The Oak Leaf competition was organised by King Roland Rafa Holfort after much whining from his son Julius, ostensibly to celebrate some obscure historical event but in reality to justify a city-spanning treasure hunt. According to his journals, Prince Julius had been pestering his father over some sword in their treasury for months and the competition was an attempt by his parents to make him work for it.

The official statement to the public was this: anyone able to gather four metal oak leaves hidden throughout the city would be allowed an audience with the King, where they would be granted full honours and a single artefact from his treasury. Different levels of prizes would be granted for assembling different rarities of metals, for instance the prize for gold would be better than silver while silver would be better than bronze. My best guess is that Bartfort travelled to Holfort in order to participate in this contest, and that his bizarre knowledge of the secrets of the world had led him in pursuit of a particular treasure hidden within Roland's treasury.

Alternatively he was there on an unrelated errand and just signed up for the hell of it. Honestly it could go either way.

Huan Strongarm: A Bartfort Folktale, by Lufas Maphaahl

"Earis?" The guard blinked, struggling to identify who was talking with his polished helmet obscuring his vision. "Over here, buddy."

This was what finally drew Earis to the dark figure on his left. Leon was taller than he remembered, his black hair slightly longer and now sporting dark rings around his eyes from stress and exhaustion. He was wearing a grey cloak with the hood down over a white shirt, and on top of it was a battered leather cuirass that didn't cover his entire chest. His pants were an even more faded shade of grey than his cloak, and on his feet he wore well used boots.

Something Earis hadn't seen before was the huge gauntlets now covering Leon's arms. They were clearly the newest part of his gear, and were made of leather straps that fastened steel bands to the back of his forearms. The metal extended over his knuckles to cover most of the back of his fingers, conceivably making them just as useful for defending against blades as for punching people.

"Lord Leon!" he blurted. He was glad the Bartforts weren't interested in being bowed to, because it would probably get him teased by the other guards if he did. "Why are you in Holfort? Did Madam Zola die? That's such great news!"

Leon winced slightly. "Earis, I… I have something for you."

He unfastened the sword from his hip, and when he held it up the guard recognised it as his family sword.

"That sword belonged to my ancestor," Earis croaked. "He died only a few miles from here, fighting for your grandfather's grandfather." He reached out with shaking hands, hoping that this was just a bad dream. The blade lay cold and heavy in his hands, dashing his hopes. "If you are giving me this sword, then my Uncle Aesik must be dead."

"I'm so sorry," whispered Leon. "There was a monster attack, and… and…"

"So he died protecting his home," the guard murmured understandingly. "At least he had one final moment of glory."

Leon was now full on cringing. "Well, not… not exactly."

"Excuse me?"

"I actually killed both monsters while he ran for help. When he arrived with reinforcements he was wearing full armour. He overexerted himself and… uh… gave himself a heart attack."

For an awful moment Earis went quiet. Slowly, he began to laugh.

"Dude? You okay?"

"I'm fine," he gasped, wiping his eyes through his visor. "I think… I think that's probably how he wanted to go."

Leon didn't immediately understand. "From heart failure?"

"He always used to tell me that no man nor beast nor monster could slay him," Earis explained. "It figures he couldn't die unless he killed himself."

Leon chuckled sadly, and for a moment there was just cathartic laughter. When they were done Earis fastened the sword to his belt, then looped the sheath holding his bastard sword from his back.

"Take my weapon, Lord Leon. I no longer have need of it."

He accepted the sword without arguing, looping it over his shoulder so that the large weapon rested comfortable across his back. "Thank you," he said, and meant it. "I promise I'll use it to kill a demon. A classic one that breathes fire."

"I'd settle for a dragon, but okay," Earis smiled wryly. "Do you have anything else to do while you're in town?"

"Not particularly, no. I'll probably just spend the night somewhere without fleas and then take the first flight home tomorrow."

"Then why don't you stay for the competition?"

Earis pointed over his shoulder; he and one other guard were stationed at a small bridge crossing one of the capital's many aqueducts, opening into the city's main marketplace. More people than Leon had seen since arriving in this damn universe were bustling back and forth, visiting the many shops set up around the edges and the many stalls set up in the middle.

As far as Isekai stories went the world still sucked, but this bit was okay.

"At the far end of the square is the bridge to the Crown District," Earis explained. "Just before the bridge they've set up a big stage. King Roland is going to make a speech there soon about a city-wide treasure hunt."

This actually got Leon interested. He loved treasure hunts, and always used the frying pan when playing the first Fable game. "Can anyone participate?"

"Anyone! Noble or commoner! And apparently the prizes come straight from the Royal Treasury!"

He had heard enough. "I think I'll go have a look," Leon grinned, cheering up a bit. "Also, the funeral-"

"I'll be there," he promised. "You go have fun."

Earis watched him go. When Leon was out of sight the other guard walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"Wanna take the day off? I can cover for you."

"No, I'll finish my shift first. It's the least I can do if I'm going to go on leave at such short notice."

The other man was silent for a moment. "Would you like me to come along?"

"I would, actually. Thanks, Guts."

"Anytime, Griffith."

"And you were right. I should have written more."

A fair crowd had gathered by the time he arrived, not so dense that he couldn't slip between them for a closer look but not so thin that it made King Roland look bad. The stage, while sturdy, had definitely been built in a hurry, which he could tell from the many nails that hadn't been fully hammered in. At the moment no one was standing on it, and since Leon happened to have some loose change he bought a slice of hot pie from a buxom young woman selling food off a tray.

After much waiting and snacking, the King finally appeared on stage. He was young and good looking with appropriately kingly clothing, but didn't have the magnificent beard that his sister's Otome Game had claimed he had. Leon was a little disappointed, and didn't bother hiding it.

"People of Holfort!" Roland proclaimed, making dramatically hand gestures that Leon inwardly mocked. "The time of the Treasure Hunt is at hand!" The modest crowd gave a great cheer, and Leon tried to join in but only succeeded in choking on the last mouthful of his pie. "In order to celebrate this most important-"

Roland stopped in annoyance, as Leon was coughing and hacking so loud that it was undercutting his speech. He finally pulled himself together when someone thumped him on the back. "Thanks."

"Just be quiet."

"In order to celebrate this most important anniversary, I and my vassals have hidden Oak Leaves made of various metals in secret places all across this city. Any you find shall be yours to keep, but if you are able to locate four of a kind then wondrous prizes will be yours. Observe!"

Seven glass cases stood on the stage behind him, heavily guarded and covered with silk cloth. At a gesture from the King, the cloth covering the leftmost case was pulled away.

"If you are able to find four Brass Oak Leaves then you shall be rewarded with this sword, taken from my own treasury!"

The blade looked exactly like the starting weapon used by Julius in that fucking Otome Game, and at the sight of it two young men to Leon's left began whispering loudly. They were wearing eye-catching black cloaks that obscured their faces, but Leon was willing to venture a guess as to their identities based on the fact that one of them had long green hair sticking out of his hood and kept calling the other one Your Highness.

Leon made a mental note to sabotage them at some point, smiling like the asshole he was.

"If you are able to find four Copper Oak Leaves you will receive this beautiful music box, crafted for one of my distant grandmothers!"

This prize was legitimately a work of art, and Leon immediately remembered a similar piece owned by his mother. Hers had been made of more humble materials, and had been destroyed by Zola.

"If you are able to find four Bronze Oak Leaves you will receive this Amulet, which protects against dark magics!"

It looked suspiciously like the Pendant from Dark Souls. More importantly, Luce would love that music box! They would need to hide it from Zola, but that was easier than it sounded. She was a total moron.

"If you are able to find four Silver Oak Leaves, you shall receive this enchanted shield!"

While Leon was decent with a sword, all talent for shields had been inherited by his brother Nicks. He would probably have to wrap the box up anyway to keep it from being damaged on the trip home, which would probably function as a good disguise in case Zola stopped him and went through his stuff.

"If you are able to find four Gold Oak Leaves, you get this priceless necklace!"

"Man, that thing is ugly!" Leon said aloud. The necklace had more gems in it than most people had in their whole jewellery box. It was so gaudy and ugly and tasteless that it would doubtless prove too painful to wear and too heavy to wear at length.

"Tell me about it," said one of the cloaked young men, and attempted a fist bump. Leon ignored him, and after a few seconds he awkwardly lowered his hand.

"If you are able to collect four Platinum Oak Leaves you get this suit of armour, each individual piece of which bears its own enchantment!"

There seemed to Leon very low odds of him getting the armour out of Holfort without being mugged. The music box had no immediately recognisable precious metals or jewels in its design, so it seemed unlikely that he would have much competition for it.

"Finally, if any man, woman or child is able to collect the four Mithril Oak Leaves then they shall receive a manor and a plot of land!" This caused much murmuring amongst the crowd. "Right here! In the capital!" Roland insisted, as though worried they wouldn't believe him. "Along with a generous monthly stipend for the next ten years!"

Leon decided then and there that he was full of shit, and that he was making all this up, and that there were either just three Mithril Oak Leaves or none at all. He noticed that the land deed locked inside the final case was too far back to read the fine print.

"Forget everything else!" someone said behind him. "I'm going after those!"

"Yeah! Fuck those other prizes!"

Leon just smiled and shook his head.

"There will be a strict time limit," the King was saying. "And any competitor who has amassed a full set of Oak Leaves shall receive their reward in the palace, along with full honours from myself. The location of each Leaf is contained in a clue, and all clues shall be listed on the board behind the corresponding prize. Happy hunting, and may the odds be ever in your favour.

Leon made the weird Vulcan hand gesture from Hunger Games, but no one got the joke.

He had looked over the clues for the Copper Oak Leaves, and all of them seemed to refer to side quests from the original game. Seeing as they were all incomplete by the time the plot kicked off, that might mean that no one was able to solve the clues and that Leon wouldn't be robbing anyone if he took the prize for himself.

But he would have to receive the reward in the palace, which probably meant he would have to tell them his real name. That meant Zola would hear about it, and she would either take the music box or destroy it.

But his mother would be super happy. He could see her smiling in his mind's eye.

But Zola…

But his mother…

But Zola!

BUT HIS MOM!

"Fuck it," said Leon. "Why not?"

Quest: The Oak Leaf Contest

Summary: The Oak Leaf Contest is the focus of the first portion of The Chains of Satinav, a Point-and-Click Adventure game set in the Dark Eye role-playing setting. Here the Contest is set up to celebrate the Kingdom's newfound peace with the neighbouring country of Nostria, and only one prize is available to whoever assembles a set of Oak Leaves first. The prize, incidentally, is to clean the King's attic. Although King Roland is depicted as an asshole by the source material, at least he's better than this guy.

In the immortal words of George Clooney: he may be a Bastard but at least he's not a Fucking Bastard.

Side Note: only four of the prizes on offer are spoken for. If there are any among my readers who happen to walk in front of a truck one day and get Isekaied into this story, feel free to claim one of the other three.