Chapter 160: Chapter 160

After returning to the palace, Cassia decided to stay in the palace she had originally used for a while to recover.

Fortunately, her mental state was better than when she was first rescued, but she was still like cracked glass that could shatter at any moment.

For her older sister’s sake, Cheryn specially selected discreet and loyal maidservants to assign to her.

Among them was Lug’s younger sister, who had recently come up from the countryside; she was a young lady with an impressive height of over 190 centimeters and a taciturn expression.

It seemed that dizzying height was a trait shared by Lug’s family.

While Cheryn was busy with one thing and another, Shan first retrieved his armor from Vico.

Handing over the golden armor, the ‘Five Stars’, Vico let out a deep breath like a man who had set down a heavy burden.

“There were more than a few times during that period when my heart was in my mouth, wondering if I’d get caught.”

While Shan was absent, Vico lived inside the royal palace and acted as Shan while wearing a helmet only at a few official events.

They made up the excuse that he was acting like that because something had gone wrong while cooperating with Cheryn’s magic experiment, and surprisingly, most people did not harbor any doubts about it.

In truth, with Tavera constantly accompanying him and several royal knights like Roden and Lug acting friendly toward him, no one could have suspected that he was an impostor.

“Honestly, this guy acted so terribly that I was embarrassed standing next to him…”

“Shut up.”

As Tavera sneered playfully beside him, Vico grimaced and barked at him.

“At any rate, you worked hard while I was away.”

Having heard from Cheryn that the two had coordinated well in their own way to cover up his absence, Shan smiled and praised them.

Even though his former squires were now proper knights, they grinned bashfully.

After receiving his armor like that, instead of returning directly to work, he holed up in his mansion.

Since this expedition had been quite tough even for him, he wanted to spend a few days relaxing.

The butler and servants also welcomed their master who had returned after a long time, doing their utmost so the great warrior could restore his body and mind.

Days continued for a while where he ate delicious food every day, spent time lying down, moved his body just enough to break a light sweat, washed up, and slept soundly.

The ones who visited Shan while he was resting like a lazy cat were the royal knights, including Roden and Lug.

“I heard you had a hard time, but you look completely fine?”

“It was quite tough. But you look good yourself.”

“As for me, well.”

Roden shrugged his shoulders.

Shan also greeted Ravana and Lug behind him before letting them inside.

Sipping the tea served by the servants, they asked what had happened while Shan was away in Ajun.

“I caught bits of news through the communicator, but with all kinds of rumors floating around, it was hard to know the truth.”

Roden said, clearing his throat lightly.

It had already been a month since he burned the capital of Ajun.

Shan’s exploits were now spreading not only through communicators, but also through word of mouth and travelers, spreading across Pendia as well as the entire Arman Alliance.

However, because all sorts of rumors were mixed together, not many knew the exact truth.

This was even more so because Cheryn was controlling the transmission of news to and from Ajun using communicators.

For now, Ajun’s official announcement was that Shan had spread Purifying Flames in all directions to draw attention, and then despicably assassinated the king who was commanding the effort to extinguish the fire.

Of course, even the people of Ajun themselves did not take this explanation at face value.

Although their king had been a reasonably decent warrior in his youth, most knew that even in his youngest and strongest days, he could not hold a candle to Shan.

Furthermore, the story that the dead king had burned to death while fleeing through a secret passage had already spread openly.

Though, of course, no one dared bring it up in front of the new king or the nobles following him.

“After all, it’s better to hear it from someone who experienced it directly… If you happen to be tired, should we visit next time?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve rested enough anyway.”

When Lug asked with a somewhat worried expression, Shan shook his head.

“In truth, it’s not much different from what everyone knows. Just that the king really happened to die, about that much?”

Shan discussed the situation he had experienced at that time while laying it out with his comrades.

Lug and Ravana asked what it would have been like if they had been there, and how many opponents they could have handled, while Roden came up with tactics to disrupt the enemy more efficiently.

After that, Shan asked from his side how the rumors had been spreading lately and how others were reacting.

At that, Ravana snickered and said.

“Well, what is there to say? Everyone is absolutely terrified!”

Above all, the one most terrified was Libert.

Although it had fizzled out due to another outbreak of internal strife, they, too, had participated in the Old Faith alliance.

Since there was no guarantee that Shan would not attack Libert’s grand lords or royal palace in the future, they condemned such acts as despicable behavior that a duke and Lord Protector should never commit.

In contrast, the Pendia side was in a festive mood.

Everyone cried out in unison that the invincible Lord Protector had pulled off another grand feat, calling him truly the most dangerous man in the history of the Arman Alliance.

In particular, the fact that he had rescued the beautiful princess, known as the ‘Jewel of Pendia’, from the barbaric and cruel Ajun bastards also became a hot topic of conversation.

The story of a knight saving a princess was itself a popular classic, and hadn’t Shan already been famous for the anecdote of rescuing Cheryn (who was a princess in the past) from the royal palace?

The arson and slaughter that occurred in the process were transformed into a knight’s valor in the land of Pendia.

“There’s even a story going around that Princess Cassia fell for the Lord Protector who rescued her and is competing with Her Majesty the Queen.”

“That probably won’t happen, though.”

At Lug’s words, Shan shook his head with a dry laugh.

Cassia was someone who was already terrified of Altoans, and now that she had grown horrified at the mere sight of men, she would be even more utterly repulsed.

Honestly, people created all sorts of ridiculous rumors and amused themselves with them.

*

It was on the tenth day after returning to Hasra that Shan went to work at the Red Palace again.

As usual, while walking with his escorts wearing his armor altered into the shape of a cuirass, Shan thought about whether he should walk around in full body armor even in ordinary times.

Then, like what happened this time, even if he subtly swapped places with Vico, it wouldn’t be noticeable.

However, after thinking about it for a bit, it seemed like it would be far too bothersome.

Even though various magical measures had been applied, it was no comparison to walking around wearing only a cuirass as he did now.

Entering the palace while receiving polite salutes from the royal guards, Shan heard that Cheryn was in the Green Palace where Cassia was staying rather than the Red Palace, and turned his steps there.

Before long, he spotted Cassia and Cheryn.

“Right, that’s how we played. Do you remember, Sister?”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Cheryn and Cassia had drawn lines on the floor and were playing a game of hopping around and stepping on the lines.

Whether it was Cheryn who was naturally clumsy or Cassia whose body had grown frail from long abuse, both were equally incapable of playing properly, but Cheryn acted as if she were playing the most fun game in the world.

Perhaps because she had eaten well, rested, and calmed her mind, Cassia’s condition also looked much better than before.

Thanks to receiving powerful healing miracles from Asha, who had visited a while ago, the scar on her head had disappeared and she had noticeably gained weight.

Although her expression was still lacking confidence and timid, it was better than when her eyes had no focus at all.

“Ah, Shan! You’ve arrived?”

Only then did Cheryn notice Shan’s presence and speak, whereupon Cassia looked at him, gasped, and hid behind her younger sister.

Cheryn patted her older sister reassuringly and took slow steps.

“Now, don’t be scared. Shan brought you here, Sister. You remember, right?”

“Yeah…”

Trembling, Cassia looked at Shan and soon bowed her head deeply.

In a voice so quiet it could not be heard without hearing enhanced by magic devices, she could be heard saying, ‘Thank you.’

After soothing Cassia and entrusting her to the maidservants, Cheryn looked at Shan and spoke.

“Did you rest well during that time? I deliberately didn’t call you because I thought you’d be tired.”

“Immense amounts. I acted lazier than the laziest pig in the world.”

Carrying Cassia on his back and crossing the Blade Mountains had been quite a major trial even for Shan.

In the first place, standing at the front was the hardest task, so adding the weight of a person could hardly be easy.

By the time he came down, his knee joints creaked, and he felt pain as if he had been struck with a club and broken them.

After holding hands and enjoying their reunion after several months, Cheryn told him what had happened while Shan was resting.

“Three days ago, the Libert civil war finally came to an end.”

“What was the result?”

“Victory for the allied forces of Count Balik and Duke of Morayen. The capital nobles were all hanged without exception.”

They were people who backed the royal family and hatched all kinds of plots with their wealthy fortunes and superior information, but without basic strength, one could not survive in this world.

No trickery or scheme was of any use before a blade thrust right before one’s eyes.

“Now, I hope the two of them fight each other next.”

“Regrettably, it doesn’t seem like they will. A short while ago, Count Balik’s eldest granddaughter agreed to marry Duke of Morayen.”

“Ah.”

Since the tactic of a marriage alliance was not something only their side could use, it seemed he had also decided to reconcile with his long-time political enemy through it.

“Though, I suppose the fortunate thing is that they can’t act aggressively either? Because they were so terrified by what you did this time.”

Since Shan had holed up in his mansion for over ten days after returning, it seemed a rumor had spread that this time he was going to launch a raid on Libert.

Terrified by this, the nobles holed up in their castles and blocked the approach of anyone with green eyes.

It was even said that excavating secret passages to escape quickly from castles had recently become a trend.

Normally, these were facilities found only in royal palaces or castles of great nobles that could be properly managed, but now people were saying that even places without such size must make at least one without fail.

Dumbfounded yet also feeling proud of the social phenomenon he had brought about, Shan chuckled.

After sharing such pleasant conversation for a short while, Cheryn’s gaze sank coolly as she looked at Cassia walking with maidservants a short distance away.

“Over the past few days, I talked a lot with Sister. Though in truth, it was mostly just me talking.”

“Her condition seems to have improved a lot compared to before.”

“That’s true. But she won’t be able to return to how she was before, probably.”

With a deep sigh, she brought up a chilling story.

She said she had even considered improving the drug that severed short-term memory (which she was currently researching) to erase all of her memories of Ajun.

“However, in a way, that would be no different from killing the Sister of today. On top of that, with all sorts of rumors spreading about what happened anyway, perhaps having no memory would cause her to imagine even more terrible things.”

Shan fell silent, finding it difficult to answer her words.

Philosophical dilemmas of this sort were, after all, far removed from him.

Knowing this full well, Cheryn did not bother expecting an answer and babbled on by herself.

In the first place, the conversations between the two often consisted of Cheryn speaking and Shan listening in this manner.

“When we conquer Ajun later, I will make Meleo at least regret ever being born. Burning at the stake won’t do, really.”

Now Cheryn’s rage no longer blazed like flames as it used to.

Quiet like water, it would surge like crashing waves when the time came.

As the atmosphere sank for a moment, Cheryn clapped her hands together to refresh the mood and then asked.

“And by the way, did you happen to say something to Hakan?”

“Pardon?”

“I received reports from each person, and he wrote a string of praises about you line after line. I thought it was some kind of love letter.”

Of course, Shan was a man worthy of receiving the admiration and respect of all who wielded weapons as the most powerful warrior in the world, but even so, she said the degree of it was quite severe.

She even mentioned that he had written that Shan was the only person who properly evaluated him.

“To that extent?”

“Yeah. In particular, it seems he was impressed by how you didn’t show any sign of discomfort regarding what happened in Ajun. Though he didn’t write it explicitly like that.”

This was the result of Cheryn analyzing his psychology in her own way after synthesizing the rescue team’s reports.

That while other rescue team members inwardly kept Hakan at a distance when he took on a job someone had to do, Shan treated it as though he had merely done what needed to be done.

So at the story that this warrior from the plains harbored feelings close to loyalty beyond admiration as a warrior toward Shan, Shan was dumbfounded.

“No, well, over such a minor thing.”

“In truth, people are remarkably easy to move and offended far more easily than you think.”

Saying so, Cheryn recalled her past self.

Back in the days when she constantly bristled with sharp thorns in all directions out of distrust for humans, how flustered had she been by Shan, who offhandedly offered his secret to her when they didn’t even have that deep of a connection?

While feeling jealous of how easily he could grant trust, she felt an inexplicable tickle at the fact that the recipient of that trust was herself.

Though nowadays, she had come to know more clearly what those emotions back then were.

“At any rate, I intend to try an operation on Horais’s side before long. Of course, right now we’re just preparing and will have to wait and see a bit more.”

If the plan to support Hakan and intervene in the political structure of the Golden Clan succeeded, it would create a major crack in the encirclement of the Arman Alliance targeting Pendia.

After all, Horais was connected by land to Libert and launched invasions several times every year by sending horse bandits, and one could easily land on the western coast of Ajun by ship.

If Horais became an enemy, whether it was Libert or Ajun, their backs would itch with anxiety while fighting Pendia.

“Hmm, if it’s that kind of operation, this time I should…”

“There’s no need to go that far. You’ve already done enough, and above all, if you are there, who will protect me?”

Cheryn spoke, shaking her head.

“Raiding a royal palace isn’t a privilege only we can enjoy. They are already attempting something similar in Ajun.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Just yesterday, they were caught trying to secretly smuggle Purifying Flames into Hasra.”

In the process, digging up the roots of those who accepted money on the sly to let them in and punishing them was a bonus.

Unlike Libert or Ajun where everything still operated in a makeshift manner, Pendia’s quarantine administrative system was thorough.

“We can’t be completely at ease on our side either. Just as Ajun has the Grey Cloak, remnants of the Old Faith forces are still hiding in Pendia as well.”

Of course, Pendia had achieved dazzling development under Cheryn’s rule, but before religious zeal, such facts did not matter in the slightest.

Shan nodded at Cheryn’s words that she needed an escort, even though it couldn’t be helped this time due to the urgent situation.

“For now, just supplying a large quantity of magic devices will make it not difficult to form a force in Horais. Though achieving actual success will have to be left to Hakan himself.”

At any rate, bow magic devices commonly used by the people of Horais did not consume as many mana stones as other devices.

This was because if increasing elasticity went too far, it became harder to draw and consumed a lot of physical strength, so using a larger one was not strictly beneficial.

If they could mass-produce high-quality bows, convert them into magic devices, export them to Horais, and receive horses in return, it would be a highly profitable business.

It was something possible because they commanded naval supremacy over the South Sea.

Moments after nodding pleasantly, Cheryn let out a soft exclamation of “Ah.”

“Come to think of it, there’s something I need to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“It’s an issue with the Knight School.”

“Is there a problem?”

Having had no contact with figures on that side, including his master Darkal, after returning, he was completely unaware of it.

As Shan looked puzzled, Cheryn shook her head.

“It’s not public talk yet. However, if we don’t handle it now, it will become a major headache later.”

The Royal Knight School’s founding purpose was an institution to gather talented boys from across Pendia and train them into skilled knights.

Thanks to that, they gathered and cultivated talent solely based on ability regardless of status or race, but she said that had become the problem.

“It seems factional strife within the Knight School is quite severe. The principal is trying to control it to some extent, but it doesn’t seem easy.”

Sir Darkal was an excellent educator who had raised several skilled knights, but he was far from a personality that delicately managed children’s psychology.

And the other instructors lacked the authority and leadership to handle it.

Considering that the breed known as warriors had a tendency to blindly follow those who used weapons well and were strong, Cheryn’s thought was that the greatest warrior in Pendia was the surest way to solve this problem.