Letto was so bewildered by Nova's words that he stared at him blankly and let out a, "Huh? King?" As fate would have it, Letto, once a bandit, had never imagined he'd one day become a knight. And now that he was a knight the same situation happened with not even the faintest shadow of the idea of becoming a king had ever crossed his mind, until now.

'There are people who would kill to be king, and this guy is staring at me as if I were air?' Nova thought, sighing inwardly. He tapped Letto lightly on the head and said, "Did you hear me? You should aim to be king now. No, in fact, you will be king soon."

When those words sank in again, Letto's mind finally confirmed he wasn't dreaming. Scrambling to his feet, he stuttered, "B-but how can I become a king? And even if I could, I don't think I'm fit to be one. When has there ever been a bandit who became a king in this world?"

Nova's gaze never left him as he slowly stood. With a sigh, he replied, "It's not unheard of for a bandit to become king, it can even be said to be quite common. I don't know about everywhere else, but what I do know is that every first king was once a bandit who had to make the citizens along with his defeated enemies bow down to him. Or do you think someone simply appointed the very first king at the start?"

Seeing that Letto was silent, seemingly lost in thought, Nova felt he needed to strike while the iron was hot and continued. "Don't you know the saying, 'the winner is king while the loser is a bandit'?"

Letto looked up at Nova and shook his head.

'I guess Earth is pretty original to come up with that,' Nova joked to himself before saying, "Anyway, once you become king, nobody will even remember your past as a bandit. From that point on, you'll go down in history as the king of Lotra. You'll be above everyone in the world."

The more he listened to those words, the more Letto's imagination ran wild. But when he heard the last sentence, he quietly said, "I'll still be under the Vireah Emperor and all the royalty from there…"

Nova's lips couldn't help but twitch. 'I can't tell him I'm going to hand over everything to him, or he might faint.' Coughing dryly, he said, "You don't have to worry about that. From what I've heard, the empire doesn't really meddle in the kingdoms' affairs. With that being said, what do you think about claiming the throne?"

Inside, he thought slyly, 'I'll make you king whether you like it or not but it's best if you do like it.'

Letto let out a long, deep breath and shook his head lightly. "I'm not too sure. I think being a king is still too much for me. It's only been a few days since I became a knight, and I already have a lot on my mind…" The more he spoke, the colder the room became, but he was too invested in his words to notice.

After finishing his list of worries, Letto glanced at Nova, who wore the same casual smile he usually had whenever he was plotting something. A bad feeling rose in Letto's heart.

"You know," Nova began, slinging an arm around Letto's shoulders and making him shiver slightly, "it doesn't matter whether you think you're ready or not, you'll still have to step up to that position. I'm sure that, with time, you'll learn how to be a king and, perhaps, even become a great one. Do you understand?"

I've trained with my life on the line for so long but why does he feel even scarier now that I'm a knight? I knew from the start he couldn't be human, he must be a demon. But considering his personality he must have a plan, or he would've never asked me first… right? Letto thought, trembling like a leaf under Nova's stare. Deep down, he knew Nova wouldn't hurt him, yet the weight of that gaze, combined with the memories of their travels together, memories he had tried to bury, made him react this way.

Letto's Aura stirred faintly within him, circling through his body and steadying his nerves just enough for him to compose himself and ask, "But why me? Why do I have to become the next king? Isn't the current one enough?"

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"Because I said so." Nova grinned at him, while thinking to himself, 'And I don't like the idea of leaving behind a mess after I go back to Earth when I spent so much time here. If I were to hand this world over to someone as dumb as Wulfric, it'd take no more than a month or two for chaos to erupt, turning everything I've done until now into nothing.'

Nova's words left Letto stumped, but before he could say anything, Nova patted his shoulder and said, "Enough with the questions. Pack up your stuff, I'm bringing you to your new home."

New home? Letto was confused, but he nodded and slowly went to gather his things.

Watching him move at the pace of a commoner, Nova called out, "Hurry!"

"Y-Yes!"

As Letto hastily moved around the room, Nova thought, 'Even after becoming a knight, to me, he's still the same old servant I took in months ago.'

He smiled.

////////

"Sir, you can't be serious…" Letto's jaw dropped as he stared at Lotra's royal palace, illuminated by Mana this deep into the night.

Nova didn't turn his head but said, "When did I say I was joking? Come, follow me."

Gulping loudly, Letto chose to remain silent and trailed a step behind Nova as they approached the gates.

"Halt!"

One of the gate guards shouted, raising his hand.

'I've already seen this scene twice today, it's becoming quite annoying,' Nova thought. He stepped forward and before the guards could react, their bodies froze. Invisible hands gripped their throats, silencing them completely.

Following behind Nova, Letto's heart nearly leapt out of his throat at the spectacle. This is proof… he's a demon!

When they entered the royal palace, Nova muttered to himself, "I forgot to ask the guards where Wulfric is, but it's fine, I have to visit some other guards anyway."

Remembering this side of palace like the back of his hand from his previous two visits, Nova walked toward the throne room as though he owned the place. This time, however, he encountered no one as he strolled through the corridors, and before long he stood before a massive door flanked by two guards, both standing still, their eyes closed.

Nova glanced at them and recalled the first time he had come here, when they had threatened him simply because he was accompanied by Veliora, the princess of Lotra. Now that his strength had grown, he could clearly see that both guards were only at the third stage. Still, for door guards, that was considered extravagant.

Even after Nova and Letto lingered there for several seconds, the two men kept their eyes shut. Nova thought, 'Since they can't sense my Aura, and Letto is only a first stage knight, they must believe they can easily deal with us if we try to enter. If they knew the truth they wouldn't be so nonchalant.'

Letto looked back and forth between the guards and Nova, feeling that something wasn't right, but he didn't dare interrupt whatever was happening. Nothing will happen to me as long as I stay as a spectator, he told himself.

Eyes filled with amusement, Nova said, "What are you two doing, sleeping on the job?"

The guards' eyes snapped open and frowns crossed their faces.

On the left, a man with a scar on his right cheek sneered, "More ants coming to woo the princess?" He pointed at Nova and added, "This one looks kind of familiar."

"It doesn't matter, I'll break a few of their bones for mocking us," the man on the right growled. He reached for his sword, but his whole arm suddenly stopped responding.

He looked down, his frown dissolved into confusion as he tried to move his arm, but it didn't budge.

The other guard, unsure what had happened, laughed. "Why did you stop? Don't tell me you're feeling compassionate today?"

Hearing his colleague's words and feeling mocked, the trapped guard's confusion flared into anger. Through gritted teeth, veins bulging with the strain, he said, "I can't move my arm."

Puzzled, the scarred man asked, "What do you mean?"

"I can't, I can't fucking move my arm!" the guard shouted, seething.

At that moment a voice rang out, "Is Wulfric inside?"

Both guards' heads swiveled to Nova, and realization hit them.

"IT MUST BE YOU! GIVE ME MY ARM BACK!"

"If you don't release him I'll cut you into pieces and feed you to the dogs."

Nova shook his head and said calmly, "That's not how you ask for a favor, and you still didn't answer my question. Try again."

The guard whose arm was frozen gave up on it and drew his sword with his other hand, lunging at Nova. His partner didn't hesitate and followed right after him.

'I didn't want to take such a heavy payment, but now I have no other choice,' Nova thought. He waved his hand, and two wind blades shot toward the guards.

Before they could react there was a sharp whoosh, then it was too late. Their shouts cut off as two thuds echoed down the corridor, Letto and the two guards froze in stunned silence while Nova calmly looked at the two arms now lying on the floor. When the pain registered, both guards screamed, a sound so loud that could have woken the dead.

BANG!

The large door slammed open and a livid Wulfric stormed out. "What's all this noise so deep into the night?!" he demanded.

Nova turned his head toward him and muttered, "Oh? Seems like I don't have to ask anymore."

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