Chapter 89: Reunion (1)

"Sir Damian! What on earth are you doing!"

As soon as the meeting ended, Oliver Apple grabbed Damian and confronted him.

"Oh, oh, orc extermination! I, I can't possibly handle such a big task!"

"Then why didn't you say you couldn't do it just now?"

"How, how can you say that! Everyone was looking at me with such high expectations!"

Oliver Apple raised his voice in protest. But when Damian raised his hand, Oliver was startled and stepped back.

"Didn't you see how the officials' attitudes changed? It was quite a sight, wasn't it?"

Oliver Apple's mouth closed at Damian's words, indicating his agreement.

"Wasn't it also good to see His Majesty pleased?"

Oliver Apple nodded silently.

Oliver Apple was a man who craved recognition more than anyone else.

Someone like him couldn't possibly dislike the situation he was in just now.

"Don't worry. Just do it. Then no one will ever dare to ignore you again."

"But... "

Just as Oliver Apple spoke listlessly, a servant approached Damian and said,

"Sir Damian, His Majesty has requested a private meeting."

"I'll go now. Your Highness, I'll see you later."

Damian followed the servant to the king's office.

"Sir Damian, what's going on all of a sudden?"

As expected, the king had summoned Damian to ask about Oliver Apple.

"I know the prince well. He's not the type to get involved in something like this."

The king wasn't scolding Damian; his words were filled with genuine concern and worry.

It was only natural. His son had suddenly taken on a dangerous task.

"Your Majesty, you are mistaken."

Damian said to the king.

"Prince Oliver has a strong desire to be recognized. Moreover, he admires his uncle, Sir Alexander."

The king listened to Damian's words in silence.

"He has always wished to serve the kingdom with his abilities, just like Sir Alexander."

"So that's why he volunteered for the orc extermination?"

"That's right."

The king fell into thought for a moment.

"As a king and a father, I'm pleased to see Oliver take action. I want to help him in any way I can. But as you know, Oliver's position as the crown prince is precarious."

Oliver Apple had lived as a troublemaker for a long time. The royal family had tried to hide it, but it wasn't perfect. His close associates already knew.

"All I can do is provide basic support. If I do more, it will only damage Oliver's reputation."

The king was right. It could be perceived that the king was favoring an incompetent crown prince.

"Compared to that, Oliver is taking on too much risk. If this extermination fails, it will cause a huge problem."

As Damian had seen with his own eyes, the noble officials were openly criticizing Oliver, indicating how precarious his position was.

If he volunteered for the orc extermination and failed, it could even put his position as crown prince at risk.

"Don't worry. I'm here, after all."

Damian said nonchalantly. The king felt a great sense of trust from his indifferent attitude.

"Having Sir Damian here is reassuring. But... I don't understand. Why are you going to such lengths for Oliver?"

Damian fell into thought at the king's question.

The reason Damian was helping the prince was for the sake of his family.

In the future, the Apple Kingdom would fall into rebellion, leading to the king's death, and Oliver Apple would suddenly ascend to the throne.

The inexperienced king would fail to govern properly. The kingdom would be greatly shaken, and the suffering of the people would increase. As a result, the Apple Kingdom would easily fall in the war with Dorgo.

Damian had come here to prevent that.

The Apple Kingdom was, after all, the homeland where his family lived.

But it wasn't just for practical reasons.

"I just couldn't stand by and do nothing."

Damian hadn't expected to grow so fond of Oliver Apple. At first, he found him annoying.

"Since Sir Damian is stepping up, I can't just sit by."

The king opened a drawer and took out something. It was a small wooden box made of ebony.

When he opened the box, a scent like pine needles spread. Inside, a blue bead was wrapped in silk.

"This is the inner core of the Sea Serpent."

An inner core referred to a lump of mana generated inside a monster's body.

Some monsters used these inner cores to manifest various abilities.

The Sea Serpent was one such monster. It was a large monster that lived in the sea, not only enormous in size but also possessing the ability to control water.

Sailors regarded it as a demon's henchman sent from the sea.

"An interesting item."

Inner cores were not something you saw every day. The inner core of a rare and powerful monster like the Sea Serpent was even rarer.

The amount of mana contained in the inner core was considerable, just like the Sea Serpent's reputation.

"If you successfully complete this task... no, even if you don't, I promise to give this to you."

Damian's chronic problem was a lack of mana.

The Sea Serpent's inner core would solve that problem completely.

It was an excessive reward for taking on a troublesome task.

"Trust me."

* * *

When Damian finished his business and left the study,

"Sir Damian, did your meeting with His Majesty go well?"

Liam Blugreen was waiting for Damian in front of the study.

"There's someone who wants to see you. Can you spare a moment?"

A person who could use a high-class individual like Liam Blugreen as a messenger.

Only one person came to Damian's mind.

"Lead the way."

Damian followed Liam Blugreen. He led him to the royal garden.

An artificial small lake.

A small pavilion built on it.

Someone was sitting there.

"Sir Damian, it's good to see you again."

Prince Alexander Apple said with a friendly smile.

"Sit down first."

Prince Alexander Apple offered the opposite seat. Damian pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Your Excellency, what is this about?"

"I called you here to give some advice. It's a pity to see a promising young man walk into danger."

Damian raised one corner of his mouth.

It seemed he was going to meddle in things that weren't his business, just like at the city gate.

"Sir Damian seems young and inexperienced in the ways of the world."

"I think I'm old enough."

"Ha ha ha, so you're on my nephew's side, huh?"

Prince Alexander Apple laughed loudly.

"Sir Damian may not know, but Oliver is in a very bad situation."

Damian listened to Prince Alexander Apple's words half-heartedly.

Not because he trusted Oliver Apple, but because he thought he could beat him again if he didn't listen.

"Everyone tried to change Oliver at first. There's a saying that there are no bad seeds under a good tree, right? But the boy didn't change. He always remained the same."

Damian didn't pay much attention to Prince Alexander Apple's words.

"Even though he's my nephew... he can't be trusted, even with empty words. His behavior is not good."

Prince Alexander Apple continued, seemingly unaware.

"Everyone has given up on him now. It's not an exaggeration to say that almost no one believes in him. On the contrary..."

"Your Highness seems uncomfortable with Prince Oliver getting attention."

Damian said bluntly. Prince Alexander Apple nodded.

"What a strange thing to say. Why would I be uncomfortable with that?"

Damian chuckled. Prince Alexander Apple might think he was hiding it well, but Damian had already seen it.

The moment he said it, Prince Alexander Apple's pupils trembled slightly.

"I appreciate your concern, but it seems to be unnecessary advice."

With that, Damian stood up. Before leaving the pavilion, he looked at Liam Blugreen and said,

"Sir Liam, I didn't expect you to be on this side."

Liam Blugreen smiled faintly at Damian's words.

"A choice for the kingdom."

"If that's the case, there's nothing I can do."

Damian left the pavilion.

After Damian left, Prince Alexander Apple clenched his teacup tightly. The cup shattered into powder.

"What a presumptuous brat."

Prince Alexander Apple ground his teeth and muttered.

* * *

After that day, a notice was posted to recruit troops for the orc extermination.

But no matter how much time passed, no one volunteered.

Even when letters were sent in Oliver Apple's name, the result was the same.

The knight families gave various reasons to refuse participation.

"…It seems to be because of my reputation."

Oliver Apple said with a dejected look.

"The families close to the royal family know how pitifully I've been living. So they don't want to send troops."

It was clear that the fact that the crown prince was a troublemaker was known by all the noble and knight families connected to the royal family.

With the knight families acting this way, there was nothing Oliver Apple could do.

He could force troops to be sent by using the king's authority, but as the king said, receiving such support would only damage Oliver Apple's reputation.

"What, what should we do? If we can't even start the extermination and it ends like this…"

Oliver Apple's face turned pale. He seemed to be afraid of the ridicule that would follow.

"There's nothing we can do."

"Y-Yes… there's nothing we can do."

"Only one way left."

"Huh?"

Damian said casually.

"Add my name to the notice. Say that Damian Haxen is recruiting troops to exterminate orcs together."

Thus, one more line was added to the notice.

And within two days of Damian's name being added, a knight led a troop to join.

"Brother! I'm here!"

Mikhail Ryanbloom.

The eldest son of the Ryanbloom Marquess family.

The future Swordmaster had arrived.