Volume 5 - CH 4

The sun was setting at the royal castle.

Hero Raven had been told by His Majesty, the King to go to the castle and visit the royal palace.

He was accompanied by Maria, as he had been instructed to bring the saint with him on that occasion.

“–Totally …… His Majesty the King’s sudden whims is quite troubling.”

“…… You’re right.”

Maria simply nodded her head, as if she were a puppet.

After waiting for a while, Raven and Maria were led to the throne room.

“Hero Raven, the Heir of Duke Crowhart, has arrived.”

“……”

When Raven said his name, the knight guarding the door leading to the throne room would normally have returned the courtesy and opened the door.

But for some reason, on this particular day, the knight opened the door without showing any reaction at all.

(…… What’s with him? He’s so annoying.)

Seeing the expressionless eyes – or rather, the eyes that seemed to have suppressed some kind of emotion – Raven felt annoyed.

Upon entering the audience chamber, Raven and Maria first kneel before His Majesty the King.

“–Welcome, Hero Raven. Saint Mary.”

Normally, His Majesty would have told them to raise their heads.

But this time, the king did not say anything to the two, and continued on his own.

“By the way–this is about my grandmother. She came from far away to marry into our country, and as a gift from her motherland, she was given a magnificent mechanical clock.”

Raven is puzzled inside, not understanding the meaning of what His Majesty the King is suddenly saying.

Maria, on the other hand, was quietly listening to the conversation with all her emotions suppressed.

“I heard that it has not been in good shape recently, so they requested the craftsmen’s guild to repair, inspect, and maintain it. The craftsman they sent was an excellent one. My grandmother was very satisfied.”

Maria was the only one who reacted to the term “craftsmen’s guild”.

Raven still had no idea what was going on and could only listen to the king’s words.

“But – recently there has been a sudden change in the person in charge. Because of his sloppy work, the clock that my grandmother treasured was broken. So, we canceled the contract with the craftsmen’s guild. So we tried to call in the talented craftsman in question directly.”

His Majesty the King’s gaze sharpened and pierced Raven.

“His name is Cyclo Owen. Apparently, he was dismissed from the craftsmen’s guild, and as a result of our investigation — he was caught on the day of his dismissal as the perpetrator of a series of rapes.”

Hearing these words, Raven finally realizes and looks up.

“That’s right, Hero Raven. The young commoner, who was convicted only on the testimony of you, the saint Mary, and a few others.”

“T-That’s …… your majesty!”

“Shut up. Who allowed you to raise your head?”

The king’s intimidating voice pressured Raven to lower her head again with a regretful expression on his face.

“Our country cannot afford to worsen relations with the Skills Giving Church. You know why, right? –It is because the power of the skills given by the Skill GIving Church is very useful in the war against the neighboring Lustgard Empire, which is ruled by the Demon King.”

(T/N: I don’t know if the Church’s name is right or not, so I just based the name of the Church on the name of their God, which is the Skill Giving God.)

His Majesty the King speaks as if he were admonishing a child – in other words, he’s telling that Raven is that much of a fool.

“Therefore, we can’t neglect those with special skills that they designate – in other words, Hero and Saint. The games you’ve been playing with yourselves, if you were playing with commoners, they wouldn’t bother to charge you with a crime. No matter how treacherous and inhumane they may have been.”

In other words, Raven’s misdeeds were known to the country, at least to some extent.

The fact that the king knew about it, Raven immediately began to break out in a cold sweat.

“But this time the story is different. The young man you removed was the craftsman my grandmother was going to hire. –In other words, what was at the end of the bow was the blood of the royal family, even if indirectly. Do you understand?”

Raven could not look up when asked. From the king’s words, and tone of voice, he could clearly read the anger and contempt in his voice.

“Now that it comes to this, I can’t ignore it anymore. Raven. Your misdeeds will be exposed to the light of day through my grandmother’s investigations.”

“……! However, Your Majesty! I have no knowledge of such a deed!”

This can’t go on like this. Thinking this, Raven begins to make up some lame excuse.

“Shut up, Raven. The evidence is all there. Especially, the matter of disgracing Cyclo Owen.”

His Majesty the King then looks at the Royal Guards who are guarding him.

Then one of the Royal Guards reacts and leaves the audience chamber.

“It’s a good opportunity. Raven. I will show you what would have happened to you if you did not have the title of ‘Hero’.”

“Wha- …… Eh?”

Raven couldn’t understand the meaning of the King’s words.

But before he could ask what they meant, the Royal Guards returned to the audience chamber.

And then – the Royal Guards dragged a man to this place.

The man, whose entire body had been injured to the point where he could not even move, was wearing the uniform of a police officer.

“This man – Bujin Boujacque- is the “real culprit” in Cyclo Owen’s false accusations, the serial rapes, disappearances, kidnappings, and more. Raven …… you don’t ‘recognize’ this man, do you?”

“I …… do …… not ……!!”

Raven’s face paled as he responded to the King’s words.

In other words, His Majesty the King is going to put Raven’s crimes “ostensibly” on this man, Bujin, and dispose of him.

“He will be crucified for three days and three nights, beheaded, and then hanged. Considering the severity of the crime, isn’t that a fair punishment?”

“Yes ……”

The king’s threatening words had completely disheartened Raven.

The reason is that Raven may also be subjected to the same punishment as Bujin if the King intends to do so.

When Raven was confronted with the decoy of his ostensible crime in the form of Bujin, he understood it clearly.

But the King didn’t end at that.

“Raven. Your punishment is, ostensibly, you will become someone appropriate for the title of ‘Hero’. I have already spoken with the Church. You cannot resist. Of course, if you do resist — you know what happens.”

Raven shook his head repeatedly, affirming His Majesty the King’s words.

He thought that, at the very least, it is much better than a miserable and painful death like Bujin’s.

As if to shatter Raven’s thoughts, which in a sense could be called hope, His Majesty the King tells him…

“Then, Hero Raven. I give you a royal command. You are to achieve success on the front lines of the war against our sworn enemy, the Lustgard Empire led by the Demon King. On-site instructions will be given to the Adventurers’ Guild, which has a cooperative relationship with our army on the front lines.”

For Raven, these were despairing words.

Because Raven was a Hero, he was registered with the Adventurers’ Guild, and his rank was S rank.

In reality, however, Raven’s abilities were equal to those of an A-rank adventurer, or slightly inferior due to his lack of experience.

Raven is someone who has always thought only of gaining prestige, and has only ever defeated a handful of monsters after weakening them with the help of the duke’s private army.

If he is treated as someone equivalent to an S rank in the adventurers guild on the front lines of war, with no allies – it is not difficult to imagine his end.

“Y-Your Majesty! Please, please not that!”

“Take him away.”

The Royal Guards move in response to the King’s words, forcibly dragging Raven, who is on his knees pleading, out of the audience chamber.

Raven was taken out of the audience chamber, while Saint Mary was left in the audience chamber.

“Now, Saint Mary. The next one is for you. –The fact that you were involved as a witness in a false accusation cannot be erased. Moreover, you knew the truth and kept silent until now. You must pay for that.”

“……Yes.”

With her head bowed, Maria agreed with His Majesty the King.

Rather – Maria was looking for something that would punish her.

That is why His Majesty’s words were, in a sense, a blessing in disguise.

“Therefore, you will serve your duty as the Saint in a monastery far from here, near the unexplored land of the dragons. You will not return until you have atoned for your sins.”

“…… I understand.”

His Majesty the King’s decision was, so to speak, like a life sentence.

Although there was a possibility that she would be recalled depending on the state of the country, she was to spend her days in prayer and training in a monastery where there was no luxury or entertainment of any kind.

Moreover, the place was in the unexplored region of the dragon. Among the monasteries operated by the Skill Giving Church, this one was built in the most dangerous area of the country.

Naturally, the risk of being involved in some kind of accident or disaster and losing one’s life is high.

Although not as dangerous and abusive as Raven, it was a heavy enough punishment.

That is why the false accusation of Cyclo was such a disgrace to the royal family.

Thus, the Hero Raven and Saint Maria were both judged for their indirect opposition to the royal family in the form of a false accusation.

——————-

Lately, I’m in trouble …… because I have so little stock left for the latest story!

But I’m almost there, and I’ll be able to reach my goal of making the top 10 of the Monthly Ranking, so I’ll keep posting every day for a little while longer!!