Supreme Magus

"Or like Ufyl." Tista said. "Wouldn’t Soaring Dragufyl be better?"

Lith and Faluel turned to stare at her, and Tista could even feel the silent gaze of Solus and the other Sigil Demons on her.

"I apologize, Lith. I always thought you had a terrible naming sense, but your sister takes the cake." Faluel patted his shoulder.

"Apology accepted." Lith sighed. "Seriously, Tista. The next time... just don’t. I’m saying this for your own good."

"Why? What’s wrong with Soaring Dragufyl?" Despite the crimson-red scales that covered her face, the Hekate managed to turn an even deeper shade of purple.

’The "soaring" part is okay.’ Solus replied. ’It’s the "Dragufyl" that’s messed up. It sounds like a disease.’

’You guys have no taste.’ Tista pouted. ’And you’re mean!’

’This can wait.’ Lith replied. ’Please, be quiet now.’

He activated his communication amulet again, and the hologram of the Royals filled the space before him.

"The issue with Ghishal has been temporarily resolved and the criminals punished according to the law, Your Majesty." Lith said. "The Isharas refused to surrender, and we had to kill them."

"That many?" Sylpha was impressed. "Just the three of you?"

"We also had the help of my Sigil Demons." Lith said. "We wouldn’t have done it without their help. I believe they deserve a proper reward."

Valia, Varegrave, and Locrias were still active-duty members of the Royal Army and were paid for it. They also received bonuses for acts of extreme valor like their still-living colleagues.

The Sigil Demons no longer needed money, but their families did. Everything the Demons earned while serving under Lith went into a trust fund. It gave the fallen members of the Queen’s Corps the certainty that their loved ones would lack nothing even after the black chains came undone.

Lith knew it was only a matter of time before his Sigil Demons deemed they had fulfilled their duty and moved on. He wanted Locrias and the others to prolong their existence because they wanted to.

Not out of worry for those they left behind.

"And the Crown agrees." Sylpha nodded. "Our loyal subjects will be properly compensated. We’ll assign them a fair share of the acquired goods."

"What goods?" Lith asked in confusion. "The Isharas didn’t have their share of the robberies on them, and everything stockpiled by the bandits and the corrupted nobles already belongs to the Kingdom.

"Without the money the Isharas took, there isn’t even enough to compensate all the families of the bereaved and cover for the losses the Distar Marquisate has incurred."

"Ah." A light of understanding sparked in the King’s eyes, and his expression softened. "I forgot you are not familiar with many laws of the Kingdom. I suggest you sit down, Magus Verhen. You’re not going to like what I’m about to say."

There was a mix of compassion and sadness in Meron’s voice. The same Lith had used countless times as Nana’s apprentice to deliver bad news to the families of the patients he had failed to save.

"Please, tell me everything." He said after conjuring a stone chair for himself.

"First, allow the Crown to praise you for your latest achievement." Sylpha said. "You have noticed a problem that everyone else ignored or dismissed, uncovering a much larger scheme that threatened the stability of our Kingdom.

"You have assembled your own team, prepared contingency measures, and everything you needed to conduct an undercover mission without any burden for the already depleted vaults of the Distar Region. For that, you have our gratitude."

"And mine as well." The hologram of Brinja Distar appeared.

It was smaller than the Royals’ and stood to their side exactly like Brinja would have done during a session of the Royal Court.

"Without you, I would have lost all my loyal retainers and had them replaced by filthy traitors. I would have become blind and deaf to the affairs of my own region. A Marchioness in name only, and the Isharas would have become the true rulers of Distar.

"Also, by making me aware of the issue and giving me the opportunity to contribute, you have saved my reputation in the Royal Court. Instead of passing for a foolish ruler who needed to be rescued, your reports show I’ve done everything within my purview to support you."

"Marchioness Distar is right." Meron nodded. "She has earned merits from this crisis, and her competence in ruling Distar cannot be called into question even by her more nitpicky and fierce rivals.

"At the same time, however, your investigation has uncovered a large-scale operation conducted by a foreign force that wouldn’t have been possible without an appalling combination of stupidity, greed, and incompetence of the local counts.

"For this reason, once the Royal Constables are done separating the Isharas’ noble accomplices from the innocent fools, the latter are going to be punished as well. Even Countess Keyla Lark won’t be an exception."

"What? Why?" Lith stood up in outrage. "Keyla also contributed to the investigation to the best of her abilities, just like Brinja. She gave me every bit of information I needed and forged the fake identity I used to expose the Isharas."

"Indeed." Sylpha nodded, raising her hands with her palms out to placate him. "Yet while Marchioness Distar is blameless in all this, Countess Lark was doing what we consider the bare minimum to fix a problem of her own making.

"If she and all the other innocent local rulers of Distars put their pride aside and made Marchioness Distar aware of their circumstances, countless lives would have been saved, and the influence of the Isharas wouldn’t have spread so far and wide.

"Countess Lark and all the other counts but Jadon Lark are the Isharas’ unwitting accomplices. They played in the enemies of the Kingdom’s hands and orchestrated their own downfall without even noticing.

"Such irresponsible conduct can’t go unpunished. Pride can’t come before duty. Rivalries can’t outweigh the lives of our citizens. Every person who died because the local rulers refused to inform Marchioness Distar of the situation is an unacceptable loss.

"From absolute power comes absolute responsibility, Magus Verhen. The local nobles of Distar have made their decisions and will be held accountable for them."

Lith felt bad for Keyla, but he couldn’t argue with the Royals’ reasoning.

’They are right. Doing anything less would breed corruption and complacency.’ Solus said. ’If there is no consequence for being careless or incompetent, nobles have no incentive to put their citizens first.’

"For this reason, the gold you’ve retrieved will be only used to compensate the bereaved families and the merchants for their losses. Whatever is left will be entrusted to Marchioness Distar to use it as she sees fit.

"The local nobles have made their bed, and now they can lie in it. They won’t see a single coin of what they have lost due to their own foolishness, and it will be up to them to rebuild the wealth they have squandered."

Lith raised his hand, and Meron permitted him to speak.

"Not to be... well, myself, Your Majesty, but the Ishara called Ankhuta mentioned the Hydras’ bloodline awakening project and a secret lab for their species." He said.

"We are aware of that." Sylpha nodded. "We listened to your conversation with him."

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