CH 42

༺ His Student  ༻

Carefully, he laid the motionless Daisy down on the ground.

The surrounding ground had completely sunk, forming a pit-like depression. The warehouse had completely vanished without a trace, and of course, things like stairs had long since disappeared.

I lightly tapped the ground. As I shot up to the surface in a single leap and landed softly, Captain Herman of the guards was right in front of me.

Herman’s face filled with shock as he gaped at the armor I was wearing.

“M-Malevolent Star… the real armor of Malevolent Star…!”

He shivered as if feeling a chill, and soon, tears filled his eyes, overcome with emotion as he spoke with a trembling voice.

“L-Lord Malevolent Star…! Do you remember me? Ah, of course, you wouldn’t remember… During the battle with the Dragon Army, when I was caught in the mouth of a water dragon and thought I was going to die! You saved me by cutting the water dragon’s neck…! Since then, I have considered you the benefactor of my life-“

“Was that in the Prairie Plains?”

“Yes, yes! That’s correct…! You do remember!! Most of my troops were also saved thanks to you. Although I now serve as a captain of the guards due to a knee injury sustained back then, my heart is always on the battlefield with Lord Malevolent Star-“

This could go on forever if I kept listening.

I raised my hand to cut off Herman’s speech. As if my words were an absolute command, Herman’s mouth immediately shut upon my simple gesture.

Herman remained still, as if he wouldn’t even twitch a finger until I gave another command.

I sighed briefly and asked.

“What happened to the kidnapped people?”

“Ah, yes! As per Lord Malevolent Star’s orders, we’ve rescued all of them. They were all in poor condition, so I had my subordinates carry them on carriages to a nearby temple. But…”

Captain Herman cautiously looked around.

Following his gaze, I could see that not only Herman but also other people were gradually appearing around us.

Knights wearing white capes with the clear insignia of a dragon.

They were the symbol of the Royal Guards, the elite knights who protected the Empire.

Each of them boasted skills comparable to a Sword Master, the appearance of the Empire’s strongest force created a heavy atmosphere with their intense aura.

The fact that the Royal Guards were showing such a tense attitude even in a non-combat situation meant that the person they were escorting was extremely important.

With the solemn escort of the Royal Guards, the face of a woman who appeared was very familiar to me.

“…Elizabeth.”

She was the only princess of the Empire, and at the same time, a student of the Opal Black class – Elizabeth von Galatea.

At my words, one of the Royal Guards, who had been loyally escorting Elizabeth, stepped forward and replied.

“How rude. To call the Imperial Princess by her name so casually. Malevolent Star, even if you are a hero of the continent, if you are a subject of the Empire, show proper respect in front of royalty.”

“Enough.”

Elizabeth raised her hand to stop them, and the Royal Guard who had blocked her way bowed deeply and stepped back again.

Elizabeth gently lifted her red lips and smiled.

“Please forgive my subordinate’s rudeness. It seems they showed excessive loyalty in my presence. They would have been eager to say a word to Malevolent Star if they had the chance. Ah, perhaps they overreacted because of that?”

“Your Highness, such words…!”

The young Royal Guard’s face turned red with embarrassment at the princess’s teasing remark.

I glanced around. I couldn’t recognize them due to their stiff expressions, but all the Royal Guards present here were looking at my spear and armor, their eyes shining with excitement.

Though they couldn’t show it openly while on duty, I could sense the excitement and curiosity of having seen Malevolent Star in person in their expressions, big or small.

But that was fine with me.

With a voice changed by the armor, I spoke indifferently.

“If there’s no business, I’ll be on my way.”

“Oh, how cold. We just met, so we could have chatted for a bit long. Or would you have preferred to meet me in a different situation, not as the Princess of the Empire?”

Seeing Elizabeth’s playful attitude as she covered her mouth and giggled, I was sure.

She knew who I was. And for quite some time.

Despite only having known her for a few days, my assessment of Elizabeth was a student whose intentions were impossible to fathom.

She was an excellent student who diligently followed the instructor’s directions without complaint during class, and fulfilled her role as a temporary class leader. However, her occasional gaze, seemingly appraising me, made it difficult to guess her intentions.

Elizabeth looked around the devastated 20th district and said.

“The accomplishment of wiping out a group of rebels who dared to defy the will of the Imperial Family, and single-handedly averting the disaster that was about to befall the system… I would like to invite you to the palace to express our gratitude properly. Will you accept my invitation?”

Being personally invited by the Imperial Princess was an honor. No one would think of refusing such an invitation, and even if they had such thoughts, openly rejecting it would be extremely careful as it would damage the princess’s dignity.

However, I replied with a sour voice.

“What if I don’t want to?”

In the midst of everyone, including the entire Royal Guard and Captain Herman standing behind, looking at me with shocked expressions, only Elizabeth smiled gently, as if she had expected it.

“Then I guess I’ll be a bit disappointed. Would I really punish the hero of the continent for refusing an invitation? If it were my brother, maybe.”

Elizabeth continued.

“But I am curious. Where are you in such a hurry that you would refuse the invitation of the Imperial Princess?”

“There’s no reason to tell you that.”

“Um, true. But I’m a little worried.”

Elizabeth narrowed her red eyes and smiled with her eyes.

“If rumors spread that Malevolent Star killed a high-ranking imperial noble, whether it’s justified or not, it would certainly affect Malevolent Star’s reputation… As a fan of Malevolent Star, it would be truly regrettable if such a thing happened.”

“……”

This girl. Did she know that I was planning to kill the Marquis of Einhellar?

“Why didn’t you take action earlier if you knew?”

“Just because I’m in the Imperial Intelligence Department doesn’t mean I know all the information. I can only guess. If you’ve managed to pull off such a scheme within the system, there must be some backing for sure…”

Elizabeth counted the suspects one by one, folding her slender fingers.

“The Einar family, who tasted the money of war? Duke Aizenfeld, the leader of the local nobility who keeps the powerful imperial power in check? Or Grand Archmage Runhardt, who never treated other races as people?”

Elizabeth spoke softly, smiling.

“I don’t know who Malevolent Star thinks is the culprit among them, but if you kill any of them recklessly, it would only cause trouble.”

I crossed my arms and replied indifferently.

“Only those who deserve death shall die.”

“Do what needs to be done without about honor? You truly live up to the rumors.”

Elizabeth smiled at my response and soon continued with a serious expression.

“But there’s no need to dirty Malevolent Star’s hands. Leave this matter to the Imperial Family now.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no need to solve every problem with force. Now that there is enough justification and evidence, the criminals who have raised the flag against the will of the Imperial Family will be properly punished. If other crimes are discovered in the process, they will be judged as well.”

I thought for a moment.

Indeed, it would be cleaner for the Imperial Family to directly judge the criminals rather than me killing the Marquis of Einhellar myself.

From the Imperial Family’s perspective, they wouldn’t want a conflict with the elves, so they would handle it well, ensuring that the problem doesn’t escalate while administering appropriate punishment.

As long as those who targeted Titania disappeared, that was all I wanted.

“If the problem is not properly resolved.”

“We will do our best to avoid Malevolent Star’s wrath.”

I nodded and said.

“It’s the Marquis of Einhellar.”

At my words, Elizabeth sent a signal to the Royal Guard next to her, and the Royal Guard nodded and signaled to other personnel waiting in the rear.

Several Royal Guards who were at the scene left quickly.

Elizabeth gracefully lifted the hem of her dress and greeted.

“Thank you for your cooperation. Now that your urgent business is taken care of, you can leisurely join me at the Imperial Castle-“

“I’ll refuse that.”

“That’s a shame. If I wear a school uniform instead of a dress, would you meet me then?”

“……”

I made a disgusted expression, but it didn’t show due to my helmet.

At my silence, Elizabeth covered her mouth and laughed softly.

“Do you need anything else?”

I was about to answer immediately, but I stopped because of a sudden thought that crossed my mind. Elizabeth calmly respected my silence and waited while I pondered for a moment.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“The last princess of the fallen kingdom is down there.”

Elizabeth seemed to understand what I meant and nodded.

“I’ll make sure she is treated with due respect.”

“Good.”

I left my seat immediately after that response.

* * *

Elizabeth watched Malevolent Star’s retreating figure slowly fading into the darkness of the night.

The Royal Guard who had been escorting her carefully opened his mouth.

“Is it okay to let him go like this?”

“Are you the one who’s not okay? You used to sing about wanting to meet the Malevolent Star just once.”

“I-I didn’t sing! I just admired one of the seven heroes of the continent as a knight-“

At the long-winded excuses of her escort knight, Elizabeth burst into a small laugh.

“What can we do if it’s not okay? Our opponent is the Malevolent Star after all.”

“…Even so, Your Highness is the noblest existence on the entire continent. You didn’t need to be so informal.”

“I think I showed proper respect to the hero of the continent. And the Malevolent Star is even more special among them.”

“What do you mean by special?”

Elizabeth didn’t answer the escort knight’s question and swiftly turned away. Since this was not the first or second time she had done this, the escort knight followed her, seemingly accustomed to it.

Elizabeth smiled and thought.

Yes, the Malevolent Star is special.

Because he is the only one among the seven heroes of the continent who doesn’t ask for anything from the Empire.

Everyone has their own desires. The seven heroes of the continent are no exception.

The Saintess wishes for the salvation of humanity, the strategist seeks the honor of his family and the glory of the Empire, and the Goddess’ Champion reveres the will of the goddess. The other seven heroes have their own goals as well.

And the Empire’s immense power could fulfill everything they wished for.

However, the Malevolent Star uniquely didn’t desire power, didn’t seek honor, and didn’t even demand a huge sum of money.

He contributed to the victory of humanity more than anyone else, yet asked for nothing in return and chose to live in solitude as the last hero.

Malevolent Star, Eon Graham.

Father and older brother are afraid of the Malevolent Star. Because it’s impossible to know what he wants, regardless of his strength. In other words, it means that the Malevolent Star cannot be controlled by the Empire’s power.

There is nothing more frightening for those who hold power than a force they cannot control.

However.

“Today was an unexpected harvest.”

The Malevolent Star had crushed the enemy of the Empire today to protect his student.

To Elizabeth, it seemed to mean that Malevolent Star, who had never had a family, lover, or any human relationships, had begun to cherish his students.

And she was now Malevolent Star’s student.

Elizabeth hummed a cheerful tune and her steps became light-hearted.