Chapter 70: The Capital of the Prona Kingdom (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: The Capital of the Prona Kingdom (2)
My attempt to leave the capital failed.
It was all thanks to some clueless knight controlling the citizens who spotted me and shouted, “Huh? It’s the Hero!”
For that bastard of a knight, who was probably exhausted from dealing with the rioting citizens, the appearance of the Hero must have been a godsend.
He must have believed that, since I was the Hero, I would help them somehow. Or maybe he was thinking of dumping the whole mess on me so he could finally get some rest.
But what could I do?
No matter how little recognition I had, a hero is still a hero.
I’m not about to be pushed around by some rookie knight, you know? Thanks to him, though, I had to endure the piercing glares of the citizens as I was half-forcibly dragged to the royal palace.
‘Son of a bitch. I’ve memorized your face.’
Next time we meet, you’re answering to me. Got it?
Knock, knock.
As I was grumbling to myself, I heard a knock on the door.
“Sir Hero. The banquet preparations are complete. I have come to escort you.”
I had been waiting quietly in the guest room I was shown to. I wondered why they were holding a banquet when things outside were such a mess, but since I was the one being invited, I wasn't in a position to complain, so I kept quiet.
When I opened the door, a knight in full plate armor was waiting for me. As I followed him to the banquet hall, I asked about something that had been on my mind.
“What’s with the commotion outside?”
“It is nothing more than ignorant citizens caught up in baseless rumors. I hope you will not pay it any mind, Sir Hero.”
“For ignorant folks, there seemed to be a lot of clerics mixed in.”
“When it comes to matters of God, those types tend to go a little crazy, don’t they? It’s likely just a few of them, needlessly full of vigor, acting above their station.”
“Is that so?”
In short, it was a witch hunt.
The only difference was that the target wasn't an ordinary civilian, but the prince of a nation and the heir to the throne.
‘I doubt it’s just a witch hunt.’
I was skeptical of the knight’s claim that it was just a rumor. The scale was too large for that. Accusing the heir to the throne of an entire kingdom of heresy? The moment the prince’s innocence is proven, the Church will find itself in an extremely awkward position.
They were already in a power struggle with the established powers like the nobility and the royal family. Giving their rivals a just cause would mean losing ground in an instant.
For the Church to make such a reckless move, they must have concrete evidence that the prince is a heretic.
Lost in thought, I arrived at the banquet hall before I knew it.
Inside, the king and his vassals were already seated.
Eri, Neria, and Ophelia were there as well.
What the?
Isn’t the king supposed to be the last one to arrive at these kinds of banquets?
I just came when I was told to, so how did I end up being the one who’s late?
Feeling something was off, I still gave a slight bow.
“My, it seems I have failed to be on time for such esteemed company. My apologies.”
“Ho ho, it is quite all right. Please, come in.”
The king chuckled and gestured for me to enter.
That old man. The last time I saw him, his face was grim, but now he’s acting like a friendly neighborhood grandpa.
I let out a dry laugh and entered the hall. The banquet, while not as grand as those in the Empire, was incredibly lavish. So much so that I wondered if they were overdoing it.
They’re giving me this grand a welcome for just a visit?
‘Did I receive a similar welcome back in the day?’
I discreetly glanced at my companions’ faces.
They looked bewildered.
Apparently not.
Once everyone was gathered, the king set the mood and began his speech.
“Recently, the southern part of our kingdom faced a disaster known as the Behemoth. It was a truly desperate calamity. Devastating losses seemed unavoidable. But what was the reality? The valiant heroes defeated the Behemoth. There was almost no damage to speak of.”
Almost no damage, he says…
I recalled the corpses and the river of blood left on the battlefield. I remembered the faces of the guards and soldiers who had given their lives doing their best to protect the citizens and fulfill their duties.
‘Seems like a bit more than ‘almost none’…’
Then again, in the worst-case scenario, they must have considered the complete devastation of the kingdom’s southern region. Comparatively speaking, the losses were indeed small.
It was also true that hearing casualty numbers alone rarely evoked much emotion.
“The heroes of our Prona Kingdom saved Roberton from the clutches of the Behemoth. I hear they are being called the Heroes of Roberton in the city.”
The eyes of everyone in the banquet hall turned to me and my party.
Then, they all began to applaud.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
The round of applause continued for some time before ending with a raise of the king’s hand.
The king raised his glass, and everyone followed suit.
“For the Prona Kingdom!”
The banquet began.
I tried to move toward the delicious-looking food, but I failed.
Nobles approached and started talking to me.
They gathered one by one, asking about what happened in Roberton. Since when were they so interested in me?
I was wondering how to cut them off and leave when the king approached.
“Ho ho, this seems to be the liveliest spot. What are you all talking about?”
He was accompanied by a young man who looked to have just passed his twentieth birthday.
The nobles bowed their heads toward the two.
“Your Majesty.”
“Your Highness.”
That timid-looking kid is the prince?
The one people outside are calling a heretic and screaming to put on the guillotine?
As I was observing the prince, the king patted his shoulder.
“What are you doing? You should greet the Hero.”
“Ah, yes. Ahem, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Nell, the prince of the Prona Kingdom. I am delighted to meet the Hero of Roberton.”
The prince extended his hand.
Though I was a bit reluctant, I shook it. The king then beamed with a pleased expression and began to boast about his son.
How he was smart since he was a child, how he was a good kid, almost too good for his own good, and so on.
It was the kind of praise any doting parent would give.
But the more the praise continued, the more I felt a strange sense of displeasure.
I had a bad feeling about this.
“…Your Majesty must love the prince very much.”
“Ahem. Of course. He is my only son, after all.”
The king cleared his throat, glanced around, and then spoke furtively.
“So, about that… you saw it on your way here, didn’t you?”
“I did. It was quite a scene.”
“Indeed. I don’t know where these baseless rumors came from, but public sentiment has grown quite grim because of them. So, I was wondering, if you could perhaps stand before the citizens and attest to the prince’s innocence…”
“I refuse.”
I shot him down instantly.
I knew it.
No wonder he was being so nice to me.
I didn’t hear him out, but the rest was obvious. What? He wants me to prove the prince’s innocence in front of that mob of lunatics?
That’s no different from asking me to take his place on the guillotine.
“Let’s go, everyone.”
I nodded to my companions.
The three of them glanced nervously at the king and the other nobles before slowly following behind me.
“Sir Hero, please stop.”
As I pushed through the crowd of nobles, knights blocked my path as if on cue.
Right, it was strange from the start to have armed knights in a banquet hall.
“I’d like to leave.”
“I apologize. Please listen to what His Majesty has to say.”
“I said I want to leave.”
“I apologize.”
They repeated the same words like machines.
As I wondered what to do, Eri, who seemed offended by the knights’ attitude, spoke up.
“What is this? Who do you think you are, stopping us from leaving?”
“It is an order from His Majesty the King. We ask that the daughter of the Oller Ducal Family comply peacefully.”
“An order? Ha! How is this an order? This is oppression!”
Eri’s brow furrowed in anger.
“Eri, calm down. Excuse us, we’re just passing through.”
Sensing the situation was getting worse, Neria tried to push her way through the knights blocking our path.
When she put strength into her arms and pushed, the knights were shoved aside helplessly.
As expected of a level 39.
The knights of a kingdom steeped in peace were no match for her, a veteran of dungeons.
‘You really have to put them through the wringer.’
Hardship builds character, you know?
I was feeling a sense of pride watching the knights being pushed back so easily when a large man with a scar over one eye stepped in front of Neria.
“…Knight Commander.”
It was the Knight Commander.
Seeing him, Neria’s expression hardened.
“It’s been a while. You’ve grown a lot, haven’t you?”
“Please step aside.”
“I’m sorry, but it’s an order.”
Neria couldn’t bring herself to push the Knight Commander aside.
He was her former master.
She couldn’t bring herself to lay a hand on him.
“What are you doing? Drag her away.”
The Knight Commander ordered the knights who were standing there dumbfounded. Only then did they snap out of it and swarm Neria, dragging her away. She resisted, but not as forcefully as before.
Seeing this, Eri’s expression turned fierce.
“Stop it! Do you really want to see this through to the end?!”
The gem at the tip of Eri’s staff began to glow.
The incantation was probably already complete in her head.
All she had to do was fire.
Shing!
Seeing the light from the staff, the knights drew their swords.
The Knight Commander spoke in a low, deep voice.
“Eri Oller. Lower your staff immediately. That is an order.”
“And if I refuse?”
“I repeat, this is an order. Failure to comply will be considered treason. As you know, treason is the gravest of crimes. The punishment will not end with you alone. If you do not wish to bring harm to your family, surrender.”
“These bastards…”
Eri gritted her teeth.
She then looked at me, her expression asking, What should I do? Should I blast them? I glanced at Ophelia and saw that she, too, was subtly reaching for her mace.
‘Ah, for fuck’s sake…’
I should have just ignored the summons and everything else.
I let out a deep sigh.
“This is your final warning. Lower the staff—”
“Enough.”
<Pattern of the Behemoth>
[Fear]
*
The standoff between Cloud’s party and the knights was fraught with tension. The staff glowed menacingly, and the knights’ drawn blades were sharp.
A fight could break out at any moment.
“This is your final warning. Lower the staff—”
The Knight Commander was issuing his warning in a low voice when it happened.
“Enough.”
A chilling voice spread through the hall.
<Pattern of the Behemoth>
[Fear]
Along with ‘Fear,’ he scattered thickly woven mana like a mist.
Everyone in the banquet hall flinched and froze. Their bodies, crushed by the psychological pressure, wouldn’t move.
They may be knights, but they were the knights of the minor Prona Kingdom.
Cloud, who had been steadily leveling up, had already surpassed their levels. And ‘Fear’ had a certain probability of inflicting terror on those with a lower level than the caster.
Several of them had already bowed their heads, unable to even look at Cloud.
Cloud turned to face the king, William.
“Your Majesty. Since ancient times, the Hero has existed to protect the weak from ferocious monsters and demons. We wield the sword, not the brush, and show our worth through actions, not words. Therefore…”
Please, know your place.
At Cloud’s low, resonant voice, the king swallowed hard and managed a nod.
Confirming this, Cloud turned back and brushed aside the knights blocking his path. They were pushed away even more easily than when Neria had shoved them. Pushing past the knights, he once again faced the Knight Commander.
Cloud met the stiffly frozen Knight Commander’s eyes and asked.
“You won’t hold a grudge over something like this, will you?”
“…No, sir.”
“Good to hear.”
Cloud smiled faintly, then led his stiffly frozen companions out of the royal palace.
*
“Sir Hero. The Archbishop is waiting for you.”
“Hah…”
I let out a hollow laugh.
The moment I stepped out of the royal palace, some priest appeared out of nowhere and told me to follow him because the Archbishop was waiting. Anyone would have made the same face.
Under normal circumstances, I would have followed without much thought, but after what I had just been through, it felt incredibly irritating.
“Tell him not to wait and to get some rest. I’m tired, so I need to rest too.”
So I refused.
I ignored the priest and started walking to find an inn. The priest, flustered, ran to block my path.
This again?
It felt wrong to just shove a priest out of the way, so I turned to Ophelia. Sensing my gaze, she approached the priest with a benevolent smile.
“Brother. The Hero is feeling deeply fatigued from his arduous journey. I will explain everything to the Archbishop…”
“Sir Hero. This is a direct invitation from the Archbishop to you.”
“Brother?”
“Even as the Hero, you cannot refuse so coldly.”
“Brother??”
The priest continued to plead with me to accept the Archbishop’s invitation, completely ignoring whatever Ophelia was saying to him.
‘Can a Saint Candidate’s words be ignored like that?’
To be so blatantly brushed off?
Oh?
A crack began to form in Ophelia’s smile.
It seemed that even she couldn’t tolerate a subordinate repeatedly ignoring her words.
That’s right.
Insubordination is intolerable.
I was watching the two, anticipating the end of this impudent subordinate, when the priest let out a deep sigh and looked around. After confirming no one was nearby, he opened his mouth cautiously.
“You must come. This is an important matter for you as well, Sir Hero.”
“Important to me? What is it?”
“The Archbishop wishes to replace the Saint Candidate.”
The priest said with great gravity.
The first thought that crossed my mind was, ‘Why bother?’ When I was traveling alone, they said nothing, but now they want to change the Saint Candidate?
I’m making good use of the current one, though.
No, more importantly, is it even possible to change a Saint Candidate?
“Hiccup.”
A sudden hiccup.
I turned my head in the direction of the sound.
Ophelia’s face had gone deathly pale.
“Ophelia? Are you alrigh—”
“Hiccup.”
Guess not.