Over the course of a few days, we finally reached the royal capital.

“It seems that Douglas has defeated the demons.”

Upon arriving, we saw craters and rubble everywhere. The buildings had been trashed. The damage was enormous.

However, I didn’t see any demons.

“You’re right. It’s as you foresaw, Eliane.”

“Most importantly…”

…It wasn’t like I was worried about Douglas. But maybe I was, a little.

“By the way, Douglas…”

I looked around.

“Have you arrived?”

A man dashingly descended from a tall building and landed before us.

It was no other than Douglas.

“Douglas, are you safe? Did you suffer any injuries?”

“Hmph! Fighting those weaklings? They were but low-ranking demons. Moreover, I have that convenient tool called holy water. Don’t worry.” Douglas said with a laugh.

Seeing the energetic Douglas, I held my chest in relief.

“It seems that the royal capital has been thrown into chaos…”

The royal capital was nothing like I remembered.

The whole city had been thrashed. I felt anxious.

It couldn’t be helped… Although they had been defeated by Douglas, demons did recently invade that kingdom.

It also couldn’t be helped that the residents were uneasy.

“Anyway, let’s go meet His Majesty the King. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t be granted an audience with him. But now, that shouldn’t be the case.”

Nigel instructed us.

Although the demons in the city had been annihilated, there were still some left.

A second demon faction… it was easy to imagine a third wave coming.

We had to devise countermeasures immediately…

“Hey! What are the people of Lynchgiham doing here?!”

When I was in thought, a man who appeared to be a knight came screaming at us.

“Are you… a knight of this kingdom?”

When Nigel asked, the man nodded.

“Then that makes it easy. I’m Nigel Lynchgiham, the prince of Lynchgiham. It may be sudden, but I request an audience with His Majesty the King.”

“Hmph! Don’t lie! I don’t know your true goal, but there’s no way you’re a prince! Get out of this city right now!”

The knight waved him off.

The other knights also gathered in front of us, probably because of the commotion.

“But, that coat of arms… that’s surely from Lynchgiham. Why are you here? What are your intentions?”

“It’s obvious! With the royal capital immensely weakened by the demons, Lynchgiham decided to invade us!”

“We are the swords and the shields of this kingdom! If you dare come even one step closer towards this city, we won’t let you go!”

At once, they all spat curses.

They threatened us with their swords and spears.

Even so, they didn’t immediately attack us. The reason for that was because they knew they couldn’t win.

The weapons and armor of the knights were in tatters. I didn’t think they could put up a good fight.

“Well, that’s a natural response… I didn’t think we’d be trusted that easily.” Nigel shrugged.

It was as Nigel had said in the carriage—it would be more difficult to convince the people than to dispose of the demons.

After being invaded by the demons, their wariness had increased.

In such a state, if knights of a neighboring kingdom were to appear, it was only natural that they would lift their swords.

“Nigel, shouldn’t we just break through them?”

Douglas asked Nigel while clenching his fist.

“…Well, I don’t want to aggravate them more than I already have. However, as long as I speak in good faith, surely, they’d understand.”

“I don’t think so? They’ll just turn a deaf ear to our words. It’s also unlikely we’ll get to meet the king because these oh-so-loyal knights will hamper us.”

“That’s right…”

Nigel was at a standstill.

…Was there no choice but to break through?

However, I didn’t want to injure them, especially after they had suffered the devastating demon attack…

When I was thinking of what to do…

“Eliane!”

I heard a familiar voice!

“Lower your weapons. You’re standing before the saint.”

Hearing the man’s exclamation, the knights lowered their swords to the ground, albeit they were still confused.

The knights created a path for that man to approach us.

“Klaus!”

It was the knight captain—Klaus.

He was one of a few who understood me in that kingdom. Even when I was exiled, Klaus took my side.

Klaus walked forward, and when he was finally before me, he knelt.

“It has been a long time, Saint. It is I, Klaus.”

“It has. I am glad that you are safe, Klaus. Although, I don’t feel that I have the right to speak such words…”

“That is my line. I’m delighted that the saint has decided to step into this land once again.”

Klaus kept his head down as he spun those meticulous lines.

After seeing Klaus for the first time in a long while, I felt like crying.

But I had no time to immerse myself in the reunion.

“Klaus… believe it or not, we want to save this kingdom.”

“…”

Klaus silently listened to my story.

“You might think that as outsiders, it’s an outrageous thing to say. However, let me tell you this, that is not the case. Will you not let us meet His Majesty?”

I honestly thought I’d be denied.

As I had said many times, Klaus understood me. Surely, it wouldn’t go down too badly…

However, more than anyone else, Klaus valued discipline.

No matter how much I asked, I didn’t think meeting the king would be easy.

However.

“…I understand. I believe in you. I shall inform the others. Please proceed to the royal castle.”

Klaus extended his hand in the direction of the castle.

“Eh?! Is it really alright?”

“Yes. If anyone complains, I will personally remove that person. I shan’t forgive anyone who dares block your path.”

“W, well, there’s no need to go that far. If you actually do that, you’ll be in deep water, Klaus…”

“I’m just joking.”

Klaus put a finger over his mouth.

Because he spoke with a straight face, I was fooled…

…No, even now, I didn’t believe that he was joking.

Well, since it was Klaus, I had some insight regarding the man.

“Let’s go, Nigel!”

“Alright. Eliane seems to be anxious. Still, it seems that not everyone in this kingdom is your enemy.”

“Indeed, Klaus is a dependable man.”

After hearing what Klaus had said, the other knights, who were initially hostile, were confused, but otherwise let us be.

No one tried to hinder our way.

When we were about to pass Klaus.

“Gahaha! It’s been a long time since I last meet such a strong man.”

“Who are you?”

Douglas had an exchange with Klaus.

Klaus tilted his neck. He didn’t seem to know who Douglas was.

If what Douglas said was true, he had stopped by the kingdom before. Probably, during that time, they had meet.

“Nigel.”

Adolf beckoned to Nigel from behind.

“It seems that we can resolve this peacefully, after all. I thought there might be a fight.”

“That’s right. It’s all thanks to Eliane.”

“Even so… Eliane was called the ‘Saint’, what did he mean—”

“—let us go.”

Nigel shrugged without changing his expressions.

I was probably approaching the limit. I wondered how long could I hide the fact that I was the saint.

---

***T/N: Guys, let’s do a drinking game. Drink every time someone said “It’s all thanks to Eliane.” Or when the word ‘benefactor’ is mentioned. P.S: I won’t be responsible for the hospital fee.

Please also consider donating to my ko-fi! It’ll greatly support me in action, no matter the amount!
https://ko-fi.com/antoinettevanessa

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