Just a Guy and a Gate to the Multiverse - Chapter 39 (Patreon)

Chapter 39 - Visiting the Palace

“There he is!” shouted the leading Guard.

Well, those were some very angry-looking Guards. Was that expression a requirement for becoming one, or did they actually train them to look like that?

“Well, sorry, Princess. Seems like they’re after me,” I whispered to Jasmine, who looked up at me in confusion.

“They’re after you? Why? What did you do?”

“Nothing Criminal. I only arrived in this City this morning.”

“Then why?”

Yeah, why?

That was the big question, although the answer seemed pretty obvious.

“Oh, I have a good idea. Your dear Royal Vizier probably realized that I got my hands on the Magic Lamp he’s been searching for all these years.”

“A Magic Lamp? Why would he target you for it? What does it do?” Jasmine asked in confusion as she eyed the Guards forcing their way through the crowded Market. “Shouldn’t we flee?”

“No need. Let’s hear what Crime they’re supposedly after me for.”

Not that they could threaten me in the first place.

“As for the Magic Lamp, it contains a Genie capable of fulfilling three wishes. Pretty much anything you could dream of. Your Father’s Vizier has been searching for it for years.”

“But why?”

“Obviously because he’s power-hungry. He’s probably tired of relying on Alchemy, Sorcery, and Hypnotism to control your Father and get what he wants. He finally wants enough Power to rule the Kingdom himself.”

“You’re lying! That can’t be true. Jafar is my Father’s trusted advisor. He has been for years,” Jasmine protested desperately, shaking her head.

“He has that Snake Staff he carries around, right? He uses it to hypnotize People. Haven’t you ever noticed Jafar becoming strangely insistent while holding that Staff, with your Father acting oddly whenever it’s close to his face?”

She suddenly froze, as if she could indeed recall moments like that.

“That’s the hypnotic Power of the Staff.”

“But…”

Glancing toward the Sky, I couldn’t help but grin.

“How about we go see your Father and ask him directly what Crimes I’m being charged with?”

“Yes! Father will surely have an explanation for what’s going on.”

As the Guards began surrounding us, I suddenly felt something small tugging at my Hand.

Are you serious, Aladdin?

She wasn’t even your girl yet, and now you were trying to steal from me?

I grabbed the small Monkey that had just tried to snatch the Rings from my fingers and lifted him into the air.

“And what do we have here? A small hairy thief… It’s not nice to steal from People.”

“Oi, let go of Abu!” Aladdin shouted from a nearby Roof, finally revealing himself.

Jasmine immediately looked toward him, and her expression turned to disgust when she realized what he had just tried to do while we were being surrounded by Guards.

“Then don’t steal from People. Everyone works hard for their livelihood. They don’t need you making them poorer and their lives even harder,” I replied calmly before tossing Abu back toward him. “Here! Catch.”

“Who was that?” Jasmine asked with a glare toward the retreating boy.

“A Street Rat who never grew up. Instead of finding honest work, he kept stealing from People even after becoming a young adult,” I commented while watching the Guards, who had completely surrounded us by now.

Then I wrapped an arm around Jasmine and pulled her closer.

“Now then, hold tight, Princess. MAGIC CARPET!”

“What are you—Waaah!?”

With one swift swoop, the Magic Carpet descended from the Sky, rushed beneath our feet, and carried us straight into the Air.

Perfect timing.

Sure, I could have simply teleported us away, but flying?

Flying was far more impressive!

“What is this? We’re flying!”

“This is my good friend, the Magic Carpet. Thanks, buddy. You came at exactly the right moment.” I patted the Carpet affectionately, causing it to sway proudly in midair at the praise.

“It’s lovely!” Jasmine exclaimed with excitement as she looked down at Agrabah stretching out beneath us while we headed toward the Palace. “This is amazing!”

“If you want, I can take you flying again once we’ve dealt with this issue. I’m planning to stay here for a year, so there’ll be plenty of time.”

Her head immediately turned toward me.

“Just one year? Where are you going afterward? Can’t you stay here? I’ll make sure you’re welcome in the Kingdom. We’ll resolve this issue with Jafar and the Guards.”

“Oh, I’m sure we will. But staying in one place just isn’t for me. There’s far too much out there for me to discover.”

———

Flying through the open Balcony into the Throne Room of Agrabah’s Palace, we immediately spotted the Sultan consulting with Jafar.

“Who dares to disturb our meeting? GUARDS! There are intruders!” Jafar immediately called out as he spotted me. “It’s the Fugitive! Imprison him!”

“What’s going on here, Jafar?” Jasmine’s Father asked in confusion, his eyes immediately drawn to my flying Carpet. “By Allah, what a marvelous Device!”

But the Guards had already heard Jafar and were storming into the Throne Room, brandishing their Weapons. Just in case, I prepared myself to make a move and summon my own Sword if I had to beat the shit out of them.

Jasmine chose that exact moment to slip off her cloak.

And for a second, my brain simply… stopped.

Beneath it was a stunning sky-blue outfit straight out of some Arabian fantasy. A fitted bedlah top left her toned midriff and navel completely bare, while delicate off-the-shoulder straps rested against her skin. Matching salwar pants hugged her hips beneath a pale-blue, V-shaped waistline before flowing loosely down to a pair of curled golden shoes with brown soles.

I already knew she was gorgeous, but knowing that and actually seeing her properly were two completely different things.

“I order you to stop right there!” she commanded the Guards with authority, acting like true Royalty for the first time since I had met her. “He is my Guest, and I won’t let you harm him.”

Recognizing the Princess, the Guards immediately stopped, looking back and forth between her and Jafar in confusion.

“Jasmine!? My dear?” her Father called out in shock. “What’s going on? What have you been doing outside the Palace?”

“I snuck out because I didn’t want you or anybody else deciding how I should live my Life!”

The Sultan looked at her with grief. “Oh, Jasmine, my dear daughter. But the Law—”

“I don’t care about the Law,” she cut him off. “That is not the point right now. Unfortunately, I got into some trouble because I didn’t understand how the outside World works. I was about to lose my Hand when this courageous young man stepped in and covered for me.”

Now the Sultan looked at me with a wide smile.

“Oh, thank you for looking after my daughter.”

“There is more,” Jasmine continued. “Shortly afterward, the Guards came after him and tried to arrest him. Apparently, Jafar sent them under false Criminal Charges. Nobody could even tell me what those charges were. A foreign Guest to Agrabah from a faraway land, who hasn’t even been here for half a day and whose exemplary conduct I can personally vouch for, is being framed by the Royal Vizier! Do you know how that would look to other Kingdoms, Father?”

Jasmine announced it authoritatively, just as I had told her to, leaving out the entire part about Jafar’s Sorcery.

Now let’s see if this works.

“Is that true, Jafar? What do you have to say for yourself?” the Sultan asked, turning a serious stare toward his Vizier.

“Your Majesty? I would never act against the Kingdom’s best interests!” Jafar replied, sounding deeply affronted.

Probably an act.

It was hard to tell, though. He was genuinely a great actor, especially considering how completely he could change his appearance through disguises.

“Then what do you have to say for yourself?” Jasmine’s Father continued pressing the issue. “For what reason did you send the Guards after this fine young man? Do I have to remind you that we are a Kingdom that welcomes people from far and wide as long as they follow our Rules? Did he break any Laws?”

There it was.

Seeing that the Sultan intended to see the matter through and that Jafar couldn’t simply have me arrested on made-up charges, he began getting rather grabby and moved closer to the Sultan.

And I wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“It is true…” Jasmine whispered to herself as she watched for exactly what I had warned her about.

Now that I had shared my suspicions with her, she could clearly see just how inappropriate and strange Jafar’s behavior was for a Vizier.

Her eyes never left Jafar, especially the Snake Staff that was now held close to her Father’s face. The Sultan’s expression slowly became strange as his gaze locked onto the red rubies embedded in the Staff.

And there was the proof, right in front of her eyes.

“Your Majesty, we cannot allow such an unknown danger to freely wander through the Kingdom.”

“But… but…” the Sultan stammered in a trance.

“Who knows who he really is? He could be a Criminal! A Spy! Or even an Assassin! Perhaps he kidnapped the Princess and placed her under his control!” Jafar continued hypnotizing the Sultan. “Let us arrest him, and I will interrogate him personally. I will uncover the truth—”

“Yeah, let’s end this charade here,” I decided.

I had shown Jasmine enough.

Even the Guards were present to witness it.

They might not understand exactly what was happening without proper context, but even they should be able to tell that something suspicious was going on.

One moment, I was standing on my Magic Carpet, and the next, I appeared beside Jafar and the Sultan’s throne, snatching the Snake Staff from the scummy Vizier’s hand and immediately breaking the trance.

“What just happened?” the Sultan muttered in confusion.

“Father! Jafar has been hypnotizing you!” Jasmine quickly explained before turning toward the Guards. “Arrest Jafar! That man is a traitor to the Kingdom!”

For a moment, the Guards hesitated, but they ultimately followed her order and seized the traitorous Vizier while the Sultan slowly regained his senses.

“Jasmine? What is going on? Why are you arresting Jafar? I know you two don’t always see eye to eye, but he has loyally served our Family for many years,” her Father reasoned, clearly still not having grasped the full truth of the situation.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty?” I decided to speak up myself. “I believe you are under a false impression and have been deceived. His intentions toward you and your Family have never been honest. He is an extremely ambitious man, and from the very beginning, he has planned to become Sultan himself.”

The Sultan eyed me critically.

“And do you have any proof for your claim, young man?”

I held up the Snake Staff.

“Jafar is an Alchemist and Sorcerer. This Staff can hypnotize whoever looks into it, and he has used it on you many times. For example, didn’t you once possess a large blue diamond ring? What happened to it?”

“I… gave it to Jafar.”

“Would you ever have done that of your own free will?”

“No…” The Sultan frowned as realization slowly dawned on him. “That’s right. My mind became so hazy…”

This time, Jasmine stepped in.

“And he tried to do the same thing again just now. Right in front of all of us, he used the Staff to hypnotize you and convince you that Matt was a dangerous Criminal who needed to be imprisoned. Every Guard present here just witnessed you suddenly begin acting strangely, Father, while Jafar held the Staff in front of your eyes.”

“Is that true?” the Sultan asked the Guards.

Every one of them nodded.

“And he has been doing this for years,” Jasmine continued, “always manipulating you to turn things in his favor.”

“Why is he after you?”

“Because he believes I found the legendary Magic Lamp he has been searching for. Which is true. I did. Inside lived a Genie who could fulfill almost any wish, three wishes in total. That was his grand plan for overthrowing you and becoming the Sultan himself, as well as the most powerful being in the World.” I turned toward Jafar and gave him a mocking grin. “Unfortunately for you, I already used all three wishes. If you want the Lamp, you’ll have to restart your search.”

Not a lie.

I just left out a few details.

“Curse you!” Jafar glared at me with pure hatred.

“Oh, Jafar, I am disappointed in you.” The Sultan sighed.

He truly was a soft man.

But even soft men had their limits.

“You leave me no choice. The penalty for Treason is death. Jafar, I, Sultan Hamed Bobolonius the Second, sentence you to death.”

Of course, Jafar wouldn’t be Jafar if he simply gave up and accepted his sentence.

“This isn’t over yet, boy! Just you wait, I will have my revenge!” Jafar cursed loudly at me as he reached into his robes and pulled out a bottle filled with a red alchemical concoction.

Unfortunately for him, I was already prepared.

I had expected him to make a move, clearly remembering something similar from the movies.

Before Jafar could throw the Bottle onto the ground and create a smoke screen to escape through one of the Palace’s secret passages, I was already standing right in front of him.

The instant I teleported, I also summoned Islingr into my hand.

With a white flash, the blade separated Jafar’s head from the rest of his body while I caught the Alchemical concoction with my other hand.

While I disliked killing outright, I wouldn’t hesitate when dealing with a Villain like Jafar.

Showing mercy to someone like him would only invite trouble later.

I was confident that he would never be able to get his hands on the Lamp inside my Pocket Space, but who knew what other evil Schemes, Sorceries, or hidden plans he had waiting in reserve?

Never underestimate an Enemy.

Especially a Disney Villain.

They could pull some vile new Power out of nowhere whenever the story demanded it.

“Sorry you had to see that, Jasmine,” I apologized as I cleaned my blade on Jafar’s Clothes before storing it away again, along with the Alchemical Bottle so I could study it later. “It’s better not to let someone like him escape. He was a truly dangerous man, and he could have easily escaped from Jail since he riddled the Palace with Secret Passages.”

“No, it was necessary. Thank you for protecting us.” She gave me a grateful smile.

The Sultan immediately perked up at what he had just heard.

“Secret Passages? Truly? Do you know where they are?”

“A few of them, Your Majesty. I know there’s one hidden behind a Wall in his Chambers that leads to his secret Laboratory. There are others around the Prison Cells as well.”

“We will have to search the entire Palace, then.” The man sighed tiredly.

Glancing toward Jafar’s robes, I commented dryly, “Or we could simply ask someone who already knows about them. Isn’t that right, Iago? You’d be willing to share Jafar’s secrets in exchange for your Life, wouldn’t you?”

The red Parrot, who had been trying to sneak away unnoticed, froze on the spot before slowly turning toward me in fear.

“Of course, oh mighty one! Please don’t kill me!”

“As long as you help us, you’ll be fine.”

[ End of the Chapter ]