Cyril even met some familiar animals on the way.
They were all restrained with magic, lying on the ground sporadically.
There were a few soldiers placed here and there to look after them, but otherwise no further action was taken.
"Where are you leading us?" asked Cedric after a while.
By now it was clear that they weren't being taken to a shelter.
"We've received orders to evacuate all people from the zoo." The knight casually replied,
It makes sense. Thought Cyril with a nod.
There is no way a fight with Theches wouldn't engulf the whole park in chaos.
The obvious solution would be to clear the area of civilians first.
Which was a pity for Cyril. He wanted to witness the fight in its entirety.
Soon they've finally reached the gates. The place has changed a bit since they passed here.
Now there were no 'gates' here at all. Rather an empty hole in a fence, leading to the outside.
On both sides were numerous soldiers, holding crystal staffs with mean faces.
There were also signs of battle around; the area looked quite trashed.
"What happened here?" asked Cedric without holding back.
"A vampire escaped through here. Unfortunately that happened before I arrived," the knight replied.
So she escaped successfully. Cyril thought, a bit tired.
A part of him was hoping she would be recaptured.
While he wasn't afraid of fighting her again. The perspective of being stalked by night creatures like them didn't seem too exciting.
Another thing that caught the group's attention was the massive crowd gathered in the square.
Standing on a podium that wasn't there before was a middle-aged man in an expensive suit. He was surrounded on all sides by knights.
This was a man even Cyril was familiar with.
His name was Lucien Chalmers, a governor of the city center.
While the Emperor was the unquestionable authority in the Empire, he rarely appeared in person before his people.
Besides the Emperor, who was only one person, there were other people helping him control the different districts.
Lucien was a person with a rather mixed public opinion on him.
Some say he is fair and just, helping the city prosper more than ever before.
While some call him a cold and calculative person, only caring about profit and not human lives,.
Right now Lucien was talking to a gentleman with an obvious belly, with a calm voice.
The slightly obese man was sweating all over, waving his hands, and explaining something in a panic.
"That's the owner," Cedric quietly said.
"Don't stay here for long, fellas. We have something to do," said the knight and lightly pushed Cyril's back.
"But we are out already," Rose protested with a frown.
"Don't be nervous. It's just a routine check," the knight said with a smile.
He led the group to a small building next to the zoo.
Originally it was a store, now repurposed by the knights for something else.
"You'll wait here. One by one people will call you; just follow instructions, and it will be over quickly." The knight said and leaned on the wall.
The knight Alfred planned on waiting with them.
"You go first," he said, pointing at Cedric.
Cedric easily obliged and went through the door with a relaxed face.
The knight visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Alfred was getting tired from all the questions.
Next, the group stayed in a somewhat awkward silence, waiting for their turn.
To pass the time, Cyril was playing with Tigris and Morpho.
"These are not from the zoo, right?" asked Alfred with a suspicious expression.
Hearing his words, Morpho flew up in dissatisfaction, angrily flapping her wings, while Tigris didn't really care.
"No, they are with me," Cyril calmly replied and didn't pay him any more attention.
Alfred didn't raise any objections but peeked in his direction from time to time.
One by one the group was going through the door; soon there was only Cyril left, and it was finally his turn.
He went through the doors into an empty staff area; now there was a mage in dark robes sitting on a bar stool, with an accounting book in his hands.
The knight followed after Cyril, leaning on the wall here, making himself unnoticeable.
"Please sit," the mage said while pointing at the chair in front of him.
Cyril took a seat without any problems. Morpho and Tigris on his shoulders.
The mage looked at the two creatures with curiosity but didn't say anything at the end.
He stretched out his hand, and a sizeable magic circle appeared, engulfing all of Cyril.
"Don't move, and don't let your pet move." The mage said with a focused expression.
They sat like this for a bit of time; it took longer than the wait before.
"Is there something wrong?" The knight Alfred said somewhat solemnly.
Now he was standing right behind Cyril.
"N-No, it's just harder than usual. This young man has good mana control." The mage quickly said. A few beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"I see..." The knight said, audibly relieved, and continued in a lighter tone.
"You've got a bright future ahead of you, young man! You are from Ailanthus, right? Maybe we will even become colleagues in the future, haha," Alfred said with a laugh.
Cyril managed to pick up the sound of a sword going back in its sheath.
He was ready to cut me down... What is happening here? He thought, somewhat shook.
After a few more minutes, the mage was finally done. "It's clear."
He then picked up the book resting on his knees and opened it.
"Name?" the mage said and prepared to write.
"Cyril," Cyril replied.
Before writing, the mage asked again. "Do you have a family name?"
"Felling," Cyril said in one word.
The mage had casually written it down but soon froze. "Felling?" He asked as if making sure.
Before he got a reply, the knight nearby had a reaction.
"Could you be Arthur's son?!" Alfred exclaimed with a joyful voice.
The two looked at Cyril with bated breath, excitement visible in their eyes.
"That's me, yes," Cyril awkwardly said.
To his words the knight laughed heartily and slapped him on the back a few times.
"No wonder, no wonder. Of course that man's son would be a talented mage!" Alfred said with a nod.
The mage quickly scratched something in the book.
"Did you work with my father in the past?" asked Cyril with a doubtful expression.
These two looked to be in their 30s at most. His father was active about 20 years ago.
"Well, not often, but I was on the same mission with him a few times. That man's power is the stuff of legends." The knight said with a longing expression.
Surprisingly, these men were older than they appeared.
"I can see the surprise in your eyes. You think I am too young!? Didn't Ailanthus explain to you already? Magic can prolong people's lives. Basically, the more powerful you are, the longer you live," Alfred said.
Now that Cyril thought about it, this shouldn't be surprising. His father also appeared way younger than his actual age.
Besides, the current Emperor's rule would soon reach a hundred years, and there had been no talk of succession yet.
But since he was rarely seen, Cyril always imagined him as an old man—maybe that wasn't actually the case.
"Wait, you thought that way, despite his son being the same age as you?"
This is a world of magic; who knows what's possible... Maybe he is just energetic for his age.
"Well, the Empire doesn't spread this information, since the regular person might find it weird, so it's not too surprising for you to not know, I guess." The mage said in a consoling voice.
Cyril shook his head to show he didn't mind this.
"Anyways, even if we were newbie knights, we would still have heard stories about your father. Everyone keeps telling them to the new arrivals," the mage said with a smile.
"Yeah, we especially love to do that!" Alfred said with glee.
"It's a pity your father retired. We even tried numerous times to recruit him back, but he always denied us." The mage sighed and continued.
"Though last time he actually accepted to visit the Tower for a talk. We were quite looking forward to it, gathering all together, but in the end..." The mage shook his head in disappointment.
"So what? The man retired, but his son is here, looking quite strong!" Alfred crossed his arms with an excited expression.
"I dare say the future is looking bright." His voice was full of expectations.
"Thank you. Can I go already?" Cyril said while bowing his head.
He wasn't exactly interested to hear empty praises from them.
"Of course! Let's go, young hero." Alfred patted Cyril on the shoulder with a smile.
With this, Cyril left the room, still followed by the knight.