Chapter 78

"What nonsense is this? That is not acceptable!"

"Captain! If we do this, the king will...!"

The royal bodyguards strongly opposed the order.

The king was being held hostage, and the royal bodyguards were to stand down and do nothing?

It was an absolute disgrace.

However,

"First, we need to ensure the safety of His Majesty! I will take full responsibility, so step back! What are you waiting for? Open the way!"

Eventually, at Irina's command, the royal bodyguards hesitantly stepped back.

However, throughout the entire process, their faces were filled with shame, disgrace, and anger.

And all those eyes were directed at Elric.

***

"…Is it really okay to do this?"

While dangling from Elric, King Velence's face turned pale, and he trembled slightly.

When Elric first mentioned taking him hostage, he had been dizzy with shock.

No matter how composed he tried to appear, it was difficult to maintain his composure at that moment.

However, what Elric said next made King Velence regain his resolve.

-Isn't this the best way to prevent your people from getting hurt?

Elric's logic was very simple.

No matter what ulterior motives the ministers and officials might have, as long as King Velence held legitimacy and authority, they couldn't act recklessly.

Even if they wanted to, it would be difficult with all the citizens of Antromov watching the situation.

As long as the king was on their side, the armed royal bodyguards wouldn't dare to make a move, allowing them to leave the city without causing a major commotion.

In the end, just as Elric had said, he was taken hostage, and the situation had reached this point.

Standing atop the spire, with all the citizens and the royal bodyguards watching, it was far more dizzying than he had imagined.

Although he couldn't speak, King Velence actually had a fear of heights.

"Don't worry. There's no better way than this. We haven't had any major conflicts so far, right?"

Nodding.

King Velence, unable to bear looking down any longer, tightly shut his eyes.

"By the way, that man acts really well."

Whether he knew about King Velence's ordeal or not, Elric shook his head as he watched Fen clinging to Irina's pants, bawling his eyes out.

When asked if he wanted to leave with them, he had said he would stay behind. It was necessary for the hostage situation to succeed.

And it was creating an atmosphere much more effectively than expected. Though he couldn't hear the conversation clearly, it was creating enough fear to keep the royal bodyguards from making any rash moves.

'I wonder if I'll get a chance to learn from him later. He could become a great actor in the Empire.'

While having such trivial thoughts, Elric's eyes sparkled.

The royal bodyguards, following Irina's orders, were opening the way.

"We've opened the way! So, release His Majesty at once!"

Irina shouted with such power that her voice echoed through the city.

'The lady sure has a strong voice.'

Elric, thinking something that would make Irina even more furious if she heard, put on his most villainous smile.

『Anyone can see he's a villain, but what does "most villainous" mean? I don't understand.』

"What makes you think we trust you? The king stays with us until we safely leave the city! We'll release the king right after that! Don't even think about following us!"

"Why should we believe that you'll release the king? Who knows what kind of harm you'll do!"

"Then just follow the loud-mouthed lady. Keep your distance. That's all."

"A, a loud-mouthed lady?"

For a moment, Irina's temple throbbed, but Elric didn't care at all.

"Of course, don't even think about sneaking other royal bodyguards to follow us. Remember, I'm a magician, right?"

"....I get it."

"Captain!"

"It's too dangerous, Captain!"

All the royal bodyguards shouted out in concern, but Irina's determination remained unshaken.

"No. I've already made my decision. And after this is over, I'll take responsibility and resign, so stay here and guard the place."

The royal bodyguards clenched their teeth and moved further back, clearing the way completely.

Elric, his eyes gleaming, gestured to the others to quickly escape in the given direction.

[Hohoho! Really, there's never a dull moment with you around! I'm having the time of my life!]

Augustine was the first to send a sound conduction, chuckling.

[Be careful.]

[Seriously, how is it that trouble never leaves your side? I didn't want to get caught up in this again... This is driving me crazy, really. Sigh!]

Heize' worried gaze and Sean's sigh could be felt even through the sound conduction.

Herman and the others, with expressions indicating they were having a blast, looked at Elric before exiting the city.

"...Do you really think we can escape after causing all this commotion?"

King Velence, who was the last one remaining with Elric, asked with a half-dazed look.

"Don't you know the saying 'riding a tiger'? Once you're on the back of a running tiger, you have no choice but to keep going."

"...Somehow, I feel like I'm that tiger. Is that just my imagination?"

Elric thought the young king was quite sharp and quickly followed the others.

As promised, the royal bodyguards and citizens stayed in the city, while Irina followed at a fixed distance.

***

"Hahaha! The Hero of Lacente was also a famous troublemaker at Usdun Academy? This is even more amazing than I expected!"

Herman's sworn brother, the second brother Lasalle, couldn't stop laughing as if he was having the time of his life while running.

The third brother, Haman, nodded in agreement.

"Our brothers caused all sorts of incidents and accidents in our prime, but... we've never kidnapped a king and fled!"

"That's what I'm saying. Haha! Our niece Isabelle always insisted she would never get involved with people like us. But look at her now. Once you're charmed by folks like us, you can't escape!"

Isabelle, still piggybacking on Herman, retorted sharply.

"How can Lord Elric be the same as my uncles? His motives are completely different. My uncles just caused chaos, while Lord Elric is doing this for justice!"

"Oh, come on! It's all a matter of perspective. We didn't do anything too bad either."

"But you look bad!"

"...Niece, let's avoid personal attacks, shall we?"

"No way!"

"Damn it! I've got nothing to say to that!"

When Isabelle first sent a messenger asking for help, her uncles were initially perplexed, wondering what was happening with their usually reserved eldest brother.

Apart from the eldest, Herman, the remaining five brothers had been notorious for their reckless antics in their youth, causing as much trouble as possible without fearing consequences.

Even as they grew older, they couldn't completely shed these tendencies, so they eventually left Herman, who chose 'seclusion', and went back to their own lives.

Yet, they always secretly hoped Herman would call on them again someday. Despite everything, the times spent with Herman were the most enjoyable and exciting of their lives.

There were occasional rumors that Herman's half brother, Paul Weyl, was foolishly aiming for the Blue Lion's position, but they always dismissed it with disdain.

So, when they received such a message...

They were utterly shocked at first.

Learning that Herman had been gravely ill and that Paul had targeted Isabelle in the meantime made their world feel like it was turning upside down.

And it made them grit their teeth.

Daring to put their esteemed eldest brother in mortal danger was already unforgivable, but endangering their beloved niece was beyond forgiveness. If Herman had even hinted that they should bring Paul's head, they would have acted immediately.

But Herman didn't.

He insisted that matters of the Weyl family should be resolved by its members, and outsiders should not interfere.

Lasalle and Haman, known for their quick tempers, had angrily argued against such restraint, but Herman's ironclad stubbornness wouldn't budge.

Instead, Herman made a different request of his sworn brothers.

-Protect my daughter.

And one more thing.

-My body is still not fully recovered, so I might need some treatment and company.

Thus, the sworn brothers accompanied Herman to the Imperial capital, and from there, traveled to the Black Snowfield.

It was such a long journey, almost like traversing a third of the continent, that they became intensely curious about this Elric who had led them on such a wild goose chase.

And now, meeting him in person.

'This guy is something else!'

All five sworn brothers, except Herman, instantly recognized it.

'This is him.'

'No doubt about it! He's just like us!'

'Hahaha! It must have been tough finding someone like us. Where did she find such talent?'

None of them had imagined that someone could escalate their chaos to such an extent!

The only slight disappointment was...

'If only his face was in our league, it would be perfect! Damn, that's a bit of a letdown.'

When they asked Isabelle if their faces were rough, they couldn't argue, in good conscience, that Elric's face was in any way similar to theirs.

Unlike their faces, hardened by years of battle, Elric's appearance was unmistakably that of an aristocrat, handsome by any standard.

He has blonde hair that seems to pour in light and green eyes that look like emeralds.

That's a doll's face, not a human's.

'Well, that explains why our niece is smitten.'

Still, they all agreed as long as he wasn't just another soft noble, that was good enough for them.

They might all become part of the same family soon, so it would be nice if they could get into trouble together!

"...Hmm?"

Elric noticed Herman and his sworn brothers—the famous "Blue Hawks"—staring at him intently, and he couldn't help but wonder why.

『That's the look of meeting someone from the same line of work.』

[What... Do you mean by that?]

『They're very pleased to meet you. Hmm! There are six more like you. This seems quite dangerous, no matter how you look at it.』

Perhaps because he'd been fooled by Elric so many times, Mephisto eyed the Blue Hawks, who exuded the same aura as Elric, with suspicion.

Elric had to bristle at that. The Blue Hawks were as notorious as they were famous.

'Why don't you gather bandits and hold something strange like the world's best bandit competition or something, and spend a month at sea trying to catch a kraken with a bamboo fishing rod... How can you compare me to such eccentric old men!'

But Elric couldn't even say that.

Sean, with an expression like a dead fish, was looking at him from the side.

[...What's with that look?]

[I had no idea.]

[About what?]

[That the world is very wide.]

[...What do you mean?]

[And that there are as many oddballs as grains of sand.]

[So what are you trying to say...!]

Sean's mouth twisted into a crooked smile.

[You can't really say you don't know, can you?]

[....]

Elric couldn't bring himself to meet Sean's gaze any longer. He had to turn his head slightly to the side.

And he decided not to respond at all.

[But what are you going to do? That captain of royal bodyguards or whoever she is keeps chasing us, and Antromorph will surely try to take action.]

The beastmen have very strong pride. After suffering such humiliation, there was no way they would let their group leave without a fight.

[Ah, that. Don't worry. No one will follow us.]

"What do you mean, no one will follow us?"

Sean decided this was not a conversation to have over sound conduction and asked aloud.

Everyone's attention naturally turned to Elric.

Seeing their curious faces, Elric smiled and began to reveal the rest of his unfinished plans.

As he spoke, the expressions of his companions changed gradually from intrigue to astonishment, and by the end, their jaws had practically dropped to the ground.

『…This guy is more like a demon king than any actual demon king. If Shaitan had met him first, he would've been out of a job.』

Mephisto shook his head in disbelief, sighing as he thought that even the most notorious demon king couldn't compare to Elric's deviousness.

'What! This isn't over yet? There's more fun to be had?'

'Right. He's one of us.'

'We need to stick close to him.'

'I need to tell Isabelle. She must not let this man go! He's the one to succeed us, no, he's already surpassed us! We must not lose him!'

The Blue Hawks looked at Elric with even brighter eyes.

"…It's chaos, pure chaos."

On the other hand, Sean's worries only deepened.

[T/L: Read more chapters here: - https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]