âI still donât know what a spirit is, but I couldnât feel it either.â
Ganien smiled quietly as his fighting spirit burned.
âI want to fight it.â
âIâll give you a chance, Ganien, I want to see what a spirit is like.â
To him, Leo was prey.
Wouldnât he be like a bundle of gold that never runs out and continues to produce riches?
âI should treat it well and make it come with me.â
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.
âSir Horen, is the training everyone is going through the act of looking at me?â
âI donât know if itâs an excuse, but we all couldnât continue our training at the news that you collapsed.â
âIf I faint, will Setiria collapse?â
âIt will fall!â
Horen answered without any hesitation.
Without asking, Drianna, who followed, answered the same.
Ruelâs face quickly cooled down.
He looked at them coldly and said, âI am not Setiria. If Setiria will collapse if I fall then I donât want to save it anymore.â
It would not be strange if he collapsed right now and lost consciousness.
Wouldnât it be a big deal if Setiria shook like this every time?
He neither wanted nor hoped for a living doll.
âSetiria 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.â
Ttak.
The cane hit against the ground.
âDonât be shaken even if Iâm not there. Think about it. Move. Judge, you are not puppets, you are Setiria.â
Again, the cane rang as it struck the ground.
At that small noise, they looked at Ruel with pride.
âRemember, Setiria is you.â
âStrangely, I want to follow his every word even though they werenât anything special,â Horen thought.
âDonât be swayed by this.â
Putting himself down to the ground, his heart thumped at the words that raised them.
What kind of existence is the Lord?
Wasnât it the root, stem, and leaf?
But Ruel denied all of it.
He mentioned that they were the trees. Then, what is the lord?
Horenâs mouth moved automatically due to deep doubts.
âIf we are Setiria, what would the lord be?â
âThe shell.â
âYou mean the shell?â
âYeah, the shell. The more it is decorated, the more beautiful it is, but it is useless. Itâs not going to be a good shell because of my shape, so you guys have to fill it up more.â
âNo! The Lord is not a shell!â
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.
âEven if you say so, the shell doesnât 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.â
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.
âWeâll be stronger!â
âOkay, continue training until it is time to eat.â
âMy Lord.â
Horen said with a firm face while waiting for the two knight corps to finish answering.
âWhat is it?â
âThe training will continue. I will raise the intensity even more than before. So tell me who has harmed you.â
âItâs already been resolved, so donât worry about it anymore.â
The stupid fox must still be smiling at the wall.
Ruel passed through them with a vengeance and spoke to Drianna.
âDrianna, Iâd like you to make a place for me to sit. Itâs a bit stuffy inside.â
âIâll make it right now.â
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 couldnât 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.
âJust a plain seat will doâŚâ
âRuel.â
Ganien spoke to me along the way.
âYes?â
âI donât know why you would lower yourself, but donât do that too much. Youâre like the sun to them.â
âLower myself? When?â
When Ruel asked, Ganien sighed deeply.
âNever mind, anyway, have some confidence in yourself. Youâre doing great.â
âWhat are you talking about?â
Ruel frowned because Ganien, who tapped his shoulder lightly, was being strange.
âThatâs what I wanted to say.â
When Cassion said something strange, Ruel just ignored it.
âIâll tell you when the chair is complete. Please wait inside until then.â
âIâll just wait here.â
He didnât want to go back and forth twice, so Ruel slumped down on the stairs.
When he heard a cough, Cassion took a blanket out of his pocket and covered Ruelâs knees with it.
âAris, donât just stand next to me, you can stand anywhere.â
âRuel-nim, how dare IââŚâ
âNo, donât say it.â
When he mentioned his name, he nagged.
âGive me a snack.â
Ruel was getting hungry listening to the wizards still talking about how to make the chair.
Holding the basket handed over by Cassion in his arms, Ruel bit the cookie in his mouth.
Crunch crunch.
His second way of life was not a failure.
The power of recovery worked to get rid of the disease.
But the disease didnât go away.
As much as he tried to get rid of it, it would have disappeared because it became bigger every time it was removed.
âShould I call this a disease?â
A disease that grows constantly.
Suddenly, his old father came to mind. His father had died of cancer.
Crunch crunch.
âThe disease grows, the power of recovery gets rid of the disease, and Leo eats my disease. I hope itâs balanced like that.â
If he couldnât get rid of it, wouldnât it be better to maintain it in moderation?
Crunch crunch.
Ruel let out a long sigh while eating cookies.
âBy the way, I wanted to see what a living monster looks like.â
He had no idea what happened, but he couldnât even see the hairs of the monsters around here.
âIf I go again, theyâll come and stop me, right? âNo, you canât do itâ while saying, âLord.â At least one is fine, so I hope something comes.â
There was no reason to roll on the ground this time because there were two knight corps as his escort.
The spirit he bumped into must be quietly looking at the wall.
Crunch crunch.
He didnât know how many cookies heâd been eating, but just as he was about to put the meat pie in his mouth, Ruel suddenly noticed a monster running towards him.
It was quite large.
âOhh.â
There was an opportunity to look at a monster while eating a meat pie.
He wondered how the two knight corps would react.
âRuel-nim, would you like to go over there?â
Cassion pointed to the corner most rock.
âWhy? This is perfect.â
âA monster is coming. Itâs pretty big.â
âReally?â
Before answering, Cassion picked up a basket containing the snacks.
Ruel walked leisurely to the place Cassion pointed at with his cane as help.
No matter which side you look at, you can see the skills of the current knights.
âDonât come forward, Cassion, and Aris too.â
âAll right.â
âThen Iâll be back to Ganien for a while.â
Cassion disappeared to announce Ruelâs message.
Ding.
Ruel suddenly stopped walking.
âRuel-nimâŚâ
Aris looked at Ruel, who stopped suddenly, and then supported him as he stumbled.
Pudduk.
Blood dripped from Ruelâs nose as soon as he felt a pain in his ear.
-Did you call me?
It wasnât Leoâs voice.
Ruel grabbed his ear and looked around at the sound of scraping metal.
âRuel, are you okay?â
âWhat?â
-Iâm here as you called me.
Kuung!
The surrounding trees collapsed.
When he straightened his bent back, a lizard-like monster revealed its figure.
âWhat is this sound?â
It was like a searing heat pierced his head. The nosebleed didnât stop.
Unlike the blood that was shed because of Leo, it was red.
âRuel-nim!â
Aris called Ruel again.
Ruelâs body shook as he barely held onto his cane, perhaps because the disease had flared up again.
Looking towards the monster.
Ruelâs 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? Iâll do what you want.
Even though the distance from the monster was far, Ruel felt that the voice was very close.
âI⌠?â
-I came here because you wanted me to be here.
âMe?â
-Thatâs right.
âThis isâŚâ
As soon as Cassion came out of Ruelâs shadow, he saw his condition and sighed.
âSomething is strange. His magic hasnât manifested, but it is in a state similar to when it was manifested the last time.â
âWhat?â
Aris stopped walking and showed Ruel to Cassion.
There was a glimmer of light in Ruelâs eyes.
Cassion stared at those eyes and opened his mouth.
âHeâs using something.â
He soon turned his gaze to see the monster standing there.
âMaybeâŚâ
â⌠Go.â
A small sound came out of Ruelâs mouth.
The monster disappeared back into the forest without looking back.
At that moment, the light in Ruelâs eyes went out, and at the same time, his head was tilted back.
âRuel⌠You can control the monster?â
It was his first time seeing it.
Cassion calmed down, turned his head, and looked at Aris.
âI know. I will never betray you, Ruel-nim.â
âAll I need is to know.â
Cassion looked back at the sound of footsteps.
Drianna was running.
She spoke her words softly yet impatiently.
âJust now, did you see that?â
Cassion didnât answer, just looked. It was a situation to be cautious of.
Being able to control monsters could be regarded as dangerous in another sense.
âPlease, keep it a secret.â
Drianna bowed her head.
âI think you know what it means to be able to control monsters in this country of adventurers, so please donât tell anyoneâŚâ
âDid you know?â
Drianna couldnât answer Cassionâs question.
She just looked at Cassion and Aris as they eagerly waited.
âI canât speak.â
The words âbecause the contract was at stakeâ were swallowed inside.
Drianna looked at Aris.
âDonât worry.â
Just then, at Arisâs reassuring words, she let out a sigh of relief.
Cassion stared at her and brought it up.
âIs there a contract at stake?â
âYes, I canât tell you.â
âBy any chance⌠Did you erase his memory?â
Drianna smiled sadly.
It meant that someone had erased Ruelâs memory, even if it wasnât her.
âDo we still have to erase it?â
Aris asked anxiously.
If it was erased in the past, shouldnât it be erased now?
âEven if he has developed a resistance to his disease, Ruel-nim will not be able to withstand it now. âŚplease.â
As people flocked, Drianna bowed her head and stepped down.