Upon hearing that Cloud had come out of the dungeon, King William put aside all his work and headed for his private room.

“Arrived?”

Cloud said, his face pale.

The royal healer sitting next to him stood up to voice the pleasantries, but William raised his hand at once to halt.

“How is the hero’s condition? It surely doesn’t look good, so..”

“It hasn’t gone that bad. Atleast now he’s out of danger, but it was very serious before.”

“..more than this?”

What can be even worse than shadowy, sunken cheeks and thick dark circles?

The healer nodded.

“When I first laid my eyes at him, the hero’s body was a horrific spectacle. The blood flow was unorganised, organs were all bruised, and the muscles’ condition was the worst—swollen, torn and spasming. It is a miracle to be still alive.”

“..Iris-sama’s miracle.”

“Yes. I can only see it as the graceful mercy of Iris-sama.”

Cloud frowned, but that passed the sights of the two devout believers.

“Is he alright now?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The first aid treatment went well and after that the recovery too.”

“Good, good. Would you mind leaving us for a while? I desire to colloquy with the hero, in private.”

“I don’t, Your Majesty.”

The healer nodded his head politely towards both of them and left the private room.

Cloud waved his hand at the departing healer and grabbed the soup bowl beside him and began to drink in mouthfuls.

Seeing this, William sighed in relief.

“I came here in a hurry hearing about your condition.. What in Goddess’ name happened!?”

“I’m somewhat injured, I guess? What am I supposed to do when the means of the older generation are so heavy?”

“Means are heavy..? There’s no way you’d have had a fight with them.. You were being taught?”

“Yes.”

“What?! R, Really!? They actually taught you!?”

“Anything for me to gain from lying?”

William opened his mouth stupidly, then smiled broadly.

“Ha Ha Ha! Yes, I can understand what it would have been to be taught by them. No, considering they have taught their skills in such a short span of time, the level of effort must have been tasking.”

“Yeah.”

The reason Cloud’s physical condition was ruined was entirely due to the Gylph. But he couldn’t tell William anything about the Glyphs, so he rummaged around, and let him believe in his own self-thought conjuncture.

“Good, good..”

William was satisfied as he stroked his beard.

Soon after, his expression became more serious than ever.

“What about the Soul Stone?”

“It’s broken.”

“Is that so..”

William smiled bitterly.

Cloud tilted his head, finding the reaction blander than he expected.

“I thought you will shout and all because I broke it for no reason, hah..”

William shook his head.

“There’s no way you would break it for no reason. There must have been some intention, was there not?”

“Was.”

“Everything’s fine, then. In the first place, soulstone was created by their sacrifice. They’ve decided to destroy it, so who am I to complain? As royalty or the king of the nation, the end result is a little disappointing, but as a man who admires them, I am happy. They deserve rest.”

William’s eyes changed for a moment to that of a young boy with longing. The relieved look in those eyes made Cloud feel unsettled.

Even though he had absorbed the souls on their persuasion.

He decided to change the subject of the conversation.

“By the way, what happened to that demon and the archbishop?”

William’s eyes returned to that of a King’s.

""

“The demon has been given a public execution date. It will climb the guillotine in the city square soon. The Archbishop.. unfortunately, it is best to keep him in custody.”

“Is it because of the Church?”

“Indeed. An archbishop’s position is not light, we can’t put him up for felony..”

The significance of the any Archbishop in the Church was not small.

Mere testimony from a demon who had lost its mind to torture was not a proof enough.

That alone was not sufficient reason to be arbitrarily executed by any King.

“Still, he betrayed humanity, so he will be under Church’s direct custody and face interrogation.”

“And the Church will press up his dishonorable action.”

“What can I do? The kingdom is too weak to stand up against the Church.”

How could William be willing to leave that bastard so easily?

That bastard was the one who tried to dishonor his son’s honor and put him on the guillotine.

He was feeling a volcano boiling in his chest, beseeching to tear the bastard into two with his own hands.

But the reality was not into his favour.

If the archbishop were to be executed, the Church will excommunicate William and diplomatically isolate the Kingdom of Prona.

Kingdom of Prona was a weak kingdom at its core.

The moment they are isolated, the future will disappear.

So William had no choice but to clench his teeth and endure.

Before he was a father, he was the king of a nation.

Cloud looked at William’s expression of suppressed anger and let out a short sigh.

“Execute him. If the Church reacts, say that I insisted.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

William grinned.

But soon he saw that there was no sign of joking on Cloud’s face, and his expression hardened.

“Are you serious? Going against the Church?”

“Not the thing I will not be serious about. This matter is not about killing an innocent person, it’s about killing a traitor who has teamed up with the demons.”

“Even if it is true, they would take it differently.”

“It would be truly sad if that happened, but it’s okay. Even the Pope would never harbour the thought of excommunicating the hero chosen by the Goddess herself. More less sending a paladin for revenge, complete nonsense.”

“Forget about outside, from inside they will hate you. By which I mean, they will no longer be kind to you.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. How many people have ever been kind to me?”

How many people in this world would fully stand by his side?

Frillite. Lugar. Mars.

Only these three names came to mind right away.

‘Shedia, Katarina, and Leslie will be on my side soon.’

I wish they would.

When this gets over.

Cloud chuckled.