Episode 30: The Majesty of the King

——So slow.

Naturally, the attacks from Narcian and his group were incomparably sluggish compared to the S-rank subjugation target, the twin-headed flame-poison dragon Curse Fafnir, or Celestina, one of the “Seven Calamities.”

Dodging the attacks of the kingdom knights felt like sidestepping a snail’s charge. It would be effortless to crush them. Killing them all wouldn’t even take a second.

But that would be pointless. The key was how to make these men shine as “small-fry villains.”

“Hey! Don’t look away!”

One of the knights swung his sword down. I caught the blade between my fingers, stopping it dead.

“Wha…!”

The knight tried to pull his sword back, but his full strength was no match for the light grip of my two fingers. The blade didn’t budge.

“L-Let go! This sword is the pride of a knight…!”

“The pride of a knight, huh…”

I applied just a touch more force to my fingertips. The next moment, the sword shattered into pieces with a sharp crack.

“Nooo! M-My sword!”

“Quite a fragile pride.”

“Die!”

Knights charged from both sides, thrusting their swords at me in unison. I waited until the last possible moment… then stepped back lightly. Unable to stop their momentum, the two knights ended up stabbing each other’s shoulders with their own blades.

“Gah! W-What the hell are you doing?!”

“Y-You’re the one—! Ggh… Damn, it hurts…!”

Watching the two self-destruct, I couldn’t help but let a smile slip.

“Friendly fire due to a coordination blunder—quite the spectacle for small-fry villains. Just witnessing this scene makes coming here worthwhile.”

It’s a classic action movie trope, but the live performance of small-fry villains turning on each other had an unmatched sense of realism.

“Don’t get cocky just ’cause you took those guys down!”

Narcian struck a pose, channeling magic into his sword.

“You’ll regret making me seriously mad! Fall to hell with a dive! Purge Amajiraida Yezzit, the Splendid Amaryllis Strike!”

Petals of an amaryllis pattern shimmered on Narcian’s sword, imbued with magic. But as he swung it down… I snapped it in half with a hand chop. With a satisfying snap, the broken blade’s tip flew through the air.

“No! My favorite ultimate technique!”

I slammed my fist into Narcian’s pale face. His front teeth broke off, soaring through the air as if chasing the sword’s broken tip.

“Hagh!”

Narcian went flying.

“A marvelous technique.”

I clapped my hands, praising Narcian.

“For the blade to only shimmer with a floral pattern, with no actual effect—its sheer mediocrity screams third-rate villain. Truly splendid.”

I slowly advanced toward the sprawled Narcian.

“Hii… W-Wait! Y-You guys! Protect me! Take him down!”

Narcian desperately barked orders, but the knights had completely lost their will to fight. They started out bold, but their spirits crumbled the moment they saw the gap in strength. This, too, was a classic trait of small-fry villains, and I found it oddly endearing.

“You lot are truly magnificent. Let me reward you.”

I leisurely walked through the knights. Each time, I unleashed punches and kicks at blinding speed. Pathetic cries like “Hagh!” and “Hegh!” rang out as the knights fainted one by one.

“Hii… Hiii…!”

Only Narcian remained.

“Y-You! D-Do you think you’ll get away with this?!”

Narcian groaned, his teeth chattering in terror.

“M-My old man’s seriously bad news! He’s a platoon leader in the kingdom’s knight order!”

“Oh… That’s surprising.”

“H-Heh, scared now, huh?! If you get it, then hurry up and bow your—”

“To think you’d hide behind your father’s authority at your age. And to top it off, the best you can muster is a platoon leader—a middling position at best. That’s truly astonishing.”

I let out a soft chuckle.

“But that’s exactly why… it’s a fitting line for a third-rate villain.”

I took another step closer to Narcian.

“Hii! Hiiiiii!”

That’s when it happened.

“W-What’s going on?!”

From behind Narcian, at the corner of the alley, a group of lightly armed soldiers appeared. About ten of them.

Likely, someone nearby had heard the commotion and called the city guards.

“Tch… This is…!”

The soldiers gaped in shock at the sight of the fallen kingdom knights.

“Hii… Hahaha…! The tables have turned…!”

Narcian crawled toward the soldiers, pointing at me.

“Hey! City guards! That guy attacked me, a kingdom knight! Hurry up and arrest him! N-No, wait! Some of you, go get reinforcements! This guy’s seriously dangerous! Gather every bit of manpower you can! If arresting him is too tough, just kill him! No, screw it, just kill him now! Kill him!”

At Narcian’s command, the soldiers began to move. But then, a voice rang out.

“P-Please, wait! That man saved me!”

The voice belonged to the woman Narcian had been harassing earlier.

“Hey, woman! Shut it! Say anything stupid, and you’ll be guilty too!”

Narcian shouted at her. She flinched for a moment but then, with resolve, shouted back.

“The one who acted lawlessly first was that kingdom knight, Narcian! This man… he’s not at fault!”

The woman pleaded, her eyes fixed on me.

Well, saying “he’s not at fault” is a bit off since I am a villain… Still, I smirked inwardly. This was the perfect stage to highlight Narcian’s third-rate villainy.

“Ignore that woman’s nonsense! Stop dawdling and kill that guy already!”

“B-But…”

The city guards’ faces showed clear hesitation. They likely sensed the woman’s words rang truer than Narcian’s.

They’d probably witnessed Narcian and his ilk’s tyranny firsthand. But no one had been able to stand up to them, cowed by the authority of the kingdom knights.

“I’m a kingdom knight! A knight of His Majesty the King! If you can’t follow my orders, you’re guilty of treason! Got that?! You want to be hanged for treason?! If you don’t want that, then hurry up and—”

“I see… His Majesty the King, is it…”

I murmured and snapped my fingers. My coat was enveloped in a black mist, and in the next instant, my attire transformed into noble garb.

“W-What… A noble’s crest…?”

“A noble, then…?”

The city guards noticed the crest on my clothing and raised their voices.

“T-The Kreving earldom…?”

It was none other than Narcian who uttered the name. As a kingdom knight, he must have some knowledge of noble crests.

“Exactly. I am Siegfried von Kreving, head of the Kreving family.”

“Wha…!”

Narcian gasped. Yet, he still shouted in defiance.

“S-So what if you’re an earl?! M-My family’s got senior knights in the kingdom! W-We’ve got ties with nobles! With their backing, an earl’s nothing! A-And this is the king’s direct territory! Even a noble can’t just do whatever they want…!”

His reaction was exactly as expected, and I couldn’t hide my grin.

From the inner pocket of my noble attire, I produced a single letter. I flashed the crest engraved on its surface at Narcian.

Narcian, who had been trying to stand, collapsed back onto the ground.

“T-The laurel crest…! T-The king’s letter…!”

“Correct.”

I stepped forward with calm confidence.

“As a kingdom knight, you should know this crest is genuine.”

“W-Why do you have the king’s letter…?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I was summoned directly by the king. Now… if you kill me here, wouldn’t you be the one charged with treason, Narcian?”

“W-What?! H-How does that—?! I-I’m…!”

“Think about it. I’m on my way to the capital. I happened to come across you acting tyrannically and stepped in to intervene, only to be attacked. In other words, you obstructed me while I was carrying out a direct order from the king. Of course, you could claim you had ‘just cause.’ But… the kingdom’s interrogations aren’t exactly lenient, are they?”

I continued in a soft, whispering tone, leaning toward Narcian.

“After all, a noble being killed on the way to an audience with the king would be a major incident. You said your father’s a platoon leader in the knight order, didn’t you? Do you really think that level of influence could hush up a scandal like this?”