After entering the castle, Richard closed the door and walked to the living room.

Unlike the last time, the castle was now fully furnished with complete facilities and various pieces of furniture.

Even the walls were decorated with all kinds of ornaments.

Everything looked neat and clean.

Richard felt this was a very comfortable place to live.

He then sat on a very soft sofa, waiting for Arthur.

Once Arthur knew he had come, he would surely meet him soon.

But he really had to wait quite a while.

It was already morning when Arthur finally arrived.

His appearance didn't seem to have aged much—only looking two or three years older.

If anything, he looked stronger, even wearing a new, thicker armor that gave off the impression of being impenetrable.

When he saw Richard sitting on the sofa, Arthur looked like he was trying to recognize him first, to confirm whether he was truly the city lord.

From a child to an adult, the change was too much for Arthur.

However, he quickly concluded that he really was the city lord who used to be just a little boy.

"City Lord, greetings!" Arthur approached Richard and saluted.

"Sit," Richard gestured for him to sit in front of him.

But Arthur hesitated, feeling it disrespectful to sit face-to-face with a superior.

Only after Richard gestured again with his hand did he sit.

"Tell me everything that has happened since I left," Richard said.

His city was still important to him, which was why he wanted to know its condition.

After that, Arthur began to recount everything.

He said the Red Bear Tribe had tried to attack the city again many times, but it was only them, and of course, they failed completely.

Because the city belonged to Richard, it grew increasingly prosperous, generating a lot of taxes even though all the Nature Spirit produced was consumed by the Defense Formation during the invasion of the Holy Light Kingdom.

Even that wasn't enough for them to endure.

In the end, they survived thanks to Grace Moonshadow, whom Arthur said was truly powerful—strong enough to kill Grimoire Realm Magi, although not as ferocious as Richard, who could even kill High-Level Grimoire Realm Magi.

With that level of strength, Grace had indeed surpassed Richard's reputation during his absence.

She was regarded as a second Rebecca.

But unfortunately, that was not the path to World Magic Aether.

"Is Grace still living in this city?" Richard asked.

"Yes, she has a castle here and seems to have settled in this city since she spends more time here than returning to her original home," Arthur replied.

"I see…" Richard nodded.

He planned to visit her, but now was probably not the right time.

First, it was already late at night, and the war had just ended. Grace had surely just finished fighting and would want to rest.

Richard himself felt tired. Recovery required resting and sleeping, even if he technically no longer needed sleep.

After Arthur took his leave, Richard immediately went to his room.

It had been completely renovated with a new bed, even equipped with a heating artifact that made the temperature very comfortable.

Richard removed his clothes until only his pants remained, then jumped onto the bed.

He lay down, steadying his breath.

He had forgotten how many times he'd replenished his depleted Aether, consuming so much Nature Spirit, so it was only natural that he felt physically and mentally tired.

When he closed his eyes, he fell asleep quickly, sleeping with a smile of satisfaction.

He didn't need a long time to rest.

He woke in the morning but remained lying down, relaxing while replacing the Aether in his body with fresh ones.

He hadn't tried increasing his Aether yet—he first ensured the newly absorbed Aether stabilized in his body.

After all, the world's reward had almost filled his Aether again, which was too much in such a short time.

Richard performed his relaxation for several hours until it was late morning.

After finishing, he felt stability across all his strength.

He then went to the bathroom, heated water, and soaked in the warm bath.

It added even more comfort.

With a mixture of fragrances, his body became pleasantly scented.

He dried himself in his room before putting on a good but simple outfit consisting of long pants and a shirt-like top.

After that, he stepped out of his room and then out of the castle, where Arthur was already waiting with several elite guards.

"City Lord, we will escort you. This is also to show the people that our City Lord has returned," Arthur said.

Richard nodded, knowing Arthur wanted to use him to boost the city's reputation.

Even though he was indeed the Lord of Snow Sky City, the city's prestige would be lacking if he didn't actually reside there.

"I will ride my horse myself," Richard said.

He released Athena from his Dragon Hall, immediately mounting her.

Arthur and the others quickly mounted their own horses.

Richard requested Arthur ride beside him because there was something he wanted to discuss.

"Have you received information about the situation in the Capital of the Holy Light Kingdom?" Richard asked.

The chaos should have ended by now. Richard knew the cause, but he didn't know the final outcome.

Arthur nodded and answered, "A very ferocious giant wolf rampaged there, killing many Magi including several Rulers. The Great Generals—two of whom were Ancient Sovereigns—were also seriously injured. It's said that in the end, they were simply lucky."

"Why lucky?" Richard was puzzled.

"A powerful Magus whose identity is unknown suddenly arrived and attacked the wolf before fleeing. The wolf then chased after him, disappearing to who knows where," Arthur explained.

"Ohhh…" Richard grew curious about that Magus's identity.

He wondered what the man's motive was.

Passing through the gate, Richard saw many people gathered there, and he immediately drew attention.

They seemed to have come only to see the man who restored his reputation last night.

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