Chapter 70: Ch-70: Kingdom of Prona (2)
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Leaving the capital behind proved to be an unsuccessful endeavour.
Some ignorant knight who was pacifying the citizens found me and shouted over the crowd, 'Hah!? Hero!'
That knight must have been going through a hard time because of the raging citizens, it surely was quite palliating to see a hero coming to the rescue.
So he must have believed that I would help out somehow, if I was quite the hero. Maybe he was thinking of pushing the citizens who were running rampant at me, and then resting in peace.
But what about it?
No matter how low in the popularity list I am, a hero is a hero.
How can a knight beat me when it comes to attention grabbing charisma? Thanks to him, I was on the other end of receiving stinging glares from the citizens and was semi-forced to be dragged to the royal palace.
'You bastard. I memorized your face.'
Next time we meet, it would be a clear face-to-face talk between you and me.
Knock, knock!
As I was grumbling inside, I heard a knock.
– Hero. I've come to pick you up for dinner, it's ready.
I was quietly waiting for the banquet in the room I was showed. The situation outside was like hell, and I honestly wondered if they were actually holding a banquet, but as the guest, I was in no position to say anything, so I stayed 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 what I was the most curious about.
"What's with the commotion outside?"
"It is just ignorant citizens who are caught up in rumors. I hope you don't worry too much because of it."
"Are there even priests involved in these ignorant citizens?"
"When it comes to divinity, it's these chaps who are a little off minded, isn't it? They will make drops of blood into flowing fountains if you allow so."
"Is it?"
In other words, it's like a witch hunt.
It's just that the person in question is not an ordinary civilian, but a prince and the heir to the throne of a kingdom.
'I don't think it's just your regular witch hunt.'
I was skeptical of the knight saying it was just a rumor. The scale was too large for that. They were claiming the heir to the throne of a kingdom to be a heretic, alright? The moment the prince's innocence is revealed, the church's position will be caught in an awkward standing.
Still, they had been fighting established elites such as nobles and royalty for power, and that for years.
Nevertheless, the fact that the church threw such an irrational information means that there is solid evidence that prove the prince is a heretic.
As I was walking forward with such thoughts, we arrived at the banquet hall.
The king and his other vassals were already seated in the banquet hall.
The same went for Eri, Neria, and Ophelia.
Wait..?
Shouldn't the king be the last to come at a banquet like this?
I came just when I was told to, so why did I become the latecomer?
Even though it felt strange, I bowed with my back bent slightly.
"I've kept you people waiting, pardon me."
"Hah hah, it's fine. Come on in."
The king smiled and beckoned.
This gentleman, the last time I saw him, he had a mask of impassive grandness stuck on his face, but now he was here, acting like a next door grandfather.
I smiled in return and entered the banquet hall. The banquet wasn't as great as the Imperial Social Banquet, but it was indeed splendid. I thought it might have been a little overkill.
It was just a short visit, or were we actually so welcomed?
'Have we been treated similarly in the past?'
I glanced at the faces of my companions.
Bewildered expressions, they were.
So, it wasn't.
When all the people gathered at the banquet, the king set the tone and started his speech.
"Recently, in the southern part of the kingdom, there has been a disaster event called Behemoth. It was truly a devastating news. The devastating damage seemed inevitable. But what about reality? Brave heroes defeated the beast. There was very little damage as such."
There was little damage, eh?
I remembered the corpses left on the battlefield and the streams of blood. I remembered the faces of the guards and soldiers who died while doing their best to protect the citizens and fulfill their duties.
'And here I thought it was way too much…'
In the worst case, it had been assumed that the whole southern part of the kingdom would be devastated, so relatively little damage was correct.
However, seeing the scene up close wasn't the best indicator.
"Our, the Kingdom of Prona's hero, rescued Roberto from the claws of Behemoth. They say that in the city the people call him Roberto's Hero."
Everyone in the banquet hall looked at me and my friends.
Then everyone applauded.
– Clap clap clap.
The applauses and baptism of praise continued for a while and ended with the king raising his hand.
The king lifted the cup, and everyone followed him and raised the cup together.
-For the Kingdom of Prona!
The banquet began.
I tried to go eat something that looked delicious, yet I failed.
Because the nobles kept approaching one after one, with the intention of talking with me.
They appeared one by one and asked the damn same thing–what happened in Roberto. Since when did they get so interested in me?
It was time to seriously think how to shrug them off and leave.
"Hah hah, this place looks the most bustling. What are you talking about?"
The king came this way.
With a man who seemed to have just crossed into adulthood.
The nobles bowed their heads towards them.
"His Majesty the King."
"The Prince."
Is this scrawny kid a prince?
The one people outside were shouting to put on guillotine?
As I watched the prince, the king tapped him on the shoulder.
"Where are your manners? You should greet the hero."
"Y, Yes. Hmm, nice to meet you. My name is Nell, the prince of the Kingdom of Prona. It's a pleasure to meet Roberto's hero."
The prince held out his hand.
He did tremble slightly, but he held out his hand. Then the king showed a happy expression on his face and got on to boasting about the prince.
He's been smart since he was young, he's a nice kid, he's so nice at riding horses, bla bla bla.
Those were compliments that any parent would give.
But as the compliments continued, and continued, I felt strangely unpleasant.
Because I was having a feeling, a very bad feeling.
"…Your Majesty adores the prince very much."
"Hmmm. Of course. He is my only son."
The king, with an evasive cough, looked over at him and whispered quietly.
"So, by the way… did you see it when you were arriving?"
"I saw it. It was noisy."
"Right. I don't know where the rumors came from, but thanks to them, the public's opinion is very bad. So, by any chance, the prince's innocence, in front of the citizens…"
"I decline."
I simply refused.
I knew it would end up like this.
Somehow it actually did.
I didn't listen to the end part, but the words coming next were obvious anyway. To do what? To guarantee the prince's innocence in front of those madmen?
This is no less than asking me to climb the guillotine instead.
"Let's go, guys."
I motioned towards my teammates.
The three of them came to follow me slowly, examining the king's and other nobles' reaction.
"Hero, please stop."
When I came out through the aristocratic crowd, the knights blocked my way as if they were just waiting for that.
Yeah, it was strange that there were armed knights in the banquet hall in the first place.
"I want to go out."
"Apologies. We can't oblige to your words."
"I want to go out."
"Apologies."
They repeated the same words like a machine.
When I was pondering what to do about this, Eri opened her mouth, probably feeling uncomfortable with the knights' attitude.
"Why? Why are you stopping us from leaving?"
"Our king's order, my lady. We hope that you, as a daughter of the Duke of Oler will follow suit."
"Order? What type of order is this?"
Eri frowned deeply.
"Eri, calm down. I'll see to it."
When things seemed to be getting worse in many ways, Neria tried to break through the knights who stood in their way.
The knights were pushed back without a hitch as she put strength into her arms and pushed them away.
Level 39, indeed.
The knights of the kingdom who were used to the peace times were no match for the lady who was tempered in dungeons.
'She does it good.'
Just when I felt proud of seeing the knights being pushed away by a knight of mine. A towering man with a scar on one of his eyes stood in front of Neria.
"…Captain of the Knights."
The commander of the knight legion.
Seeing him, Neria face's hardened.
"It's been a long time. I see, you have grown a lot."
"Please move away."
"I'm sorry, but no, it's an order."
Neria had no intention of pushing the knight commander away like the rest.
The knight commander was her teacher.
Her hands wouldn't able to commit such an act on him.
"What are you guys doing? Clear out."
The knights commander barked orders at the knights who were standing blankly. It was only then that the knights came to their senses and scrambled to pull Neria out. She resisted, but the strength she exerted was nowhere near her true strength.
""
Seeing this, Eri's expression changed wildly.
"So you all aren't going to stop this? You want to force us or what!?"
The jewel at the tip of Eri's wand brightened.
The chanting must have been already completed in her mind.
She just had to aim and shoot.
Swing!
Seeing the glow of her staff, the knights drew out their swords.
The knight commander said in a low, thick voice.
"Eri Oler, lower down your wand immediately. It is an order."
"What if I don't?"
"Again, this is an order. If you do not comply, it will be considered treason. As you know, treason is a felony among felonies. Punishment doesn't end with you alone. If you don't want to harm your family, surrender."
"These bastards…"
Eri sharpened her teeth.
And then she looked at me, asking my opinion on the matter. I, in turn, looked at Ophelia, she was secretly stretching out her hand towards the mace.
'Oh my gosh…'
I'm carrying walking explosives with me.
I took a deep breath.
"It is the last warning. Lower down your wand…"
"Halt."
[Strength in Numbers]-!
* * *
The confrontation between Cloud and the knights had turned tense. The staff brightened with a piercing light, and the blades drawn by the knights glinted with sharpness.
It would not be strange for a fight to break out at any moment.
"It is the last warning. Lower down your wand…"
The commander of knights opened his mouth to warn in his characteristic gruff voice, when–
"Halt."
A cold voice echoed.
[Strength in Numbers]-!
Along with 'fear', the mana woven together scattered like mist.
Everyone present in the banquet hall froze and stiffened. The body, crushed by the psychological pressure, ceased movement all together.
No matter how much these knights were feared, they were ultimately but knights of one of the many kingdoms.
Cloud, who had been steadily leveling up, had long surpassed their level. The [Strength in Numbers], without any issue imposed 'fear' status on all of them.
Some of them could no longer even look directly at Cloud, they had to bow their heads.
Cloud turned to the King.
"Your Majesty. Since ancient times, a hero is the one who protects the weak from ferocious demons and evils. He holds a sword, not a brush, and it can be seen from actions instead of words. So…"
Don't make me use my sword.
Cloud spoke in an almost impassive tone, making the king swallow his saliva and barely nod his head.
Cloud confirmed his actions and turned around again to shake off the knights in front of him. They were pushed back more easily than when Neria pushed them away. When the knights were pushed away, the figure of the commander of knights was revealed again.
Cloud asked as he made eye contact with the stiff commander of knights.
"Are you sure you won't hold resentment for something like this?"
"…Yes."
"Good luck."
Cloud smiled and walked out of the palace with his stiff teammates.
* * *
"Hero-sama. The Archbishop is waiting for you."
"Huh…"
I smirked.
As soon as we came out of the palace, a certain priest appeared, saying that the archbishop was waiting for me and asked me to follow in turn.
Normally, this would have been a minor issue, but with what I had just experienced, it felt very significant.
"I can't, I need some rest. I'm tired too, we can do this later."
So, I refused.
I ignored the priest and proceeded to find an inn. The priest then panicked, and came running, blocking my way.
Goodness, do I need to face this repertoire again?
I even turned to look at Ophelia, because the only option I saw to remove this priest out of my way was violence. Feeling my gaze on her, she smiled benevolently and approached the priest.
"Brother. The hero is feeling deeply tired from the arduous journey. I will tell the Archbishop ab–"
"Hero, please listen. This is an invitation from the Archbishop directly to you, the hero."
"Brother?"
"No matter what, you can't refuse so harshly, please."
"Brother??"
The priest kept on begging me to accept the Archbishop's invitation. He didn't care for shit what Ophelia was saying standing next to him.
'Is it okay to ignore the words of the saintess candidate so bluntly?'
Is it?
I looked at Ophelia for the answer.
Ophelia's smile began to crack.
Doesn't matter how much understanding Ophelia is, it seems she can't stand the fact that her subordinate kept ignoring her own words.
Just when I was expecting to end this farce, the priest took a deep breath and looked around cautiously. After confirming that no one extra was there, he carefully pried open his mouth.
"You must come. Hero, this matter is related to you, and important."
"Important, to me? And exactly what is that?"
"The Archbishop wants to replace the candidacy of saintess."
The priest said with a lot of weight in his tone.
The moment I heard those words, I was like, 'Why?'. When I was traveling alone, you were letting it happen quite fine, so why now?
Moreover, why now of all times?
No, is it even possible to change the candidacy of a saintess by an archbishop alone?
"Hiccup."
A sudden hiccup sound interrupted my thoughts.
I turned my head in the direction of the sound.
Ophelia's complexion was pale.
"Ophelia? Are you fine-"
"Hiccup."
Alright, she was not fine.
You can read fully translated chapters, including the last chapter, for $20.
p(a)treon.com/Daoist02
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