chapter 12

“Right, what’s this guy’s problem? Get him to tell us why he attacked us . ”

Oscar told his men .

So I looked into the face of the man who was subdued – and I said .

“It’s you . ”

“Do you know him, Noah?”

“Yeah . Sort of . ”

What a surprise, it was that debt collector who attacked me .

I looked around, and I didn’t see the guys who were on their knees in front of the 13th Prince’s residence .

I told him about the series of things that started with Alice .

“Yeah, it’s totally counterproductive . ”

“Fuck you! Hey, let go of me!”

“Too loud . . Let’s remove that jaw . ”

“Ha!”

At Oscar’s command, the gent removes the debt collector’s jaw with an extremely expert hand .

Cleverly, not your average Joe .

Well, I don’t care about this guy .

More importantly, it’s the armor linked to the Leviathan .

Oscar marveled at how well he was using it, but I’m still not sure if he really is .

I’d like to try it out some more .

I look up at Oscar .

“‘Brother, could I ask you to do one thing for me?”

“Yes, please speak up . ”

“I’d like to see how well I can handle this armor . Since brother has expert magicians with him, can you help me with this one?

“It’s no problem . What do you want to do?”

“Um, …… . ”

I told Oscar what I was thinking .

Oscar listened to the end of it in silence, and then smiled with a snicker .

“Then let’s get on with it . ”

“Are you sure you wanna do this yourself, brother?”

“Yeah . I’d like to see how it works, wouldn’t it be more informative to do it yourself?”

“Okay . Well, then, let’s go inside my house . ”

“Yup . ”

Nodding, I entered the mansion with Oscar .

Just before we left the place, Oscar gave a look to the man, the debt collector was being taken somewhere .

He attacked a prince, and he’s going to get the punishment he deserves .

We didn’t enter the mansion building, but rather came to the yard .

Then we face each other and get about ten meters away from each other .

“Let’s go . ”

“Okay . ”

Nodding, Oscar began to chant a spell .

A magic circle was spread out at his feet, and his aristocratic clothes fluttered with the rising magic power .

Immediately afterwards, many flaming arrows flew in unison .

One, two, three – seventeen in all .

Seventeen flame arrows flew in and scattered all at once a few meters in front of me, and then they attacked me in the entire perimeter .

I didn’t move, I was standing in a state of peace .

The flame arrows that flew at me were blocked by a shield that was transformed by the ring from the Leviathan Link .

There were seventeen arrows and seventeen shields that were put out around me .

All of the seventeen arrows that Oscar shot at me were exactly blocked by all of them .

“Haha …… that’s amazing . Noah was the first person to prevent this so perfectly . ”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah, I’m still working out on this one . Wow, that’s amazing, Noah . I’d love to show this to His Majesty . ”

I nodded at the excited Oscar .

” I suppose I’ll have to figure it out a bit more . ”

“Why?”

“If I show it to His Majesty, he will surely ask me ‘how it happened’ . If you can’t explain your power to him then, then what’s the point?”

“I see . Clever Noah, I didn’t know you could think that far ahead . ”

I smiled back at Oscar .

I’ve been thinking a lot about making this ability more my own .

☆ .

The next day, for a change of pace, I went out to the store where Alice is .

I figured that the debt collector would no longer be able to recover, and if Arice was still worried about it, I’d tell her and reassure her .

So I went to the store with that in mind .

And, there Alice was just singing along .

I didn’t want to interrupt her singing, I gave the clerk ten reeks, including the tip, and took the best seat to listen to her sing .

Yeah, I knew it .

The more she sings, the more she will grow . Definitely, she’ll grow .

I was quietly listening to Alice’s song, thinking that I’m looking forward to the future .

When the song ended, Alice caught her breath .

There are a few guests here and there who throw a treat in between acts .

In the midst of this, one of the guests approaches the stage with a dazed step .

“Yo sis, that was a good song, see, here’s your reward . ”

“Thank you very much . ”

“Come over here and pour me a drink . ”

“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant–“

Alice was used to this kind of drunk, though she tried to refuse without changing her face .

“Ahn, back off, you . I had my eye on this woman first . ”

Another drunk appeared from the other side .

“Shut up . I’m going first . ”

“You shut up and get in there . ”

Two drunks, fighting Alice while imposing their own rules .

Alice looked troubled .

“Wanna go, you bastard!”

“You fucking did it!”

The two men grew more and more heated, each clenching their fists and hitting the other .

Gogon .

There were two dull noises in rapid succession .

“Ouchhhh!”

“gaaah!”

They held their fists that they swung and were in pain .

Between the two of them – I was the one who had interrupted them .

At this rate, blood will be seen .

I don’t care what happens to these two, but it would be disgusting for Alice to see it involved .

So I interrupted, between their punches .

Then Leviathan reacts and pulls out two shields from the linked ring to block the punches .

The drunkards punched the iron shields as hard as they could, holding their hands and screaming in agony .

“What the hell!”

“Get out of my way!”

I silently pulled out my leviathan and slashed them both .

In the next moment, their clothes were torn apart and they were completely naked .

“N,Noooo . ”

“Hiiii!”

The men turned pale and ran away screaming, having only their clothes torn off in an instant .

I held back, I just didn’t want to spill blood in front of Alice .

Threatening them with Leviathan was fine, but if I “beat” them with it, it might not necessarily have a negative effect on Alice’s mind .

So this is how I had them comically exit the scene .

“What the hell was that, that was some amazing swordplay!”

“That’s the prince himself . Huh . …… As expected of the prince, his swordsmanship is also top-notch . ”

The atmosphere was buzzing around me, but the fact that I had stripped and chased them away in a mop, kept the atmosphere peaceful .

I turned to Alice .

“Are you okay?”

I asked her .

“Yes …… thank you so much . ”

“Hm . Hey, owner . ”

“Yes, sir! Excuse me, my lord . ”

The owner, who had been watching the course of events at a distance, came running up to me in a hurry – so hurriedly that his foot hit the table .

“From now on, don’t let customers like that in . ”

“And yet, this is the kind of customer base that sustains our shop . We’re in the business of…”

“Okay, that’ s fine . I’ll buy the whole store, then . ”

“—-Eh?”

The owner is surprised . I pull the money I’m carrying around in my pocket and give it to him .

“I’ve got a thousand liens, I’ll buy the whole shop, so don’t let that happen again . ”

“Yes, sir! Thank you!”

The shopkeeper bowed his head over and over again as he held the money he had received high .

“That …… your highness . ”

“What’s the matter with you, Alice, you don’t look so happy . ”

“I don’t know how I can ever repay you for all you’ve done for me . ”

“Just keep singing . ”

I answered immediately .

“All I want from you is a song . All you have to do is sing . ”

” Just keep singing, Yes”

“Yeah, I’m counting on it . I hope His Majesty will eventually hear it, and in the meantime, devote yourself to it . ”

“Yes ……”

Alice’s eyes welled up with emotion and her cheeks dyed .

“Um, Your Highness ……?”

” Another song, if you would?”

“Yes, sing . ”

With a smile, I nodded and went back to my seat at the back of the room .

Waiting for me to sit down, Alice gave a beaming smile, then touched the strings of her harp and started to sing again .

“Mmm ……”

It was clearly different from the start .

As she started to sing, it was more and more pronounced .

Alice’s song enveloped the restaurant .

Me and the rest of the customers .

All of us fell in love with Alice’s song .

It was a clear departure from Alice’s previous songs .

It’s as if she grew – or evolved – in an instant .

I knew she had talent, so it makes sense that she would get better .

However, why all of a sudden?

The end of the song came as I was mysteriously listening to the song .

A moment later, there was a thunderous applause .

All the guests who had witnessed Alice’s hatching stood up and gave generous applause .

“Really, I wonder what that means,”

“I think it was His Highness . ”

“Hmm?”

Someone speaks to me from the side and I turn around .

I know that face, I think–

“Byron, huh?”

It was that merchant I met at the Third Vizier’s party, Byron .

Byron gave him a respectful look .

“Why are you here …… or more importantly, what do you call it my help?”

“Your Highness made her evolve the way she did . I thought the girl had grown out of her shell to respond to His Highness . ”

“Is that possible?”

“A rare occurrence . But that makes you, your Highness a great person indeed . ”

“Right . Is that going to last?”

“As long as you keep your eye on her, Your Highness . ”

Byron assured me .

Then it’s alright .