who cares," Cassian said indifferently.

It was Liora’s turn.

"And this..." Cassian said, presenting Liora. "The daughter of the Evershade Marquisate, Duke Aldren’s eldest daughter, the Ice Queen, Liora Stormvale."

"The Marquis’s daughter?!"

"A noble?!"

"Stormvale?!"

The soldiers, Marc, even Monica pulled themselves together instantly. They were sitting around the same fire as a Marquis’s daughter. Everyone tensed up a bit and corrected their posture.

Cassian grinned when he noticed this tension. He sat back down on the log and patted the spot next to him. Liora sat down next to him without hesitation.

Cassian leaned toward Rod and whispered.

"Hey, why did everyone suddenly go quiet? We were quite cheerful just a moment ago."

Rod whispered, looking at Liora out of the corner of his eye. "Dude... She is a Stormvale. Normally, they wouldn’t sit at the same table as mercenaries like us. They are tense."

"Make a weird joke!" Cassian said. "Soften the mood."

Rod asked in surprise, "What am I, a clown? Why me?"

"Because you are funny," Cassian said. When he didn’t get help from Rod, he scratched his hair.

Just then, the sound of large cauldrons being beaten was heard from the center of the camp.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

"FOOD IS READY!"

Hunger overcame the fear of nobility. Everyone quickly got up and lined up to grab their food.

Shortly after, everyone returned to their seats with a steaming bowl.

Cassian looked at the food in his bowl. His eye twitched.

"Why..." he said with disgust. "...are there so many onions?"

The bowl was almost entirely filled with boiled onions. Pieces of meat were lost in the sea of onions.

Liora, sitting next to him, was eating with quite an appetite. The others were too.

Cassian felt nauseous. The smell of onions stung his nose.

"If you are not going to eat it, give me your share," Marc said, finishing his own bowl and wiping his mouth with his arm. "Food isn’t wasted here."

Cassian handed over the bowl without thinking. "Take it. It is all yours."

Marc snatched the food from Cassian’s hand and downed it.

Kael looked sideways at Cassian.

"I didn’t know you were bad with onions," he said. "I thought you generally ate everything."

"I don’t have a problem with onions," Cassian said, grimacing. "Just... when there is too much in the food... I want to vomit."

He paused. His eyes stared into the void.

"I don’t know..." he whispered. "I guess... a part inside me doesn’t like it."

Kael and Rod looked at each other. They fell silent when they understood what he meant.

Liora changed the subject.

"I heard you are attending today’s meeting," she said. "My father said so."

"Yes, that is right," Cassian said. "Aren’t you attending? After all, you represent Evershade."

Liora sighed. "My father didn’t allow it. He said, ’You stay in charge of the soldiers, leave the strategy business to the adults.’ He still sees me as a little girl."

Then she turned to Cassian determinedly.

"That is why... I will attend with you. Then he can’t kick me out."

Cassian raised his eyebrows. "Where did you get the idea that I would accept? Maybe I don’t want you either."

"Because we are friends!" Liora said without hesitation.

Cassian laughed. "Pff... Have you forgotten that we wanted to kill each other last time?"

Liora smiled. "That makes us closer friends."

Cassian smiled at this strange, twisted but sincere friendship.

"Alright," he said. "Come. But on one condition..."

He turned to Liora.

"Just don’t cause me any trouble... I have enough trouble as it is."