Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

Inside the single room of the same inn in Archen, Princes Carenas was walking up and down the room, fueled with rage. He was waiting for a report on the success of the assasination, when the door opened.

“Zentos, what the hell happ…Gah!?” Prince Carenas was punched, and flew through the air before he could finish his sentence.

The one who delivered this punch was Kyle, who had stormed inside the room. Behind Kyle came the female knights of the 5th Imperial Knight Corps. And even further behind them stood Princess Milena.

After Kyle’s battle with Zentos ended, his group met up with the 5th Knight Corps, and headed to Archen together. Following that, Princess Milena gave the orders to storm this inn. They confined the rest of the 2nd Knight Corps’ knights, and made it to the prince’s room.

“Kirlen, search through this room right away. We might find some proof against my older brother!”

“Understood!” 5th Imperial Knight Corps captain Kirlen responded to Princess Milena’s orders.

She was a beauty with a large stature, but her sharp gaze scared off anybody who would try to get too close.

“Tie up Prince Carenas as well. We’ll be returning to the royal capital Malad soon, so we’ll take him with us, and question him. We shall have him offer testimony in front of my father.”

“Very well…But, will he talk, I wonder?” Naturally, Kirlen knew the prince fairly well.

He wouldn’t speak honestly just because he was cornered. He would most likely avoid any responsibility, and plead his innocence.

“I don’t mind if we have to use more aggressive measures. And if he doesn’t speak…Make him confess instead.”

“…Understood.” Kirlen lowered her head, and moved away in order to hand out orders to her subordinates.

Princess Milena let out a sigh, and approached Kyle, who sat down on the ground after previously hammering his fist into Carenas’ face.

“I hope we can move together for this, Kyle-sama.”

“Yes…And, thank you for going along with my selfishness.” Kyle stood up, and lowered his head towards Princess Milena, who granted his wish of being the one to punch Prince Carenas in the face.

“No, my gratitude for your assistance is much greater…I’m sure you must have been exhausted, but this is the end. Once we return to the royal capital, I will thank you properly.” Princess Milena lowered her head as well.

With this, the planned assassination of Princess Milena ended in failure, exactly as Kyle had hoped.

***

At the royal capital of the Kingdom of Zilgus stood the large, chalk-colored palace, able to be seen from all across the capital, the symbol of Zilgus. Deep inside of this palace was a guest room the royal family would use for visitors, and this is where Kyle’s group was waiting. Although it was a guest room, it was much more luxurious than you would expect, as even the king greeted guests there. The inside was brilliant and gorgeous, which is why Lieze couldn’t quite calm down, even as she sat on the sofa. Yet, Seran was even trying to hit on the court ladies, so he was pretty much the same.

As for Urza, she had a sour expression on her face, clearly feeling off to be inside a human palace like this, and Shildonia asked for more sweets to stuff down her stomach. Princess Milena observed this, and took a sip of tea as she smiled gently.

“You needn’t be so tense, you are all our precious guests.”

“I’m sorry that they’re all like this…” Kyle apologized in their stead.

After waiting for a moment, the door to the room was opened by the maids, and a man in the prime of his life, wearing a mantle with the symbol of the Zilgus royal family, a lion. It was the current king of Zilgus, King Remonas.

“Ohh, Milena, so you are safe!”

Right upon entering the room, King Remonas walked towards the princess, embracing her.

“Yes, Father.”

“When I heard the news, I was truly terrified…” After celebrating the safe return of his daughter, King Remonas’ facial expression tightened up. “So, is what I was told really true?”

“Yes, the ones aiming for my life were Zentos and my dear older brother Carenas, who is currently locked up. We are currently trying to receive testimony.”

“I see…” King Remonas looked up at the ceiling with a bitter face.

If you were accused with such a crime, your only punishment would be death penalty, and the one who has to give this order was none other than the king.

“Dear Father…My dear brother has been injured during a magical beast’s attack, so I advise him to take some rest.”

The king must have guessed what the princess was trying to say, as he looked at her in shock.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, that will most likely benefit the Kingdom of Zilgus the most.”

In other words, Princess Milena was saying that the world doesn’t need to know of this being a plot, and would much rather keep it as an accident.

“…Alright, that does sound much better. I will send Carenas to Kuritim.”

Kuritim is a small town to the north of Zilgus, surrounded by mountains, something like a summer retreat location for the royal family. There, the prince will most likely stay until he recovers from his injury, and be imprisoned…until the day he dies.

“I…I should probably not meet him. I wouldn’t know what to say to that stupid son of mine…” King Remonas sighed. “However, what I cannot believe is that Zentos would assist him in such a way.”

“Yes, I cannot comprehend it either. Why would he do such a thing…”

“Possibly a plot from a hostile country…Or the influence of the demons, which I would rather not think about. The best we can do is wait for the testimony.”

“Yes, let’s.”

There, King Remonas turned towards Kyle and his group for the first time.

“Are you the travellers who saved Milena?”

“Yes.” Kyle took a knee on the ground, and the others followed suit, but the King raised his hand.

“It is fine, you are the saviours of my daughter, and this isn’t a public location. Let me give you my gratitude as a single father.”

“Your words are wasted on me…” Kyle lowered his head, and gave a response.

“As you’ve heard just now, we plan on making this public as an attack of a magical beast. I won’t allow any objections, I hope you understand?”

“Of course, we won’t have any objections for a prosperous future of our beloved Kingdom of Zilgus.”

“No need to worry, dear Father, I have seen their true colors when they saved me. We can trust them.” Princess Milena reassured her father.

“I see, if you say that, then I shall trust your words…I will grant you the reward you were promised.” With these words, King Remonas left the room.

—A great horde of magical beasts, including even a hydra that could win against a low-ranking dragon, assaulted Princess Milena and Prince Carenas on their way to visit Village Sanes, and created a large number of casualties. Starting with the knight corps captain Zentos, over half of the 2nd Imperial Knight Corps died, with Prince Carenas suffering a severe injury, currently recovering from this. As a blessing in disguise, a group of travellers happened to pass by, and managed to protect Princess Milena—

This was the official notice revealed to the public, and only a small group of people knew of the truth behind that. Naturally, as a result of this announcement, Kyle and his group’s names spread like a wildfire. Normally, they could have asked for a pricey compensation or the rank of a knight, but since they declined both of those, they instead received the Holy Randenaire Medal of Honor. This is the medal of honor of a famous Saint, which was the highest rank a normal person could achieve, and hasn’t been given to someone for the past ten years and more.

“Hey, this looks pretty good on me, right?”

A bit before the ritual where they would be given the medal of honor, Lieze showed a twirl in front of Kyle in the waiting room, showing off her dress. She wore a dress she borrowed especially for this occasion, colored with a faint pink. She had flower accessories in her hair, fitting her image quite well.

“Yeah, it looks great on you.” Kyle, who wore ritual clothing as well, responded with a smile.

This is what he felt from the bottom of his heart, because she was charming to a level he was entranced by her.

“Really? It’s not my thing, but it wouldn’t hurt once in a while.” Lieze must have understood how honest Kyle was, as she smiled at herself in the mirror.

Urza wore a light green dress, showing off a bit more skin than Lieze’s. She had her hair tied up, fully showing her long elf ears, as always beautiful enough to be turned into a painting.

“I really think I shouldn’t be here…” Urza said, a sour expression on her face, the exact opposite from Lieze.

Since Urza wasn’t a citizen of Zilgus, let alone a fellow human, there were a few problems with her receiving the medal of honor, but after Princess Milena strongly pressed on it, she was allowed to be here.

“And, I’m not used to dressing up like this…”

A bit ago, the maids following Princess Milena had Urza become something akin to a dress up doll, which is why her mood was a bit down in the dumps right now.

“I get that you might not be used to this, but at least try to smile a bit, okay?”

“Hm…L-Like this?” Urza forced out an awkward smile.

“Well, something like that.” Kyle couldn’t say any more than that.

Being armed was not an option for this gathering, so Shildonia sadly had to stay outside. Unable to attend the banquet after the ceremony, Shildonia seemed quite bothered, but she should have enough sweets to enjoy wherever she may be right now. With these thoughts in mind, Kyle was called out to by Seran, who wore a similar morning suit like him.

“Are you really sure about rejecting the rank of a knight?”

“Yeah, I don’t need it right now.”

More accurately, becoming a knight would only prove more troublesome. Surely, Kyle would have gained certain benefits by becoming a knight, but at the same time he would have the responsibility and order to serve the kingdom, and that would limit his options. Kyle’s goal didn’t just include the Kingdom of Zilgus. He had to sell his name in all the other countries and with the other races in this world. However, now that he received the medal of honor here in Zilgus, that was one job done.

“It looks wonderful on you, everyone.” Princess Milena entered the room.

She wore a white dress befitting this ceremony, emphasizing her status as [Pride of Zilgus] even further.

“If possible, I would have all kept you here as knights of Zilgus, but…” Princess Milena showed a wry smile. More importantly, only my own, she added inside her heart.

Kyle and the others knew of the scandal that occurred. If possible, she wanted to keep Kyle’s group on a collar near her so that they couldn’t blurt out anything unnecessary, not even mentioning their actual skill. On top of that, a few new spaces opened up in the rows of the Imperial Knights, so they would be welcomed with open arms. Especially Kyle, who managed to defeat Zentos in a one-on-one battle.

However, as they saved her life, she couldn’t forcefully keep them here, and she understood that they weren’t the group of people who would leak this sort of information. For now, she was happy to have gained this connection, so she wasn’t too hurt with Kyle’s group leaving.

“No, I’m not quite suited for that. Not to mention that we already received this reward and money.”

At the same time as they were awarded with a medal of honor, the king added a generous reward. Of course, money itself didn’t mean much to them, but if they rejected this now, they might seem a bit too suspicious.

“That’s right, I’m sure that Kyle-sama must have a lot of circumstances going on.”

“It’s not that big of a reason to call it that.”

“Is that so? But…” Princess Milena showed a teasing smile, looking up at Kyle. “When you were in Archen, the days before I was attacked, you were watching me from afar, right? And on that very day, you just so happened to run into us needing help, and saved us at such perfect timing, right? That does feel a bit odd, if you ask me.” Princess Milena smiled. “Of course, I already confirmed that you never went to Sanes in the first place.”

“Ah, um…” Kyle was unsure of what to say.

Seeing that, the princess let out a childish snicker.

“I’m satisfied with watching that expression for now. But, tell me about it once you’ve fulfilled your plans.” She continued. “I will see you at the ceremony.” Princess Milena left behind these words, and left.

“I feel like she gave me a harsh warning there…” Kyle rubbed his chest, feeling a bit exhausted from that conversation alone.

When the giant double-doors opened, they ended up in the audience room. Every single marble pillar was equipped with small and detailed engravings, the walls filled with tapestry showing legendary anecdotes or founding stories of the Kingdom of Zilgus, the history of the royal family. Hanging down from the ceiling were flags of the various nobles and knights it was famous for. A long red carpet reached from the door all the way to the throne. Of course, King Remonas was already present on his throne, with Princess Milena sitting next to him.

At the same time, the audience room was already filled with the court mages and ministers, the ones with power in this kingdom, as well as all sorts of nobles that you could barely see the red carpet. If Kyle’s group were to be appointed as royals or knights, their reactions may have been a bit different, but since they merely received the medal of honor, namely credit and prestige, these nobles showed them positive reactions. There, King Remonas stood in front of Kyle, who remembered the procedure he was taught a few minutes before.

“Thanks to the actions of a dear citizen of the Kingdom of Zilgus, Kyle Lenard, Princess Milena had been saved from her dire predicament, thus I grant you the Holy Randenaire Medal of Honor.”

“…I humbly accept this honor.”

King Remonas put the medal of honor, with the design of a lily flower, around Kyle’s neck. Seeing this, Princess Milena delivered an applause, and this soon after involved the entire audience.

Years later, this was known as the birth of the Great Hero Kyle Lenard, who would possess many aliases, such as ‘The Hope of Human Folk’, ‘The One Who Ruled Sword and Magic’ and the ‘Lascivious Hero’. From that moment onwards, Kyle’s new saga as a hero began.