“Hmm...”
Camelia carefully checked the documents she was carrying one more time as she walked.
“I think that’s everything?”
She was on her way to Rue’s office. Earlier, the man had asked her to find a list of wealthy merchants willing to lend their names.
After all, as the eldest daughter of the head of the merchant guild, Camelia had more than enough connections to find that kind of information.
For His Highness’s disguise?
She went over Rue’s requirements again, from each merchant’s reputation to their personal lives.
Finding out about someone’s private life was difficult.
But with enough money, it wasn’t impossible to find out.
Oh, and if there was something impossible to find—
That simply meant she hadn’t spent enough money.
Humming cheerfully, Camelia turned a corner and passed the training grounds in the eastern wing.
Then—
“Look out—!”
“Ack.”
Crash!
“Oww...”
“Get up, you bastard, Lavis.”
“Oh, hi, Camelia. You still haven’t showered, have you?”
“Hooo.”
Camelia put on a murderous expression as she glared at Lavis, who was still sitting on top of her stomach.
As if he hadn’t noticed the papers scattered across the ground, Lavis stepped on them as he got up and moved away.
Camelia brushed off her clothes, then looked down at the papers with a gloomy expression.
Several of them were still being stepped on.
“Do you want to die?”
“Hm?”
Lavis finally noticed the papers beneath his feet.
But instead of picking them up, he gave them a strange little kick.
“What’s this?”
And that was when—
Camelia’s murderous intent truly flared.
Unlike Lavis, who remained completely calm, the Sword Division members who had been lying around exhausted immediately jolted awake when they saw the two battle maniacs facing each other.
They exchanged trembling looks.
Then, forcing their aching bodies to move, they got up so they could leave.
—Run away.
BOOOOMMM!!!
Unfortunately—
It was already too late.
BOOOOMMMM!!!
Rue frowned and looked toward the window.
The explosion had come from the eastern wing.
“Ah... damn.”
Arfy, who had dark circles under his eyes, also looked up and stared outside.
“...Isn’t that where Lavis said he wanted to train the children?”
Rue’s gritted teeth were answer enough.
Arfy groaned and rubbed his forehead.
“Why can’t he calm down for once—”
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Urgent pounding on the door cut him off.
“Come in.”
The door opened.
A brown-haired, brown-eyed man entered with a face covered in bruises.
“Commander Rue, help us!!!”
“...”
“Haaaaah...”
Rue made a face as if he had just eaten something terrible, while Arfy could only sigh.
They already knew what Bell was about to say.
“Captain Lavis and Camelia are fighting and destroying the training grounds!!!!”
BOAMM!
Bell’s shout echoed through the room together with another explosion.
“Cutting their pay doesn’t teach them a lesson,” Arfy muttered.
“Lavis is an idiot and Camelia is rich. Neither of them thinks money is important.”
“Come on, have some mercy on the workers...” Arfy rubbed his temple. “How many times a week do we have to rebuild the training grounds?”
Bell watched Arfy continue grumbling.
Then Rue stood up and opened the window wide.
He took his bow and nocked two arrows.
No way...
Bell froze.
Rue poured soul power into the arrows, then aimed at the two people still fighting.
The arrows were released.
Whoosh!
“!!”
In the distance, the two troublemakers blocked them at the same time.
“Oh, did they hit?”
Rue watched as the two finally stopped fighting.
He raised two fingers toward his eyes.
Then he moved his hand downward across his neck, making a cutting motion.
Bell swallowed.
If he wasn’t mistaken—
That was definitely not a reassuring gesture.
“If they hit, that’ll be the day I throw a celebration.”
Rue snorted and slammed the window shut.
He then looked at Bell, who was still standing there in a daze.
“Go back, Bell. You’re helping the Medical Division, right? Is there anything else?”
Bell hurriedly shook his head.
“N-No, sir. Captain Bonnie—I mean, Miss Bonnie—asked me to stop the two of them from continuing to fight. There’s a healing and Soother room in the eastern wing.”
“It’s already being handled. If they’re still causing trouble, tell Bonnie to throw a smoke bomb or use sleeping poison.”
“W-What?”
Bell’s pupils trembled.
He already knew the Imperial Main Force was special.
But today, he learned that the minds and ways of thinking of the Imperial Main Force’s higher-ups were also... special.
No wonder his seniors always told him to run if he ever saw the higher-ups of the Imperial Main Force.
“Bell?”
“Yes, Commander—I mean, Captain!! Carry out the order!!”
Bell turned around to leave.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes!”
Bell stopped and looked back at Rue.
“I remember we have a guest from a neighboring kingdom?”
“Yes. The younger prince of the Mirsu Kingdom.”
“He’s not finished yet?”
“Well...”
Bell remembered the gloomy-faced young prince and answered slowly.
“He’s already been purified, but he’s the type who’s difficult to purify completely. Miss Chloe and her deputy, Sir Kru, have already handled him personally, but the result is the same...”
“Then that’s enough. Tell Chloe to give him one Soother session and escort the younger prince out.”
Bell blinked.
“The palace isn’t somewhere he can stay just because he came here.”
“Yes.”
“Tell her to explain that we can’t keep providing this service unless it’s an emergency.”
Arfy snorted.
“There are plenty of people outside with purification abilities. Not just our troops. The guard offices in each district also provide the service. Then there are mercenaries. They have members with purification abilities too, and their services can be hired.”
Arfy shrugged.
“Don’t just come here.”
Rue nodded.
“Exactly. We, the Imperial Main Force, exist for the sake of the Empire, not simply to satisfy nobles.”
He looked back at Bell.
“Tell him that we don’t accept requests outside of emergencies. Just this once.”
“Yes, sir!!”
Bell saluted again and ran out.
He had to deliver the message properly.
Clenching his fist, Bell quickened his pace.
“What happened to that prince... what was the name of the prince from Mirsu again?”
“Merrick Oriel Cullen Mirsu.”
“Ah, Prince Oriel.” Arfy scratched his temple. “Why did he come all the way here?”
Rue didn’t answer immediately.
“Prince Oriel is known as a genius in the Mirsu Kingdom. He was already able to use soul power at the age of five, then learned to manifest it into solid objects at ten.”
“Uwek, genius? Our prince was slaughtering Death Gods at nine.”
Rue shook his head.
“Don’t compare others to His Highness.”
He raised his head and looked at Arfy.
“On the day he was born, warm snow fell from the sky. Anyone who came into contact with it was healed and felt at ease. Now that is a miracle. Even from that alone, comparing him to His Highness would be impossible.”
Rue held back a sigh.
Well...
Yuma was simply too powerful.
Powerful enough that his own body had become prone to illness.
Unaware of the bitterness behind that fact, Arfy lifted his chin proudly.
“Yeah. Comparing our prince to someone like that is an insult.”
He paused for a moment.
“Hm? But what does Prince Oriel’s greatness have to do with us?”
Rue shook his head.
“His genius is matched by his contamination level. For some reason, he becomes contaminated very easily, yet purification has very little effect on him.”
“Oh.”
Remembering the pain that came when contamination accumulated, Arfy felt a little—just a little—sympathy for him.
“Other kingdoms have a habit of pairing soul power users of any type with children who have Soother-type abilities. But unfortunately, this genius prince from Mirsu still hasn’t found a suitable match.”
“So that’s why he came here?”
“Yes.”
Rue looked back at his documents.
“Unfortunately, our system is different from the other kingdoms that place nobles above everyone else. We prioritize the people. So naturally, he didn’t know that our forces don’t accept requests like that.”
“Trash.” Arfy snorted. “No wonder there are so many civilian casualties whenever we hear news about attacks happening outside.”
“That’s how it is.”
Rue let out a small sigh.
“That’s why I told them to refuse firmly. We can’t have him coming back to bother us again, or worse, have other kingdoms follow Prince Oriel’s example.”
“Agreed.”
Arfy shrugged, then went back to moving his quill across the document.
Several moments passed.
“Wait.”
He stopped writing and glanced at Rue.
“Considering the timing... that Prince Oriel... he isn’t planning to enroll in the academy too, is he?”
“Ah, damn.”
Rue fell silent.
His thoughts immediately turned to his nephew’s Soother ability.
His expression darkened.
No...
He calmed down again.
Yuma would be entering one of the ordinary classes, so the chances of them crossing paths were very low.
But for some reason...
He had a bad feeling about this.
Let’s go back to when Lavis and Camelia’s fight first began.
“Ahahahahaha! What’s wrong? You’re so weak!”
“You bastard, Lavis! I’ll make you die and take your position as captain!”
“Go ahead! Ahahahahahah!”
“AAAAAAAAA—!”
BOAMM!
Their soul powers collided, causing part of the wall to collapse from the force of the shockwave.
Yet even as the rubble continued to pile up, the two of them kept coating their swords with soul power and attacking each other.
“Aaaaaaa! Please stop them!!”
“Captain!! Remember your salary!!”
“Aaaaaaa! They’ve both gone insane!!”
“Get Captain Rue!”
“They’re blocking the exit!!”
“Mom!!! Sorry if I did something wrong!! I’m going to die!”
“Mayday! Mayday!!”
“Darling!! I haven’t proposed to you yet, I’m sorry, darling!!”
“Get my will!!”
“AAAAAAAA! Watch your head!!”
Chaos erupted everywhere as the trapped soldiers desperately tried to avoid the rubble and waves of energy from the two of them.
Then—
Ptas! Clang!
The two deflected soul-infused arrows filled with murderous intent.
“Oh.”
“Rue?”
Camelia and Lavis stared at where the arrows had landed, their expressions confused.
“Why is he pointing at his eyes?”
“Maybe he means the rubble could blind us?”
“Ohh!! Then what about that hand gesture under his neck?”
“Hmm... That’s a beheading gesture, right? Does he want us to behead the witnesses?”
Camelia’s gaze shifted toward the people around them.
They immediately shook their heads in panic.
I’m watching you. You’re dead.
The others desperately wanted to shout those words.
But knowing they might end up on the radar of those two battle maniacs, they could only try to make their presence as inconspicuous as possible.
Camelia looked forward again and noticed that Rue’s window had closed.
“Oh, he closed his window.”
“What’s wrong with him?” Lavis followed her gaze. “I heard he’s always gloomy. He rarely shows up too.”
“He’s handling the Archduke’s affairs.”
“Woaah...”
Lavis dramatically covered his mouth.
“How come? Didn’t he hate dealing with Archduke matters?”
“Hm... because the Archduke is busy. His Highness hasn’t rested enough yet, has he?”
“Ah... makes sense.”
Lavis nodded as he sheathed his sword.
“But what are you doing here?”
“Training the children.”
Camelia turned toward him.
“They don’t have enough stamina. Their performance in the last war left me dissatisfied.”
“Agreed.”
The others turned pale.
“Oh, let’s train the support troops.”
Kru, who happened to be passing by, heard that and immediately froze, his face filled with disbelief.
“What’s wrong with the support troops?”
“You know, last time, the healers and Soothers had to move forward because some soldiers couldn’t retreat. They almost got attacked. Wouldn’t it be a good thing if they could defend themselves?”
Lavis stared at Camelia as if he had just witnessed the genius of the century.
“Why didn’t I think of that?!”
Kru could only turn so pale that he was almost corpse-white, while Camelia and Lavis continued discussing.
“Of course you didn’t think of it. Your brain is filled with nothing but swords.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t praise me. You’re making me embarrassed.”
Lavis laughed.
“But if it’s only for self-defense, the training intensity should be reduced a little.”
“Yes. At least enough for them to survive until the soldiers arrive. We don’t need them fighting too, right?”
“Of course. It could also reduce the burden on the Guardians.”
Camelia thought about what had happened before.
“I feel sorry for them. In the last war, they were overwhelmed trying to protect the healers and Soothers who kept running around the battlefield.”
“Ah... right.”
Lavis nodded.
“Their contamination levels kept rising and falling rapidly because they were using their soul powers too often.”
Camelia shook her head, remembering the Guardians who had collapsed unconscious the moment victory was secured.
“Good. I’ll start putting together a training plan!”
“I’ll help after I give this to Rue.”
Camelia began picking up the papers that had been scattered across the ground and dirtied by the rubble.
She smiled brightly.
“What are those papers?”
“These?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm... ask Rue. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to tell you.”
“Oh?”
Lavis nodded.
If she wasn’t allowed to say anything, he wouldn’t press the matter.
“I’ll wait for you, and then we can make the training plan together.”
He looked around.
“Where’s my beloved deputy?”
“I saw him running away earlier.”
“Tsk, tsk. What a slacker.”
“See you later.”
Lavis waved cheerfully, then turned his gaze back toward the soldiers trying to sneak away.
He grinned.
“Shall we continue?”
Everyone went pale.
Even Kru ran so quickly that he nearly tripped trying to reach his captain.
Anything was better than staying here.
Indeed.
This was a great misfortune for all the Empire’s soldiers.