Why had he pulled a stunt like that?
He replied that he had simply felt something strange in that room. He hoped it was just his imagination. And in any case, she had been a great help.
Charlotte was sitting in the carriage with them, and she smiled and said there was no need for thanks. On the contrary, they should be apologizing for the way they had treated the kingdom's hero. She bowed to him, and Cedo asked what she was saying. It was not like that at all.
Charlotte asked permission to introduce herself properly. She was Charlotte, the second princess, and she hoped they would remain good friends.
"Of course," Cedo answered.
Argus asked why the prince had gone so far.
She said that the details of his plans were unknown, but her brother was very ambitious. Once he ascended the throne, he intended to wage war on other states to expand their lands. In such a future Cedo would become a hindrance. But he should not worry — she would not let him lay a finger on him again. By now Harden was probably already reporting today's events to their father. When their father limited his actions, it would not be so easy for him to plot against Cedo.
And Cedo began to think that this was not actually what was bothering him.
Charlotte added that besides, she had no intention of surrendering the crown to her brother. Would he trust her? Jin Cedo. She smiled.
"Yes," Cedo said. He trusted her.
"By the way," Argus asked, "where exactly are we going?"
Charlotte replied that he had saved this kingdom. So to summon such a man and not honour him with even the slightest reward would be simply terrible, wouldn't it? Besides, she had heard he was staying at an inn.
Cedo confirmed that he was.
They got out of the carriage, and Charlotte pointed off to the side and said that this was why she had prepared something for him. They stared ahead, stunned.
"Isn't that an entire palace?" Cedo asked.
Charlotte said that this villa had once belonged to a nobleman who had left the capital long ago. He could do with it as he wished.
Smiling, they went inside, and Cedo saw that the place looked quite luxurious. Was she certain he could accept such a luxurious gift?
Charlotte replied that of course he could. It used to belong to a count, but the estate had been empty for a long time.
"But what if the count comes back?" Cedo asked.
Charlotte smiled and told him to forget about it. It was nothing.
Still, an entire house was too much.
Argus said that this was how much they valued him. Come on. Let him come inside. This was his home now.
Cedo looked around and was very surprised. Charlotte was very glad that he liked her gift — but Cedo did not smile, and said that everything was clear to him now. Perhaps it was too spacious for one person. Even a bedroom of this size was too much.
Argus smiled and said that in that case he would send word for the two of them to keep an eye on the villa. They would probably be thrilled to be here.
Cedo asked whether he was sure everything would be all right.
Argus replied that he was already deeply in his debt, but if Cedo did not mind, he would like to ask him for a favour in return.
Cedo asked what kind of favour that might be.
Some time later, at the seventh division's private training ground, the knights were sparring. They fought with all their might to defeat one another, their swords clashing. A moment later Karina defeated her opponent and held a sword to his face until he yelled that he surrendered.
Ria clapped her hands and told her she had got stronger.
Karina replied that she still had a lot of growing to do. But she was thinking about how, during that incident, she had only been able to handle the smaller opponents. And him — Cedo — who the hell was he? She clutched her head in tension, unable to understand how a member of a lower race could do such a thing.
At that moment one of the knights shouted, "The captain!" — and then saw Princess Charlotte with him.
They came onto the field, and Argus told the knights to continue training at the same pace. Cedo looked around, and Karina realized it was this man, which made her very angry. What was he doing here?
At that moment Princess Charlotte was shown to a comfortable seat. She smiled and thanked them for it.
Cedo asked Argus what he wanted from him specifically.
He replied that he thought Cedo had already worked it out.
Did he really want him to train them?
Argus replied that he certainly did. He had seen it all for himself. Prince Tales was completely incomprehensible. And when it came to intrigue, Princess Charlotte was a rival for the throne, and one never knew what he would decide to do, or when. The only ones truly devoted to protecting Princess Charlotte were themselves, the warriors of the Seventh Division. They did not know when that time would come. So he wanted Cedo to help them become stronger before it did.
Cedo looked at them in silence. They have a good foundation, he thought. It's obvious they exhaust themselves with training every single day, and yet they lack any real strength.
He bowed his head, and it brought back memories. A hundred million years ago he had trained like a madman to become a first class agent and serve his homeland.
At that moment Argus stopped and shouted, "Everyone. Attention. Assembly."
To raise the level of their training, he said, they had invited a special mentor — the hero of their kingdom. He had asked him to teach them what they currently lacked. So let them listen carefully. Was everything clear?
"Yes, sir!" the knights shouted.
Training the diligent ones will be a pleasure, Cedo reflected, but I'll have to work harder with the rest. He also noticed the ones with disgruntled expressions, and said that first he wanted to test their endurance. For now they simply had to run laps around the perimeter of the training field.
Karina screamed out of anger. "What? We do that all the time." They could all use some extra stamina, but he had not come here to force them to do such boring things.
At that moment Ria shouted, "Karina, that's rude."
Argus was also surprised by her reaction and apologized, suggesting that they bend the rules a little.
"Rules?" Karina asked.
Cedo took off his cloak and walked over to her. He asked whether her weapon was a spear.
"Yes," she replied.
Then he took the spear and asked her to try to land at least one hit on him. There was no time limit. If she could touch him even once, she would not have to run.
Charlotte thought it was funny, and Cedo said that she clearly did not want to learn from someone weaker than herself, right?
Karina smiled and asked whether he could use a spear as well.
"No problem," he replied.
At that moment he tossed it into the air, spun it a few times and caught it with ease. Karina was dumbfounded by what she saw, and then furious.
Cedo said that there was no weapon he could not master. A hundred million years ago he had been training with a spear in his room.