~ Chapter 56: Insanity at the court ~

[Alkelios’ point of view]

Thus, I stood before the one named and respected as the strongest dragon in the Albeyater Kingdom, the King of Albeyater, Feryumstark Seyendraugher.

His presence was not one to be underestimated. Even now, I could feel he wasn’t going to let me make any mistake. I was strong now, true, but he far surpassed me, yet now I stood in front of him threatening everything he held dear and with one single thought, I could eradicate everything he held dear and had fought for all of these past centuries.

Reality’s truth was this one: nothing lasted forever. No matter how much we treasured certain things, they would inevitably come to an end. No matter how much we would desire something to remain the same, one day, it would change. Technology broke down or became obsolete. People died, moved away, or changed. Loyalties shifted over time, allowing for new wars or moments of peace to appear.

Nothing was certain. Nothing would last. But this... this change was absolutely perfect. This was what was wonderful about life and the Universe itself. Change was what made it move, what pushed it forward even when it appeared to be going back. Change was what created absolutely everything one held dear in the first place.

However, accepting change was not an easy thing to do, and precisely because of that, both   I and Feryumstark understood that those who feared it would be the first to break down.

In this case, I brought the change with my inconceivable attack. I demanded things that undermined the authority of the King. I posed myself as someone... lunatic, unstable... human.

Thus, wouldn’t it be logical for those few who had yet to reach a Breakthrough and cared for their lives to step up and try to save it? Wasn’t it logical for the few nobles who hated or saw the current King as weak to try and stand by my side?

It was normal, natural, understandable...

But so far, nothing gave them a reason to do so... Nothing caused fear in their hearts enough to willingly break out of their own shell and jump on the ledge that appeared to be the most safe.

Thus, I spoke... trying to lure the rats out...

“Your Majesty, do you know who and what I am?” I asked as I tilted my head to the left.

“No.” he lied.

“GOOD! GOOD! I guess, you haven’t heard of the name Alkelios Yatagai?” I asked.

“If I knew beforehand that a dangerous element like you existed in my kingdom, I would have done everything in my power to stop you!” he declared.

This one probably wasn’t a lie, but the underlying condition he didn’t say out loud was the fact that I had to prove myself to be against his rule or hold evil intentions towards the draconians living in this kingdom.

“Well, your subjects had no reason to explain the appearance of a weakly little ol’ human like me.” I made a small bow.

“Human?” one of the nobles let the word slip.

When I introduced myself, I declared I was a ‘former human’. Those who knew the details of my [Dragon Tamer] understood immediately what this implied. This was why Seryanna was trying hard not to blush and look at me with a feverish gaze. Kataryna was wagging her tail like a dog ready to jump on a treat...

Please hold on, you two! I prayed in my mind.

Anyway, the common sense of this world dictated that it was absolutely IMPOSSIBLE for one to simple change his species just like that. No one encountered a Human Hero like me before, so they had not idea that our special skills allowed some of us to do just that. I had a feeling those with a similar ability for Elves, Relliars, Dwarfs, and whatnot were also granted the ‘half-change’ possibility at the fifth level.

But, as I mentioned before, this little piece of information was believed to be absolutely absurd by the majority of the people of this world. The minority was made out of only those few who interacted with the heroes intimately enough to find out about it and also believe it as a result of past actions.

“Is it bad that I’m a human?” I asked with a grin as I looked at the dragon.

He made big eyes and gulped “N-No... I d-didn’t say that!” he shook his head, denying the thought, but something told me it was something else that surprised him.

“Ah! Speaking of my kind, the Queen was poisoned by one, wasn’t she?” I said and with a smirk on my lips, I narrowed my eyes at the King.

Immediately, a powerful killing intent was released from his body, putting pressure on all those in this room as well as sending shivers down their spines.

“Oh! How scawy! But cut it off, scaly!” I waved him off.

The King seemed to be reluctant, so I pointed up at the sphere I was holding above my head.

Immediately, the killing intent vanished.

The nobles gulped and began to whisper among themselves.

“Good... Guess, I should give out my demands, but first off, I want to know... Anyone here on the human side?” I asked.

I, a former human, wasn’t on the human side anymore, but few knew this.

Those who looked at me now believed I was, therefore, a few individuals were starting to stir.

“I’m just going to put this as a reminder, but I can blow up this entire city in the blink of an eye, so do tell me... WHO among you is on the human side?” I asked with a grin.

“W-What do you plan to do if y-you find out?” someone on my left asked.

It was a skinny gray-scale dragon with a long white beard, draconic eyes, smooth horns growing backwards, but only his hands, feet, and tail were those of a lizard. He looked youngish? Maybe around 30 years old by my estimates and around 200 by draconic ones?

“I might NOT attack them.” I said.

I wasn’t, but the King afterwards was certainly going to. I didn’t tell a lie, but my words didn’t mean I was going to protect them either.

“I am!” a fat dragon in the back raised his hand and came forward.

“Marquise Belogna?” the King asked.

“I-I traded secretly with humans... I am on your side, human...” he gulped and tried hard to avoid the gaze of the other dragons and that of the King’s.

“Good! Stand over there, at the back.” I pointed towards my left, at an empty spot in the room.

Kataryna was on that side, and the moment I looked into her eyes, she understood that she had to make sure not to let the rats out of her sight.

“I’m also on the human side!” said another dragon, a skinny green-scale wearing some rather expensive garbs.

“Viscount Draghun?” the King asked, but he was ignored again.

“Good! Anyone else?” I asked.

Shortly after, several more dragons and dragonesses raised their hands and were set apart from the other nobles, who were already starting to throw glares at them. The most frightening of them all being Elovius, the Prime Minister.

I guess he never suspected them to be traitors, huh? I thought.

“Those who declared themselves to have sided with humans, I will keep my word, I won’t attack you.” I declared.

“Then you will let us go?” Draghun asked.

“Not yet, you need to give a report to your human allies of what’s going to happen here.” I said and shook my head.

“But you will not harm us, right?” he asked.

“I will not.” I replied putting accent on the pronoun ‘I’.

“If you want a contact with the humans, I have several.” said a dragon all of a sudden.

He was not part of the bunch set aside, but among those who remained.

“You? Duke Pallause? How could you!” King Feryumstark asked in a roar.

You did not see this one coming, did you? I wondered.

“It’s simple, your Majesty. This Kingdom is rotting. Ever since the Queen’s nonsense about making peace with humans, things have gone pretty bad for us. Not only have our armies weakened, but our trade suffered as well. Your Majesty did not even bother to try to restore the Brekkar Army and return Scar Battlefield to its former glory. You let it rot like that and furthermore denied us the right to an incursion in retaliation to the human attack.” he declared.

“That doesn’t sound very human-friendly like?” I pointed out tilting my head to the right.

“I have sided with the humans about 28 years ago. You may not know this, your Majesty, but the humans want war because it’s profitable, however, because of your reluctance to strike back at them, draconian sympathizers have begun to appear among their population. If matters are left as they are, the war might end, but we also need this war. The support we’re offered from the other kingdoms, the way our trade works, the will of our entire Kingdom is based on this war. Albeyater was grown through war and remained stable with it! Incursions and invasions of our own are a MUST!” he declared pointing a finger up.

“So why side with humans?” I asked him.

“In order to remove the one who wishes for peace, the King and Queen.” he replied.

“What?” this time it was Elovius who asked with a surprised look on his face.

“With the two of them gone, the war is guaranteed. And it appears now is the long-awaited moment. I believe the Emperor of Akutan sent you? Or was it the King of Ten Swords?” he questioned.

“It’s a secret.” I smirked.

“I see... Very well, I will go stand over there while you deal with them.” he spoke calmly.

This red-scale dragon wearing a fancy robe embroidered with golden thread did not stood out from among the others from my point of view. He looked rather bland in my opinion, but his confident smug told me that he didn’t mind betraying the King in the slightest. Actually, I had the feeling he was happy things turned out like this.

“Interesting...” I muttered.

Looking back at the King, I saw him barely keeping his anger in check. Of course, he knew that he could break our little play any time he desired because I never planned on truly unleashing this nuke on the city, but besides him and my friends, no one else knew this.

What I found strangely uncomfortable was the fact that Draejan had yet to move from his spot. He wasn’t showing any emotion either. No, what he was doing was calmly analyzing this whole situation, almost as if he was aware of my little play.

Maybe I should bait him? I wondered as I looked through the remaining nobles, trying to avoid his gaze.

“I heard something interesting about a tea... and Ryumarry roots? The one who knows what I’m talking about step up.” I said.

The King froze in his spot.

The others were whispering.

Pallause narrowed his eyes at me.

But so far, none of them reacted.

This is strange... Is he not here? I wondered.

After another moment passed, someone raised his hand.

It was a short, fat dragon who was sweating a lot. Besides a pair of short wings on his back and the slit eyes, there was nothing else to point out at the fact that he wasn’t human.

“Are you...” I said but stopped.

“Yes, I am Viscount Galbarion. I did as I was told and poisoned the Queen’s herbal tea with Ryumarry root dust...” he declared as he wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

When he met the King’s furious gaze, he trembled in fear.

This dragon... he’s terribly weak. I noticed.

“I see, good job, now stand over there next to Pallause.” I said pointing at them.

“T-Thank y-you...” he replied with a mumble.

“I’m curious though, how did you manage to do it?” I asked him.

“Erm... I lied to the maid that brought the tea and told her the Ryumarry root dust had to be added to it afterwards. Of course, she had no idea what the dust actually was, and I made up a pompous explanation, which she was unable to understand but which gave me credibility. I did this several times until she gave up on trying to listen to the long and boring explanation. Because it was a weird talk, the passing guards had no idea what I was doing either and didn’t bother to investigate...” he explained.

“Good job.” I showed him a smile.

It was actually a good plan, although, a bit risky. I would have simply changed the contents of a bottle or mixed it in with a similarly colored ingredient. Although, with my current [Bartender] skill, I could have also just turned it into a concentrated drop which I could add with ease in anything I wanted.

Still, the fact that a Viscount said and did this removed any possible suspicion from the maid. After all, she couldn’t just ignore his words. Although, it still wasn’t alright to just accept his explanation without proper proof from the doctor who prescribe the medicine, unlike him, she was just a maid who held neither the authority nor the knowledge to go against his words. Because the Viscount didn’t try to act suspicious and just came right up to her in front of everyone like that, she found it easier to trust him.

“What if it didn’t work?” I asked.

“Then... that was going to be it for me, but any other method would have failed either way. If I visited the healers too many times, I would have been found suspicious. This way, I just got the bad rumor that I’m trying to charm the King’s maids.” he replied.

“Hm, I see. I see.” I nodded in understanding.

Afterwards, there were a couple more who stepped forward and admitted to having made deals with the humans, but none of them as big or as important as the others. Several dragonesses were smuggling fabrics and spices from the Human Continent, and one of them admitted to be the ring leader behind a slave trafficking operation, through which she sent enslaved criminals across the ocean to be sold in human brothels. The most ridiculous one of them, however, was a dragon who admitted that he couldn’t satisfy his wife and had to import human slaves to please her. I decided that he had no connection with the others and was just some poor fellow with an insatiable wife.

When it was all over and there were no more nobles willing to step forward, I looked back at the remaining bunch and saw that there were not that many left willing to stand on the King’s side, but they were all furious with the betrayal of the others. The balance was strangely tipped in the human faction’s favor. When I looked at them separately, they all appeared to be simple opportunists who sold their country for a few coins, none of their deals and crimes seemed to be connected, however, when I looked at the big picture, I could see how they were all just cogs in a fine-tuned machine with the purpose of weakening the economy and military of the Albeyater Kingdom.

Whoever was the mastermind behind this was good. He was very good.

“What now?” asked one of the traitor nobles.

To be honest, I felt like this went a bit too easy, but maybe I simply just underestimated the authority of important figures like Brekkar, Kataryna, and Feryumstark. To me, they weren’t that imposing or intimidating, but then again, I also had a friendly relationship with them. In a way, they were the normal ones, and the others were the abnormal ones. That was why, something told me this wasn’t going to be over just yet.

It was highly likely that the mastermind had yet to reveal himself or herself. This made me a bit worried.

If I couldn’t find the actual cause of this whole mess, then they could end up undoing what I worked so hard to achieve today. Either that or replace these fellows with other pawns.

But how can I lure them out into the opening? I wondered and closed my eyes for a moment.

Analyzing the situation, there were several things that didn’t go as I had initially planned: 1) Draejan didn’t make a single move and quietly obeyed the King’s order; 2) there were way too many traitors of high noble ranks, among which even a Duke; 3) the one who poisoned the Queen did it in a way even I hadn’t thought about because it was too... suspicious in my point of view; 4) there was proof of the existence of a mastermind behind all of this, yet no proof of them making a move or even being in this room at the moment.

 With the first three, I could live, but the last one was difficult to solve. If I asked these nobles for a name or evidence of this claim, they could simply rebuff it as being nonsense or that they were the actual mastermind. At the same time, it would prove that I am not who I claimed I was, or rather who they, on their own, misunderstood I was.

Maybe I am overthinking this, and the truth is actually right in front of my eyes? I wondered as I scanned the crowd.

Kataryna, Elleyzabelle, Seryanna, Kleo, Iolaus, and Brekkar were out of the question, but not because I was their friend, but because they had proven time and time again where their loyalty stood. I mean, Seryanna nearly gave up on me for her loyalty, and if she did that, it would have been bye bye Awakening for her.

Draejan was a suspect as well, but his aim seemed more towards gathering an army that...

Wait a moment! An army? I stopped and thought a bit about how this army presented itself and then compared it with the basic ideal of noble pride dragons had. I also took note of the black hooded fellow in the back who felt familiar for some reason, and the many seemingly normal retainers. These guys are trained, armed, and judging by their status, all over level 500. I thought and gulped.

They weren’t actually a threat to me, maybe just to a bunch of no-good bandits. They were not even a threat to any of my friends, especially the King, so a coup d’état was most definitely impossible to achieve with them. Some were even starting to worry about the current situation, proving that they had no idea their masters were traitors to the Kingdom.

This left me only with the Brekkar Army, once one of the strongest and most disciplined armed group of the Albeyater Kingdom, now only a mere shadow of its former self. The number of soldiers had increased exponentially, but their strength paled in comparison to the original ones. Discipline and order were strange notions for them, but they all shared a common ideology... they followed Draejan first over anyone else.

Even so, this wasn’t enough to prove he was the mastermind behind this. A good tactic would have been to increase the number of soldiers in the Brekkar Army and attract supporters among the nobility. Once he was promoted to General, he could trim down the unneeded soldiers and properly organize it into a powerful army.

By default, this didn’t require Draejan to be a traitor to the crown, just an overzealous noble who desperately wanted the title of a General. Besides, he had nothing to gain through the death of the Queen. She was his grandmother. Thus, his nobility and rank in the country was assured from the very beginning.

But let us presume he wanted to become the King. What would he need to do in order to achieve this? I wondered.

The answer was simple: slay all the current Royal Family members or force them into declaring officially that they willingly gave up on their rights to the crown. But the King’s family was quite numerous, and there were probably many among his children who wouldn’t mind giving it a shot. There were some among them who also had the backing of outside dragon forces, like Embryger, Solustia, and Merganus.

There was also a matter of the loyalty of all the dragons who achieved an Awakened Breakthrough. Last I remember, there were a total of 16 in this Kingdom, not counting myself. Indeed, there was no way for him to become a King...

But what if... that was never his aim? What if... war was the aim? Weakening the Kingdom enough for a powerful force like the Embryger Empire to see it just to step in and correct things. I thought.

In this case, an alliance with the humans would have been the way to go. A war, as Pallause said, was something both sides desired more or less. In other words, the nobility who could profit from it.

After all, a large and powerful army had no use in times of peace.

Even so, this whole thing was just my presumption. I did wish for things to eventually reach a peaceful end and for matters to be settled, but in what way or how it could be possible was not something I could control. The more freedom I allowed for a wish to manifest itself, the faster and easier it would. On the other hand, precise control was only needed when I didn’t want certain possible bad events to take place. But even then, it wasn’t 100% guaranteed because sometimes in order for the wish to come true, bad things had to happen.

It was like the saying went: if you want a new car, then sell the old one and make room for the new one. Your garage can only hold so many, but it’s up to you if you cling to the old or are willing to let it go and accept the new.

I guess it’s all about taking a chance now. The traitors are already marked, and with this, the King and his court will pay more attention to such schemes, but discovering the mastermind will have to be left for another day... I let out a sigh and scratched the back of my head.

Up until now, I remained silent, so most people here had no idea what I was going to do or say next. I also had a big fireball above my head, which was ready to explode as soon as I gave it the order to do so.

“I guess so... Well, any of you heard from the boss yet?” I asked as I looked back at the nobles.

Their confused expression told me that they were unaware of the existence of a mastermind. None of the other nobles, including Draejan reacted in a suspicious manner.

“You in the back with the hood... Show yourself.” I told him.

He didn’t reply nor comply.

“Sir Draejan, tell your man to reveal his face.” ordered the King in a low growl.

“Yes, your Majesty.” the dragon replied and then nodded back to the hooded fellow.

The man pulled back the hood and revealed his face. He had dark-brown slit eyes and scales on his cheeks.

“Hm, was I mistaken?” I wondered.

“I ordered him to use the hood to hide his identity in order to be able to easily spy on the troublemakers in the Brekkar Army. I am aware that there are some... problems, and he is the solution I am currently employing.” he replied in a calm tone of voice, but the gaze in his eyes betrayed his satisfaction for something.

“Is that so? Although, the army shouldn’t have had any sort of problem if you simply followed Brekkar’s rules, right?” I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

“Even if the army still holds his name, it will soon hold mine, so I saw no reason in just blindly following the laws and rules established by my predecessor. If I were to reach the same conclusion, then so be it, but learning and understanding the way things work is more valuable than copying the knowledge from another and claiming it as yours.” he declared.

His words were wise, but also slightly foolish.

“There’s no shame in copying what others achieved through hard work as long as you admit it and they permit it. If you try hard to improve them afterwards or come up with a brand-new solution, it will be your own merit. Starting from zero is... a bit irresponsible.” I said.

Draejan shot me a glare when he heard what I had to say, while Brekkar smirked.

“Alkelios Yatagai, you have proven to this court that there are traitors among it, what do you plan on doing now? Are you going to kill us all?” the King asked narrowing his eyes at me.

I guess this is my cue to wrap things up... I thought.

After clearing my throat, I spoke in a loud and clear tone of voice “I, Alkelios Yatagai, wish the following matters to be approved by this court. One is that my previous duel against Sir Draejan Andrakaryus Doesya to be considered null and its result void.”

“Consider it done.” the King nodded.

“But, your Majesty!” Draejan tried to object.

“It’s just a childish duel. It had always been unimportant in my eyes.” declared the King before tossing him a glare. “Any objections?” he then asked as he looked at the remaining nobles standing on his side.

“None, your Majesty.” one replied.

They all agreed, and one even went so far as to consider that all duels between dragons and humans unless approved by the King were to be considered void as it involved members of two species currently at war.

“Second, I wish for the court to return the command of the Brekkar army to Sir Brekkar Draketerus.” I declared.

Murmurs and whispered flowed throughout the court, while those set aside as traitors looked confused.

“Why should we accept an old dragon unable to fight as a general?” asked one of the nobles who up until now had been quiet.

“It’s a good question.” pointed out the King.

“Who said that old dragon can’t fight?” I smirked.

“Brekkar. Do you have anything to say regarding this?” asked the King.

“Ahem! Yes, your Majesty, I was going to announce it sooner or later, but I am currently back to my full health. I have been cured and I’m quickly regaining my former strength.” he declared with a smile while his dark-red scale tail waved left and right slowly.

“Is that so? And who was the one who healed you?” he asked.

“Alkelios Yatagai, your Majesty.” he replied with a bow.

The murmurs and whisper flooded the room once again, raising the amount of background noise.

“SILENCE!” ordered the King as he glared at them all.

With an audible gulp coming from several of them, the King looked back at Brekkar and asked him.

“Where does your loyalty stand?” he asked him.

“With you, your Majesty.” he made a deep bow in front of him.

The confusion among the nobles continued.

“Hm, very well. If it’s like this, then there is no problem in making you the general of the Brekkar Army again.” the King nodded satisfied.

“Any objections?” I asked as I looked at the nobles.

No one replied.

Brekkar had a good reputation among many nobles, and his sacrifice 38 years ago wasn’t one that was taken lightly. If he was cured, then they would rather wait for him to get his strength back than handing over the Brekkar Army to a youngling with no experience like Draejan.

This declaration, however, did seem to spark something inside the dragon. He looked calm, as though he had come to terms with this result, but his clenched fists were nearly bleeding from how hard he was squeezing.

“Now, for my third wish, I want his Majesty to officially dissolve the engagement between Seryanna Draketerus and Draejan Andrakaryus Doesya.” I declared.

“I never knew she was engaged with him in the first place.” the King narrowed his eyes at me “Even so, I cannot do this unless the parties involved also desire this.” he pointed out.

“Your Majesty, I never considered myself as Draejan’s fiancée, and I was told this engagement was a royal command.” Seryanna stepped forward and declared sharply.

“Is that so? Who made this call then?” the King asked as he looked around.

“It was I, your Majesty.” Elovius stepped forward.

“You? Why?” he asked rubbing his chin.

“In order to smooth out the transition of the Brekkar Army’s leadership. At the time, I believed Brekkar was still ill and unable to fight anymore. As such, I desired to at the very least preserve the might and legacy of his army. I also did it believing that it could be a symbol both towards the outside and among our population that Albeyater’s might had not weakened.” replied Elovius with a courteous bow.

Normally, I could have suspected Elovius as being the mastermind as well, but back when I first met the King, he assured me that his son was at most just a hard to understand fellow, but his loyalty and intentions were all in the right place.

“I understand. Given the circumstances, do you still believe it to be the right call?” Feryumstark asked him.

Elovius glanced back at Brekkar and then at his father, the King. “No.” he replied.

“I see. Then the engagement between Seryanna Draketerus and Draejan Andrakaryus Doesya has no reason to be when one of them doesn’t wish for it and the original political reason behind it is no more.” the King declared.

The nobles nodded in agreement, while Draejan swallowed his own spit.

“Anything else, Alkelios Yatagai?” asked the King.

“I would really need a back massage, but I can’t ask you for that.” I laughed.

“That would be ridiculous.” the King scoffed.

The others just showed a stiff reaction at my innocent joke.

“Ahem! Anyway, yes! I wish for his Majesty to declare that I am pardoned of any and all crimes against the crown anyone may believe I have committed today or in the past, such as threatening you and stuff like that.” I declared.

“Hm... Where does your loyalty stand, Alkelios Yatagai? Declare this first before me and the gods above, and I shall then give you my answer.” the King replied in a stern tone of voice.

I smirked.

“I, Alkelios Yatagai, officially declare my allegiance to The Third Princess of the Dragon Kingdom Albeyater, Elleyzabelle Sojourn Seyendraugher, and through extension, their Majesties the King and Queen of the Dragon Kingdom Albeyater, Feryumstark Seyendraugher and Elliessara Seyendraugher!” I declared in a loud tone of voice.

Except for the few who knew me, the shocked expressions on their faces was priceless. Elovius even had his mouth opened wide despite how rude that might have appeared. Even Draejan was looking at me with big eyes as if not believing his own ears. As for the group who openly revealed their traitorous behavior because they thought I was a human sent by humans in order to help them in their plot, they looked as though the whole world came crushing down on their shoulders, and they didn’t have the strength to stand up anymore.

“I-It’s over...” Pallause said.

Yes it is... I thought.

The King closed his eyes for a moment and then burst out into a loud laughter.

“You heard him, right? Do you have any objections?” he asked as he looked at the shocked nobles who stood by the King’s side.

“I for one, no.” Brekkar declared.

“Neither do I.”  Elleyzabelle declared with a polite smile on her face.

“I see no reason as to why he shouldn’t be pardoned. Considering all that has happened until now, he is indeed worthy of being pardoned!” said one of the nobles.

“I agree. The human has guts! He thinks like a dragon more than he does a human!” declared another.

“Although I also agree, I do not trust him.” said a dragoness.

“I do not believe this whole thing was about trust in the first place. Now that he declared this, it all makes sense. I found it really weird that he simply didn’t use this ability of his to just rampage in our Kingdom. An attack like that from a dragon-hating human would have been the absolute best for him.” someone pointed out.

“I’m just disappointed to have learned that so many of the dragons and dragonesses I thought to be respectable turned out to be... traitors.” one said with a sigh escaping their lips.

They continued to state their opinions one after another, while the said traitors were unable to utter a single word. They were devastated by the sudden turn of events.

“Well, as you can see, there are no objections. So yes, I officially pardon you, Alkelios Yatagai, for any crime committed against the crown until this very moment. I also accept your loyalty declaration.” Feryumstark declared with a smirk.

“Thank you, your Majesty! And good! Finally! Holding my arm up like this all this time was a killer!” I groaned in protest as I canceled out the spell.

The massive threat to the lives of everyone in this city was reabsorbed as basic Magic Energy into my body.

Seeing it vanish, everyone let out a sigh of relief, especially the guards in this place who found themselves to be completely useless. Still, there was one more thing that had to be done before we stared to celebrate.

“Alkelios, here’s your first order. Apprehend those fools who tried to plot against me!” Feryumstark ordered as he pointed at the group of traitors.

“My pleasure!” I made a courteous bow.

“Wait! No! There has to be some sort of mistake!” one of them called out.

“You tricked us!” Pallause declared.

Viscount Galbarion was already out cold, seeing how he revealed himself as the one who deliberately poisoned the Queen. After he spilled everything he knew, the only thing waiting for him was going to be death or the gallows, depending on how merciful the King was going to be with them.

My only job so far was to reveal and apprehend them.

“I don’t understand... why would a human like you help us?” asked Elovius confused as he approached me.

“Why should I not help my friends?” I asked tilting my head to the left.

“Pardon?” he blinked confused.

“Go and ask your father, I’m going to round up these morons.” I smirked and cracked my knuckles as I was preparing to administer a dose of Knock Out and one of Tie Up.

My ropes were enchanted to resist even the struggles of the Four-Headed Dog Boss I encountered when I first arrived in this world.

“Can’t we talk about this?” one of them begged.

I smirked and then I punched him right in the face.

Several minutes later, the job was done, and everyone who was revealed as a traitor was currently being taken down to the cells where the interrogation process was going to make them spill every little secret they had. That was if they didn’t die while in the process of being interrogated. If they survived, a swift death awaited them instead of more torture.

With a smile, I returned to the King, who was telling something to Elovius. When he saw me, the two of them stopped? The first to speak was the Prime Minister.

“My apologies, Alkelios Yatagai, if I had been aware of any of this...” he lowered his head.

“No, it’s all good. I had to learn a bunch of things as well. Besides, everything turned out alright in the end and that’s the important thing!” I laughed.

“I see. I apologize nonetheless, and I will take this lesson to heart so that in the future I will be more aware of my surroundings.” he declared and then returned to his spot by the King’s side.

The next to come up to me was Brekkar.

“I haven’t seen you in so long, and you already surpassed me in strength! You boy are a miracle walking on two legs!” he laughed and patted my shoulders with his hands.

“It’s good to see you, my friend. I am not weak anymore.” Iolaus declared with a proud smirk.

“Unless we’re talking about Kleo, then this boy is useless.” Brekkar let out a sigh.

“I-I... THAT’S NOT TRUE!” the dragon rebuked.

“Bwahahaha! It’s good to be young!” Brekkar patted the man’s back.

“Welcome back, Alkelios! As usual, you don’t fail to impress! I knew I was right about you back then! You really are one interesting dragon!” Kataryna said with a smile as she came over and before I knew it, she stole my lips in a kiss. “Welcome back! Fufu~!” the dragoness said after our lips parted.

“Hey! He’s mine!” Seryanna pulled the dragoness back, but when she looked me in the eyes, her face turned completely red. “W-Welcome back.” she said.

“Glad to be back.” I said and this time, I was the one to take the lead as I gave her a kiss on the lips.

“AHEM!” the King interrupted us.

We all blinked surprised and looked his way. Elovius was sighing and shaking his head. The nobles rolled their eyes, and the King was just staring at us.

“It’s good that you had your little reunion party RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, but there are important matters that need our attention, especially with today’s reveal of so many traitors within my court. Also, my wife would like to have a word with you as well.” he declared.

“Mother would?” Elovius asked surprised.

“Yes.” the King nodded.

Everyone began to whisper again. This was getting a tad bit ridiculous.

“Sure thing. Oh, but before we do that, I have one more thing I wish to settle.” I said with a smirk.

“Which is?” the King asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Sir Draejan Andrakaryus Doesya, I challenge you to a duel. If I win, you are hereby forbidden to even try to become a general again unless I have officially approved of you!” I pointed at him.

“You wish to challenge me, again?” he asked raising a eyebrow.

“Yes.” I nodded.

“You are a foolish human as always. And here I thought you had changed.” he shook his head and then sighed.

“Who knows? Well, do you accept or not?” I asked him.

“And what am I to gain if I am to win?” he asked.

“My official approval of you and a set of armor I will personally make for you.” I replied with a smile.

He raised an eyebrow. “You are blacksmith?” he asked.

“Among many others, I can also make you some nice enchanted rings as well. With [The Shiny Artisan] skill I can make a lot of interesting jewels and accessories.” I smiled.

“Sounds fair. If I can’t even defeat a weak human like you, how can I even dare ask for a General title?” he scoffed.

“A fair duel. I like it, and I approve of it.” declared the King.

“Let us all move to the training grounds then!” Brekkar said in a loud tone of voice.

“Now this will be interesting!” Kataryna said while her tail was swaying in the air.

“I have a feeling I have been completely ignored...” Kleo let out a sigh and looked down.

“Not really. I’m glad to see you are well and healthy, Kleo.” I told her with a smile before I followed Sir Draejan to the training ground.