"For today, I'll spare your lives. If the kingdom loses a large number of nobles all at once, the country will become unstable," the King declared.

The nobles, relieved, breathed a sigh of relief.

But the King continued, "Every noble present here, I've memorized your faces. Once things settle down, prepare yourselves for severe punishment."

"Treason is a serious crime," the Prime Minister stated.

The nobles slumped in despair at his words.

"However… Ryuujin, was it? You were splendid," the King complimented.

"Of course! With Ryu here, we don't even need a knight's guard!" Sophie exclaimed.

"Indeed… Prime Minister, it seems the knights guarding the palace are currently absent," the King remarked.

The Prime Minister nodded.

"Ryu, would you be willing to take on the palace guard duty until the knights return?" the King asked.

"Given the circumstances, it can't be helped. I'm not really interested in guard duties, but…" Ryu replied.

Ryu looked at the King and said, "It'll cost you."

"Naturally, I'll offer you a suitable reward," the King promised.

"Also, I'd appreciate it if you'd call the knights back as soon as possible and be done with this. I want to be free to go where I please. Palace service isn't for me," Ryu stated.

"Ryu's an adventurer. You should pay him properly and put a request in with the Adventurer's Guild," Sophie insisted.

"No, I'm not an adventurer anymore. I've left the Adventurer's Guild," Ryu replied.

"What?! Why? What about my party?" Sophie asked in shock.

"Staying an adventurer only led to being used, and there weren't many benefits. Sorry, but you'll have to find other members for your party."

"Why are you abandoning me? What are you going to do now?" Sophie questioned.

"I'm thinking of going on a bit of a journey," Ryu answered.

"Then I'm coming too!" Sophie declared.

"Sophie-sama, please don't be so selfish. A princess shouldn't travel…" Marie cautioned.

"With the country under invasion, isn't it absurd for royalty to think about traveling?" Ryu retorted.

"Well… that's true. If Ryu's here, he can surely repel the invaders. That would solve everything," Sophie reasoned.

"Indeed, from what I've seen so far, Ryuujin-dono's power is unmatched. Rather than guarding, it would be better if he helped us repel the enemy forces," the Prime Minister added.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in joining a war," Ryu said firmly.

"It's your duty as a citizen to serve your country during times of crisis," the Prime Minister argued.

"Well, then you can just exclude me from the citizenry. I'm originally a foundling, and apparently, I'm not even human," Ryu said nonchalantly.

"Not human? What does that mean?" the King asked curiously.

"Ryu's a dragon-human," Sophie explained.

"Nonsense. Dragon-humans are just fairy tales for children. They don't exist in reality," the Prime Minister scoffed.

"But how else do you explain Ryu's strength? Especially his teleportation ability?" Sophie pointed out.

"Th-That…," the Prime Minister stammered, struggling for an answer.

"It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. The ship has sailed. I'll take on the guard duty until the knights return," Ryu declared.

"But don't you have any gratitude for being raised by others? The country is what makes you who you are!" the Prime Minister argued.

"I didn't have a good childhood. The merchant who picked me up sold me to a slave trader! Do you think I feel grateful?" Ryu scoffed.

"But you would have died if you hadn't been found. You're alive today because of that. Your existence is due to that," the Prime Minister insisted.

"Enough, stop it. Ryuujin, I'm sorry, but I need your help, at least for now. Please take on the guard duty," the King intervened.

"Fine, I'll do it. But I need to warn you about something…," Ryu began.

"…" the King and Prime Minister looked at him, waiting.

"Don't expect me to be polite. I'm cursed with an inability to use honorifics. If that's okay with you, then that's settled," Ryu declared.

"What?!"

"Is there such a curse?"

"I've never heard of such a thing."

"But his strength is so incredible. It wouldn't be strange if he had a curse or two as a consequence."

"That's not important right now, Prime Minister!" the King exclaimed.

"Y-Yes, my apologies," the Prime Minister said hurriedly.

"Is there really not a single knight left in the castle?" the King asked.

"No, there are probably a few… I'll go check. Also, there are those patrolling the town and those off-duty. I'll reorganize them immediately," the Prime Minister replied.

"Oh, right!"

Ryu suddenly spoke up.

"I forgot..."

As he said that, his eyes glowed gold, and he looked at something far away.

"…" The King raised an eyebrow in confusion.

After a moment, Ryu raised his hand, and a magic circle appeared on the floor. Gil emerged from it.

Gil, a spy from the Chagamga Republic, had realized his mission was a failure and was trying to escape back to his country. However, Ryu's Divine Eye had captured him, and he was brought back through teleportation.

"…" Sophie glared at Gil with hatred in her eyes.

"This guy is a spy from a neighboring country. We might be able to get some information about the invading army from him," Ryu explained.

"Damn it. Now that this is happening…"

Gil tried to pull out the sword at his waist, but the moment he grabbed it, the sword disappeared from his hand. Ryu had teleported it into his subspace storage.

Then, Gil's arms, legs, and head suddenly separated from his torso, scattering across the floor. He wasn't dead. Magic circles floated on the cut surfaces, and his five body parts were connected through subspace.

Gil flailed his limbs, and his severed arms and legs moved independently, creating a horrifying sight like giant maggots wriggling.

Ryu grabbed Gil's hair, lifted his head, and showed him what had happened to his body.

"Wh-Wha-What is happening…?!?" Gil stammered in panic.

"Be honest and tell me what I want to know, and I'll put you back together. If you don't…"

"I-I won't say anything…," Gil stuttered, terrified.

"If you don't, I'm sure I'll find many questions to ask your body," Ryu threatened ominously.

With that, Ryu brutally threw Gil's head onto the floor. As Gil screamed in agony from the pain, Ryu picked up one of his arms and snapped off a finger with a sickening crack.

"Gah!" Gil howled in pain, his face contorted in agony.

Ryu grabbed Gil's head again and threw it at the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister, terrified, dodged, and the head bounced off the floor, causing Gil to cry out in pain again.

"W-We'll interrogate him once the knights return," the Prime Minister stuttered.

"That's too slow, wouldn't you say?" Ryu retorted.

"In any case, I'll gather the remaining knights! We'll leave the interrogation to them," the Prime Minister decided.

The Prime Minister summoned a servant to clean up the body and blood in the throne room and then left the chamber.

The nobles were sent back to their mansions under confinement, awaiting their punishment. They didn't know what kind of punishment awaited them. They hoped it would be something like a fine, but that seemed unlikely. They could lose their titles, or worse, even face death. In the worst-case scenario, their entire families could be executed. Treason was a grave crime, after all.

However, they were in the middle of an invasion, and the King had said that if they performed well on the front lines, they might receive a pardon. The nobles hurriedly began preparing for war.

But among the nobles who had agreed to the coup, there were those who were plotting something different.

They hadn't given up on the coup. They planned to kill the King and gain favor from the Chagamga Republic by boasting of their accomplishment.

Currently, the palace security was weak. Even if Ryu was strong, he couldn't protect everything alone. And while he was strong in direct combat, he might not be able to defend against assassination attempts.

And so, assassins infiltrated the palace.

To be continued

Next time

Assassins invade, and Ryu's in a bad spot?!

Don't miss it!