Chapter 16

Belius was simply suppressed in a single move.

He couldn't protect against the mental attack even with the profound martial arts of the orthodox faction.

The ultimate secret technique I unfolded was that powerful.

Now, all I had to do was return to the Imperial Capital and make the Blood Demon Isak kneel, and all my tasks would be complete.

“That's not it!”

“Then?”

“The problem is that you kidnapped the Count of Apollia! What on earth were you thinking!”

“Now, now, calm down. I can explain everything.”

“How can I calm down-!”

***

Even after entering the commander's office, Belius still wore a dazed expression.

It seemed my appearance with Nilion had been that shocking.

He had completely lost his mind.

Well, it was understandable that he would be shocked, having a kidnapped count suddenly thrust before his eyes.

What's more, everyone in the fortress witnessed that scene.

Now Belius was, in name and reality, an accomplice in the count kidnapping case.

A little later, Belius, who had regained his senses enough to converse, glared at me.

“What on earth were you thinking, coming to find me? Why did you drag me into such a ridiculous crime?”

Was it because of what I had experienced recently?

My mind and body seemed to have been considerably trained.

I answered without losing my composure in the slightest.

“This is unexpected.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I thought you, Commander, had an old grudge against the Count of Apollia. I thought you would naturally be pleased.”

“Of course, I don't like this man. But I also know that kidnapping is a grave crime under imperial law. And if it's a great noble with a title, the problem becomes much more serious! How on earth are you going to handle this situation?”

“Do I have to handle it?”

“What!”

The enraged Belius was about to unleash a killing move on me, but it was interrupted as Ryuba entered the office just in time.

Ryuba moved in and out of Belius' office as nonchalantly as if it were his own home.

“I'm back.”

“Good work. How's the atmosphere?”

“There was no particular movement inside the fortress.”

“Is that so?”

There was an old saying that you should tap a stone bridge before crossing it.

That saying probably came about because of severe shoddy construction in the past.

Heeding the wisdom of the sages, I suspected the possibility that Modera Fortress had already fallen into Isak's hands.

Isak had a thorough personality.

It wouldn't be strange if he had prepared another dagger besides Nilion.

That's why I had entrusted Ryuba with the task of grasping the internal atmosphere of the fortress.

Fortunately, the result was ‘no suspicion.’

Well, if Belius had already sided with Isak, I would have been arrested as soon as I entered the fortress.

“They just seemed very curious about why you came.”

“That's a relief.”

“They were whispering about whether the troublemaker was up to his troublemaking antics again.”

“……That is not a relief.”

As I grimaced with worry about my low reputation, Ryuba chuckled.

You're laughing? This is funny to you?

Because it's someone else's problem, is that it?

Meanwhile, Belius changed the direction of his anger from me to Ryuba.

“Lord Ryuba! What on earth is this? What are you doing?”

“Lord?”

Did I really hear that right?

Was Ryuba a person to have such a noble title attached to his name?

At my meaningful gaze, Ryuba shrugged.

“It was a long time ago, but I was once the acting captain of the Royal Guard, so it's correct to use that title.”

“Wow, so you weren't just a Royal Guardsman.”

“Then what did you think I was?”

“Can I be honest?”

“No. I have a feeling I shouldn't hear it.”

“Good thinking.”

“Damn kid.”

To be honest, I was a little surprised.

I don't know the internal system of the Royal Guard in detail, but isn't the acting captain at least the second-in-command of the organization? It seems Zeta didn't assign him to me for no reason.

“……”

No, come to think of it, it's absurd.

If you were such a high-ranking official, you must have encountered Belius often.

Even just a moment ago, Belius recognized you.

So why act like a stranger?

I was very curious, but there was no opportunity to hear the answer.

Because Belius, who was constantly being excluded from the conversation, exploded in anger.

“Ryuba, what on earth were you thinking, committing such an act?”

“Can't you tell by looking?”

“Of course, I can. You kidnapped a person in broad daylight. And you even injured a noble of the Empire to do it! Don't you know how grave a crime that is?!”

“Haha.”

“Stop laughing and answer me! Didn't you think you should stop a child from making trouble? Far from stopping him, is it even acceptable to participate in it?!”

“Hahaha.”

“Hey!”

Ryuba certainly did not have a good personality.

And he was just as strong-willed.

Despite repeated questioning, Ryuba consistently gave insincere replies, and Belius, provoked by it, became so angry he looked like he would breathe fire.

“……”

Meanwhile, even with all this commotion going on beside him, Nilion remained unconscious.

He's a really sound sleeper.

Or, is he pretending to be asleep?

I considered poking the wound on Nilion's thigh as a test, but decided against it.

That seemed too cruel.

As if sensing something was amiss, Nilion stirred.

Seeing that, I said to Belius.

“Now, now, calm down. I can explain everything.”

“How can I calm down-!”

Belius, whose anger had reached the top of his head, growled fiercely like a beast.

As befitting a mid-boss, I could feel a murderous intent in his voice that made my body tingle.

“You, kid. I've heard many rumors about you. They say you ran wild, not knowing how scary the world is, just because you're royalty. But you should know this. The reason you've been safe until now is all because the Emperor protected you. Now that the Emperor is dead, who do you think will help you?”

“You seem very angry.”

“Do I look like I'm having fun right now? If you want to play hero, do it alone. Why drag me into it?”

His tongue is as sharp as his reputation as a master general.

But it's not that I couldn't understand Belius' position.

He had been dragged into a terrible incident of kidnapping a great noble of the Empire without even knowing why.

From Belius' perspective, he was just standing there when he was suddenly splattered with mud.

It would be stranger if he wasn't angry.

And that was exactly the result I had intended.

Knowing the general future, I had to reduce the possibility of Belius joining Isak.

It would be even better if I could block off the option entirely.

Showing the kidnapped Nilion in this situation became a good excuse.

No matter how you look at it, it can only be interpreted as Belius having instigated or condoned Nilion's kidnapping due to his existing grudge.

With this, it became even more difficult for Belius to join hands with Isak's faction.

It would be the same even if he cut off my head and offered it.

How could one trust and use a suspicious person?

So now it was my turn to step up.

But before I could open my mouth, Belius threatened me.

“I'm warning you, you'd better watch your mouth. This Modera Fortress is my territory. Do you not know what that means?”

I am a little curious about that.

“What does it mean?”

“It means if I say just one word, you'll be kicked out on your ass. And the reason I'm not kicking you out right now is out of respect for the Emperor's face. That bastard was just as unlucky, but he was still my friend.”

“……”

It's not pleasant to find out I have an unexpected commonality with the Emperor.

More than that, I glanced at Ryuba and Theo standing beside me.

The Empire is, literally, a monarchy where sovereignty is vested in the Emperor.

And a monarchy absolutely does not tolerate the dignity of the ruler being undermined by anyone.

Because the state runs on the charisma of the ruler.

However, Belius' statement just now far exceeded the danger level.

It wasn't just that; it was outright abuse.

No matter how much of a friend of the Emperor he was, the statement ‘daring to place the Emperor on the same level as himself’ is not tolerated.

Moreover, to say such a thing in front of the ‘Emperor's Royal Guard’ was tantamount to a declaration of choosing a quick suicide.

Why suicide and not murder, you ask?

In a monarchy, if you die for insulting the ‘supreme dignity,’ it is considered a natural death.

That's just how it is.

But unexpectedly, our Royal Guard friends did nothing.

Of course, one of them is a retired veteran.

Could they be waiting for an order?

“Theo, wasn't that statement a bit dangerous?”

“I. Foreigner. Imperial language? Don't know well.”

“……Ryuba?”

“■■■■■■■.”

……This one isn't even the common language of the Empire.

Now I see.

Your loyalty.

I felt so pathetic I wanted to die.

Anyway, seeing even the Royal Guard acting like this, it seemed Belius' words were true.

Memo……. The Emperor is unlucky…….

Well, just looking at how he stamped ‘no successor’ on his will, the Emperor was indeed a madman.

What kind of crazy person would declare ‘now, kill each other’ over the crucial national matter of deciding a successor?

Thanks to that, there's one person here who is about to die after being caught up in the Emperor-hosted Battle Royale tournament.

At the sight of the Emperor's Royal Guard, where no discipline could be found, Belius snorted.

“The Royal Guard has always had crappy discipline, and it's still the same now.”

“That's Snow Elves for you.”

Theo pretended not to hear me, and Ryuba laughed silently.

“So, what other tricks will you pull now? Will you arrest me yourself now that the card you were counting on is gone? Want to give it a try?”

I compared Belius' burly arm with my own frail one and shook my head.

The veteran's muscles were in no way inferior to those of a young active-duty soldier.

“Of course not. I am of sound mind.”

“Then get out of here right now.”

“It seems the Commander is so full of anger that you can't see your surroundings. Why don't you cool down a bit and look around? Or would you like to get some air?”

“You really!”

Belius, taking my words as mockery, clenched his fist, unable to hold back any longer.

That fist, by its very existence, was overflowing with power.

Before Belius could put his resolve into action, I quickly brought out the words I had prepared.

“Aren't you curious why the Snow Elves of the Emperor's Royal Guard are traveling with a notorious troublemaker like me?”

“What?”

“And one of them even served as the acting captain of the Royal Guard. Don't you think something is strange?”

“Hmm.”

Fortunately, he understood.

Belius stopped the fist he was thrusting forward.

And with eyes that had cooled down as if doused with cold water, he began to survey my party.

I guess I threw him for too much of a loop when we first met.

To think he only now noticed that the composition of the party was strange.

It was a relief for me too that Belius had regained his reason.

I really thought I was going to get hit.

Theo also seemed to agree with me.

“Your Highness, what on earth were you thinking, provoking General Belius' anger? Didn't you see that fist?”

“I thought there would be no problem since you were here.”

“Sigh. Really.”

Theo seemed worried that I would actually have a life-or-death battle with Belius here.

What if Theo couldn't stop him?

Then I would now be ‘the one who used to be Leon.’

No matter how old Belius is, that fist is no joke.

Especially with my current pathetic stamina stat, if I got hit even once by that fist, I would die immediately.

“We're in the enemy's camp right now. Aren't you nervous, Your Highness? How can you be so calm?”

“Were you worried about that?”

“Of course. If it comes down to it, I have to save at least Your Highness and escape.”

I didn't know, but now I see that the muscles in both of Theo's arms are completely stiff with tension.

His joking reply earlier when the topic of loyalty came up was actually an attempt to relieve tension.

I felt a little repentant.

I was so focused on the progress of the plan that I paid too little attention to my surroundings.

When a person is very tense, they can have an accident or fail to move in time.

I looked at the other pillar of my escort, Ryuba.

“Is Ryuba okay?”

“What is?”

“Aren't you nervous?”

“I'm fine. I have a lot of experience with this kind of thing.”

I don't know what he usually does to have so much experience.

Anyway, Ryuba was perfectly fine without a hint of tension.

But that's because Ryuba is exceptional; in fact, Theo's reaction is normal.

The reason I'm not nervous is... probably because of this ring.

I fiddled with the ring, which had a purplish luster, for a moment and then tried to relieve Theo's tension.

The best way to relieve tension is, after all, small talk.

“Don't worry too much. Belius is not a fool.”

“Yes? I don't think anyone would think that.”

“No, that's not what I meant.”

How should I say this.

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