episode_0320

“My guest??”

Not in Pangeana or Bahad, but for his guest to come find him in Helios,

Eugene Schneider’s expression turned quizzical at the unexpected situation, and he responded to David.

“He was wearing a tattered monastic robe and presented the insignia of the Imperial Knights. He said he had a connection with Great Swordsman Eugene and asked me to deliver it. This is the insignia.”

Swoosh!

David then handed Eugene the Imperial Knights insignia he had received from the mysterious guest.

‘Imperial Knights…?’

Thud…!

With a quizzical expression, Eugene Schneider took the Imperial Knights insignia handed over by David into his hand,

‘This is!!!’

His eyes immediately flashed open.

It was definitely a familiar Imperial Knights insignia to him.

“Given the situation, he is in the Guard’s security room, Great Swordsman Eugene.”

“I see.”

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Eugene immediately headed to the Guard’s security room to meet his guest who was said to have appeared in a tattered monastic robe.

With Vivian as the official emperor, Antoine’s shocking appearance occurred.

As a result, the Guard has strengthened the internal security of the imperial family far more than before.

Also, in a situation where the boundary between the enemy and the ally of the Imperial Knights is unclear,

Even though he presented the Imperial Knights insignia, the existence of the monastic robe was thoroughly restricted.

“You told Sir David that I was your guest?”

Soon, Eugene Schneider arrived at the security room and immediately spoke to the mysterious figure sitting in the seat, completely covering his face with the hood of the monastic robe.

Swooooosh…!

The mysterious figure slowly raised his head and looked up at Eugene Schneider.

“!!!!!!”

Eugene Schneider’s expression changed rapidly,

“So it was you, Victoria!!!”

That’s right. The figure in the monastic robe was Saber Victoria, who had received the Sophist subjugation quest from him just before Antoine’s coup.

“Yes, I am Victoria, Sir Eugene Schneider. Long time no see.”

Thud…!

As Eugene showed a delighted reaction, Victoria took off her hood and stood up from her seat.

“I wondered if it was the insignia from the previous special quest!”

The Imperial Knights insignia that Victoria gave to Eugene through David was a quest team selection insignia that the two had performed together in the past.

Eugene greeted Victoria, whom he had reunited with after several months, with an excited expression.

“As you know, the Imperial Knights are scattered. I thought there would be a high possibility of problems if I recklessly exposed my identity. So, I sent that special insignia through the vice commander of the Guard.”

On the other hand, Victoria explained her situation to him in a calm expression and tone.

The fact that Antoine, the absolute leader of the Imperial Knights, caused a coup and joined Tyrannos had huge repercussions.

And the Imperial Knights would be the ones most directly hit by the aftermath.

A considerable number joined Antoine, some returned to the imperial family, and Imperial Knights parts in ambiguous positions went into hiding.

In the case of the Helios Imperial Knights Arena, many people had joined Antoine, so Victoria could not show the Imperial Knights insignia mixed with the symbol representing the Arena.

“You did well! I was very worried about you, Victoria. I thought someone as upright as you would be in the most danger in the event of a coup.”

Eugene Schneider could not hide his delight and relief that Victoria was safe.

In fact, he had been constantly worried about her whereabouts ever since.

“Thank you, Eugene. To think you were so worried about me.”

Smile…!

It was Eugene Schneider’s warmth that made even Victoria, who had been indifferent and in shabby clothes, smile.

“Ah… I see. You were on a secret quest separately when the coup was taking place.”

Afterwards, Victoria began to tell Eugene Schneider about what had happened to her in the meantime.

‘I’ve been very puzzled that there has been no movement of the Sophists so far, but rather Antoine got rid of them… Why?’

Eugene Schneider, who had been nodding slowly at Victoria’s words, tilted his head slightly.

Although he had not heard it separately from Victoria, Antoine seemed to have had secret communication with Tyrannos for a very long time, judging from the fact that Antoine had joined Tyrannos.

In that case, the Sophists, who are acting as Tyrannos’ right-hand men, would naturally be Antoine’s allies,

The fact that he entrusted the quest to eliminate them to Victoria, who is the most reliable card in performing the mission, does not make sense.

“The new Imperial Guard is also constantly watching and investigating the movements of Tyrannos and the Sophists. But the appearance of the Sophists is not being observed. Is it due to Victoria’s quest?”

Eugene directly asked Victoria what he was speculating in his head.

“It is difficult to say that the quest was completely successful, but it is true that I achieved results enough to tie up the Sophists’ feet. Most of the Sophists are currently in hiding, so I am confident that they will not hold a knife to the empire for the time being.”

“Oh… that’s a relief. I was racking my brains because the number of enemies was increasing so much.”

Victoria did not explain the very detailed aspects of the quest she performed.

She only told him the extent of the impact her results would have in a roundabout way,

However, Eugene, who had a high level of trust in Victoria, showed a reaction that even her explanation was sufficient.

“The rumors circulating among the imperial citizens were true. The Demon King has descended, and even a hero has descended…”

Eugene Schneider, who had heard about the situation Victoria had been through, now told Victoria about what he had experienced and what was happening in the imperial family and the empire.

Victoria’s situation for about 10 days, during which she was almost completely cut off from the outside world,

A Demon King appeared in the world, and even the Goddess’s hero appeared to subdue the Demon King.

Victoria let out a soft exclamation as she experienced all of this.

“And currently, we are presuming that the hero is Grand Duke Antoine. In fact, our country and the imperial family have turned it into a conviction, not a presumption. We are only saying it is a presumption officially because we have not seen the Holy Sword directly.”

“Ah…”

Eugene even told her that the identity of the hero was Antoine.

‘Huh? I know Victoria has an amazing mental fortitude, but she’s not as surprised as I thought?’

Victoria’s exclamations continued, but Eugene Schneider was rather puzzled.

Victoria would have become accustomed to the fact that Antoine’s coup had been going on for 10 days and experiencing the situation,

But the change to a hero is usually a shocking piece of information like a bolt from the blue.

However, Victoria’s reaction was far below that level,

Eugene was puzzled even considering the stone Buddha mindset of Victoria that he knew.

‘I heard from Laon Zenna that Grand Duke Antoine was going to become a hero, but to actually accomplish it… Things are really getting complicated.’

But that’s understandable. Victoria heard from Laon Zenna that Antoine was trying to kill the Demon King and summon the goddess.

And she was also aware through numerous ancient books that the Holy Sword of the hero was what could make that possible.

However, Victoria was surprised that it happened sooner than she thought.

“Do you think my reaction is not good enough, Great Swordsman Eugene?”

The quick-witted Victoria recognized the puzzlement from Eugene, even though he was trying to manage his expression.

Therefore, she immediately showed a reaction accordingly.

“Yes. I am very puzzled. I was trying to figure out how to explain this and I’ve been racking my brain since a while ago, but you accepted it so easily.”

Eugene Schneider, who did not need to hide his curiosity, scratched his head slightly and confessed.

“I had various complicated things happen while living in seclusion for about 10 days. Of course, I have no intention of hiding it from my colleague, Great Swordsman Eugene, but I don’t think it’s time to tell you yet.”

Then, Victoria did not bother to hide the fact that there was a background for her to show such a reaction.

However, she asked for his understanding to wait for a while as the situation was so chaotic.

‘Hmm… Is it related to the Sophists? Could she have obtained unusual information while subjugating them?’

Eugene guessed that the Sophists’ hiding was greatly related to Victoria’s quest success.

In that case, not only the quest but also additional situations must have occurred,

Eugene Schneider thought that Victoria had acquired information of high purity no less than his own.

“Oh oh oh…!!! This is such a fortunate thing!!”

Afterwards, Eugene Schneider informed Emperor Vivian of Victoria’s return and had her appear before her.

Vivian, who heard Eugene’s report and then met Victoria in person, was greatly pleased and welcomed Victoria.

“Imperial Knight Saber Victoria greets His Majesty the Emperor.”

Thud!

It was Vivian who was sitting on the throne and came down from the platform barefoot, and Victoria paid her respects to such Vivian.

“Whenever I corresponded with Constantine, I was worried because my thoughts reached him. Have you not yet told Father the news?”

“Yes, I am planning to inform him now that I have returned, Your Majesty.”

Because the Pierre family has a considerable connection with the Bayern family, Vivian was also concerned about the whereabouts of Victoria, the daughter of Constantine von Bayern.

Also, Vivian and Victoria had a private relationship when Victoria was wandering around.

If she was not just an emperor, she would have actively searched for her,

However, Vivian is happy that she appeared so fortunately.

“Thanks to Victoria, Your Majesty seems to have gotten rid of one more big concern. I was deeply worried because it was difficult to create a center of gravity for the remaining Imperial Knights.”

After finishing her audience with the Emperor, Eugene walked with Victoria to her residence in the Imperial Palace, where she would be staying for the time being.

“I will do my best. I hope that Great Swordsman Eugene, who has risen to a high position directly under the imperial family, will also help me a lot.”

“Hahaha! A high position! It’s just a position with a heavy burden, hahaha!”

Most of the heads of the Imperial Knights and the Imperial Army followed Antoine.

Therefore, although the troops were somewhat equipped, Vivian was deeply troubled because there was no head to command the troops in an orderly manner.

She intends to entrust that role to Victoria.

“Honestly, Grand Duke Antoine, whom I faced directly, was too powerful. Even more so now that he has become a hero. I confidently told the Emperor to trust me, but I can’t see an answer.”

Eugene became the Imperial Great Swordsman who received the Imperial title directly from the Emperor.

It means that as the Emperor’s direct subordinate, he must deal with demons and monsters, and even fallen heroes,

However, Eugene is troubled because he has no clue internally compared to the confidence he showed outwardly.

‘At some point, the seed of the Dark Great Swordsman seemed to react, but it has been quiet lately… Damn it, how am I supposed to wake this up…’

The reason is that the seed of the Dark Great Swordsman that he believed in has made no further progress.

“Don’t worry, Great Swordsman Eugene. Great Swordsman Eugene will surpass Grand Duke Antoine.”

To such Eugene, Victoria, who is so rational, made an unexpected remark of conviction.