While I waited for my party to return, several magically concealed figures slipped into the guild. Wary of another assassination attempt, I locked my attention onto them to gauge the threat. As the group wove through the crowded hall, Julius’ striking blue hair flashed into view for a brief second.
‘Ah, they are using magic items to blend into the background. I never considered it, but their arrival yesterday must have caused an absolute stir.’
The Prince’s adventuring party comprised the most high-profile figures in the kingdom. Aside from the Crown Prince and his fiancée, Angelica, the roster included Chris Fia Arclight, the eldest son of the renowned Sword Saint. There was Clarice Fia Atlee, the only child of the current Prime Minister, and Deirdre Fou Roseblade, the youngest daughter of Earl Roseblade, the nation’s top airship commander. Finally, Jilk Fia Marmoria, the presumed future Knight Commander of the Royal Guard, rounded out the party. The remaining four members were children of well-known houses, though less prominent than those six.
With a lineup like that, it was no wonder they took extra precautions to avoid a public scene.
<Rawr?>
Solaris tilted his head, sensing my sudden shift in posture. Grateful for his vigilance, I patted my companion on the head and whispered a quick explanation of the situation. As I prepared to relax again, Angelica and the other women locked eyes with us. They whispered something to the men before weaving through the crowd toward my corner.
Before they could reach for their magic rings, I raised a hand to stop them. “Unlike everyone else here, I can see the five of you. No need to cause a commotion by appearing out of thin air.”
“Oh, right. We hadn’t considered that,” Clarice said with a low giggle, keeping her voice down to avoid drawing eyes. “Apologies for the sudden intrusion, but we wanted to thank you for the push you gave us yesterday. The five of us have learned more about our fiancés in the last twenty-four hours than we have in the past ten years.”
The other four women expressed their gratitude with nods and soft murmurs. Even Brad’s fiancée, Stephanie Fou Offrey—an absolute nightmare in the original storyline—bowed her head to me in respect.
“If there is ever anything we can do to repay you, please name it,” Angelica said with a warm smile.
“I will keep that in mind,” I replied, leaning back. “Given the circumstances, I might eventually need to consult the five of you on finding a wife. Until now, aside from yourselves and Miss Olivia, every woman I’ve met at the Academy is utter trash.”
I caught myself before going off on a full tangent, clearing my throat to pivot back to business.
“Moving on, since you are here, I have some intelligence that will interest you. It’s not about your fiancés, but the people your families keep around. Have a look.”
I reached into my item box and pulled out duplicate copies of the spy reports I had just provided to the Guildmaster. Since these women would inevitably end up handling some of the internal house cleanings anyway, I figured I would give them a head start on the daunting task. As they scanned the packets, their cheerful expressions soured. They knew marrying the Prince and his inner circle would bring plenty of political headaches, but nothing prepared them for a scandal of this scale.
“This is an unsettling development,” Angelica said, her fingernails digging deep into the parchment. “To think the Marquis would go so far just to undermine my father’s position. It is no wonder our faction has been bleeding members. He has been blackmailing them.”
“Unsettling doesn’t even begin to describe this,” Stephanie replied, her face contorted in dismay as her eyes scanned the private thoughts of her own followers. “Our faction will fall apart if even a fraction of this were to be made public. Countless houses would fall, and everything our families have built will collapse. We must act now!”
Frampton had spent over thirty years collecting dirt on his rivals, amassing a terrifying mountain of intelligence. He knew the intimate details of King Roland and Queen Mylene’s failing marriage, and he had actively manipulated the discord between the Prince’s circle and their fiancées. The worsening social landscape for male students at the Academy was a direct result of Frampton’s behind-the-scenes engineering. Even the recent military losses along the border with the Principality were his doing.
Every piece on the chessboard had been moved to make the current regime look incompetent, positioning Frampton’s faction as the sole voice of reason in a crumbling kingdom.
“Let’s be frank—is there anything we can do at this point? He already holds enough leverage over our families and allies to bury us,” Clarice said, her voice trembling as her eyes scanned copies of Jilk’s private diary entries. ‘I knew Jilk was unhappy with our engagement, but I never realized it ran this deep.’
“Yes, there is still plenty of time to act,” I replied, looking each of them dead in the eye. “His intel only has merit if he possesses the physical evidence to back it up. Otherwise, it is just baseless rumors. I can take care of eliminating his leverage. You ladies and your families will need to handle everything else.”
I paused to let the weight of the task sink in before outlining the strategy.
“First, you must purge his spies from your ranks. How you execute that is up to your discretion. Second, use this intelligence to patch your vulnerabilities and mend factional fractures. Third, keep Marie and any other opportunists clear of your fiancés. Contain the threats you can see while I dismantle the ones you can't.”
The women nodded in unison.
“Lord Aremus, may I ask why you are offering us so much support without asking for anything in return?” Clarice asked, her eyes narrowing slightly. “While we may not be masters of statecraft, even we can see you are getting the short end of the stick. What do you hope to gain from helping us? Political leverage? Entry into our faction?”
A hearty chuckle escaped my lips. I understood my actions looked suspect from the outside, but I had no grand ulterior motive beyond making my future life a little easier. Given the stakes, my best option was absolute transparency.
“If I may be frank, I detest our kingdom’s politics with every fiber of my being,” I said, my expression hardening into scorn. “Our regal leader would rather spend his days chasing carnal desires than performing his duties. Meanwhile, his wife is buried under a mountain of paperwork, doing everything she can to keep this country afloat. The Prime Minister does his best to assist her, but he is just as overwhelmed as the Queen.”
I leaned forward, letting the harsh reality of the situation sink in.
“My sole reason for helping the five of you is the survival of this nation. You seem to forget that you are marrying the most influential men of our generation. If your engagements collapse, the kingdom's foundations collapse with them. Frampton knows this. That is exactly why he is colluding with our enemies to ensure it happens. He wants to be the one holding all the cards when the dust settles, and I refuse to let that happen.”
The five women froze. They had not considered the broader geopolitical picture until someone finally forced them to look. Until this second, their only anxiety had been the terror of losing the men they had dedicated their entire lives to.
Now, faced with the unvarnished truth that the very fate of the kingdom rested squarely on their shoulders, an immense weight fell upon them.
“Hey, Leon!” Yunyun called out, jogging toward us with an elated smile. “We bought everything Olivia needed, plus some health potions to top off our stock. What do you think of her robes?”
I glanced over my party members, finding a bashful Olivia dressed in an elegant white robe with blue trimmings. On her head sat a large, white and blue hooded cleric’s hat, strikingly similar to the Priestess from Goblin Slayer. She looked even more beautiful in her new gear than she did in her school uniform.
“You look amazing, Olivia,” I said.
Upon hearing the compliment, Olivia scrambled to hide behind an oblivious Roxanne, who was preoccupied with her own armor. “Th… Thank you…”
Olivia felt her face grow hot. She had received praise from her family before, but this marked the first time a member of the opposite sex had ever complimented her appearance. The rush of warmth from those few simple words made her happier than she had ever been.
The five women looked on with heartache.
“Ahem… We had best be on our way. The six of us can continue our discussion some other time,” Clarice said, turning the group toward their fiancés. ‘I hope one day Jilk gives me a heartfelt compliment like that…’
“Best of luck with your dive today, ladies. May you find success in conquering the depths,” I replied, rising to my feet and walking over to join my party.
As Roxanne handed over my allotment of potions, Lucoa trudged into the lobby. She was armed with a short sword and scale mail armor; her face was quite pale.
“Olivia, do you know any spells that can calm someone’s nerves?” I asked. “I think Lucoa is going to need it.”
“Yes, I know one or two spells that can help with that,” Olivia said. “Just give me a minute to—”
Before she finished, a sharp metallic pop echoed from Lucoa’s chest. Seconds later, dozens of steel clasps shot outward as scales peppered the wood floor. I raised my hand, using the Force to freeze the stray metal pieces midair before they could hit us.
“Oh, thank god, I can breathe again!” Lucoa said, gulping down several mouthfuls of air. “This was the biggest set of armor we had in storage, and I barely squeezed into it.”
Freed from the constraints, her chest shifted under her torn shirt as color returned to her face. My eyes drifted toward her for a second before I could catch myself.
“Leon!” Olivia said, her face flushing red as she stepped between us. “It isn’t very gentlemanly of you to ogle a woman’s chest.”
‘Women’s breasts are filled with the hopes and dreams of men. How am I supposed to ignore such wondrous specimens right in front of me?’ I thought, clearing my throat to suppress my libido. “Apologies, it won’t happen again.”
Lucoa stepped forward and pressed her shoulder against my arm, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. “You don’t need to apologize, Leon. So long as you aren’t obvious about it, look all you want. It will just make it easier to make you fall for me.”
I glanced over at Roxanne and Yunyun. For a split second, both of them stared at Lucoa with narrowed eyes and tight lips, though their expressions smoothed back into blank masks the moment they noticed me looking.
Eager to get moving, I broke away from Lucoa and rubbed my hands together. “Since we are all here now, how about we get this show on the road? I’d like to be back in under three hours so we can grab a meal together to celebrate our promotion and the addition of our new Cleric.”
“Yes!” the women said in unison.
<Rawr!>
With everyone onboard, I took point and led us toward the nearest Rank 4 dungeon entrance. After a brief wait in the queue, our party stepped through the shimmering portal, with a nervous Lucoa following close behind.
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