Ryu had been declared a foreigner.

But nothing really changed.

He could still live a normal life in the city and travel freely.

After all, this was a world where a highly feudalistic culture was the norm, where people were forced to obey through sheer force.

While people criticized the Chagamga Republic in the north for being a feudalistic military state, the Garriza Kingdom wasn't much different at its core.

Sophie was very disappointed when Ryu left the palace.

He had agreed to go on adventures with her again, but Sophie had a lot of responsibilities as a royal.

She had been allowed to be free because she had many older brothers who were handling royal duties.

Now, with her brothers gone, Sophie was burdened with the responsibility of her royal duties. She had murmured that she wanted to be exiled with Ryu, but she understood that she was in no position to be allowed to do so.

Ryu promised that he would go on adventures with her occasionally once the country settled down, and he departed.

Sophie gave Ryu a magical communication device. Even though he was no longer a citizen, he and Sophie were still friends. They promised to contact each other whenever they needed help.

There was also the matter of the Red Demon Empire. They had only retreated because of a powerful force like Ryu. If he completely abandoned the country, the Demons might attack again.

He also felt that the matter of the Red Demon Empire was unresolved. It was the thing he hadn't finished. But since the King had promised to handle it, he left it to him.

And so, Ryu set out on a journey with no destination, letting the wind and his heart guide him, to see the world and expand his knowledge.

But, much sooner than he expected, he received a call for help.

It was Betty.

She told him that the King and the prince had been assassinated.

The culprits were likely the Duke and his sons.

The Duke had tried to take the throne, but Sophie was higher in the line of succession. So, the Duke, claiming that Sophie was still young, took the position of Regent and placed Sophie under house arrest.

The Duke had kept Sophie alive because he wanted to marry her to his son, Rodan, and have his son inherit the throne. This was Rodan's strong wish, and the Duke, being a foolish father, had agreed to it.

Before Sophie was put under house arrest, she entrusted Betty with a magical communication device and told her to ask for help from Ryujeen.

But Ryu's reaction wasn't very good.

He was no longer a citizen of this country. And he had promised not to interfere as long as no one tried to take away his freedom.

He had to keep his promise. Because if he broke his promise, the country wouldn't have to keep its promise either.

After all, Ryujeen was primarily concerned with himself. He had no noble thoughts like "sense of justice" or "for the sake of the people." He wasn't going to be "a hero" unless it directly affected him. Even if there were evil people somewhere, he had no intention of correcting them or punishing them.

Ryujeen believed that there were a hundred different values for a hundred people. Righteousness changed with the situation. There was no absolute justice.

This world, in particular, was feudalistic. People had little sense of human rights, and the laws were nothing more than flimsy, self-serving regulations created by the rulers. There were too many cases where upholding the law wasn't right.

If someone somewhere had assassinated a king and tried to take the throne, Ryujeen had no intention of interfering.

But Sophie was his friend. As a friend, he wanted to help her.

For example, it would be easy for Ryujeen to kidnap Sophie from the palace and take her to a foreign country. If Sophie wished, they could travel the world together as adventurers.

So, Ryujeen went to meet Sophie, who was under house arrest, to ask her what she wanted.

To be Continued...

Next Time

Sophie's Choice

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