Chapter 13

After that, I locked the restrained Melty in the room where the storage was, and drove the two knights out of the frontier town. Whether it was fortunate or not, the knights had not sustained any life-threatening injuries, and they only needed to drink a potion each for recovery, with no further treatment required.

Neimira had performed a simple memory manipulation on the knights, altering their memory so they no longer recalled that Raithor had a servant who was one of the 'Six Witches of Destruction.'

Neimira's power was something even the Zain Kingdom was unaware of, making it a potential trump card. At this point, there was no benefit in letting anyone on the side of the crown prince know about it.

"I see, so that happened before I arrived."

"Exactly, if you had come sooner, none of that would have happened, you slowpoke."

After finishing the conversation with Melty and driving the knights out, Raithor spat venomous sarcasm at Zaphis Bartholomew, who had finally arrived.

In response to his disciple's words, Zaphis twisted his lips and retorted, "What can I do? Unlike you, I'm busy!"

Zaphis roughly picked up the wooden cup placed in front of him and gulped down the liquid inside. Then, he spat out half of it onto the floor with a "Huh!"

"Bitter! What is this!?"

"I apologize. It seems I got the amount of tea leaves wrong."

Neimira smiled and mopped up the quite strong tea that Zaphis had spilled. To the maid who was cleaning the floor with a calm expression, Zaphis cautiously asked,

"Um... are you angry?"

"Not at all, I'm not angry that you ignored Master's crisis or called him a figurehead, no sir."

"Ugh..."

Neimira's expression was a gentle smile, but beneath it, a face of fury like a demon's could be seen.

Zaphis's face contorted with fear, and he cleared his throat.

"Well, at least you're safe. By the way, I'm glad you agreed to return to the capital."

"I was wondering about that too. To actually follow the demands of those who drove you out, is Master a masochist?"

"Who's a masochist! I have my reasons!"

Raithor retorted and let out a sigh.

"Think about it, regardless of what the palace people are planning, we can't just leave the Arslane Empire alone. If the empire destroys the Zain Kingdom, they will naturally exterminate the royal family. I can't just stand by and let that happen."

He could explain his mistreatment by the crown prince and seek a pardon, but there was no guarantee the empire would accept it. From the empire's perspective, there was no benefit in keeping the royal family of a destroyed enemy country alive. It was much more likely they would eliminate them to prevent any future trouble. Whether it was beheading or burning, the treatment would not be good.

"Besides, this is a great opportunity. During the war, Granado will have no choice but to concede to our demands, and we can even force him to provide aid to this town."

The frontier town serves to prevent the influx of monsters from the dense forest in the south of the Zain Kingdom. Despite this, the town's operations are funded by the money from selling monster materials and loans from the adventurer's guild. The palace has never provided any financial assistance.

"Is that all? You're not planning to take revenge on your brother, are you?"

Zaphis frowned and pressed the question. Knowing Raithor from when he was sent to the frontier, Zaphis was well aware of how much the young prince had been devastated and hurt by the betrayal of the people he trusted. He suspected that Raithor might return to the capital during the war to exact revenge on the crown prince.

"Revenge, huh..."

In response to the sword master's questioning, Raithor gazed out the window with a distant look.

He had hated his brother Granado for betraying him. He had resented Rockwood Marcel and Bazel Galst, Granado's close aides. He had even despised the Zain Kingdom for maintaining peace by exiling him to the frontier and mistreating him.

"But... it's not about that."

Still, Raithor had sworn he would not seek revenge. If Granado left him alone, he was content to continue fighting monsters in the frontier for the rest of his life. The frontier town was filled with danger and turmoil, but that was precisely why the strong survived, and it suited Raithor.

"If Granado leaves me alone, that would be fine. But if he still tries to take more from me, I have no choice but to fight. I won't let them take anything from me again."

"...I see."

"I will go with you to the end, Master!"

Hearing Raithor's resolve, Zaphis nodded solemnly. Neimira, too, clasped the hem of her skirt and bowed cheerfully.

"This is a battle to protect my pride. I will take back what was taken and show no mercy to those who took it. I will crush both the empire and Granado."

With a resolve burning like a raging fire, Raithor glared at the northern sky visible from the window.

In the distance, in the palace of the Zain Kingdom, the holy sword that had been stored away for years cried out as if calling to its master.

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