Chapter 89 - <11>
The moment he lowered the spear of fire in relief, Greig threw the door wide open and leaped outside.
"We'll pincer them!"
"Greig!"
Franz didn't even have time to stop him.
He's an idiot. A genuine idiot…
It was too late to clutch his head in despair. Shouts and angry cries erupted from outside the door. At this point, all he could do was charge in. Steeling himself, Franz silently stepped outside, spear of fire in hand.
For a moment, he was speechless at the sight unfolding before him. Greig had his sword drawn. Drawn, but… he was surrounded by twenty men….
"Correction. A genuine, colossal idiot…"
If there was any other word to describe this situation, Franz wanted to know it right now. Since he didn't seem to have been noticed, he stealthily returned to the archives and peeked outside from the shadow of the door.
A barricade had been built in front of the door, and the piled-up desks and chairs were rattling as intruders from the outside shook them. Franz could probably topple the barricade with a slight push, easily letting in help from outside.
The problem was how to create the time for that.
As an immediate issue, he had to save Greig from being beaten to a pulp by twenty men. And waiting for help to break through the barricade would be too slow. It would be better to discreetly take down the barricade first.
The murderous men surrounded Greig, slowly closing the distance. It seemed they were wary of him and couldn't attack immediately.
In this situation, there was probably still time before Greig got pummeled. He was, after all, a trained swordsman. In terms of swordsmanship alone, he was said to be a genius within the army. When it came to a real battle, however, he'd get too hot-headed to be of any use.
A quick scan of the area revealed that they hadn't even posted a lookout. They were cornered and on edge. This was his chance.
With the spear of fire still in hand, Franz tiptoed out of the archives. He carefully pushed at the desk serving as a barricade, trying not to be noticed. It had been hastily stacked and was quite wobbly.
This should be easy to break. He put more force into it, pushing slowly again, and the desk slid bit by bit toward the other side of the door. The person outside seemed to have considerable strength; with just a small push from Franz, they were able to force the door open by a few centimeters.
Just a little more and the door will open. Just as he thought that, the person outside slammed their body against the door with a great deal of force. With a loud crash, the chairs stacked on the desk came tumbling down.
"…!"
As Franz leaped back, the band of thieves turned to look at the collapsed barricade. The gazes of all the men turning at once naturally focused on Franz, who was standing right there.
"You! How long have you been here?!"
The instant a few of the men started to run toward him, Franz raised his spear of fire.
"O Fire Spirit, ruler of strength and courage…"
As he softly chanted the prayer, the men froze for a moment.
"He's a spirit user!"
"What?!"
The men slowly backed away. Franz deliberately dragged out the prayer.
"Grant me your power…"
In truth, he could already launch a fireball, but he couldn't imagine what would happen if he did that in this enclosed space. The barricade is down. Hurry, hurry and do something.
But before the person outside could arrive, the men charged him. He had no choice.
"Pierce, Flame Arrow!"
Franz unleashed several flashy-looking flame arrows toward the men. Of course, he had no intention of hitting them.
The flame arrows exploded at the men's feet.
"Damn it!"
The men who had fallen back ganged up on Greig, restraining him with a dozen pairs of hands. He didn't even have time to draw his sword.
"You damn spirit user! If you try anything else, this kid's life is forfeit!"
A scrawny man with mean-looking eyes, who appeared to be the leader, held a knife to Greig, who was pinned to the ground by the other men.
"Kuh…"
His grip on the spear of fire tightened. With a hostage, I can't do a thing.
"Franz… I'm sorry."
Greig apologized through labored breaths. Seriously, couldn't he have predicted this would happen?
"…'Sorry' isn't going to cut it."
Franz was immobilized. But events were certainly progressing. The collapsed barricade was suddenly shoved aside, and a man's face peeked through.
"…Oh my, what a mess."
The man said nonchalantly. He was a large man with big, pointy, fluffy ears. He quickly pulled his head back. From outside the door, a familiar voice could be heard.
"How much of a mess is it, Lef?"
…It was a voice he absolutely did not want to hear while trespassing in the underground treasury, but right now, it was the most reassuring sound in the world. The owner of the familiar voice entered the room with slow, dignified steps through the door that the large man called Lef had opened wide.
"Franz, my thanks for babysitting the fool."
"…Not at all, Your Majesty."
King Edward stood there. The moment they saw his face, a wave of panic ran through the men.
Among the citizens… among those who lived in the Royal Capital, there was no one, not even a resident of the slums, who did not know the King's face. The men, still pinning Greig to the ground, slowly backed away.
"What do you think you are doing there?"
The thieves held their breath and fell silent. The sheer majesty of the King was enough to intimidate even them. But then Edward put on a playful, wicked expression unfitting for a king.
"Oh, is that my grandson over there? Did you get into some mischief, Greig?"
"…My apologies, Grandfather…"
The men holding Greig down stared at his face in shock. They all knew what the Prince looked like.
They must have been so panicked that they hadn't even bothered to look at his face until now. The moment they realized the person they were holding down was the King's grandson and the one and only Prince, Greig, the men instinctively scrambled off him.
"What are you doing?! We're dead men for breaking into the treasury and for our disrespect to the Prince!"
The leader grabbed Greig by the hair as he tried to get up. He thrust the knife at the groaning Greig's throat.
"Let go!"
The man kicked the struggling Greig once in the stomach. Greig let out a short groan, but with a knife at his throat, he couldn't fight back.
He brought this on himself, but this is just pitiful. Franz stealthily raised his spear of fire again.
"What are you all spacing out for?! The only way we get out of this alive is to kill the King and the Prince!"
The leader began to shriek like a madman, foam gathering at the corner of his mouth.
"B-But, Boss!"
"Shut up! You want to be executed?"
At the word 'execution,' the men steeled themselves with grim resolve. Their faces rigid, they each tightened their grip on their weapons.
"Ho ho… So you truly intend to fight. To think you'll be saved by killing me and Greig is the height of foolishness."
As Edward said this, another person entered the room. Franz sighed. It was Crown Prince Gerald.
"What shall we do, Crown Prince?"
"And what of my presence here, I wonder?"
"Hmm. With you here, it is certainly possible to have these men executed."
"Have they forgotten that, Father?"
"It seems you must learn to be a bit more intimidating, Gerald."
That's not the problem, Franz thought with all his heart. For some reason, these two seemed to be enjoying the situation.
…No, wait. Are they perhaps waiting for some kind of opportunity?
Just as Franz thought that, things took a turn. A small figure darted out from the shadow of the door and, without any warning, threw a sphere of water at the man called Boss. Struck by the water sphere, the man involuntarily dropped his knife.
A water sphere… could it be…
"Greig! Run!"
At Gerald's shout, Greig reflexively stood up and started running. This was no time to be standing around in a daze.
"Go, Flame Arrow!"
To stop the men who were about to chase Greig, Franz instantly fired off a flame arrow. Greig finally reached his father, Gerald.
"Do not do such reckless things on your own, Greig."
With a look of profound relief, Gerald touched a scratch on his only son Greig's cheek.
"You are the only child I have who carries my wife's blood. If anything were to happen to you, I would have no way to face my wife in the land of the goddess."
"I am sorry, Father."
His usual bravado gone, Greig hung his head meekly before his genuinely worried father. Franz watched them with a sigh of relief, then tried to look for the person who had thrown the water sphere, who must be behind him, but he couldn't take his eyes off the enemies in front.
Seeing an opening in the relaxed atmosphere, the thieves raised their weapons. Their opponents were the King, the Crown Prince, and the Prince. As citizens, they likely held some reverence for them, but with their own lives on the line, they had no choice but to attack with cornered expressions.
Even in this situation, Franz had that strangely melancholic thought. But this was no time for such things. There were twenty enemies.
Just then, Franz felt a presence right behind him. Was it the man named Lef who opened the door earlier? The tension with the enemy was still palpable, so turning around was not an option.
But the man took a few steps forward, revealing his identity. In that instant, Franz's tension evaporated. The face, more than a head taller than his own, was a very familiar one.
"Ritz…"
"Yo."
It was the same old Ritz, the shadow of torment that had haunted him since Anna's disappearance completely gone. Which meant that…
Glancing down, he saw Anna peek out from behind Ritz's shadow. She was smiling shyly.
"It really is you, Anna…"
"Eheheh, it is. Sorry for making you worry."
The enemies seemed to have noticed Anna as well, and their murderous intent flared.
"It's that woman! She called the Military Police!"
"…Huh?"
Anna just smiled brightly at the confused Franz.
"I'll tell you later."
Almost simultaneously with Anna's words, Ritz took a step forward. Whether it was because of the military uniform he wore or the indescribable aura of anger rising from his entire body, the enemies took a step back.
Without looking back, Ritz kept his eyes on the enemy and quietly asked Edward.
"Ed, you just came to find Greig and Franz, right?"
"I did."
Edward looked back at Ritz as he answered, and upon seeing his face, he seemed to sense something, nodding with a smile.
"That is exactly right. My role here is all but finished, I'd say."
There were too many words omitted in the conversations between these two, making them utterly incomprehensible to anyone but themselves. This time was no different.
"Then dealing with these guys is my job, right?"
"Yes. That's fine. Gerald, stand back."
Having said his piece, Edward promptly moved to the rear.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The men who had just been vowing to kill the King couldn't move an inch, even though their target had retreated. It was all because of Ritz, who stood there like a guardian king, glaring down the men.
Franz noticed that the large man called Lef was now standing behind Ritz, as if awaiting his command.
Just who is he?
Before Franz had time to think, Ritz slowly swept his gaze over all the men.
"Alright then… which one of you is the butler?"
At his voice, filled with undisguised rage, the men took another step back and looked fearfully at their leader. That man's face went pale in an instant, as if his eyes had met Ritz's.
Franz didn't know what had happened, but Ritz slowly closed in on the man, his anger palpable. Faced with the slowly approaching terror, the man began to tremble.
"D-Don't come any closer!"
His teeth were chattering, and his voice shook. The man backed away in fear, but Ritz didn't stop.
"It was you…"
Ritz muttered in a low voice, as if he had forgotten anyone else was in the room.
"Was it you who struck my dear Anna with a club?"
It was probably unconscious, but Ritz, blinded by rage, said something outrageous as he drew his greatsword.
"I-It wasn't me, it was my wife!"
"…Then I suppose the husband will have to take responsibility."
"Hiee…"
Even with the scabbard on, a normal person had next to no chance of withstanding a single blow from Ritz's extraordinary strength. Franz sighed at Ritz's excessive words and the pitiful state of the enemy.
Anna, who had come to stand beside Franz at some point, looked up when she noticed his gaze.
"Geez. I don't belong to Ritz, you know. Right, Franz?"
"…Is that the problem here?"
Apparently, Anna was pouting. Why complain about that in this situation…? Instead of saying that to Franz, shouldn't she be warning Ritz not to seriously injure the enemy?
Thinking that common-sense thought, Franz let out a small sigh.
Honestly, this pair of idiots.
But there was no point in letting his guard down now. Just as he was about to raise his spear of fire to assist, the situation changed dramatically.
"Kiaaaaaah!"
The man, apparently having a panic attack, let out a high-pitched scream and charged recklessly at Ritz. But Ritz was calm.
"Hmph, know your place."
With those words, Ritz struck the man down with a single swing of his greatsword. The blow landed so cleanly it was almost pitiful, and the man went flying in an arc. He hit the floor and didn't move at all.
"Have you learned your lesson?"
Ritz muttered, casually crossing his arms. I really don't want to make an enemy of him, Franz thought to himself.
"Wow… that looks painful."
Anna murmured something off-topic. But her tone wasn't sympathetic. Was it because that man had treated her so horribly? While Franz was pondering this, Ritz and Lef were already on the move.
"The rest are all small fry. Lef!"
"Yes, sir."
"Let's clean this up quickly."
"Understood."
Ritz began to take out the enemies swarming toward him one after another. For a moment, the men tried to flee, but when they realized there was nowhere to run, they attacked out of desperation.
But they were just men hired for digging holes and carrying luggage; they were no match for the battle-hardened Ritz and Lef.
Every enemy within reach of the greatsword was met with a powerful blow and collapsed to the floor, and a trail of unconscious bodies lay in Lef's wake. Within a matter of minutes, there wasn't a single enemy left standing. Only the groaning bodies of twenty men littered the floor.
"That was almost unsatisfying."
Ritz's murmur, spoken with enough composure to tap his own shoulder with his greatsword, was only natural. After all, he had just recently been fighting an inhuman monster.
"That wasn't even a warm-up."
The men who were told they weren't even a warm-up were now tied up in a line, their heads hanging low.
"…So, is this case closed, for now?"
Anna asked as she looked around at the assembled people. Franz, who had no idea how Anna and Ritz had gotten here, couldn't answer.
It was Ritz who answered Anna's question. He sheathed his greatsword on his back and stretched widely.
"Not 'for now.' This case is well and truly closed."
At those words, Franz let out a long sigh. He didn't really get it, but it seemed to be over.
"Then I shall go call the Military Police. Lef, I leave the guarding of the criminals to you."
Gerald said, prompting Greig.
"Come, let's go, Greig."
"But Father!"
Greig looked around at everyone, then turned a pleading gaze to Franz. Franz silently shrugged. He didn't understand the situation, so it was probably best to leave it to someone who seemed to.
Realizing that no one was going to stop him, Greig sighed as if in resignation. Gerald smiled gently at him.
"Having you around causes a lot of trouble. We'll say Franz came here with Ritz via a different route, so he won't be punished."
Franz was relieved to hear that. The possibility of being tied up along with the thieves and hauled away by the Military Police was gone. Greig, who had apparently been worried about that as well, looked at Franz and winked.
Honestly, he does things at his own pace, no matter what.
As Gerald dragged Greig away to call the Military Police, Lef led the men out of the room. He would apparently stand guard over them there until the Military Police arrived.
Only Ritz, Anna, Edward, and himself were left in the room.
It was a strange feeling. The four of them, who had been stuck seeing each other's faces more than they'd liked on the way to the Royal Capital, were now sitting together in one place for the first time in what felt like a very long while.
As if they all noticed it, a warm, pleasant atmosphere settled over them. Perhaps because of it, Anna offered a soft, gentle smile.
"I'm hungry. And sleepy. I want to go home, it's been a while."
As Anna murmured this, Ritz pulled over a nearby chair, gently placed a hand on her shoulder, and sat her down.
"We can go home once the Military Police arrive."
His tone was gentle. It seemed Anna had been through a lot, and Ritz was very concerned about it.
Looking closely, Anna did seem quite exhausted. Normally she would insist she was fine, but she sat down meekly as Ritz prompted her.
This incident may be closed. But Franz still had something he needed to tell them. Here in this place, with the documents available, and right now.
Conveniently, only people he could trust were present.
Franz took a deep breath.