Episode 472 – Clayton from Kyle Castle has disappeared.
As soon as they heard the news, McLane’s command, which had left behind some of its troops and was in a hurry to prepare for its return, urgently convened a meeting.
bang.
“Damian!”
As Victoria opened the door roughly and entered, Damien sighed and stepped forward.
“What happened!?”
“As you heard, Mr. Clayton’s body…no, his body has disappeared. Given the circumstances, I think it should be considered a kidnapping.”
“What on earth did the troops guarding Kyle Castle do!?”
Victoria’s voice was too sharp, but no one pointed out her attitude. Because there was no one who could not understand Victoria’s great respect for her teacher.
“After the saint’s resurrection incident, the security was further strengthened. However, I was a little worried that the rumor was spreading to the public, but in the end…”
Logan, who has a history of overturning Kyle’s castle, quietly avoids Victoria’s sharp gaze, but Damian He continued speaking in this calm voice.
“But looking at the on-site reports, it appears to be an event close to force majeure.”
“Why?”
“It is said that all of the knights who were protecting the castle were unconscious. It appears that they were hit by powerful magic. However, there were no casualties.”
The enemy showed such force that they could not even dare to resist, but did not harm any life.
“Yes. If they had wanted to kill Lord Clayton, his body would have remained. If it had been a simple robbery, they would not have been able to break into the castle.”
When Logan quickly added a word, Damian nodded and smiled at Victoria as if to reassure her.
“Yes. It may be a consolation, but at least you won’t have to worry about Clayton’s life.”
“Say that now…!”
Nevertheless, Victoria, who could not relax, raised her voice again, and Damian hastily added.
“If the goal was simply Lord Clayton’s life or his body, we would have seen blood. But not even among the knights or soldiers have died.”
“That means…”
“Perhaps he left room for negotiation. He hoped that we wouldn’t be blindly hostile. Perhaps the culprit will contact us or Victoria soon. He will have something to ask for.”
It is difficult to imagine any other motive for taking the mage’s half-corpse body. Damien’s guess was convincing.
“The problem is that at this point, few people would be fearless enough to kidnap Lord Clayton and demand something from McLane.”
“It would either be the Empire or the Kassel Tower.”
Geomgong and Ronian’s opinions were also valid. Who else would provoke the Kingdom of McLane, which has become more morale than ever since it defeated the Empire?
“Then isn’t it strange that you didn’t see blood?”
“I guess you want something like an agreement or contract rather than a threat. A request to look at it favorably, such as a postponement of conquest or a withdrawal of public service.”
When Luther and Wicken also came up with plausible guesses, the swordsman opened his mouth with a stern expression.
“I am telling you this out of annoyance… Your Majesty, if it is a request to withdraw from the occupied territory…”
“You must absolutely not listen to it.”
The swordsman trailed off as he watched Victoria’s eyes, but Damian’s suddenly interrupted voice was firm.
As Victoria’s expression darkened, Logan calmly shook his head.
“Either way, they’re not that stupid, so they won’t ask for a serious deal. It’s probably something like a non-aggression pact or adjustment of war reparations.”
Luther tilted his head and expressed doubt.
“In the first place, Your Majesty, you had no intention of doing anything more, did you?”
“That’s what the outside world doesn’t know, idiot.”
“…Do you want to fight?”
“…You need to understand the atmosphere.”
Everyone shook their heads at the familiar sight of Luther’s retort being blocked right next to them.
“I wish it was like that…” As
Logan tapped the armrest and was lost in thought, Victoria stepped in front of him.
“…Your Majesty. Whoever the culprit is, even if they are making somewhat unreasonable demands, please give us a little more time. Then, I will do something.”
Victoria said those words with a determined expression.
‘I’ll try something… ugh.’
Logan sighed softly, stood up, grabbed Victoria’s shoulder, and made eye contact with her.
“It’s not your responsibility, Lia. It’s entirely up to me to solve it.”
“But…”
“Even if they approach you secretly, I will resolve it. I am also indebted to Lord Clayton a lot. Of course, I must save them. Absolutely.”
Nothing has been confirmed yet. So Logan’s assurances could have sounded like bravado.
But Victoria’s head nodded easily.
“Yes. I have to believe what Your Majesty says.”
Logan smiled slightly at the sight of her immediately calming down her excitement.
‘Thank you for believing in me so much.’
As much as I felt sorry, I felt even more thankful for the firm trust he had in me.
“…Yes, trust me. I will solve it somehow.”
Logan reassured Victoria by speaking with firm determination, as if he was making a promise to himself.
“Yes. That is what Your Majesty said, so it will be so.”
Although it was a little strange to see the excessive confidence in her eyes as she answered, Logan patted her shoulder and stood up.
however.
“Then there is no need to discuss further.”
“Of course. Your Majesty will solve it.”
“Then shall we end the meeting here?”
For some reason, the reactions of those around me were strange.
“…What are we going to do now?”
When Logan frowned for a moment, the people around him reacted in confusion.
“I heard Your Majesty will take care of it?”
“Isn’t that okay then?”
“Your Majesty will come forward personally, so of course it will be resolved.”
Among the subjects, Damian, who was said to be smart in his own way, started talking nonsense, and soon everyone gathered in the main hall nodded in unison.
Logan’s face was blank at the absurd sight, but fortunately, the two of them showed different behavior.
“…Wait, why is everyone doing this now?”
“Honey, there’s a strange power in your words right now… groaning.”
Only his teacher, who knew how to manipulate the power of the soul to a small extent, and his wife, who had always been by his side, were the only ones who sensed something unusual.
“What is this… wait.”
Logan frowned as if he noticed something and soon began to contemplate his own soul.
The Aura Master had reached his limit, and now the soul that looked beyond the wall was shining bigger and more brilliantly than ever.
However, the nature of the light seemed a little different from the power of desire that lies at the foundation of the soul.
And Logan was able to intuitively realize what that meant.
‘…the power of my will.’
It was not a common thought or wish left behind by other souls, but the power of his own will.
And the words spoken with such firm determination are…
“Break down.”
Kwazijic.
It becomes reality and comes true.
Logan looked with blank eyes at the scene where the chair he had been sitting on a moment ago was shattered.
It wasn’t a use of force. I just said it in hopes that the chair would break.
It’s like…
‘Magic!?’
It was more absurd than surprising. It was something to be happy about simply because you had new powers, but if you thought about it even a little, it was obvious that there would be serious side effects.
“Damian.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Swear at me. As hard as you can.”
Damian nodded politely, but then his expression changed in an instant.
“Hey, you idiot! If you’re going to do whatever you want, why are you discussing it with me? Do you know how hard it is for me, you idiot…! Eup eup!?”
The moment the swordsman, startled by the unexpected profanity, hurriedly covered Damian’s mouth, the other superhumans around him realized what was strange and looked at their monarch with surprised eyes.
“Your Majesty, what is this?”
“Why is Damian like that…”
“Now that you think about it, why did we just decide to leave without taking any countermeasures?”
“Your Majesty will take care of that… Huh!?”
The superhumans burst out in exclamation one after another as if they had noticed the change in the monarch.
“Why why? I did what your majesty told me to do?”
Meanwhile, Damian still didn’t even know what was wrong.
In the midst of it all, Logan let out a deep sigh and cupped his face.
Action on Clayton’s matter was put on hold for now.
Although the investigation was ordered according to principle, no one expected the knights of Kyle Castle to achieve anything.
I only assumed that the kidnapper had some kind of purpose, and asked me to inform them immediately if I was contacted by Victoria or the executioners.
And Logan locked himself in his room and meditated. For now, the urgent priority was to resolve the concerns that had arisen out of nowhere.
‘Of course I’m happy to rise to the level, but only under these circumstances…’
It is certainly encouraging to see the possibility of rising to the level of a rookie for the first time as an Auror Master.
But an absurd side effect arose. The cause was easily identified after several experiments.
‘As the status of my soul rose, I was able to naturally move into the order of the world. Like magic. But…’
When the Auror Master’s control of the battlefield was added to that power, an unexpected problem arose. If the souls of others who had been involved in controlling the battlefield were his word, he would carry out even the strangest orders.
Although it is an excellent trait for a monarch.
“…Isn’t it hard to see him as a human at this point?”
A hollow smile appeared on his lips.
Everyone follows what they say. Without any disagreement or resistance.
In this situation, if you are obsessed with the desire to dominate and rejoice, it would be abnormal. An ordinary person would rather live in harmony among decent human beings than being alone among puppets.
But does that mean you will give up on your own development?
Although he didn’t know it, Logan had an intuition that in this state, if he had some opportunity, he could immediately reach the level of a rookie.
But I wasn’t very happy about it. I also had a intuition that if that happened, even my teacher and wife, who were barely holding on, would follow my words like puppets.
‘How…’
A previously unthinkable concern filled his mind.
‘Should I give up?’
The way to give up the path to climb higher was simple.
All you have to do is inflict one very small wound on your soul right away and do not expect it to recover on your own. If you do that, your status will remain stagnant, but you will be able to live like a human being.
However, being able to be reborn as a superior being was also a great temptation for humans.
Giving up on the dharma and passion for promotion?
Even if you are a knight, a wizard, or even a person with low-level abilities, once you experience the joy of magic, you will never forget it and will crave it for the rest of your life.
Even if you know that you have reached your limit and can no longer progress.
Many great people in history have already proven through their lives that no joy or drug can replace that pleasure.
Didn’t the ancient god Gibrik Cassel also take a gamble, giving up his glory as the only god left on earth in order to catch up with the gods who disappeared beyond the dimension?
But Logan quickly came to a conclusion.
“Why are you worrying about this?”
Eat.
I burst out laughing as I realized that I was caught up in unnecessary worries.
Didn’t he seize the miraculous opportunity and return in the midst of crushing regret?
The only goal at the time was to be forgiven for his mistakes and save his family.
However, somehow, the fence that refers to that family gradually widened, and eventually he overturned the country and led the kingdom to destroy the empire.
As a result, I was able to relieve the resentment in my heart and achieve everything I wanted.
Now all that was left was to take care of it.
It’s okay to do it, it’s okay to not do it.
“I will live as a human being. Next to my family.”
Logan muttered to himself as if making a promise to himself.
family. Yes, that is enough.
new man?
If you can’t live like a human being next to the people you care about, there’s no need for such grandiose heights.
Perhaps some of the Aura Masters that have been handed down since the ancient Sword God knew this fact, so they did not break their own limits.
‘Yes, there must have been someone like that.’
Logan decided on a path with such confidence. Then, he sharpened his soul and embodied a sword in his image.
‘A very small scratch is all it takes. There’s no danger.’
The moment when you try to get rid of the desires that you couldn’t shake off until the end and regain your composure.
– Your Majesty! We have contacted you!
An urgent voice came from outside the door, breaking the serene state.
