About thirty minutes later, Riley and Edna appeared in front of the entrance of the throne room. The large doors were already open, as if their arrival was awaited.

Not deciding to wait, the siblings walked straight into the massive room. The color scheme of the giant room was basically the same as the family’s bedrooms. The biggest differences between the throne room and the bedrooms was the size and lack of furniture.

The only things that sat in the massive room were the two thrones sitting at the end, far from the entrance. There was also a very fancy carpet extending outward from the thrones that practically covered the entire floor.

Having been in this room before, Riley was extremely familiar with it. Of course, he hadn’t seen it in four years. For Edna, however, this was the first time she had ever seen it. Though she was technically nobility, she had lived most of her life similar to that of a commoner, just like Riley.

“Wow! This is amazing! I’ve never seen such a large room before!” she exclaimed. She observed the entire room with great interest.

“To be perfectly honest, I’ve always found this room to be pointless. It’s too big, and its only purpose is to speak with the king. It’s rather tacky.”

Honest and blunt, Riley scratched his cheek and walked forward. Edna followed behind him, pouting because her view was different from his. “But it’s so big! How could you possibly not like it! You could fit so many people in here!”

“Actually, I have to agree with Riley,” said an old man. Riley and Edna looked further into the room and saw several people already standing inside.

One of those people was an older fellow with short red hair. His gruff face sported a thin grey stubble. He likely hadn’t shaved in a while. Also, he was rather large. Height-wise, he was extremely tall: roughly 6ft and 6in. He had on a pair of pauldrons shaped like serpents’ heads, their mouths wide open and two big fangs sticking out. It was rather showy, reflecting sunlight from the windows off of its red surface.

He also had on a thick chest plate, essentially meant to protect his upper torso. Aside from that, he was in rather common clothing. Nothing too fancy. His black boots stuck out, but even more than that, he had a massive broadsword hanging off of his back. From appearance alone, it seemed far too heavy for anyone to even lift.

“This room is too big for anything. It would be better put to use for amazing duels!” he called out enthusiastically. With his fist in the air, he held his head up proudly. Of course, Riley’s face didn’t change in the slightest. Edna on the other hand…

“Gramps! You have to ruin everything for me too!”

“But it’s true! Who wouldn’t agree! Gah!” The old man, Cadmus Drake, was struck on the back of the head by another person who stood in the room.

“That’s enough, Old Man. Not everybody is a battle freak like you,” she said. This woman was at least as tall as Riley. She sported clothing very reminiscent of Riley's. She wore tight, dark pants with a fancy belt, dress shoes, a white button up tucked in, and a vest over her clothes.

However, there were some differences she had. One of these things, of course, was her large chest. Naturally, they made her shirt and vest seem to protrude forward, more than she cared for. Also, she wore a yellow bow tie around her neck.

At her waist, she wore a rapier. The blade had to be excessively thin, as the sheath used to hold it was rather tiny, even for a rapier. Its hilt was a lapis blue, and the guard sported a Fox motif on it.

Her skin also had a tan to it, as if she had spent much of her life in the sun. Her dark purple hair was tied back into a bun as well, tied back with a yellow ribbon. From that bun, her hair seemed to extend as two long braids that fell down to her feet. Finally, she had a small scar on the inside of her left eyebrow.

After making her statement, the young woman moved from her spot and walked to Riley, standing in front of him with a rather calming smile. “Hey there, Riley.”

Like meeting up with an old friend, she reached out and hugged Riley, who hugged her back. “Hey, Mari.” The young woman’s name was Maria Beauclair.

She became acquainted with Riley five years ago when he first started coming to the castle. At the time, she didn’t serve as the Royal family’s guard and had already been working within her Merchants’ Company. However, she commonly visited the castle to help assist the king with his and the kingdom’s finances. Plus, she was a friend of the family, so her presence wasn’t uncommon.

Because of his work as an adventurer and because of the situation at the time, Riley was also in and out of the castle, so he had met with her commonly. Their relationship was mostly business like, but two months before he left, they had a friendly and platonic relationship.

Even after he left the kingdom, whenever he would return to deal with society work, he would visit her just like he would Edna. They would discuss the state of the world and various other topics as well. To say the very least, they enjoyed the other’s presence.

Maria pulled herself off of Riley and stood in front of him.

“I heard you were in town. I’m surprised it took you this long to visit.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t planning to stay for very long. I was going to make a quick appearance before I leave town, but I guess that’s not necessary now.”

“Guess not.”

The two smiled lightly as they talked. Behind Maria, another few figures stood by the walls. Each of them didn’t understand the situation.

All of them were in rather common clothing. One of them was a young man with shoulder length, shaggy hair, and a small beard that sat on his chin. He wore a grey jacket with a flame design from the bottom, and had a small weapon hanging from his waist. Appearance wise, it appeared to be a small rod, probably extendable. His name was Wyatt Germaine.

Beside him was a girl who was quite short and petite. She wore what appeared to be a uniform. Her long sleeved school shirt had a pocket along the breast, and its collar stood out as well as the only white piece she had on. She also wore black jeans and tennis shoes. Her brown hair was short, reaching her ears, and swept to the side. On her back rested a bow and quiver, but no arrows. Her name was Joy Hunter.

Finally, the last of the three seemed to be a man in his early twenties. He had dark skin and buzzed black hair. His right eye was permanently closed, and he wore a pair of sunglasses on his forehead. His appearance differed from the other two greatly. He gave off a professional air, his tuxedo giving him the appearance of someone who knew what he was doing. His name was Darius Watkins.

All three of them were Summons, just like Joseph Blanch.

“That guy is friends with Maria? What makes him so special?!” Wyatt complained.

“Stop complaining. It makes you look uglier than you already are.”

“What was that Joy?! Like you can talk, all dressed in black!”

“Shut up! This was my school uniform! I didn’t exactly get to come here with a fresh set of my daily clothes!”

“Yeah, cause I see you complaining about it…”

“That’s enough, both of you!” Darius ordered. Even with them whispering to each other, his deep voice still rang in their ears. 

While Joy listened and crossed her arms, Wyatt looked the other way and complained in his head. Darius looked forward and waited patiently. Of course, the people in front of him did pique his curiosity, so he tried to listen to them as well.

Cadmus Drake, a noble and proud warrior of this world, often considered the strongest. His granddaughter, Edna, who sits in the Adventurers’ Society as one of its bartenders. Maria Beauclair, one of the most important figures in the country for her skills in commerce, and even her swordsmanship. All three of these people are remarkable. But even so, who is the guy in the glasses? All of them know him and seem to be close to him.

Using his Peering Conjuring, Darius stared at Riley to try and get a read on his power level. However, Darius was left more confused. Interesting. I can’t see any Ether coming from him. Considering how this world is, he likely has Ether, but it’s probably somehow suppressed or invisible. Either way, he’s definitely someone to keep our eyes on.

“Where’s Joe at, anyway? Shouldn’t he be here as an escort?” Wyatt asked. 

None of the three liked Blanch very much. He was way too cocky and looked down on everyone as if he were at the top of the world. The only issue was that he actually had decent skill, assuming he wasn’t fighting someone superior to himself.

“That jerk is probably picking stupid fights again. He gets killed, it’s no skin off our backs,” Joy scoffed. She hated him the most since he did nothing but hit on her while boasting about himself. Joy found it completely disgusting.

“He’ll be here soon. After all, he wasn’t sent out of the kingdom,” Darius mentioned logically.

Both Wyatt and Joy scoffed at his remark, however, and seemed very disappointed.

Meanwhile, Riley stood beside Cadmus, Edna, and Maria and continued to lightly chat. This went on for another few minutes until finally, the sound of a door opening echoed throughout the hall. Everyone looked to the back of the room to find the royal family walking in.

First, Gregory and Isabelle made their way to their respective thrones. Gregory supported his wife, who was still weakened from exhaustion, to her own seat. Compared to the week before, Gregory seemed more relaxed and even appeared kind hearted. Perhaps it was because he was with his wife, but Gregory wore a smile when he was with her.

Following them, Elijah and Elice walked in. What was odd was Elijah. Because of the injuries he had taken from the Grendel attack, he had a cloth wrapped around his head, and his arm was in a cast and sling. They couldn’t tell before, but his arm had taken some serious damage from the crash. It wasn’t just his arm, but also his hand. His fingers could be seen hanging out of the cast as well.

When he and Elice walked in, rather than getting into their normal positions, they both walked towards Riley.

“Damn, the prince got his ass kicked.”

“He’s kinda handsome with all those bandages on.”

“And isn’t that Princess Elice? What are they doing?”

Having approached Riley, Elice quickly hugged him and stood in front of him with her arms on her hips. “Hey. Why didn’t you come back to the castle?”

Riley scratched his cheek as he replied with his normal expression. “Eh, it would be rude to intrude in your family time. I bet your mother appreciated being able to be near her kids again.”

Looking back to Isabelle, she waved at Riley, who waved back at her with a warm smile. Elice immediately looked away grumpily. “Big Brother, you still should have visited sooner! It’s been a week!”

“Maybe, but for your mother, it must have felt even longer to not be able to go near her kids. You should spe-”

“After that day, we’ll be spending every day with her! But you won’t be here every day! You could at least have shown up for one day!”

“I doubt your father would appreciate that.” Riley looked up at the king, who merely looked another direction as if he had humiliated himself.

Then, Elijah stepped forward. “Riley. It’s been a long time.”

Riley looked back at Elijah with familiarity and dropped his smile. Although he didn’t show it, Riley didn’t much care for Elijah.

Four years ago, Elijah was the only person he knew who was his age, but they were never friendly with each other. Rather, Elijah couldn’t stand Riley. “Prince.”

To Elijah, even though they were the same age, and they were worlds apart in social standing, Riley was his better at everything. He was jealous, and he couldn’t stand the fact that he was being shown up in skill and even in standing with his own parents and siblings.

Three months before he departed from Caera Kingdom back then, Elijah challenged Riley to a duel. In the past, Elijah was rather arrogant. He was already practicing with a sword and enjoyed exploiting his status. But Riley was the one existence he couldn’t stand back then.

When the two fought, Elijah used every trick he could to win, but he could never reach Riley. Every strike, every thrust, every maneuver. All of it was thwarted with ease. What made it worse was that Riley fought him unarmed. Ultimately, Elijah lost.

Although he wasn’t happy and kept his arrogance, that day he learned that he was weak and strived to do better. He stopped exploiting his status and merely spent every day training his swordsmanship and technique so that one day, he could best Riley.

Then, Riley left the castle. He remembered the words spoken to him after he said his goodbyes to his sisters. 

“Why are you leaving? I still need to beat you! Running away like a coward?!”

“No, I fully intend to return, and soon. But you’re far too inexperienced. If you ever hope to best me, drop your attitude and show some dignity.”

Those were the last words he and Riley ever exchanged. Unlike his sisters, he knew of his father’s command for Riley to be killed. He was present when the assassins he sent returned and gave in their report. When he discovered Gregory’s intentions, he was actually angrier than he thought he would be.

“Father, why did you have assassins try to kill him?!”

“Elijah, you wanted him dead too, no?”

“No, I wanted to fight him and prove that I was his better! He was a goal, and now there’s no way I can ever hope to know what limits I must surpass! He meant it when he said he was going to return, and now because of you, he won’t come back ever again.”

Elijah and Gregory had a falling out that day and never spoke as family ever again. Ever since then, Elijah took Riley’s advice. He made sure his attitude was in check and trained hard.

At the same time, he was conflicted. He thought he hated Riley to his core, but that wasn’t the case. While Rosa cried, he and Elice were angry. However, unlike Elice who was angry at Riley for not returning, Elijah was angry at his father. The man’s one action drove his family apart and into tears, into anger. He couldn’t forgive Gregory for what he had done.

Now, it was the present day, and Elijah stood before Riley, the tension clearly in the air. “You don’t have to refer to me as Prince. It’s a shameful title. I’ve come to realize that now.”

Gregory could hear the conversation and immediately became annoyed. To him, being in the royal family was the greatest honor they held onto. However, Gregory was fully aware that his children hated being in the crown family.

“Whether it’s shameful or not, it would still be rude of me not to call you by your title. After all, by calling you Prince, I’m not just showing you respect, but I’m also giving it to the rest of the royal family,” Riley explained. 

Riley tried his best to maintain a respectful attitude. His casual demeanor, innocent appearance, and calm words often helped him in situations such as dealing with nobility or royalty.

Remembering his attitude, Elijah let out a small chuckle. “Sounds like you’re as calm as ever.”

“Seems like you’ve calmed down a lot from back then, yourself.”

“Yeah. I know what my father did. I kept it secret from my sisters, but I know about his attempt to have you killed. That day, I guess something changed in me. Honestly, I didn’t know if we’d ever meet again. But then when I woke up last week, Elice and Rosa told me everything that happened.”

Elijah looked pained as he spoke. Noticing this, Riley relaxed. He believed that Elijah really had changed. The tension in the air dropped considerably.

“I never expected you to show up again, much less like this. And what’s the first thing you do? Protect me and my sister, and then you remove my mother’s curse!”

Everyone listened to his words. Edna and Maria smiled at this, as if it were normal. Edna knew very well how Riley behaved, so hearing Elijah speak like this was almost relieving to her. Like it was proof that Riley hadn’t changed.

Meanwhile, the Summons were surprised to hear them speak. While they were left silent, Darius immediately caught on that Riley had been here before. This guy is very familiar with the Royal family, it seems. I guess this means he must be an acquaintance from before when I was summoned to this world.

Frustrated at his own weakness, Elijah’s face twisted further in pain before he bowed to Riley, who was caught off guard completely. “Thank you for returning! Thank you for protecting me and Rosa! And thank you for curing my mother!”

Elijah loudly spoke his gratitude, making sure everyone heard it. In the past, he could never bring himself to do this. But now that he’s changed, and now that his family is closer than ever, he could show his gratefulness without even the thought of being embarrassed or humiliated.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable at the scene, Riley took a step back and smiled nervously. “It’s no problem, really. Could you raise your head now? I’m not sure royalty should be bowing towards a commoner.”

Hearing this, both Wyatt and Joy were surprised. 

“He’s a commoner?”

“Dressed like that?”

Elijah raised his head and looked Riley in the eye. “Maybe, but I would rather forsake my name than not show my gratitude towards someone I owe and respect.” Elijah seemed to have fierce determination in his eyes. He surely wouldn’t let it go so easily.

Isabelle smiled widely at his proclamation and giggled at his words. “My, how our boy has grown.”

Maria also smiled. When she was here, years before Riley first came to the castle, she had been familiar with Elijah’s attitude, and it certainly wasn’t one to be proud of. Seeing him having changed so much, Maria decided not to speak and kept her posture.

Afterwards, Elijah and Elice walked back to the throne, the former taking his spot between the king and queen behind them, and the latter taking her spot to the side of the king.

Another moment later, two more people showed up. One of them was Rosa, who was walking in on crutches, and the one behind her…

“You bastard! I’ll kill you!”

Annika hauled ass at Riley, even though her leg hadn’t fully healed. But before she could reach him, her Slave Brand reacted. Between the royals and the guests, Annika fell to the ground in immense pain. After a moment of excruciation, the curse stopped attacking her, leaving her lying on the floor.

“That’s what happens,” Rosa said behind her. Using her crutches, Rosa made her way to Riley.

“I’m surprised to see her here.”

“Yeah, her punishment was to serve the royal family for the rest of her life and act as our guardian. She’s officially my personal servant,” Rosa stated proudly.

Standing in front of Riley, she placed one of her crutches in her other hand, leaned in, and hugged Riley with her free hand.

“I see. That’s what happened. I expected a more severe punishment, honestly.”

Backing off of him, Rosa placed her other crutch back in her free hand. On her knees, Annika struggled to stand. “The punishment would’ve been more severe if my mother had been killed by the curse, but thanks to you, her punishment was reduced dramatically.”

“Interesting.”

The Summons listened to their conversation with great interest. Seeing them like this, they began to wonder to themselves who exactly Riley was. Darius was already aware that he was an important figure after his interactions and was left not surprised by the majority of his words.

However, Wyatt and Joy were in utter disarray. This guy, who they’ve never seen once since their summonings, not to mention the fact that he appeared just around their ages, was interacting with all of the royal family as well as with other nobles on what looked like more than friendly terms.

If that weren’t enough, he was a commoner of this world and appeared to be extremely weak. He was scrawny and didn’t seem to have a weapon. Not only that, but they thought it was odd that they couldn’t sense him at all. Not just that, but they both looked and couldn’t see any Ether flowing from him.

“Hey, hey, what gives? Why is this guy so special?”

“That’s right! He looks worthless to me!”

As they both complained, Rosa turned and gave them the stink eye. Edna also seemed to find them disrespectful and stuck her tongue out at them. However, Riley looked the other way, deciding not to get involved. They must be the other Summons of Caera. They sound like a handful, so I should probably avoid interacting with them.

Listening to their complaints reminded him of Blanch. They were obnoxious and unbearable in his eyes, so it would be best to simply ignore them as much as possible. Of course, this reminded him of something.

Facing the direction of the king, Riley took a step forward. “King Gregory, about the person you had to escort me…” he started. His words garnered everyone’s attention, and the room went silent. Knowing what he was going to say, Edna made sure to look elsewhere.

“What is the matter with your escort, Sir Murus?” the King asked bluntly. He sounded much less hostile compared to the week before. Likely, it’s because Riley’s actions brought his family together again. Riley, of course, was slightly surprised at Gregory’s sudden show of respect. Sir?

However, he couldn’t bring himself to like Riley. Even in the past, when he worked as an adventurer for Isabelle’s behest, Gregory couldn’t bring himself to enjoy Riley’s presence. Riley had more freedom than anyone he had ever met. As such, he could come and go as much as he wanted, and he never aligned himself to the kingdom, so there was always the chance that Riley could be used as a weapon against the kingdom as well, such as to gain the trust of the Royals and one day betray them. His mind always circled back to this.

However, because he saved not just his children’s lives but even Isabelle’s life, these thoughts began to perish. Mostly. He still had the recurring thought that Riley shouldn’t be fully trusted. After all, what if he did what he did so that the royal family would then owe him. That would be a debt they would have to one day uphold to maintain their appearance to the rest of the kingdom.

However, with other events coming to his mind as of late, his prejudice of Riley, especially after removing the curse, seemed irrelevant.

“You probably want to make sure he’s treated appropriately. I made sure to give him first aid, but there’s no way he’ll be fit for fighting or travel in his current condition,” Riley explained nervously.

His words seemed to spark confusion in the Summons, the king, and the queen. Maria sighed and made sure to look away, as if she knew the reason why. Cadmus, meanwhile, didn’t even bother to listen. This had nothing to do with him, he thought, so he had no reason to jump into the middle of it.

Darius, however, seemed to think he might have figured out what was going on. Observing Edna, who looked extremely frustrated, he began thinking of what it meant. Blanch is injured? It must be pretty bad if he’s being called unfit for travel. But even so, who would have put him in that state? He might act incompetent, but he’s stronger than the average adventurer. Looking at that girl over there, could she have had something to do with it?

“Was he attacked?” Darius asked out loud, for the first time making his presence known to Riley.

In a quick reply, Riley answered, “Well, he actually picked the fight. Edna knocked him away pretty easily, but she didn’t hurt him.”

Listening to Darius’s surprisingly soft tone, Riley felt as though Darius was different from the other three Summons. It wasn’t just his tone or more respectful attitude, but even his presence seemed to be rather strong. He might be easier to get along with than the others.

Pretty easily, huh? Ms Edna must be very strong if he wasn’t even a challenge for her. “If that’s the case, then why is he…”

Riley scratched his cheek and rolled his eyes to the corner of the room. “That would be my doing. I kind of lost my temper.”

Hearing this, the Summons were dramatically shocked. Even if they didn’t like him, they knew he wasn’t completely worthless. Even the king seemed to be surprised.

“You lost your temper?” Rosa asked. To her, that didn’t sound right. Even when he was confronted by the mouthy adventurer Bard and her ‘personal assistant’ Annika, he seemed to be always calm. Like nothing ever bothered him. “That doesn’t sound right. What happened?”

Taking a step back, Rosa looked almost sadly into Riley’s eyes. “At first, it was because of his words, undermining my family ties with Edna. Of course, she handled that herself, and I was just a bystander. But then he mouthed off to both of us, and then when he tried to attack me twice after not listening to me, I may have crushed his skull under my shoes.”

Edna looked pained when she remembered what happened to Blanch. She never wanted to see Riley like that again. Meanwhile, Darius’s eye widened slightly, but didn’t seem to hold hostility. So it was his mouth. And did he say he tried to attack him?

Isabelle’s, Elice’s, and Elijah’s eyes widened greatly. Even back when they knew him in the past, they’d never once seen Riley get mad. Just the thought was enough to surprise them. “That’s hard for me to picture. I didn’t think Big Brother could ever look angry.”

“Even when I challenged him, he never appeared anything other than calm,” Elijah muttered.

Rosa thought back to the fight against the Grendels and imagined his face from then. Every time he looked at her, he never appeared mad. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying himself if anything.

Remembering the fight he had before arriving, Riley looked at Cadmus. “Speaking of that, Cadmus, you will want to fix the floor of the building. And maybe the counter and chairs.”

“What?! That place cost me a fortune! Don’t destroy it!”

“It’s not like you can talk, Gramps! How many times have you kicked people through walls?!”

“That’s true, Old Man. You’ve had to pay for damages many times.”

Both Edna and Maria were ganging up on him. It was true as well. Cadmus enjoyed fighting, and when he was challenged inside of his own building, he had a bad habit of sending his opponents through walls, or even the roof.

This seemed to almost depress the old man. “That’s not my fault! The walls are just weaker than I thought they would be…”

“What do you mean by weaker? That’s the toughest wood you can build with! Specifically made so that you don’t blow it all up at once!”

Maria complained because she was the one who built the place for him. Every building he used previously is now… nothing short of a pile of rubble. It cost Maria a great deal of money to get workers to build up a place like that.

Meanwhile, Wyatt and Joy stepped forward.

“I can’t believe that this guy is better than Joe! I might not like the guy, but he wasn’t so pathetic that he would lose to some wimp in glasses!”

“Girlie over there is one thing, but this guy? He looks like a weak little girl with no Ether! I refuse to believe it!”

Riley ignored them and made sure to not pay them any mind. On the other hand, Edna, Rosa, Elice, and Elijah all glared at them. While Elice and Elijah didn’t move, Edna and Rosa made sure to get in between the two. Getting out of harm’s way, Maria and Cadmus decided to let them handle it themselves.

“Stop mocking him! The two of you couldn’t do anything to him!” Edna yelled.

Rosa made sure to stand in front of Edna. With all of this happening in her own castle, she couldn’t allow these things to slide. Her guest was being insulted, someone she liked, by Summons, who were also highly regarded. The only ones who had any authority over them was the royal family themselves.

“You two need to remember your place. Riley Murus is a friend of the royal family and has connections beyond just this kingdom. It’s not just because he’s well informed either. He is a strong adventurer with much more experience than either of you!”

“That’s enough, girls. They can believe I’m weak if they want to. They have a right to their thoughts,” Riley said, trying to make them all calm down and back off.

Finally able to stand after the pain of the curse was drained away, Annika tried to say something to Rosa as well. After all, she had seen how strong he was as well, but she hated him. If she could start some infighting, everyone might kill each other.

“That guy is trash! I bet these two could beat him easily!” This guy might be a freak, but Summons are supposed to have legendary strength. If I could get them to kill him, I can be free!

Enthused by her words, Wyatt and Joy smiled and agreed.

“She’s right!”

“We could easily take him down!”

Darius sighed and began walking to the corner of the room, trying as much as possible to avoid getting caught up in their mess. When they realized he was leaving them, Wyatt turned and called out to him.

“Darius! Where are you going?!”

“I would rather keep out of your business.” Rather, I’m not foolish enough to pick a fight I doubt I can win.

Once Darius reached the corner of the room, he looked back and simply observed everyone. Annika, while smiling deviously, also backed away.

Riley watched as the two Summons stepped in front of him. Wyatt pulled the rod off of his waist and allowed it to extend into a very long pole arm. Minimum length, at least six feet. It also appeared to be very ornate as well. The whole thing was green and the very ends were nigh golden. Along one of the ends was a long silver snake, wrapped around and especially meant to be used to enhance striking power. Getting hit by that would leave more than just a mark.

As he spun it very flashily around his body, Joy removed her bow and held it pointed down. Unlike Wyatt, she didn’t feel the need to be flashy and simply held it ready. Her free hand was raised to her empty quiver and merely lingered above it.

Once Wyatt stopped showing off, he pointed the staff at Riley and smiled. However, Riley simply huffed before looking at the king and queen. “Is this okay? I don’t want things to get out of hand if at all possible,” he asked.

They both looked at the current situation and appeared to have different views on it. Gregory closed his eyes, realizing the entire thing was becoming a rather annoying bother. However, Isabelle looked on with enthusiasm. She looked like she was looking forward to the fight.

“It’s okay! I want to see how strong you are, Sir Riley! I never got to witness you fight before. Today, you can hold up your promise to me!” Isabelle smiled widely at Riley.

Isabelle was also quite friendly with Riley four years ago. In fact, when Riley first appeared to Crestfall as an adventurer during the previous year, she was the one who summoned him to the castle. She had first heard of him through rumors of a newcomer adventurer who completed most of the jobs they had by himself.

During the year he spent in and out of the castle, he had a very friendly relationship with the queen. At the time, he hadn’t gotten his glasses yet, but still managed to keep his eye color from being seen.

The day before he talked to the king about the queen’s curse, she had given him those glasses. Even though he wasn’t allowed to go near her, she had this gift presented before him. It was then that he discovered she had the curse. However, she stated that she was fine with the curse and simply asked for one thing.

“Please don’t worry about the curse. It’s something I’ve lived with for years.”

“But I feel like I could help somehow.”

“Well, if that’s how you feel, maybe one day you could show me how strong you are. I’d love to watch you in action.”

“But…”

“It’ll make me feel much better. Promise me you’ll show me one day?”

“…Okay. I promise.”

Now, he could uphold his promise. Although he wasn’t one to fight for no reason, he felt that he could at least resign himself to his promise that he couldn’t keep for four years.

“Okay… then I ask that you two not hold back, please,” he spoke, innocently smiling at Wyatt and Joy. Of course, this simply served to annoy Wyatt. However, Joy’s reaction seemed to be more embarrassed rather than annoyed.

“Wait, Riley! Are you sure?” Edna asked with concern.

“This isn’t a good idea…” Rosa commented. While she was concerned about Riley as well, she knew full well that a fight between the three of them could cause major damage.

However, Riley merely smiled at the two. “It’s fine. I can minimize the damage to the surrounding area, so there’s no need for worry. And Edna, I know you don’t like this, but it’s better that I fight for myself here. I’m much better at holding back than you are, so I’m less likely to accidentally kill them,” he calmly explained.

This was definitely true if the earlier fight with Blanch was anything to go by.

Wyatt became rather frustrated with his words. They were the words of someone who believed themself superior. It was something he couldn’t allow.

“All right, then.”

 

~~~

 

“Now, Edna, if you could please help Princess Rosa back to her family.”

In the next moment, Edna had helped Rosa back to the side of her mother. Afterwards, she went to stand by her grandfather.

In the center of the room stood Riley facing Wyatt and Joy. The supposedly intimidating glare Wyatt gave didn’t affect Riley in the slightest, irritating him further.

Joy looked at Riley with both a slightly demeaning yet slightly flushed face. Despite her earlier words of spite, now that she was face to face with the young man, she couldn’t help but feel something strange inside her. However, this wasn’t the time or place for her to think of such things.

“Now, before we begin, you two may cast enchantments on yourselves. Meanwhile, I plan to isolate our fight so that the others are not involved.”

Wyatt smirked at Riley’s words. “How generous of you. Why don’t you also cast an enchantment on yourself. Maybe that way it’ll be much more even, even if it’s only slightly!”

“I have no intention of doing so. I have a rather unique fighting style, so I’d rather not bother with enchantments until I deem them necessary.”

“You certainly sound condescending.”

“No, sir. Not condescension. Just rationalization.”

“Whatever you wanna call it, pal.”

“Fine, then I’ll start my enchantment,” Joy began as she held her hand to her quiver. “~~~~, Light Creation: Khryselakatos.”

In her quiver, arrows of light glowed brightly, and her bow seemed to darken, as if to make the arrows seem even more brilliant.

“Khryselakatos. That’s the first time I’ve heard the name, but the spell itself seems quite strong. It’s actually rather interesting to meet two people with an affinity for Light Conjuring on the same day. It’s rather uncommon, so you make the third one I’ve ever seen.”

Joy smirked at his comment. “So then, you’ve fought someone with Light Conjuring before?”

“Nope. The first is a friend of mine from another kingdom, and the second was the Summon from earlier. I didn’t fight him while he used magic, but Edna did. This will be my first time experiencing Light Conjuring from an opponent.”

Riley spoke with an innocent matter-of-fact attitude. It wasn’t false either. He had no reason to fight with his friend, and when he confronted Blanch, he brutalized him without either one of them using magic.

“~~~~, Poison Enchant: Black Mamba!”

From both ends of his staff, a black ooze began to secrete. The snake and ornate features of the staff were steadily covered in it. The ooze also dripped ever so slightly from the staff onto the floor, causing it to seem to melt.

“Poison Conjuring? It’s the first time in a long time I’ve seen anyone use it. I wonder how potent it is for you?” Riley bobbed his head upwards in thought, imagining how strong Poison Conjuring could truly be.

“Oh yeah? You seem rather calm. What about you? What are you skilled in?” Wyatt didn’t really want to know, but it would be a hassle if he started throwing something randomly in the middle of their fight, so he might as well ask. That said, he didn’t expect anything since he couldn’t detect Ether coming from Riley.

“Me? Well, I can use anything if I’ve seen it once…”

Rosa, Elijah, Elice, Wyatt, and Joy were all rather surprised by the statement. It wasn’t impossible, but it was extremely rare for anyone to be able to do something like this.

There were definitely cases of people able to use Conjurings outside of their own affinity. One example was Rosa. While she excelled in Dark Conjuring, she also had some proficiency with lesser spells of elements like water. However, most struggled to use them.

To hear that he could use just about any kind of magic after seeing it was unbelievable. 

“There’s no way that’s true! You don’t even have any Ether!”

“Well, you don’t have to believe me. Anyway, I should go ahead and set up our space.”

While Wyatt scoffed, Riley removed his glasses and tossed them to Edna, who carefully caught them. Everyone in the room who hadn’t seen them reacted to his ruby eyes.

Then, while they were distracted by them, Riley began chanting. “~~~~, Chaos Creation: Chaos Dominion!”

The chant he used caused everybody around him to jump. Following the chant, a massive barrier surrounded the three. To everyone outside, it appeared as though the group became smaller within the barrier. But on the inside, the space was actually just widely expanded, giving the group more space to work with without any unnecessary damages going beyond the barrier.

“What is this power?” Joy asked in awe. She looked at the clear film like barrier and faltered. Wyatt couldn’t even speak, he was so dumbfounded.

On the outside, however, even Cadmus couldn’t contain his surprise. Nobody could speak. Edna’s jaw had dropped, and Maria’s eyes were as wide as they could be. Gregory felt a sudden chill run down his spine, and his family looked on in absolute silence.

Even more shocked than them, however, was Annika, a sorceress who knew exactly how dangerous chaos was. That’s not possible!

Chaos. A power said to once belong to the gods who created the universe. It was a concept that was only believed to have existed at the beginning of time, or maybe even before time was a concept.

The power of chaos. It meant total control of the forces of the universe. For a human to wield such power, why had nobody ever heard of it? Why was his existence hidden? But not just that. Just how much of its power can Riley control?

These questions ran through everyone’s heads. Darius also seemed to realize just how dangerous of an ability Chaos was.

“Welcome to the Chaos Dominion.”

“What did you do? How?” Wyatt screamed in frustration.

“Put simply, I manipulated space to create a barrier, and then I expanded the space within the barrier so that you could fight however you wish.”

“This is some kind of sick joke! Chaos! Ha! Sounds pretentious!”

“Perhaps so. I can’t use Chaos to its fullest potential. Chaos is dangerous to everything that exists. As such, I limit its usage to barriers and minor spatial changes. Beyond that, I have no intention of using this power.”

Wyatt seemed intimidated, but he firmly stood his ground. With his staff in hand, he twirled it around before finally positioning himself in a proper fighting stance.

Joy, although having started to falter, pulled out one of her arrows of light and aimed it steadily at Riley with her bow.

“Whenever you two are ready, attack me in any manner you wish.”

Riley smiled as he stood with his arms behind his back. Joy started, using her arrow of light.

The arrow flew at immense speed, but halfway between the two, the arrow suddenly divided into one hundred. All of the arrows barraged Riley, who stood smiling.

With a crash, smoke rose from the impact. The area of destruction left behind by her attack was immense. Riley’s figure disappeared into the smoke, but somehow, the summons knew this didn’t take Riley down.

Taking the next step, Joy aimed into the sky with two arrows of light. “Khryselakatos: Rain.” This was a chantless spell. While the ability itself was commonly used, because there was no chant, the spell’s effectiveness was reduced. However, the difference was in the speed that the spell could be used.

In the sky, the arrows divided into even more than the first and began raining down. The destructiveness easily outclassed the previous attack. The endless number of arrows continued to fall for a good twenty seconds, leaving Wyatt rather displeased.

“Come on, I haven’t even gotten to start!”

“You’ll get your chance in a moment…” she started. In front of her, the smoke began to settle, revealing the silhouette of Riley and the glow of his ruby eyes. “None of my attacks landed.”

When the dust finally disappeared, Riley walked forward. “I guess Light Conjuring is also dependent on the level of the user’s casting level. Still, it’s an impressive power.”

Joy’s expression became slightly more serious as she watched him walk a perfect path through her arrows.

“I have to admit, I certainly wasn’t expecting to have to use anymore of my Chaos Dominion’s power through this fight.” Behind him, the arrows that had been fired stuck out of the ground. However, in the center and along the path he walked, there weren’t any arrows stuck out at all. Seeing this sight left Wyatt with a shocked look.

What? What did he do?

Riley raised his right hand, looking at it with a slight contemplative look. In it was a single, bright arrow. Rather than holding it, however, it managed to pierce through his hand. No blood seemed to flow, but it still protruded from his hand on both sides.

“Light Conjuring is impressive. This is the third time I’ve been injured.”

Conflicted, Joy raised her bow one more time, readied her arrow, charged its power, made it significantly thicker, and fired it at Riley. Dodge this!

The arrow fired at incredible speed, however, just shy of his nose, it suddenly redirected upward into the barrier, exploding upon impact.

The shockwave following forced Wyatt backwards slightly, but Joy, who watched the whole thing, widened her eyes. A stronger and faster attack shifted off course, yet Riley didn’t move.

Riley used his opposite hand to shatter the arrow, causing it to shatter into light particles. His hand didn’t seem to have an injury, but it still seemed to have burns. “Interesting. If it were anyone else, the arrow would have easily gone through the skin and kept going. If my curse wasn’t strengthened so much, it might have been able to pierce me properly. I’m glad the two of you decided to fight me. This has become extremely enlightening. I thank you, Miss…”

Joy’s eyes widened once again. He was cursed? It was certainly troubling if his curse could even stop her arrows. He must have a body strengthening curse. I wonder what the negative side to it is. Considering the strength of ordinary physical enhancements, this curse must be abnormally strong… “My name is Joy. Khryselakatos: Hunt.”

Joy fired two more arrows at Riley. Although they both missed him in a similar manner to the big arrow, they suddenly began shifting in course and redirecting at Riley. 

Riley dealt with the homing attacks with ease, moving out of the way when necessary with acrobatics reminiscent of a beautiful dance, and somehow causing the arrows to move out of the way whenever he stopped moving. Frustrated at the endless dodging and redirecting, Joy’s eyes narrowed dramatically. What is he doing? More than half of the time, he isn’t dodging, yet I still can’t seem to hit him. That big one too. He didn’t move then, either.

“Wyatt!” she called, giving him a serious glare. “While I have him distracted, get him!”

“Don’t get bossy with me!” Despite his words, he charged towards Riley with surprising agility. With his staff ready, he jumped and swung down from overhead. 

While Riley was distracted with the arrows, his attack succeeded in striking his shoulder, a burst of black goop spouting all over his arm and face. Wyatt smiled, but he felt something odd. It felt like his strike was just floating in the air.

At the same time, Joy controlled her arrows and aimed for Riley’s feet. Just as they were about to reach, Riley raised his hand lightly.

“What the hell?!” Wyatt yelled desperately as he flew through the air. Joy was also surprised as her arrows were suddenly redirected yet again. This time, they flew and pierced both of Wyatt’s shoulders. “Gah!”

“No way!” Joy muttered nervously. He is controlling it! But how? What is he doing?

Wyatt fell back and hit the ground, bleeding from the holes in his shoulders, unable to raise his arms or push himself up. “Dammit!”

Clap, clap, clap. Riley turned and looked towards the two with a light smile. Wyatt looked up at him in pain and rage, but that expression quickly changed to one of disbelief.

“That strike was excellent. You managed to burn my clothes.” His image was rather shocking, as he walked without even a hint of exhaustion.

“But… I hit you! With poison! You should be melting!” The Black Mamba’s poison. While an ordinary black mamba’s poison is extremely deadly, Wyatt’s Black Mamba technique is much more potent. In fact, it was closer to acid than poison, making it significantly more lethal. If one survives melting from the poison, then they would die from the traces of the toxin that remain in the veins and arteries afterward. It truly meant certain death.

However, Riley stood before them with only part of his clothes melting off, allowing them to see his bare right shoulder, arm, and part of his torso. The goop that hung off of him quickly fell to the ground. Even Joy couldn’t believe her eyes.

“This fight was short but enlightening. Even though not much has happened, I learned valuable information on both the Summons of this country and something with the capability of causing me injury.” Riley seemed truly happy as he spoke. Despite this, the other two looked at him like a freak of nature.

“As a reward for teaching me these things, I have an idea. I’ll tell you how I avoided all of your attacks. If you wish, I could also spar individually with you another time so that you can obtain experience.”

Wyatt was extremely frustrated, but he couldn’t even lift himself, so he remained quiet. On the other hand, Joy lowered her bow and straightened herself up. “I don’t care about the sparring match, but do tell me. What were you doing?” she asked fiercely.

“It’s actually rather simple. You are standing within my Chaos Dominion.”

The explanation was vague. It was far too vague. Wyatt grinded his teeth before yelling at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?! That’s not an explanation! So what if we’re inside this stupid bubble?! That doesn’t mean jack!”

Joy, however, seemed to be able to understand what was inferred by Riley’s vague words. “Then… we’ve been played with this entire time…” Wyatt looked at her confused and annoyed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“It’s exactly as she said.”

Wyatt returned his glare towards Riley.

“Everything within the Chaos Dominion is under my control. I can expand space or even manipulate it around an object to take complete control of it. I’ve simply been causing the two of you chaos, haven’t I.”

Joy bit her lip. Then, when all of those arrows missed him earlier, he expanded the space around him to make them move where he wanted. And then with Hunt and the big arrow…

Finally coming to the realization that he had been toyed with, Wyatt tightened his grip on his staff. “Don’t screw with me!”

Suddenly, an black goop exploded upward into a pillar. The black pillar spun at an incredible speed around Wyatt. Fortunately for Joy, she realized during his yell that he was about to unleash a powerful technique, and jumped backward.

“You fool! Don’t use that spell!” she scolded with an expression of alarm.

Riley looked up with no alarm at all. However, he let go of his smile and looked at the pillar with his normal expression.

Suddenly, something burst forth from the black pillar. Wyatt came flying from it with his staff in hand and began viciously assaulting Riley with his staff. 

It appeared as though Wyatt was pushing him back, his footwork and his surprising staffmanship apparently forcing Riley closer and closer to the barrier. However, Riley was excellently dodging each and every strike. While Wyatt danced with his staff, Riley moved away ever so slightly and made it look as though he was just barely avoiding taking damage.

Finally, the two reached the barrier. Backed into it, Riley merely smiled. Wyatt didn’t seem to care and aimed for the center of Riley’s forehead with a thrust. However, once again, Riley dodged at a hair’s breadth. The staff instead struck the barrier, resulting in a shockwave bursting from it and catching both of them in it.

“Damn!” Wyatt went flying back, but from a few meters above the ground, he drove his staff down, slowing his momentum dramatically just a few feet before his black pillar.

“Creation: Monk.” Riley remained standing in front of his barrier and had once again taken no damage. In front of his hands, which were raised in front of him, a staff made of metal formed and spun in a similar manner to the scythe he made when he fought the Grendels.

Taking hold of it, Riley placed one end of it on his shoulder while leaving the other end on the palm of his hand.

Wyatt glared at him, aggravated that he couldn’t do anything to Riley. This guy is way too tough. I’ll need a little more time so that my spell will be ready.

Wyatt charged forward once again, the end of his staff thrusting towards Riley’s chest. Riley responded immediately by parrying with his own staff. With Wyatt thrown off balance, Riley swung his staff lightly at Wyatt’s shoulder, which he noticed had healed.

Wyatt moved to the right, spun, and attacked at Riley’s feet in an attempt to sweep him off his feet. Riley jumped at the attempt. Using his own staff, he balanced it perfectly on the ground with one end and held his body up straight on it with only the palm of his hand. Wyatt was shocked at Riley’s sense of balance, but this was no time for shock.

His ‘standing’ left a quick opening. Wyatt then swung his staff back at Riley’s in order to knock it out of balance. However, foreseeing this, Riley propelled himself and the staff upward. Midair, Riley spun with his staff extended outward. He managed to land about ten meters away from Wyatt, his back turned to him.

However, he then quickly jumped backward with his staff only in one hand and attempted to swing at Wyatt’s body.

Unable to dodge, Wyatt pulled his staff up to block Riley, their weapons clashing and bursting sparks from it.

Meanwhile, Joy was becoming frustrated. She had completely underestimated Riley, and she was aware of that. Not just that, but Wyatt’s attacks as well as her own weren’t doing anything. At most, they seemed to be like bugs to Riley. I retract everything I said earlier. 

She watched as Riley and Wyatt went back and forth with their attacks. Wyatt’s attacks seemed rather dramatized, yet they had a certain dance like fashion to it. His strikes were no joke either. Most shields would be full of dents after taking a strike from him and his enhanced body. Yet Riley was dealing with them effortlessly.

And it wasn’t only that. When she watched Riley fight, half of his moves seemed extraordinarily simple, but then, when he made a big move, he showed off insane acrobatic feats, things that aren’t easy to do in any manner.

We can’t overdo our own moves. We might be able to heal rather quickly, but fighting for too long with strong attacks is still rather exhausting. In that case, I should prepare one final attack. I’m certain Wyatt is building up power for the same thing, despite the move he’s using being stupidly dangerous.

Joy reached her hand for her quiver and grabbed all of her arrows. Meanwhile, Wyatt had just taken five strikes in succession from the end of Riley’s staff. Two attacks hit his shoulders, two in his abdomen, and one dead center in his chest. “Kah!” Knocked off his feet, he bounced off the ground slightly and skidded back a couple meters. Damn it! Even without this damn space, his skill is incredible!

“Honestly, it’s really hard for me to hold back my physical strength,” Riley complained. Wyatt almost looked confused at his statement as well. “Since I can’t feel my surroundings, it’s hard for me to mediate my strength appropriately. I might end up breaking bones if I’m not extremely careful.”

Frustrated, Wyatt propelled himself from the ground with his staff in both hands and charged at Riley. Spinning it at incredible speed, he intended to strike Riley vertically in the jaw. “Don’t act so tough!”

Strike! His staff struck hard into Riley’s jaw. However, rather than knocking Riley back, the staff rebounded. Is this guy made of steel?! Even the poison that dripped from his staff simply dropped from Riley’s chin, yet did nothing to him.

“Your skill is excellent. You’ve got some impressive resilience and experience. You must’ve been in this world for a few years now if so.”

“Wyatt, now!”

Wyatt jumped backwards with great height, aware of what Joy was prepared for. Riley didn’t move and merely watched as the two finally prepared their strongest attacks.

“Khryselakatos: Million Sun!”

Releasing all of her arrows, they flew at the greatest speed as of yet towards Riley, who didn’t move in any way. Halfway, each and every arrow multiplied into significantly more arrows.

Reaching Riley, every arrow surrounded him, keeping him pinned in place. In the orb of a million arrows of light, you’ll be constantly assaulted from every single direction! 

Despite this, the spell she used exploded upward into a pillar of light, catching her and Wyatt by surprise. After it crashed into the barrier, it spread out across its roof until it finally dissipated into particles of light, looking like a ton of stars around them. Riley didn’t take a single injury.

“Poison Casting: Abyss Snake!”

At Wyatt’s command, the giant black pillar shifted its massive form into that of an incredibly massive snake, two large fangs protruding from its mouth and what looked like blades protruding from the jaw and its head.

“Go!”

The snake moved forward, rushing towards Riley who merely stood in the same spot. “Bravo.” Riley innocently smiled as he held up his palm and directed his attention to the snake.

“Die!”

“If left unchecked, this could cause collateral damage outside when my spell is undone. So let’s fix that.”

In the next moment, the giant black snake dispersed into nothing, as though it had exploded from the inside. Both Wyatt and Joy were shocked at this display. But what exactly did he do? Was there even an attack released?

Riley just stood there and lowered his hand. He watched as, in a daze, Wyatt fell backwards and looked at his surroundings, the black poison dissipating into nothing as it floated in the air.

“No way…” Joy muttered in disbelief. He successfully defended against an attack that was unavoidable once caught in, and then he proceeded to… attack? And he successfully nullified everything.

What happened was Riley used the power of his Chaos Dominion to control the space inside of the attack. By causing it to suddenly expand within the snake, an explosion destroyed the spell. By further manipulating the space, he reduced the remnants of the attack into nothing.

As for the sphere of light that surrounded him, he surrounded his body in a slight barrier of space to keep the attacks slightly away from his body. Then, he directed that space upward and forced all of Joy’s attack to rise. All of it was very precise and very complex.

Amazed by what she was seeing, Joy couldn’t help but gaze in awe, her face glowing red from her fluster. Wow…

Deciding this was enough, the staff in Riley’s hand vanished into thin air, and the ground beneath them fixed itself. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the Chaos Dominion vanished into nothing, the space in the area returning to normal.

Everyone in the room looked on in shock as Wyatt had fallen to the ground, and Joy fell to her knees.

“That was actually more enjoyable than I expected. Thank you for teaching me something new.” With his polite words came a graceful bow.

Meanwhile, the others were left stripped of their words. Gregory and Elijah dared not move, having broken out in a cold sweat a long time ago.

Isabelle and her daughters also seemed to not know how to react. He… barely did anything! Elice thought in exasperation. Rosa’s eyes were wide as she stared at Riley’s bowing figure.

Darius took a couple steps forward to check Wyatt’s and Joy’s injuries. Fortunately from that distance, he could tell that they were fine. But how was he supposed to respond? Should he have been amazed that Wyatt and Joy had to use their strongest attacks against Riley? Or should he have been amazed that Riley used pretty much no effort in his battle?

Before anyone else could speak, Edna let out a wide grin, showing off her pearly whites before proceeding to jump on Riley, her arms wrapping around his body. “I told you he’d never lose!” she stated proudly with her chest puffed out. Nearby, Maria’s face twitched slightly at her reaction. That’s all you have to say!?

Cadmus, meanwhile, changed his demeanor dramatically, his expression serious and his eyes filled with wonder and coldness. With power like this, why is it he was never discovered? With as absurd of an attribute as Chaos is, it should also take an absurd amount of Ether to use as well. Naturally, someone with that much power would have been located after he was born. Yet he has a curse that basically eliminates his presence. Did someone find him before he was born and curse him in the womb? But that shouldn’t be possible… unless…

Still dumbfounded, Annika was panicking internally. There’s no way… 

~~~

After about five minutes, everyone returned to their appropriate places in the room. The Summons were lined up by the wall. Wyatt was visibly frustrated and clenching his fists. His attack should’ve reached Riley. It didn’t make any sense that it was suddenly dispelled.

As for Joy, she merely stood still and closed her eyes. She knew now that she wasn’t simply defeated. She was utterly overwhelmed. She knew now that Riley was in another world. Aware that her previous judgment of Riley was completely false, she dared not disrespect anymore.

Darius also remained silent and looked on towards the rest.

The royal family remained where they were. The king and queen sat on their thrones while their children stood behind them. Elijah stood in the center while to Isabelle’s right, Rosa stood, and Elice stood to Gregory’s left. Meanwhile, Annika stood silently beside Rosa, unable to speak up and absolutely terrified.

In the center of the room, Riley, Maria, and Cadmus faced the king and queen, prepared to finally discuss what they were originally called to the castle for. Meanwhile, Edna stood by the door and remained silent.

“Now, let’s get down to business. I called you here to make a request of you. Sir Riley Murus, step forward.”

Riley walked and stood between the guests and the royals. By the way, Riley still wore his damaged clothes and had his glasses on.

“First, I wish to personally thank you for saving my daughter, Rosa, my son, Elijah, and my wife, Isabelle. Ordinarily, we would prepare a reward for you immediately for your great deeds. However, due to certain… circumstances, we have to postpone doing so.”

“I understand, but it is no worry since I have no particular need for a reward.”

Riley smiled lightly as he bowed gratefully. Isabelle, Rosa, and Elice smiled at his humble attitude, lightly giggling from his words.

“Just like I remember you, Sir Riley. Even back when you were here four years ago, I remember your humbling demeanor.”

“You’re too kind, milady.”

“Excuse me,” Gregory interrupted. “Right now, I can’t discuss the circumstances, so for now, that topic will be left for another time. Now, I want to ask a question of you, Sir Murus.”

Riley’s curiosity was piqued. The king’s sudden change in attitude was still rather new to him, so he began to wonder whether the king was simply saving face by acting in front of the others, or was he actually grateful? It was hard to say for certain given the current situation. “Yes, your majesty?”

“Regarding your future, what are you planning to do?”

“Planning to do? Well, I was planning to finish one last job for the Society before I leave the kingdom for Alsphen.”

Hearing this, Rosa was slightly shocked. He’s leaving this soon? Her eyes widened and rather sad, she stared at Riley. She had only just reunited with him, and now he’s planning to leave?

Understanding the situation, Gregory sighed faintly. “I have a request for you, Sir Murus.”

Hearing of this, Rosa and Elice were both surprised and looked curiously at their father.

“Sir?”

“I ask that you act as an escort to my family to a border town of the kingdom.” Everyone in the room looked at him curiously, as if he said something blasphemous or barbaric. Even Riley was shocked, his eyes wide in surprise.

Confused, he asked, “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. What do you mean?”

“Ordinarily, I would never ask this of anyone. However, there are some concerns that I’ve had ever since the Council of the Crowns.”

The entire room stiffened at his words. Ordinarily, the contents of the discussions held by the Council of the Crowns was strictly confidential and was kept only in the knowledge of the royal family of each kingdom alone.

However, if it was something he planned to reveal to multiple people outside of his family, then the matter must have been extremely serious.

“There were rumors of a great danger to the kingdoms all around us, including us. While I think most of it is hearsay nonsense, I can’t help but feel rather concerned with the rumors and where they began. Not only that, it was mentioned that whatever this danger was, it would happen within the next two weeks.”

“Two weeks? Wait, what is this rumor? I’m confused!” Maria suddenly blurted out.

“For the time being, I am not at liberty to discuss it. In fact, it is questionable at best whether in fact the rumors I have heard are true. However, in the worst case scenario of these rumors being true, I want to be prepared. And so Riley Murus, I ask you once again. Will you escort my family?”

Riley, however, was still confused. Why was he being given such a ridiculous request? If the country was in danger, surely the royal family would be the safest within the capital. It made no sense to take them somewhere else via questionable paths, especially considering looters that also travel along the highways and backroads.

There were simply too many questions left flying in the air. What is the rumor? What happened at the Council of the Crowns? Who started this rumor, whatever it is?

“You will not be the only escort either. You will be accompanied by the Summons of my country as well,” he claimed boldly. Riley’s eyes widened at hearing this as well. Not just the royal family, but summons as well? Eight people to travel with and protect?

“Me?” Darius whispered to himself.

“Wait, what? Why am I supposed to go with him?” Wyatt asked, truly displeased. He didn’t even want to associate with a monster like Riley, but he was going to be traveling with the same guy he wanted to keep away from? Was it some kind of joke?

“I’m also confused. Why do you want us to go with him?” Joy asked. While she didn’t feel the same way as Wyatt, she couldn’t help but feel that this decision wasn’t thought through.

Riley was even more confused by Gregory’s request. Why is he asking Riley to go with three of the country’s Summons on top of his family? Something like that would ordinarily cause a massive uproar. An extremely renowned adventurer traveling with royalty and Summons could be considered a potential act of declaring war.

Then, with that thought in mind, it finally clicked in Riley’s mind. War. Was the king preparing for war? If so, then Gregory is trying to keep it as quiet as possible. Was he debunking it as a rumor so that the others wouldn’t catch on? Was he so worried about a potential war that he didn’t want these people anywhere near it?

“While I am somewhat opposed, I do want to ask why you want me to escort such prominent figures of the kingdom.”

“It is simply a precaution. In fact, as another precaution, I have an order prepared as well for Duchess Maria Beauclair.” Hearing her name, Maria took a small step back, worried about what he was about to ask. “You will also act as an escort alongside. You will take them to the fortress town Nearbran, and you will remain there until further notice. While you are there, you have complete authority over the town and its people, as well as its knights until you leave. The documents are already prepared, and they will go with you upon your departure.”

Another bombshell. A Duchess in the kingdom is an escort as well. Aside from Cadmus and Gregory himself, it was as if he was evacuating all of the most important figures in the kingdom as if it was inevitable that something was going to happen.

Riley suddenly felt that this was a bad omen. Not only that, but his suspicions seemed to be fueled by this new decision for Maria. This was also something that would determine his answer to the king’s request. However, he had another question.

“I know Nearbran. You’re sending your family to a fortress town on the border of the Evernast Kingdom? That is a little bit too close to the border of the country, especially for a border town. Isn’t that even riskier than just having them travel to a different town?”

Despite Evernast being an allied country to Caera, putting the royal family in such a position still places them at high risk. The likelihood of someone taking advantage of the situation to try and boost their own country’s standing was very high, especially considering just how powerful of a nation Caera was.

Besides that, there were also various people who would wish to take hostages in order to attain some form of wealth or revenge, especially from other countries.

“Ordinarily, yes. However, Nearbran is our next most fortified location after the Capital. In fact, there’s more knights there than there are in the capital.”

This was also due to the alliance. Due to the pact between Caera and Evernast, should one country call for aid, the other country would assist and send troops of their own when requested.

Riley still doubted what his intentions were by sending himself along with Maria and four Summons as escorts. The Summons would ordinarily be enough, and Maria, while an important figure, was strong enough to double as an escort and bodyguard herself. Even with all of this, why send Riley?

“Why do you want me to go? With that lineup, there should be plenty of protection.”

“When it comes to my family, more protection is never enough. I will make sure they are as secure as possible and utilize what I have to to keep them safe. Also…”

Silence lingered in the room as Riley waited for his next statement. It was understandable that he wanted to keep his family safe, but it was still clear that Gregory knew that he had no right to ask such a request after what he tried to do to him all those years ago.

His family was also curious. It wasn’t often that they got to see a slightly flustered Gregory. He was always composed when he wasn’t particularly demanding. The only other emotion he’d displayed was anger when someone dared threaten his family.

“…It’s also because my family was torn apart by my actions towards you four years ago. I wish to amend those ties by having you accompany them to Nearbran while doubling as their bodyguard.

“You saved my wife and upheld a promise I was unaware of. Knowing her, she would wish to show you how grateful she is herself.

“My son, Elijah, once looked at you like a goal. Now he sees you as a respectful young man that didn’t deserve his attitude. I am aware that he wishes to befriend you and make up for everything that he has once spoken to you.

“My daughter, Elice, looked up to you like an older brother all those years ago, and it seems that despite my actions nearly tearing that apart, that view hasn’t changed.

“My daughter, Rosa, looks up to you as well. I can’t read her emotions as well as I can her other siblings, but I remember that the only time I’ve ever heard her cry was after you didn’t come back. I tore away the only connection to the outside world she had, unintentionally wounding her heart. Now that you’ve returned, she seems to be showing a side of herself she hasn’t in a long time, and I want her to keep smiling the way she used to.

“I might still have some issues of my own, but since you’ve done nothing but good for my family, despite what I’ve done, I trust that they’ll be safe and happy in your hands. My wife. My son. My daughters. I will not tolerate their pain.”

His long winded speech left everyone absolutely amazed. Riley listened intently, his innocent looking face never changing.

Isabelle smiled widely while Elijah crossed his arms and looked elsewhere. Meanwhile, Elice appeared neither to be happy nor angry. She was more than aware that in her past, she held a deep hatred for someone she looked up to like a brother. However, it was precisely because of that that now, she was beginning to question whether she should treat him how she did in the past or not. After all, she couldn’t forgive herself for thinking he’d simply abandoned them. She bit her lip in frustration.

Rosa blushed heavily and remained silent.

“Wait, Your Majesty!” Maria spoke out.

“There will be no argument on the subject. This is an order, and you will take my family with you by tomorrow evening!” Gregory demanded. Compared to before, he appeared to be not only serious but also slightly panicked. Although most of the people in the room couldn’t tell, Riley and Cadmus noticed.

He’s completely serious. He’s not treating the situation as something potential. He’s acting like something will definitely happen. And from the look on his face…

“I have something to say about this request, King Gregory…” Riley muttered.

Gregory and the others looked at him curiously. Was he going to decline the request? Was he going to leave them on their own? Did he no longer want to associate with them?

The truth was that in spite of everything, they couldn’t rely on Riley to say yes. He was an adventurer that worked by himself and was rumored to always toss aside his companions. At least, that’s what the rumors said. Of course, this time, it’s not companions that he’d be dealing with as this request was more of a mission than anything.

Compensation wouldn’t be a problem. Plus, Riley always thought things through. He wasn’t a very emotional person, but he wasn’t one to simply toss aside all requests out of selfishness or past grudges he may or may not have.

No, this doesn’t sound like an absolute no to Gregory’s or Isabelle’s ears. His words trailed off at the end. What was he going to say? “Yes?” Gregory asked with bated breath.

“If I do this, it will be treated like a mission from the Adventurers’ Society. I will only escort them to Nearbran. I will not stay there and act as a permanent bodyguard. You may leave that to your Summons. My job ends when they reach the fortress town.

“While they are in my care, they will listen to everything I say. Failure to do so could cost lives while on the road. Especially with an entourage like this, criminals are even more likely to jump, so I can’t afford to be ignored while traveling, even if they’re royalty.”

Gregory sighed slowly. Riley’s demeanor changed quite a bit when it came to him traveling with others. He actually appeared like a stern leader. He spoke without a smile, and his softness while speaking wasn’t there.

Rosa was surprised to see him like this. Even when he was fighting earlier, or when he was keeping Gregory back while he healed her or her mother, his face never once looked like this. Even in the Society when Bard jumped him, he simply cast aside any kind of seriousness.

Even Edna was surprised. Back when she traveled with him before they made it to Crestfall, he didn’t ever appear this serious. Even when he continued to tell her “no” about traveling with him now…

Which reminded her… Wait a minute, I can take advantage of this! I’ll go as an added escort! After all, I already said I was taking some time off as a bartender, so there’s no way I’m backing off now!

“If that is what it takes, then that is fine. As long as you make sure that they are safe on the road, then everyone tagging along will listen to your commands until then.”

With the matter settled, Gregory thanked Riley and allowed the others to be dismissed.

Darius was aware as well that something odd was going to happen, so he trusted in Gregory’s judgment. Joy also neglected to speak up as she also seemed rather worried about the entire discussion. She didn’t exactly trust everyone there, but the repeated talk of a ‘rumor’ going to occur within the next two weeks began to startle her. If the best way to ease her worries and keep her safe was by traveling with Riley for the time being, then that’s what she would do.

However, although he was silent, Wyatt was clearly displeased. He didn’t want to go at all. If something bad was going to happen, he wanted to remain and fight. Not only that, but he started to despise and fear Riley. He couldn’t tell whether Riley was even trustworthy. He simply remained silent since the king loudly stated that there would be no argument. There was no point in raising his voice now.

~~~

It was decided that Riley would wait another two days before setting off, and he would meet up with his entourage at the castle’s gate at noon on the third day. This would give everyone enough time to prepare to leave.

In this time, Joseph Blanch could be collected as well.

With everything decided, everyone except for Gregory and Cadmus left the throne room. To make sure everyone left and nobody was eavesdropping, the two waited for two minutes after the others left before they decided to continue the conversation.

“King Gregory, you wanted me to remain. I take it the Council of the Crowns was more troubling than you cared to admit, correct?” Cadmus asked, having suspected the same thing as Riley.

Gregory enjoyed his observative side and was pleased that he could catch on quickly. “Yes, it’s far more troubling than the others need to know.”

“Is that why you asked me to stay behind?”

“Yes. I have a directive for you as well, but I want you to wait until three days have passed to do so.”

His interest piqued, Cadmus raised his eyebrow. It wasn’t often that the king gave him any orders, just as rare as Maria if not rarer. “A directive?”

“I want to wait until after my family’s departure so that their suspicion isn’t aroused. I don’t want them to remain in the capital. They need to be gone and out of danger. I will not chance it!” With a furious demand, Gregory slammed his fist into the arm of his chair, catching Cadmus by surprise.

Calming himself for a moment, Gregory coughed into his hand before staring straight into Cadmus’s eyes. “Your order is to evacuate all of the citizens of Crestfall starting from three days from today. Everyone except for our knights and mages must leave for other parts of the country or even for another kingdom. All nobles, no matter the rank, must leave as well!”

Gregory’s surprising demand left Cadmus wide eyed and speechless. Evacuation?! This was not something he ever would have expected. “But Gregory! What is happening? What is going on?”

“In the last Council of the Crowns, Edinburgh declared war on Caera. The invasion would supposedly begin three weeks from that day, but...”

Cadmus stood with his fists balled up. He knew what war with Edinburgh would mean…

“Within two weeks’ time, the Caera Kingdom is going to fall. The Capital and everyone in it will be wiped out.”