Ch.245245. You Should Assert Yourself to Those Who Will Listen.

“I’ve heard everything from Baltazar. Now, hand over Saint Claudia.”

The man sitting across from me made his silver armor gleam brilliantly.

Lionel.

He was a character who turned villainous in the original novel and someone I never wanted to encounter, but when he opened the door of the inn, he looked like a savior.

At least he was far better than dealing with either the Etherian Princess or the Siren Princess in this situation.

I straightened my posture before speaking.

“Is Saint Claudia an object?”

“W-what did you say?”

“Well, you said to hand her over, so I’m asking if she’s an object.”

As I answered glibly, the lightning-shaped scar above Lionel’s left eyebrow twisted grotesquely.

“Lord Selden Alphonse, are you playing word games with me?”

“When did I ever play word games?”

“Not only did you kidnap Saint Claudia, but now you’re trying to provoke me?”

“…Provoke you? Am I supposed to try to impress a Holy Knight?”

Lionel blinked in confusion.

That makes sense.

In the Lukius territory, Holy Knights are revered by the people just like the Saints.

Lionel took several deep breaths, seemingly trying to hide his distorted expression.

“Huff… Please return Saint Claudia.”

“‘Hand over’ or ‘return’—they sound like similar expressions to me.”

“…Lord Selden Alphonse, won’t you regret this?”

“What do I have to regret? I merely escorted Saint Claudia to the Lumestia territory by His Majesty the Emperor’s orders.”

At the words “His Majesty the Emperor,” Lionel and the Holy Knights behind him visibly flinched.

Ignoring their reaction, I continued.

“If you want Saint Claudia to return to the temple, you should have gone to the Imperial Palace, not to me.”

“The Imperial Palace won’t even open their doors to us.”

“Hmm, I wonder why?”

“I believe Lord Selden Alphonse knows the reason quite well.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I felt like I needed to vent the stress I’d received from the imperial people on Lionel.

It was quite refreshing, actually.

Though Lionel didn’t seem to feel the same way.

BANG-!

Lionel slammed his palm hard on the table.

“Did you kidnap our Saint Claudia and sell her to the Imperial Palace, Lord Selden Alphonse?”

“As I’ve been saying, Saint Claudia isn’t an object, so how could I sell her? You keep treating her like property.”

“…Then why won’t you return her to us? The temple is desperately searching for Saint Claudia.”

I sighed briefly and pointed my finger at Baltazar, who was standing awkwardly among the Holy Knights.

“As Baltazar over there can tell you, this matter is already out of my hands.”

“I’ve already spoken with Baltazar. And his punishment will be handled separately by the temple.”

“…What? Why would Baltazar be punished?”

“Because he failed to properly attend to Saint Claudia. That’s a clear offense for Holy Knights.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at such an absurd statement.

“How exactly did he fail to properly attend to Saint Claudia?”

“You know best, Lord Selden Alphonse. Despite her being kidnapped, he took no action.”

“Isn’t that obvious? Should he have blocked the way when His Majesty the Emperor was critically ill?”

“A Holy Knight should do exactly that! The safety of the Saint takes priority over even His Majesty the Emperor!”

“Is that so? Then I suppose you’re not concerned about the other Saints at the temple?”

“…What do you mean?”

I crossed my arms firmly and looked around deliberately.

The inn room was filled with Holy Knights, visible at a glance.

Not only that, there were so many people that I could hear their presence even outside the inn.

“Are all these Holy Knights waiting just for Saint Claudia? Even though her safety is already secured?”

“We’re standing by in case of any unforeseen circumstances.”

“Then who’s protecting the Saints at the temple?”

“…The temple is safe.”

“So the temple doesn’t face any unforeseen circumstances?”

“Lord Selden Alphonse, do you know much about the temple?”

“Does Sir Lionel know much about the Imperial Palace?”

The atmosphere grew heavier.

Blinded by his devotion to Saint Claudia, he had brought all these people using his authority as the Holy Knight Commander.

It was obvious even without seeing it.

This had happened several times in the original novel too.

Besides.

He should pick his verbal battles more carefully.

Trying to argue with someone who already knows everything about him from head to toe and has prepared accordingly?

He’s at least ten years too early for that.

Lionel’s eyebrows twitched several times before he spoke.

“Anyway, Baltazar belongs to the temple, so we’ll handle him ourselves.”

“Yes, and similarly, since Saint Claudia belongs to the Eastern Continent, the Imperial Palace will handle her.”

“Ha! Are you an imperial person?”

“Ah, I misspoke? Let me correct myself. Since Saint Claudia belongs to the Eastern Continent, the Imperial Palace will handle her.”

“…Are you being so cocky because you trust His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Come on, haven’t you heard of Selden Alphonse? The first person in the Eastern Continent to stop a monster wave?”

I shrugged my shoulders, and Lionel clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“A ruffian from the edge of the Eastern Continent who set up one measly defense formation to stop a monster wave is getting too full of himself.”

“I see you’ve investigated me.”

“Of course I did. You kidnapped our Saint from Lukius territory—why wouldn’t I investigate you?”

“Then you must know that the defense formation you just belittled is installed in Lukius territory?”

“We only built it because the Imperial Palace kept insisting on defense formations.”

“I’m sure that’s the case. After all, Lukius territory belongs to the Eastern Continent under His Majesty the Emperor, right? And here I thought you were from another continent, given how you disregard the Imperial Palace.”

Lionel’s fingers trembled with rage.

Why does he keep engaging in arguments he can’t win?

Doesn’t he learn from getting verbally thrashed like this?

Well, I suppose that’s why he eventually showed such obsessive madness toward Saint Claudia and got killed by Serion Lycus.

Lionel remained silent.

I leaned back in my chair comfortably and turned my gaze toward the Holy Knights.

“My goodness, whoever leads these Holy Knights has a tough road ahead. You were so focused on one Saint Claudia that you didn’t even think about the safety of the other Saints?”

To be honest, I had wanted to avoid meeting Lionel as much as possible.

Getting entangled with him would obviously lead to complications.

However, now that we’d met unexpectedly, I felt anger rising within me.

Lionel.

How many times had the story turned into a mess because of this bastard?

The readers complained so much that the author eventually made the character turn evil and killed him off.

How bad must it have been for that to happen?

Now that I’m seeing him in person, memories of the past are making my blood boil…

Even though I had resolved not to get involved, every time he spoke, I felt the urge to respond with twice the force.

“…Selden Alphonse.”

“Yes? When did we become friends without my knowledge?”

“Do you truly wish to die?”

“Me? Or perhaps… His Majesty the Emperor?”

The murmuring began.

While the Holy Knights officially belonged to the temple, strictly speaking, the temple itself was within the Eastern Continent.

Even if the Imperial Palace hadn’t interfered much until now, they couldn’t treat His Majesty the Emperor carelessly.

“I-I’m asking if you want to die.”

“Since you asked so politely, I should answer. I’d like to live a long life, actually.”

Judging by Lionel’s expression, he seemed ready to explode if provoked just a little more.

Should I lighten Serion Lycus’s burden a bit while I’m at it?

After all, this guy’s involvement in the story would only cause trouble for the protagonist and his companions.

After another provocation, Lionel trembled before putting on a detestable smile.

“So you’re acting this way because you believe in His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Do I need to drag His Majesty into dealing with you?”

“How dare you speak informally to me…”

“My, how selfish! You can do it, but I can’t? Who do you think you are? The Holy Knight Commander?”

The atmosphere grew even heavier.

Lionel emanated a dark, murderous intent.

“If you die here, His Majesty the Emperor wouldn’t even know.”

At this, Jawill Wilson beside me flinched, seemingly agitated.

I showed him my palm, signaling him to calm down, and looked back at Lionel.

“So what’s your point?”

Lionel stood up and took a deep breath.

Then, with a different, more determined look in his eyes, he spoke.

“Holy Knight Lionel challenges Selden Alphonse to a duel.”

I also stood up, dusting off my backside.

In the distance, among the Holy Knights, Baltazar was watching with worried eyes.

I winked at him reassuringly and twitched the corner of my mouth.

“Winner gets a wish granted?”