Chapter 74: Capital of the Prona Kingdom (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: Capital of the Prona Kingdom (6)
Upon hearing that Cloud had been released from the underground prison, William set aside his work and headed for the private room where he was staying.
“You’ve arrived.”
Cloud said, his face gaunt.
The royal healer sitting beside him also stood to bow, but William raised a hand to stop him.
“How is the Hero’s condition? He doesn’t look well, to say the least…”
“It’s worse than ‘not well.’ We’ve only just managed to stabilize him after dealing with the immediate crisis. Before, his condition was critical.”
“…Worse than this?”
Worse than he looked now, with dark circles under his eyes and sunken cheeks?
The healer nodded.
“When I first examined him, the Hero’s body was a complete wreck. His blood vessels were twisted, his organs were all damaged, and not a single muscle was intact. It was a miracle he was even alive.”
“…A miracle from Lady Iries.”
“Yes. It can only be seen as the mercy of Lady Iries.”
Cloud frowned, but the two devout believers didn't notice.
“He’s all right now, I trust?”
“Yes. The emergency treatment was successful, and he has entered the recovery phase.”
“That’s a relief. Would you mind giving us a moment? I have something to discuss with the Hero in private.”
“Of course.”
The healer bowed respectfully and left the room.
Cloud waved at the departing healer, then picked up the soup beside him and began to wolf it down.
Watching him, William let out a sigh.
“I rushed over when I heard you’d emerged from the underground after nine days… What on earth happened to you?”
“You think I wanted to get hurt? What was I supposed to do when the elders didn’t hold back?”
“Didn’t hold back? You couldn’t have fought a life-or-death battle with them… Did they perhaps teach you something?”
“Yes.”
“What?! Is that true? You received their teachings?”
“I wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
William’s mouth fell open in shock before he broke into a wide, hearty laugh.
“Ha… haha! Yes, if you received their teachings, then I can understand why you’re in this state. No, it would have been more unbelievable if you’d emerged unscathed after being taught by them for nine short days.”
“Exactly.”
The damage to Cloud’s body was entirely due to the Pattern. But since he couldn’t tell William about it, he offered a vague explanation, which the king readily believed.
“This is wonderful news. Truly wonderful…”
William stroked his beard, looking pleased.
A moment later, his expression grew more serious than ever.
“What did you do with the Soul Stone?”
“I destroyed it.”
“I see…”
William gave a bitter smile.
His reaction was so much milder than expected that Cloud tilted his head in confusion.
“I thought you’d be furious that I destroyed it on my own…”
William shook his head.
“You wouldn’t have destroyed it on your own. It must have been their will, was it not?”
“That’s right.”
“Then it is settled. The Soul Stone was an object forged from their sacrifice. If they decided to destroy it, who am I to argue? As the king of the Prona Kingdom, I may feel a slight sense of loss, but as a man who admires them, I am glad. They have earned their rest.”
For a moment, William’s eyes transformed into those of a young boy filled with admiration. The look made Cloud feel inexplicably uncomfortable, even though he hadn’t absorbed their souls by choice.
He decided to change the subject.
“By the way, what happened to that demon and the Archbishop?”
William’s eyes reverted to those of a king.
“A date has been set for the demon’s public execution. He will face the guillotine in the public square. As for the Archbishop… unfortunately, detaining him was the best we could do.”
“Because of the Church?”
“Indeed. The title of Archbishop is not so trivial that he can be executed on mere suspicion…”
An Archbishop held significant meaning within the Church.
The testimony of a demon who had lost his mind from torture was not enough.
A king could not unilaterally order an execution based on that alone.
“Still, given the suspicion, the Church will take him in for their own interrogation.”
“And they’ll probably try to sweep it under the rug.”
“What can be done? The kingdom is too weak to stand against the Church.”
It wasn’t as if William wanted to let the matter go.
This was the man who had tarnished his son’s honor and tried to send him to the guillotine.
He desperately wanted to tear the man apart with his own hands.
But reality was not so simple.
Executing the Archbishop would lead the Church to excommunicate William, diplomatically isolating the Prona Kingdom.
The Prona Kingdom was already a minor nation.
The moment it was isolated, its future would vanish.
That was why William had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure.
He was a king responsible for a nation before he was a father.
Watching William suppress his rage, Cloud spoke curtly.
“Execute him. If the Church protests, just say it was my own rash decision.”
“Thank you for the thought.”
William chuckled.
But when he saw the lack of humor in Cloud’s face, his expression hardened.
“Are you serious? You would make an enemy of the Church?”
“‘Make an enemy’ is a strange way to put it. I’m not killing an innocent man, just a single traitor who sided with a demon.”
“Even if that’s the truth, they will see it differently.”
“That would be unfortunate, but it’s fine. Not even the Pope would dare to excommunicate the Hero chosen by the Goddess. And sending Paladins for revenge would be utter nonsense.”
“But ill feelings will remain. They won’t be favorable toward you, I mean.”
“That’s hardly new. How many people have ever been favorable toward me, anyway?”
How many people in this world would truly be on his side?
Frillite. Lugar. Mars.
Those three were the only names that came to mind immediately.
‘I wonder if Shedia, Katarina, and Leslie would side with me.’
It would be nice if they did.
Then I’d need more than one hand to count them.
Cloud grinned.
“Ahem..!”
Feeling the sting in Cloud’s words, William cleared his throat.
“I don’t know why you’re going this far, but I must say it. On behalf of the kingdom, Hero, I thank you for your devotion.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. It’s about time I replenished my travel funds. With this, I should be able to receive my activity funds without any trouble.”
“Hm? Activity funds?”
As William looked puzzled, Cloud’s eyes narrowed.
“You weren’t planning on just saying ‘thank you’ and leaving it at that, were you…?”
Hearing the disappointment dripping from his voice, William quickly waved his hands.
“No, not at all! I was just a bit surprised. You haven’t requested any funds for a while, have you?”
“The situation is different now, isn’t it?”
Back then, accepting money would have meant being subject to the king’s scrutiny. Now, however, he was receiving fair compensation.
Understanding his meaning, William grumbled.
“I see what you mean. So, about the funds, how much are you…”
“How much can you give me?”
Cloud cut William off, pressing his advantage.
“Um…?”
“For the Hero who saved the kingdom and the prince from one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and who made an enemy of the Church for the sake of the kingdom, how much can you give?”
Cloud said with a friendly smile.
A cold sweat trickled down William’s neck.
*
“Slander! This is slander! This is wrong! How could I, an Archbishop, possibly collude with a lowly demon! Believers! Come and save me from these foolish devils who persecute me… Gack?!”
The Archbishop’s desperate cry was cut short as a tomato hit him squarely in the face.
Before he could even shake it off, more fruit and stones pelted his face.
The Hero had publicly announced the Archbishop’s corruption.
In front of him, a grotesque-looking demon was being dragged along, bound just as he was.
The Archbishop’s reputation was not strong enough for people to believe his innocence under these circumstances.
Only a few clergymen who followed him protested, and even they were quickly subdued by citizens and other clergy.
And so, the demon and the Archbishop were brought to the guillotine, their necks locked in place.
“N-no! Are you people really going to believe this demon?! Are you truly the faithful servants of Iries—!”
Slice—
Their heads fell side-by-side.
Watching the severed heads of the demon and the Archbishop, Cloud felt it was all a bit anticlimactic.
They were a spy who had tried to overthrow a kingdom and the traitor who had colluded with him. For such high treason, they were simply beheaded.
‘They could have at least been tortured a little…’
Cloud was suddenly reminded of the succubus torture festival he had experienced in the past.
The memory of the crazed laughter from the women who had lost their husbands and sons to succubi made him shake his head.
‘Simple is best.’
Yes, absolutely.
“That wasn’t anything special.”
“I know, right? I thought they’d kill him in some spectacular way.”
“I, for one, am relieved. There are children here, not just adults.”
Ophelia, Eri, and Neria were sharing their thoughts on the execution. The conversation continued even after they returned to the royal palace for dinner.
“Everyone.”
“Right? They should have made an example of them and completely… Huh? What’s wrong? You have something to say?”
Eri, who had been arguing that the demon and the Archbishop should have been torn to shreds, turned her attention to Cloud. Ophelia and Neria did the same.
“I have something important to tell you.”
“Something important? What is it?”
“You all know the capital is in turmoil because of this incident, right? And you know how serious it was.”
“I know. It was a plot to summon one of the Four Heavenly Kings in the middle of the city.”
“Who could have predicted the corruption of an Archbishop? You’ve done a great thing, Sir Hero.”
Ophelia clasped her hands in a prayer-like gesture. She seemed to have become a bit more devout since being dragged away by the Mother Superior.
“I’m glad I don’t have to explain. As you know, the Prona Kingdom is in a precarious state. A demon spy was hiding right in the heart of the capital. The king said he would raise the security level, but…”
“After they’ve already been infiltrated once? It’s hard to trust them,” Eri muttered, propping her chin on her hand.
She looked at Cloud and said, “I think I know what this important story is about. The capital is so unstable that anything could happen at any moment, and we can’t trust the royal family. So you’re saying we should stay in the capital for a while and see how things go, right?”
Cloud nodded.
Eri leaned back in her chair with a confident smile.
“I’m fine with it. We killed a horde of beasts last time. How different can demons be?”
“As a knight, I cannot ignore the danger to the citizens.”
“Oh my, with you two speaking like that, it seems I’m in no position to object.”
“A saint candidate has to agree, of course.”
“Hehe, that’s true.”
A warm, cheerful atmosphere settled among the three women.
Watching them, Cloud smiled.
‘What a relief.’
He needed to recruit Shedia, Katarina, and Leslie, and also find the equipment left behind by the past heroes.
He had been worried about what might happen to the capital in his absence, but he was truly relieved that his party would be here to protect it.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I can leave with peace of mind.”
He expressed his gratitude to them with genuine sincerity.
“What, this is nothing… huh?”
“Huh?”
“?”
For a moment, they didn’t understand his words.
The moment they did, the warm atmosphere turned ice-cold.
Cloud clicked his tongue.
‘Ah, so that didn’t work.’
His attempt to gloss over it had failed.