Chapter 36: The Great Purifier and Ruel (3)

    Looking back, it was a very chilling situation.

    I was so glad Leo was a fool.

    “I still don’t know what a spirit is, but I couldn’t feel it either.”

    Ganien smiled quietly as his fighting spirit burned.

    “I want to fight it.”

    “I’ll give you a chance, Ganien, I want to see what a spirit is like.”

    To him, Leo was prey.

    Wouldn’t he be like a bundle of gold that never runs out and continues to produce riches?

    ‘I should treat it well and make it come with me.’

    Ruel smiled lightly and walked out of the house.

    As soon as he saw the Knights and Magic Knights crowding at the entrance, his smile disappeared.

    “Sir Horen, is the training everyone is going through the act of looking at me?”

    “I don’t know if it’s an excuse, but we all couldn’t continue our training at the news that you collapsed.”

    “If I faint, will Setiria collapse?”

    “It will fall!”

    Horen answered without any hesitation.

    Without asking, Drianna, who followed, answered the same.

    Ruel’s face quickly cooled down.

    He looked at them coldly and said, “I am not Setiria. If Setiria will collapse if I fall then I don’t want to save it anymore.”

    It would not be strange if he collapsed right now and lost consciousness.

    Wouldn’t it be a big deal if Setiria shook like this every time?

    He neither wanted nor hoped for a living doll.

    “Setiria is you. If you fall, Setiria will really fall. What happened today was only during training, but next time it may be in a place full of enemy swords and magic.”

    Ttak.

    The cane hit against the ground.

    “Don’t be shaken even if I’m not there. Think about it. Move. Judge, you are not puppets, you are Setiria.”

    Again, the cane rang as it struck the ground.

    At that small noise, they looked at Ruel with pride.

    “Remember, Setiria is you.”

    ‘Strangely, I want to follow his every word even though they weren’t anything special,’ Horen thought.

    “Don’t be swayed by this.”

    Putting himself down to the ground, his heart thumped at the words that raised them.

    What kind of existence is the Lord?

    Wasn’t it the root, stem, and leaf?

    But Ruel denied all of it.

    He mentioned that they were the trees. Then, what is the lord?

    Horen’s mouth moved automatically due to deep doubts.

    “If we are Setiria, what would the lord be?”

    “The shell.”

    “You mean the shell?”

    “Yeah, the shell. The more it is decorated, the more beautiful it is, but it is useless. It’s not going to be a good shell because of my shape, so you guys have to fill it up more.”

    “No! The Lord is not a shell!”

    Drianna insisted from behind.

    Then the Knights and the Knights of Magic literally said what she said.

    Numerous sounds rang out, and Ruel grabbed his head, which throbbed for a moment.

    To live a rich, comfortable, and ordinary life, you had to become a shell.

    Therefore, Ruel did not intend to bend his argument.

    “Even if you say so, the shell doesn’t change, so what you have to do now is not to worry about me, but to move your body for even a second to become stronger.”

    Cheynol and Tyson gave them orders to train.

    Knowing who the order was coming from, they tried.

    This time the same order was issued.

    However, the feeling they felt from this order was different. It touched them deep in their chests and excited them because it was an order they had received directly from their Lord, Ruel, they laughed with a burning desire.

    “We’ll be stronger!”

    “Okay, continue training until it is time to eat.”

    “My Lord.”

    Horen said with a firm face while waiting for the two knight corps to finish answering.

    “What is it?”

    “The training will continue. I will raise the intensity even more than before. So tell me who has harmed you.”

    “It’s already been resolved, so don’t worry about it anymore.”

    The stupid fox must still be smiling at the wall.

    Ruel passed through them with a vengeance and spoke to Drianna.

    “Drianna, I’d like you to make a place for me to sit. It’s a bit stuffy inside.”

    “I’ll make it right now.”

    As he gave the order to Drianna, all the magic knights gathered and quickly exchanged words.

    It was good to see because there was no formality, but Ruel couldn’t imagine what kind of chairs would be made when they started talking about what decorations should be added and how much comfort he would like to have since it was a seat for the Head of a Noble Household.

    “Just a plain seat will do...”

    “Ruel.”

    Ganien spoke to me along the way.

    “Yes?”

    When he straightened his bent back, a lizard-like monster revealed its figure.

    ‘What is this sound?’

    It was like a searing heat pierced his head. The nosebleed didn’t stop.

    Unlike the blood that was shed because of Leo, it was red.

    “Ruel-nim!”

    Aris called Ruel again.

    Ruel’s body shook as he barely held onto his cane, perhaps because the disease had flared up again.

    Looking towards the monster.

    Ruel’s consciousness seemed to be fading.

    Symptoms similar to when using magic appeared, but the mana surrounding his body did not move.

    Aris picked up Ruel for now.

    Quaang!

    Dozens of flames engulfed the monster.

    However, at the same time, the rising black smoke disappeared with a single gesture of the monster.

    -What do you want? I’ll do what you want.

    Even though the distance from the monster was far, Ruel felt that the voice was very close.

    “I... ?”

    -I came here because you wanted me to be here.

    “Me?”

    -That’s right.

    “This is...”

    As soon as Cassion came out of Ruel’s shadow, he saw his condition and sighed.

    “Something is strange. His magic hasn’t manifested, but it is in a state similar to when it was manifested the last time.”

    “What?”

    Aris stopped walking and showed Ruel to Cassion.

    There was a glimmer of light in Ruel’s eyes.

    Cassion stared at those eyes and opened his mouth.

    “He’s using something.”

    He soon turned his gaze to see the monster standing there.

    ‘Maybe...’

    “... Go.”

    A small sound came out of Ruel’s mouth.

    The monster disappeared back into the forest without looking back.

    At that moment, the light in Ruel’s eyes went out, and at the same time, his head was tilted back.

    ‘Ruel... You can control the monster?’

    It was his first time seeing it.

    Cassion calmed down, turned his head, and looked at Aris.

    “I know. I will never betray you, Ruel-nim.”

    “All I need is to know.”

    Cassion looked back at the sound of footsteps.

    Drianna was running.

    She spoke her words softly yet impatiently.

    “Just now, did you see that?”

    Cassion didn’t answer, just looked. It was a situation to be cautious of.

    Being able to control monsters could be regarded as dangerous in another sense.

    “Please, keep it a secret.”

    Drianna bowed her head.

    “I think you know what it means to be able to control monsters in this country of adventurers, so please don’t tell anyone...”

    “Did you know?”

    Drianna couldn’t answer Cassion’s question.

    She just looked at Cassion and Aris as they eagerly waited.

    “I can’t speak.”

    The words ‘because the contract was at stake’ were swallowed inside.

    Drianna looked at Aris.

    “Don’t worry.”

    Just then, at Aris’s reassuring words, she let out a sigh of relief.

    Cassion stared at her and brought it up.

    “Is there a contract at stake?”

    “Yes, I can’t tell you.”

    “By any chance... Did you erase his memory?”

    Drianna smiled sadly.

    It meant that someone had erased Ruel’s memory, even if it wasn’t her.

    “Do we still have to erase it?”

    Aris asked anxiously.

    If it was erased in the past, shouldn’t it be erased now?

    “Even if he has developed a resistance to his disease, Ruel-nim will not be able to withstand it now. ...please.”

    As people flocked, Drianna bowed her head and stepped down.

    ‘I have a very good Lord.’

    Cassion flicked his tongue.