***
"So that's my decision, Robert. Can you speed up getting the troops together and gathering the horses and valuables to take with us? We'll hide all the horse-drawn carriages nearby," Livy ordered from beside Kazuki, as Robert kneeled in front of them.
"Okay, Princess. I will organize the soldiers as soon as possible!" Robert replied.
"Thanks for your hard work, Robert."
A few hours later, Robert had finished giving his orders very quickly. All the valuables and injured soldiers were swiftly carried away by the soldiers on horses, after they had hidden the carriages in a very hidden but accessible place. As for the soldiers who had died, they were moved to a place that was more secluded from view of the street.
At this point, the soldiers had already gathered in the middle of the road, looking at Commander Robert who was standing in front of them all.
"Soldiers! We will be staying overnight at Lord Kazuki's residence! So take all valuables with you, and don't forget to bring the injured soldiers!" Robert ordered the soldiers in his firm, authoritative voice.
"We understand, sir!!" the soldiers replied in unison.
"Good! Now, let's go!"
***
They all walked through the forest and were led by Kazuki as a guide as well as a protector.
As they walked through the forest, the group encountered several monsters that Kazuki called French fries which he immediately killed before the monsters even noticed the group.
And once again, they were amazed by the power possessed by Kazuki.
'How can there be such a powerful person who is completely unknown to the rest of the world?' That was what they thought when they saw his brutality in killing the many monsters in his path.
Livy who saw this also deepened her love for Kazuki, she really really loved him!
[...It's fortunate that you have such a powerful weapon, Master.]
'Hmm~... Hmm~....'
[...Otherwise, it would be absolutely impossible for you to kill the French Fry Monsters that easily]
'Stop your nonsense, can't you flatter this master of yours a bit?'
[...That's impossible.]
'Tsk!'
After some time passed, the group finally arrived at Kazuki's residence.
But the moment they saw the residence that Kazuki had, they were greatly shocked.
"There is a palace in the middle of the forest?!!!!"
"A very big and magnificent palace!!"
"Woaahhh!! Even this palace is on par with the palaces in the Capital!"
There was a lot of such talk among the soldiers, even Robert was also so shocked that he was speechless.
Glancing at Livy, Robert also saw an expression similar to hers.
“Um Kazuki… This is your temporary residence?” asked Livy doubtfully.
“Hmm...? Of course,” Kazuki said casually.
"However... Is this residence safe?" asked the girl again.
"Very safe, surely you can sense a barrier when we enter this area, right?" Kazuki asked like that because he knew that this girl had a higher magic sensitivity than him.
"You're right…" Livy muttered while looking around this area it was clear that there was a very strong magic barrier here.
Glancing at the soldiers, Kazuki invited them excitedly, "Everyone! Let's go inside!"
When they went inside, they saw that all the furniture in this palace was still very good, with very smooth walls and many paintings installed there.
Then Kazuki guided them to a floor that had a lot of rooms and beds on the 3rd floor.
Kazuki didn't count them exactly, but there were tens of rooms with hundreds of beds measuring 2x1 meters in each room.
It seems that it is devoted to accommodating soldiers in very large numbers.
"The soldiers can rest here, and don't worry, this palace is very safe, those monsters won't be able to enter this palace, I have confirmed it beforehand," Livy said to her soldiers in a loud voice.
"We understand, Princess!"
They answered in unison.
"And also may I add something?" Kazuki suddenly asked Livy and the soldiers.
"Go ahead," Livy answered calmly.
Hearing Livy's approval, Kazuki immediately pointed to several rooms and said, "If you want to find a toilet or bathroom, you can go there. There is a very large bath where you can bathe, and if you want to cook dinner, you can go to the room at the very end. There is a very large kitchen."
The soldiers became very happy upon hearing Kazuki's instructions.
"There's a bathroom! I can take a shower!" exclaimed one soldier.
"Hahahah! This is great!" said another.
"Sir Robert, I'll take the groceries to the kitchen to be cooked!" offered a third soldier.
The soldiers quickly went about their respective activities.
Glancing at Kazuki, Livy grumbled, "Kazuki, you spoil them too much."
"Kuhuhuhu... It's fine, let them have fun," chuckled Kazuki as he stroked Livy's head.
Glancing at Robert, Kazuki said, "And for you, Robert, you can stay upstairs."
Hearing the offer, Robert replied with a bow, "Thank you, Mr. Kazuki, for the offer, but I will stay with the soldiers to watch over them all."
"It's up to you where to live. Wherever I allow," Kazuki said in response.
"Thank you, Mister Kazuki!" Robert replied, lowering his head.
"Um, no problem," Kazuki said.
Livy then pulled Kazuki's arm and said, "Neee~... Kazuki~," in a playful tone.
Glancing at Livy beside him, Kazuki saw that she was hugging his arm tightly.
"Let's go to your room," Livy asked teasingly.
"Umm, Livy~... There are many rooms in this palace. You can choose as you like," Kazuki offered another room for her.
But judging from Livy's expression, it seemed her decision was unanimous.
Even Kazuki couldn't refuse. "Heishh… Alright, come follow me."
"Yeah~!" Livy exclaimed.
The two of them went to the main room that was always used by Kazuki.
***
“Was it this young man who saved you?” asked an old man, showing some pictures to a girl.
"That's right, Father! It's him!" answered the girl excitedly.
"It's amazing how he changed so quickly in just one month," muttered the old man, stroking his beard.
"I was also surprised when I found out that he suddenly became a different person in just one month... The spy in charge of monitoring him reported that he was doing very high-intensity training at his house!" said the girl with enthusiasm.
“You seem to be observing him intently,” chuckled the old man lightly.
"I promised to return the favor to him. He's a brave young man with a critical mind. I was amazed by the way he trapped the gangsters after I collected all the evidence to be submitted to the police," said the girl, giving a detailed description of everything that happened.
"Is that so... Looks like your decision is unanimous, correct?" asked the old man again, smiling.
"That's right, Father. It would be such a waste if such a smart and ambitious young man were left to rot in a cage full of disgusting dogs!" called out the girl firmly.
"Alright, do as you please. I will help you, my daughter," said the father.
"Wow, thank you, Dad!" cried the girl, running and hugging him.
Hug!
"Hahaha... Anything for my little daughter," chuckled the father, stroking the girl's hair.
"Hey, Dad! I'm not a kid anymore! I'm an adult!"
"Yes, yes... My little daughter has grown up," said the father with a smile.
Releasing his embrace, the girl walked towards the door, waving her hand.
"Dad! See you later! I'll take care of everything!"
Open...
Kreeakk...
That was what the girl said before exiting the room completely while closing the door.
Bummmm...!!
Staring at the door for a while, the old man sighed tiredly. "Hahh... Takeru... Can you hear me?" he asked. Suddenly, the office telephone on the old man's desk rang. "I can hear you, sir," Takeru answered. "Is that young man the heir of the Igarashi Dojo?" asked the old man calmly. "..." Takeru hesitated before replying, "That's right, Sir." "Have you been monitoring him properly? Why has he become so different? Has he been training his body?" the old man inquired. "That's right, Sir. We have been monitoring him closely. We even have satellite footage and we found a doctor who was giving him dietary and training advice. After investigating, we discovered several incidents that had befallen the young man, which might be the reason why he decided to train his body so hard," Takeru explained at length. Hearing this explanation, the old man smiled slightly and asked, "Ohoo~...? What did you find?" "We found out that this young man was a victim of extreme bullying. He was subjecte
*** "Was it this young man who knocked you unconscious yesterday?" asked a muscular man, showing his cellphone to another man. "That's right! That bastard also stole my photoshoot!" growled the youth with a face filled with rage. "Hahh?! Losing to a young man who can only rely on his face, you really are embarrassing, Kisaki!" exclaimed a man with a face full of horrible tattoos. "Shut up Hanjin! I didn't even realize when he kicked my leg without warning and then kicked my head when I fell!" Kisaki roared ferociously in response. "Tch! Shut up, you two! Let me think of a way to get revenge on that bastard!" The muscular man who had shown Kisaki the picture scolded the two of them when he was distracted. They were both shocked and immediately apologized to the man. "Forgive us, Tobi-sama!" they shouted in unison. "Alright, call the other core leaders, we'll discuss this!" Tobi ordered them. "We understand!" After some time, they all had gathered in a narrow but clean alley. T
*** "What about the attack? Is it certain that the girl will die?" "With such powerful and numerous monsters, I can confirm that the girl should be dead," said a black-robed man without a face visible. "Good. If there are no survivors, it should be easy for me to carry out the next plan." "Yes, do as you please, and goodbye." That was what the robed man said before walking out of the dark and extremely dirty room. "Sure, goodbye..." After the robed man left, an old woman entered the room. "What about our next plan, Father?" asked the old woman to an old man with a thick beard who was sitting quietly in a chair. "We can carry out the plan this time. Prepare your son to execute his plan. Our subordinates are ready to take control of this Empire." "Okay, Father," replied the old woman to the bearded grandfather. Then the old woman left the room, leaving the bearded old man alone. Seeing that his daughter had completely walked out of the room, the old geezer heaved a tired sigh
*** "Do you know where the Princess is now?" asked a soldier as he carried his food. "I don't know, don't ask me," snorted the man next to him. "Perhaps the Princess is in the more luxurious room upstairs?" "That could be..." They chatted about where Livy might be sleeping until a surviving knight commander walked up to them all. "Hey you guys! Do you want your mouths sewn up?!" Hearing the scream, they all immediately stood up and bowed their heads to the knight. "Please excuse our language, Sir Dawson!" they exclaimed in unison. "Well, let's not talk about the Princess anyway... Why do you guys like talking about her so much?" asked Sir Dawson with a tired sigh. Glancing at each other, they finally answered. "Nothing else to talk about?" "Too interesting to see the Princess's sudden change in character!" "Talking about the owner of this Palace?" "Yeah, those are all fun topics to discuss..." They expressed their own opinions to each other. Seeing that they still had no
*** Now, Sir Dawson will describe what happened from his perspective, regarding the political system in the Arthia Empire. The Arthia Empire had a centralized government system where nepotism was always the norm, even though those promoted through nepotism were often untalented in their field. As a result, the Empire remained in a state of prolonged stagnation. Poverty in the Empire was also quite extreme, as there were very few gold reserves in the state treasury. The entire continent used the same currency, namely gold coins. However, a small country located to the south - a kingdom that was very rich - controlled the circulation of gold, so the Empire had no power to restore its economy. Many events led to this situation, with the United Kingdom and the Razor Empire having absolute control over the circulation of gold coins. Ultimately, they were able to choke the Arthia Empire's economy and significantly weaken it. "Though the Arthia Empire was a fertile and wealthy country, d
After arriving at the dining room, Kazuki and Sir Dawson saw that half of the soldiers were still there to eat. Looking at them all with a bright smile, Kazuki immediately shouted loudly, “Etto~!! Everyone, can you hear my voice~!?” The soldiers nodded lightly. Nodded... Nodded... "Alright, I'll just get straight to the point, Sir Dawson and I have been discussing for a while, and we'd like to ask for your opinion on your grievances towards the Arthia Empire. Please share your personal opinions about the Empire, whatever that opinion may be, we will accept!!” The soldiers who were listening to Kazuki's statement glanced at each other and started discussing. It wasn't until a soldier stood up and raised his hand while shouting, "Master Kazuki! Can I express my complaint?" Seeing the first person who dared to speak up made Kazuki smile sincerely and reply, “Yes, please share your complaints!” "I have a complaint about why my child cannot go to school even though my child is very sma
*** In the backyard of the Secret Palace. "Woahhh~!! Sir Robert is the best!!" "What a powerful monster!!" "Good thing we were able to learn this!" The soldiers, who had been resting, watched as Sir Robert fought against a very large and tall monster. When the monster saw the many humans, it tried to attack the palace. However, the monster crashed into the barrier and could not enter. Once Sir Robert realized that the soldiers were watching quietly, he stepped out of the barrier and fought the monster one-on-one, showing the soldiers its techniques. The moment Kazuki saw those who were watching Sir Robert fight, he even recognized this type of monster a bit. 'Hey System, isn't this monster the second monster I killed...?' [...Yes, that type of monster is the Orc Champion.] '... So...' "Hurraaaa...!!!!" press!! Slamming his sword down, Sir Robert finally killed the monster! Slash!!!! Scroshhh!!!! "Roaarrrrr!!!!!!!!" brukk!!!! Sprawl... When the monster was killed, the
*** "Hey kids, don't be disrespectful to Mr. Kazuki!" commanded Sir Robert to the soldiers. At this moment, Kazuki was engaged in a light conversation with the soldiers. There seemed to be no distance between the soldiers and Kazuki; they appeared more like close friends rather than a lord and his subordinates. "Sir Robert! Are you joining us too? You can't! You need to become a young man first to join in here!" joked one of the soldiers, who was currently gathered with Kazuki and the other soldiers. Hearing the soldier's jest, Sir Robert responded, "I've only reached the age of 56, I'm still young!" "Hahahah! You're already too old! Don't pretend to be young! Your mustache can't fool us!" exclaimed another soldier. "A mustache is the pride of a man with authority, while a beard is the pride of a wise man!" Sir Robert stated firmly, with a proud expression. "That's the pride of old men! Not young men!" shouted the soldier again and again. "Y-You!!" The two of them then engage