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“You madman
!” Jekarta stepped forward.
“I told you to stop.” Kaizen’s cold voice made Jekarta stop in his tracks. “What is the bet?”
Joshua stared at Kaizen, who was also staring at him. “Isn't everything already prepared?”
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“Are you sure you can do it?”
“I have always been able to do anything.”
“How arrogant.”
“There’s just a very fine line between arrogance and confidence.”
“Haha, I hope those aren’t just empty words.” Kaizen chuckled before raising a finger. “I have one more condition.”
“Tell me.”
“You need to win using your own strength alone.”
“That has always been my plan.”
“Isn’t that rather risky for you?”
“If that’s what you think, I hope you’ll do something for me.”
“Go on,” Kaizen replied, ignoring the fact that Joshua had overstepped his bounds.
“I want to see how Her Highness is doing.”
Jekarta looked like he was going to explode. Once again, Kaizen had to tell his knight to stand down.
“Why?” Kaizen asked doubtfully.
“Wouldn’t it be all for nothing if I ended up winning, but Her Highness is already gone?”
Kaizen revealed a dumbfounded look. It seemed that Joshua’s words had caught him off guard.
“At the very least, I don't think I can fight with confidence unless I know that Her Highness is doing fine,” added Joshua.
“Is that all?” Kaizen said. He stared at Josuha as if he wanted to see inside the latter’s hand.
However, Joshua didn’t even hesitate to meet Kaizen’s eyes as he said, “I am not sure if Your Highness has already heard about it, but I can wield divine power as well.”
“What?” Kaizen turned his head to ask for credibility from Jekarta. Jekarta nodded his head despite his anger at Joshua’s way of speaking toward Kaizen.
“I can cast healing magic. Actually, the priests from Hubalt said that my healing magic is strong enough to heal a severely injured man.”
“Oh, I see, I guess you met those priests at Reinhardt.” Kaizen seemed surprised.
“If my skills can help Her Highness even a little, then my mind would be at ease.”
“...” Kaizen thought about it for a moment before nodding in approval. “In that case, then you have my approval. Do what you have to do.”
“And I hope that no one else will enter the room while I am checking up on Her Highness,” added Joshua.
At that, Jekarta couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Don’t get too full of yourself, Reserve Battalion Commander Sanders. Why should we let you speak to Her Highness alone?”
Joshua's eyes darkened. “Can't you see that I'm talking to His Highness?”
“Huh?” Jekarta was dumbfounded.
“Do you really think that I’m just a mere Reserve Battalion Commander?” said Joshua with narrowed eyes.
“...!” Jekarta's eyes widened as a shiver ran down his spine. He started trembling as he felt like he was standing in front of a predator. He was already a knight at the peak of B-Class, but he still found it hard to breathe in front of Joshua’s aura.
‘He’s a Superhuman as well!’ Jekarta’s expression changed when he recalled a fact he had been ignoring until now.
“Do you really think that you’re qualified to talk to me like that?” Joshua asked with a cold smile. “Are you?”
“...” Jekarta furiously trembled under Joshua’s gaze.
“Don’t get in my way. I’ll let you off once, but if you keep on testing my patience
” Joshua trailed off. He glared sharply at Jekarta before continuing, “I’ll cut you down.”
“Ah!” Jekarta exclaimed and staggered. He felt as if he had lost a few years of his lifespan after being subjected to Joshua’s fierce aura.
“Tsk,” Kaizen clicked his tongue and turned to look at the panting Jekarta before saying, “I told you to stop. And also, I will allow your request.”
“Y-Your Highness
!” Jekarta barely managed to squeeze these words out of his throat.
At the sight, Kaizen said, “It seems that you need to train more. How could you be a qualified knight if you wear your heart on your sleeve?”
“That’s
!” Jekarta exclaimed in surprise.
Kaizen waved his hand dismissively before turning to look at Joshua again.
“Let’s go.”
“I think Your Highness has misunderstood
” Joshua started.
“...?” Kaizen stared at him with a frown.
Joshua smiled slightly and said, “Your Highness isn’t an exception
”
“...” Silence instantly blanketed the surroundings

“I was serious when I said that I wanted to be alone with Her Highness.”
***
“I haven’t been here since the academy days
” said Icarus. They had just arrived at Arcadia through the warp gate. Icarus looked around and muttered, “We need to find a mansion before we go to Master. Somewhere close to the city center
”
“Is it alright if I catch up with you later?”
“Selena?”
Iceline responded to Icarus’ confused look with a warm smile. “I need to go to the Magic Tower’s branch here to inquire about something personal.”
“Well, if that’s the case
You must return,” Icarus nodded, but she seemed regretful.
“Of course, I’ll see you in a while,” Iceline smiled, but she seemed equally unhappy about the separation.
“Then, I will go with you. Goodbye, Ica—ah! That hurts!”
“Where are you going?” Icarus mercilessly yanked Cain’s ear.
“Oh, that hurts! That hurts!” Cain had to hold back his tears.
“Stop being such a playboy and come with me. Do try to control your time messing around.”
“No, I really have to do something.”
“What?”
“Ah, my head’s starting to hurt.”
“I can make your head hurt even more
” Icarus warned.
Flinch.
Cain directly lowered his head when he saw Icarus rolling up her sleeves. “I have to do this so I have something to show Master when we meet again!”
“What is it?”
“I was planning to stop at a few places to meet old friends. Then, I’ll be heading for the Imperial Palace.”
“Wait, you have friends?” asked Icarus in disbelief.
“I can be considered the Knight Commander of our family, but what use does being a commander have if I do not have any knights under me? I mean, the Wilhelm Knights aren’t part of our family, after all.”
“That’s
 true.” Icarus let go of Cain’s ear, which had turned red from all the yanking. “Wow. You’re thinking more and more like a noble. Are you really the Cain that I know?”
“Heh, I can be noble when it matters.” Cain stuck his chin up with pride.
“So the Sanders family knights
 the Sanders Knights? It sounds weird to use the name of a flower
”
“No.” Cain shook his head. “I have a different name in mind.”
“Really? What is it?”
“Hehehe. I think you’ll like it, Icarus.”
Seeing Cain’s grin, Icarus stared at the former with an expectant look.
“The Golden Spirit Knights! Knights with hearts of gold!”
***
When Joshua finally walked into the room, Jekarta opened his mouth as if he had been waiting to speak.
“May I ask why Your Highness agreed on such a nonsensical bet?”
“You see
” Kaizen’s golden eyes twinkled as he chuckled and said, “Isn't it fun?”
“...”
They had also agreed that his sister’s life should be filled with nothing but happiness from now on. His Second Highness Kaizen ben Britten was famous as Emperor Marcus’ second choice.
“Did you change your mind when His Majesty the Emperor’s decision came out? And why is it that Your Highness doesn’t seem to mind it?”
“No
 It’s more than that. I just figured that there’s no way he will be able to beat the entire Imperial Knights Order, even if he’s a Superhuman.”
At that, Jekarta remarked, “I hate to admit it, but that guy has some serious confidence. It irks me, but I think he has a chance of beating every member of the Imperial Knights Order.”
“And he has a good head between his shoulders as well,” Kaizen added.
“Yes?” muttered the dumbfounded Jekarta.
“But in reality, even if he beats the Imperial Knights, what can he do on his own? He is powerful, yes, but he isn’t influential at all.”
“You mean
”
“Don’t you know what happened in the throne room? The first thing he did as a count.”
Jakerta’s eyes flickered from place to place. He had a feeling that something was off.
“I can’t be certain, but if Joshua Sanders became as powerful as Duke Agnus, he would be a powerful rival.”
“Do you think he can pass the test with Duke Agnus behind him?”
“Hmm. Thirty percent.”
“...!” Jekarta’s eyes widened at Kaizen’s reply. Wasn’t thirty percent a lot?
Kaizen seemed like he knew what Jekarta was thinking. He smiled at the latter’s dumbfounded expression and explained, “He has done things that were apparently impossible. It’s just fair for us to assume that he’s Duke Agnus’ real power.”
“Real power?” asked Jekarta.
Kaizen nodded and added. “The Titan of Avalon and the Dark God is the idol of all knights. Who do you think would dare to stand against someone with such a backing? Do you really think they’ll just stand idly by?”
“In that case, why didn’t Your Highness raise the ante?”
“This is better.”
“What
?”
“You still don’t get it? He still couldn’t get his father’s approval, so he made a bet that sounds like an alliance.”
“...!” Jekarta quivered ever so slightly as he stared wide-eyed at Kaizen.
“It is not really strange. He had already abandoned the Agnus name, so there’s no way he can return to the Agnus Family and start using their name once again.”
Hearing that, Jekarta finally understood. There was no way Joshua had no idea that His Second Highness Kaizen didn’t really have enough power to give Her Highness Serciarin to him.
Kaizen was simply taking care of his younger sister. Joshua had to have proposed that absurd bet to mask his true intentions of establishing an alliance with Kaizen. It was his real goal rather than taking Her Highness Serciarin for himself.
He simply wanted to take advantage of His Second Highness Kaizen.
If these were true, then everything would make sense.
Kaizen licked his lips and continued. “It doesn’t really matter what his real goals are, this is still a huge opportunity for me.”
“Does this mean that the 11th and 12th Battalions are on our side?”
“Aside from the 1st and 2nd Battalions, which take orders directly from the Emperor, there are four battalions rooting for Kiser, three for me, and one for Kaiser
 If Joshua joins the battle on my side, the scales will tip in our favor.”
“That’s why a contract is needed
”
“We need evidence,” Kaizen said, seemingly bored.
“I evaluate him highly but I’m worried that he brings too much risk to us.”
“Hahaha. Well, you can say that. I know that as well, and that was why I gave him a condition. He has to win using his own strength alone.”
“And if he does?”
“That’s absurd
” Kaizen’s lips slowly curled into a sly grin. Setting the Knight Commander aside, he had just recently returned to the Imperial Knights Order. ”Joshua Sanders’ chance of passing the test without Duke Agnus’ backing is
”
“Only one percent.”