Although being suddenly pulled into a teleportation spell was indeed a bit panic-inducing, now was not the time to think about such things.
The sister, who had been dragged along by Lin Ling and Ichikawa, looked in the direction Ichikawa was pointing.
At the bar, a striking head of orange hair was turned away from them.
“Y-Your Highness?”
A clear spark of hope flashed in the sister's eyes upon seeing the orange hair.
In Camillaya, only members of the royal family possessed orange hair, so she had no fear of misidentifying him. Since the old King had only two children, one didn't even need to think to know which prince would be in this run-down tavern.
“Your Highness? Your Highness!”
Hearing someone calling him, Kainster put down the intelligence report he was holding.
Turning toward the sound, he saw Lin Ling and Ichikawa standing there. But this time, a somewhat familiar figure stood between them.
Looking at the figure, Kainster frowned.
From her appearance, she was a sister of the Holy See.
However, all the sisters he knew should be back in the capital. He glanced at Lin Ling and Ichikawa standing behind her.
“Soulmate, did you two go and destroy the capital?!”
Given these two, it wouldn't actually be surprising if they did something like that. They truly had the capability.
Especially Lin Ling. If she really intended to do it, there was no way the Demon King would just stand by and watch.
Even though they had claimed they were just going to check out the border Holy See, Lin Ling was entirely capable of doing such a thing on a whim.
Seeing Kainster actually seriously considering whether she had destroyed the capital in such a short amount of time, Lin Ling's face flushed slightly with embarrassment.
“Hey! Just what kind of person do you think I am?!”
A magic arm materialized behind her and smacked the pondering Kainster, shattering the slanderous image of her in his head.
“Whoa, whoa! If it's you, soulmate, it's actually totally possible!”
Kainster scrambled to escape as the magic arm chased after him.
Standing nearby, Ichikawa watched Lin Ling's exasperated face and couldn't help but feel a sense of shared experience.
As expected, this girl's reputation is just as unreliable in everyone else's eyes.
Flicking his hair, Ichikawa cast a smug look at Lin Ling, who was also glaring back at him.
Though Lin Ling's expression was rapidly turning into pure rage at his smugness, now was indeed not the time for fooling around.
The magic arm chasing Kainster vanished, and Ichikawa walked over to the panting prince.
“You actually weren't wrong. This sister is indeed from the capital.”
Dragging Kainster back to the bar, Ichikawa poured himself a drink.
“As for why she's here, though... that's because of your brother.”
“Keith?”
“Ahem, let me explain that part.”
Seeing that they had finally stopped fooling around, the sister took a step forward and approached Kainster.
She described how, over the past month, the resignation of Bishop Karl and Bishop Furni had forced the sisters of the Holy See to work late into the night handling trivial matters for the nobility.
Of the remaining bishops, three had already accepted financial support from the nobles.
This so-called financial support was essentially no different from those bishops becoming the guard dogs of those noble families.
The sisters of the Holy See had originally thought they could still carry out their duties as they always had.
But because of this, the nobles felt the sisters were neglecting them.
The bishops were furious, and acting together, they initiated a massive purge within the Holy See.
Although some nobles successfully advocated to prevent the sisters from being outright defrocked, those who genuinely wished to serve the people were still expelled from the capital's Holy See.
“And so, a month ago, the current Emperor exiled us here.”
The tavern fell silent as the group at the bar absorbed the sister's words.
Draining his cup in one gulp, Kainster was the first to break the silence.
“You're saying... that bastard just tore up the promise that was bought with my mother's life?”
For the first time, Kainster displayed his true rage before them.
“My mother gave her life to secure a promise from my imperial father himself—that this country's Holy See would never serve only those trash nobles, but would also serve the people!”
“That guy... how dare he!”
Slam!
Kainster slammed his glass onto the bar. It shattered instantly, and the scent of blood filled the tavern.
Seeing this, Lin Ling immediately cast healing magic on Kainster's hand.
Beside him, Ichikawa watched the prince tremble with rage. He said nothing, silently sliding a fresh glass toward him.
Exchanging a glance with Lin Ling, both of them understood that now was not the time to speak.
Trying to get Kainster to suppress his emotions right now would be sheer stupidity.
What he needed was enough momentum to deliver the decisive blow when the time came.
Watching the two of them care for Kainster, the sister fell silent for a moment, seemingly hesitating on whether to continue.
But remembering how the three of them had just been joking around, and how the prince had called this young lady his... soulmate?
Making her decision, the sister bit her lip and prepared to drop to her knees before them.
However, she found that her knees refused to bend no matter what.
With a touch of confusion, she looked down to find her feet enveloped in a thin layer of golden magic at some point.
“No one kneels here.”
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
Lin Ling turned her head and smiled at the bewildered sister.
Beside her, Ichikawa also turned around, his expression steady and calm. It had to be said that once this Hero stopped being cowardly, he truly projected a reassuring presence.
Looking at Ichikawa, and then at Kainster, who was struggling to contain his fury, the sister bowed deeply to the three of them.
She bowed toward the three of them.
“I beg of you, Your Highness... become the Emperor.”
“Please, Your Highness, put an end to Keith's hopeless reign.”
Even though the prince before her had long chosen to run away, she still wanted to gamble. After hearing that Ichikawa had met Kainster, she wanted to take this chance.
She was gambling that this kind-hearted prince would be willing to return and fight for the throne he had once fled.
Thud—
Kainster set his glass down and turned to face the sister.
His deep blue eyes were now like a silent, bottomless ocean, carrying an intensity that made it hard to breathe.
“I accept. I will return. I will drag that guy down from that throne, and I will show him that Camillaya is not a toy for him to play with as he pleases.”
Seeing Kainster like this, the sister closed her eyes and began to pray for him.
“May your path be grand, and may the Goddess watch over you.”
Behind him, Lin Ling and Ichikawa exchanged a look, then reached out to place their hands on his shoulders.
“Hey now, soulmate, don't go forgetting about us.”
“Having a royal in the Hero's party is a classic trope, you know.”
Ichikawa then looked back at the sister.
“You know, when I left the Holy See, Bishop Karl told me to find the true Demon King.”
The sister's praying hands paused at his words.
“Now, I think I've found him.”
The Hero's proof hanging on his chest emitted a faint glow, as if telling Ichikawa that this was the correct choice...
Rate on N.U.
