Chapter 13

Within a room of a certain inn in Archen, prince Carenas was pacing around, like a beast locked up in a cage.

As he started getting irritated about the assassination’s success having yet to be reported, the room’s door was violently opened.

【”Hey, Zentos, what the hell took you so.. Ah!?”】

Prince Carenas was knocked off his feet without being given any chance to argue.

The one who had entered the room and hit the prince was none other than Kyle.

Following behind Kyle, the female knights of the royal guard’s fifth knight corps rushed inside as well.

And even further behind was Princess Milena, who was ordering said knights.

After the end of the fight against Zentos, Kyle and the others had advanced further on the highway toward Archen, until they met up with the fifth corps’ knights on the way.

Then, under princess Milena’s orders, they broke into this inn. After restraining the remaining knights of the second corps, they entered the prince’s room.

【”Killen, search this room at once. Zentos might have been cautious but this brother of mine surely has left some evidence.”】

【”Yes!”】

While staying in the back, princess Milena instructed the commander of the imperial guard’s fifth knight corps, Killen, who was also her close aide.

Killen was a tall and beautiful woman, but she had sharp eyes and an atmosphere that did not allow people to come near her.

【”Also, restrain prince Carenas. We’ll be returning to the royal capital Marad now, so we’ll interrogate him on the way. Once we’ve gathered enough proof and witnesses, we’ll report to my father.”】

【”Yes.. However, will he talk?”】

Killen knew prince Carenas well.

Even if she were to question him, he would not answer obediently. He’d likely avoid the responsibility while finding excuses and claiming his own innocence to the point of looking unsightly.

【”In case he doesn’t talk, then you may use a little force.. You’ll just have to say that he confessed on his own.”】

【”..Understood.”】

Killen bowed her head and separated to the princess in order to go give her subordinates their orders.

With a light sigh, princess Milena approached Kyle, who seemed worn-out and had sat down after striking the prince.

【”Kyle-sama, please, I’d like you and you friends to accompany us as well.”】

【”Yes.. Also, thanks for listening to my selfish request.”】

Kyle stood up and bowed his head to the princess who had gladly heeded his request when he had asked if he could hit Prince Carenas.

【”No, I should be the one thanking you, I owe you a hundred times more than that.. There might still be various things to deal with, but this matter should be over now. Please allow me to express my gratitude again once we are back to the royal capital.”】

Princess Milena also deeply bowed to Kyle.

Thus, the major incident of the princess’ assassination ended with a failure on the perpetrators’ part.

◇◇◇

At the center of Jirgus’ royal capital, Marad, there was a large palace that was famous even among the surrounding countries. It symbolized the prosperity of the country.

Kyle and his team were deep within said palace, in a guest room that was located in the royalty’s living quarters.

【”No need to be so tense, all of you are important guests.”】

【”Please excuse us for just doing as we please..”】

Kyle apologized in the group’s stead.

After a little while, the group was informed that someone was coming to visit them, and they all stood at attention while waiting.

Then, the palace’s chamberlain opened the room’s door and the one who entered was a man at the prime of his life, wearing a crown and a mantle that had the jirgus’ royal family’s lion crest embroidered on it; he was the king of the Jirgus country.

【”Oh Milena, you’re safe!”】

Upon entering the room, king Raymond trotted towards Milena and hugged her closely.

【”Yes, father.”】

【”Thank goodness, when I heard what happened, I was worried sick..”】

After showing great delight from seeing that his daughter was safe, the king frowned and asked.

【”So, was what the report said true?”】

【”Yes, my older brother was aiming for my life together with Zentos, and we’ve currently restrained him. The evidence and witnesses have already been gathered.”】

【”I see..”】

Said the king with a bitter tone, while looking up at the ceiling.

Even though the prince was part of the royal family, the only outcome for this kind of crime was the death penalty; moreover,?that punishment had to be ordered by none other than the king himself.

【”Father.. My elder brother might have been injured in the monsters’ attack, and maybe he’ll need to rest for a long time.”】

Understanding the meaning of his daughter’s words, the king showed a surprised face.

【”Are you sure you want to do this?”】

【”Yes, that will be better for the country.”】

Princess Milena’s meaning was that, rather than letting a matter like this one out in the world, it was better to pass it off as an accident.

【”.. I understand, that will certainly be better. Carenas will be sent to Curtim.”】

Curtim was a small town surrounded by mountains, located in the north of Jirgus, and it was used as a summer resort by the royal family.

The prince was going to be strictly confined there in the name of recovering from his injuries and from a disease that came due to complications.

Perhaps until the day of his death.

【”And I guess I.. had better avoid meeting with him from now on. No matter how foolish he is, he’s still my son but...”】

“But I can’t let my emotions dictate my actions”, added the king.

【”But what’s unbelievable above all is that Zentos actually cooperated with a ploy like this one.”】

【”Yes, I still don’t understand this. Why would he do such a foolish thing...”】

【”Mhm, maybe it’s another country’s plot.... or, I don’t even want to think of this possibility, but maybe it was the work of demons. We’ll scrutinize the evidence and witnesses to try to get an answer.”】

【”Please do.”】

After that, king Raymond saw Kyle and the others for the first time.

【”Are you the travelers who saved Milena?”】

【”Yes.”】

Kyle started kneeling down, and Lize and the others were about to imitate him, but the king raised his hand to stop them.

【”It’s all right, you’re my daughter’s benefactors, there is no need for such formalities. As a father, I’d like to thank you.”】

【”You’re too kind, your majesty..”】

Answered Kyle while bowing.

【”I believe you’ve heard us, but this whole situation will be referred to as a monster attack in the public. Telling others about this matter will not be allowed, you understand?”】

【”Of course, we would never dare to say anything that could harm the country of Jirgus.”】

【”It’s all right, father, I was not only saved by them, but I was also moved by their characters. These people are worth trusting.”】

The princess put in a good word on behalf of the group.

【”I see, if you say so, then I’m willing to believe it.. I’ll be sure to give you a reward fitting of your great accomplishment.”】

With those parting words, the king left the guest room.

―― When prince Carenas and princess Milena were on the way to pay a visit to the Sanes village, a large crowd of monsters, including a hydra with a low rank dragon’s strength, had attacked their troops, causing great damage.

Starting from Zentos, whose name was famous even in the surrounding countries, over half of the royal guard’s second corps’ knights had died. Furthermore, princes Carenas was injured and it was going to take a long time for him to recover.

The only fortunate point was that princess Milena was safe thanks to the actions of a few travelers who happened to pass by ――.

This was how the whole matter was announced to the public, and only a few people knew the actual truth.

As for Kyle and his group, their fame had soared in a flash due to their rescue of the princess.

By all rights, Kyle should have been able to become a knight for an achievement like this one, but since he declined the position, he was awarded with a Saint Randenale medal instead.

It was a medal which was named after a saint who lived in Jirgus hundreds of years in the past. This was the highest ranking that an ordinary person could get, and no one else had received this reward in the last few decades.

【”Say, say, does this suit me?”】

Said Lize as she spun around in front of Kyle while lightly pinching the hem of her dress’ skirt, as the group was waiting in an antechamber for the medal award ceremony.

What Lize was wearing right now was a dress that was lent for ceremonies like this one. With its light pink color, it evoked the sight of a flower, and the same applied to the hair ornament that she was wearing. This suited her well.

【”Yeah, it looks good on you.”】

Answered Kyle, who was similarly wearing a ceremonial attire.

He was not just flattering her, he was being as sincere as can be, he was truly a little fascinated by her at the moment.

【”You think so? I feel like it’s not my style, but maybe it’s nice to wear something like this once in a while.”】

Lize was likely also aware that Kyle was being completely honest, and she started looking at her own dress-up in a good mood.

Urza was wearing a light green, slightly open dress.

Moreover, her long ears, characteristic of the elves, were coming out of her nicely coiffured hair, making her look like a beauty that came from a painting.

【”In the end, I still think I’m too out of place here, but..”】

Said Urza, whose face seemed quite bitter in contrast to Lize’s content facial expression.

Urza felt like there were various problems with someone like her receiving a medal here, given that she didn’t come from Jirgus, and she was of the elven race, a completely different species. However, princess Milena had insisted that it was perfectly fine for her to be here.

【”Besides, I’m no good when it comes to dressing up like this..”】

Added Urza dejectedly while recalling how, earlier, she was made to wear different dresses one after the other by the princess’ maids, as if she was a dress-up doll.

【”I know you don’t have much experience with these things, but you’ve already come this far, so I won’t ask you to exchange civilities with people, but please try to put on a little smile.”】

【”Hmm.... L-like this?”】

As Urza showed an indescribable, forced smile, Kyle replied “Well, that will do, keep it up.” with a similarly indescribable face.

As one would expect, the group was not allowed to take any weapons with them, so Sildonia had to sit the ceremony out.

Sildonia had been pouting earlier, displeased that she could not to get anything from the feast that was going to be served in the dinner party after the ceremony, so Kyle was wondering if he should pack some leftovers and pastries to bring them to her. At that moment, Seran, who was wearing the same attire as Kyle, came to talk to him.

【”But are you sure about refusing to become a knight?”】

【”Yeah, I don’t need that position right now.”】

The truth was that, currently, a knight’s position would not only be unnecessary to Kyle, it would actually hinder him.

He would certainly get various privileges if he were to become a knight, but at the same time, he would also have responsibilities and obligations towards Jirgus, which would restrain his actions.

Due to his goals, it was absolutely impossible for Kyle to stick to the country of Jirgus only. From here on out, he also had to start spreading his name in other countries, and among other races.

For the time being, getting a medal and raising his fame in the Jirgus country was enough for Kyle.

【”You look very good everyone.”】

Princess Milena joined the ground in the antechamber.

She was also wearing a white ceremonial dress. She looked beautiful and was displaying an elegance and nobility fitting of her title as the “Treasure of Jirgus”.

【”If possible, I really want you to not only receive the medal, but to also become knights of Jirgus..”】

“To be more precise, I want you to become my knights” Added princess Milena in her mind.

Kyle and his companions knew about one of Jirgus’ big scandals.

So, if possible, she wanted to keep them under her, bound by the collar called “status”, plus she was well aware of their capabilities.

It was a fortunate, in a way, that there were now some open positions in the royal guard, for that meant that Kyle and the others could be made into knights in the name of reinforcing the troops.

Especially Kyle, who had enough skill to beat Zentos in a one-on-one fight. Furthermore, princess Milena’s intuition made her feel like there was something about him that was different from other people, so she wanted him to work for her no matter what.

However, she could not be forceful with the group since they had saved her, moreover, she was well aware that, even if they were to go far away, they were not the kind of people who would foolishly reveal the assassination attempt to others.

So, the princess came to the conclusion that, for now, it was all right to just build a relationship with them.

【”No, that would be too much, wouldn’t it? Besides, the money we’ve receiving for this is plenty enough as a reward.”】

Kyle was going to receive a monetary reward together with his medal.

Although such a sum was not significant anymore to Kyle and his companions, they still decided to gratefully accept it since it would have been suspicious if they were to refuse even that.

【”I see, I suppose you all have your own circumstances.”】

【”Circumstances? That’s a pretty heavy term, we really don’t have any particularly important reason for this.”】

【”Oh, really? But...”】

After saying that, a devil-like smile appeared on the princess’ face, as she tentatively gazed at Kyle.

【”But, you see, you said that all of you saw me in Archen on the day before the attack happened. So, you either left Archen on that day or the day after, but either way.. Isn’t it a little bit unnatural that you just happened to be at that place, at that time, on that road that only leads to the Sanes village?”】

“And I’ve already confirmed that you haven’t even been to the Sanes village ever since then”, followed up the princess with a small laugh.

【”Ah, hmm..”】

Kyle instinctively opened his mouth.

Seeing Kyle’s state, princess Milena once again laughed, but this time more childishly.

【”For now, I’ll just have to be satisfied with having seen you make such a face. However, if you can, please do tell me your story some other time.”】

“Well then, we’ll see each other at the ceremony” With those words, princess Milena gracefully bowed and then left.

【”For some reason, I feel like that was actually a warning..”】

Said Kyle to himself, with a slightly cramped smile.

The big double door opened to a room that was filled with a huge audience.

Inside, there were many pillars made entirely of marble, and each of them had finely detailed decorations. On the walls, there were tapestries which depicted some of Jirgus’ stories and legends, as well as portraits of all the kings who had succeeded the throne. And close to the ceiling was a flag with many of the knights’ and nlobes’ family crests embroidered on it.

There was a red carpet that started from the door until an elevated pedestal at the other end of the room. A throne had been placed on the pedestal and king Raymond was standing there together with princess Milena, who was smiling by his side.

Furthermore, some of the palaces’s other important people were also on the king’s sides, such as ministers and court magicians, and standing on the surrounding carpet were the knights and nobles who served the palace.

Had this been a ceremony to reward a knight or a noble, things would have been different, but since only a mere honorary medal was being awarded, most of these people were looking at this favorably.

Following the etiquette that he had been taught about beforehand, Kyle stood up in front of king Raymond.

【”Kyle Leonard, despite being only a citizen of the Jirgus country, you and your party have rescued princess Milena. This is indeed an act worthy of the kingdom’s gratitude. Therefore, you shall be granted this medal of Saint Randenale.”】

【”..I’m honored to accept it.”】

Around Kyle’s neck, King Raymond put a medal that was decorated with a lily flower made of gold, which was the symbol that represented?saint Randenale.

After watching that, princess Milenna started applauding, and a round a applause followed suit from the surrounding people.

“The hope of humanity”, “The master of the sword and magic.”, “The lustful hero” It was at this moment that the great hero Kyle Leonard, who would receive many names in the future, first stepped into the front stage of history.

From that instant, a new saga began, the saga of the hero named Kyle.