My dear witch, please turn evil according to the script!

Chapter 352 Heading North, Leaving the Season With You

Cellina looked at Roland, who was packing up equipment—or rather, making some rune-engraved explosives—and asked curiously, "So eager? Aren't we leaving tomorrow morning?"

"I was just saying that; I plan to leave tonight."

Roland answered without looking up, then asked, "Where's Polycia? She ran away in fright after seeing the Demon King, hasn't she come back yet?"

"Hey, what do you mean you ran away in fright? Do I look scary right now?"

Lying on his side on the sofa, the Demon King spoke helplessly with an innocent expression.

How can you blame yourself? You look so good and approachable. You can't possibly have been scared away, right?
Cellina laughed too: "She wasn't scared away, she was just picking out a change of clothes."

“Iluvia gave her a lot of clothes, and she originally planned to choose them in the evening.”

"You two got along surprisingly well. I thought Polycia would be a little uncomfortable interacting with other people," Roland chuckled upon hearing this.

Roland really hoped that the android girl, who had miraculously survived and was rescued from the ruins, could quickly adapt to her new life.

However, I underestimated the other party's adaptability.

He actually managed to get a gift from Iluvia in just half a day.

Moreover, according to Cellina, Iluvia gave her quite a few clothes.

Cellina leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, and turned to look at Roland: "Iluvia and Lia are both surprisingly calm and indifferent this time."

"Your initial worries seem to be unnecessary."

Roland paused for a moment upon hearing this, then laughed self-deprecatingly: "Yes, it is indeed a bit unnecessary. Although only a little over two months have passed, they have changed quite a bit."

"No... I should say that I've always thought too naively of them."

As he spoke, Roland, relying on his renewed spiritual power and knowledge of rune magic, quickly crafted a small storage ring using the materials at hand.

Seeing that Roland had finished his work, Cellina, who had been watching him from behind for a long time, finally asked, "What did you do? With your current strength, these individual magical weapons shouldn't be of any use, right?"

Roland laughed, sat down in his chair, and turned to look at Cellina: "They really weren't useful before."

"But I might not be like that now... Through the combination of runes, some seemingly insignificant little objects can sometimes play an amazing role."

"Of course, I'm doing these things just to be on the safe side...better safe than sorry, right?"

"Even if you don't actually need it, you can give it as a gift."

Roland laughed as he said this, though his smile seemed rather strange to the Demon King and Cherlinina.

Only Roland would give something like this as a gift.

Roland didn't say much, but turned back to the table and started tidying up the remaining materials.

He actually doesn't have time to make anything very complicated or ingenious, especially given the time constraints.

He simply engraved the reduced-weight World Tree's protective effects onto a few badges.

It is worth mentioning that this badge is what is commonly known as a family crest.

Roland, being a commoner, didn't need such high-end items as family crests.

But the Grand Duke of the Empire needs it.

Even though Roland didn't make any requests or demands, after the knighthood ceremony, Delan still handed Roland a box of family crests.

Of course, although it's called a box, there are actually only ten.

This is the family crest chosen for him by the old Emperor Salah III. If he is satisfied, he can use it; if not, he can change to a more formal one after he marries Ilúvia.

Roland was generally quite satisfied with the circular badge, which featured a proud, slanted eagle with a band of gold patterns around its edge.

Although it's obvious that it was rushed out of production, the materials and craftsmanship are still worth mentioning, but the design is somewhat careless.

Roland felt that the old emperor had simply removed half of the empire's double-headed eagle banner.

No wonder he agreed to change it if he wasn't satisfied.

While this might seem a bit hasty as a formal noble family crest, it would be quite suitable as a small gift.

At least most people would only see it as a status symbol if they didn't see the set of runes engraved on the back of the badge.

And the person bearing the crest of his Grand Duke of Riskan's family is naturally one of Roland's men.

It is perfectly reasonable and normal.

Rather, it would be strange if someone didn't wear any identification during a formal visit.

Within the empire, it's not a big deal, but according to recent intelligence about the federation of nations, the etiquette between nobles is quite complicated.

One of the rules that had to be followed was that nobles had to wear ornaments that symbolized their status when communicating in formal settings.

This badge is clearly very suitable.

As for the spell above, it is the spell that Roland researched before. It has the passive spell nullification effect of the World Tree's protection, but it lacks the effect of silencing the caster.

And it can only be effective once.

However, considering the conditions for mind control within the Federation of Nations, it's best to take precautions to avoid falling victim to it.

He wasn't worried about the Demon King and Polycia... his main concern was Cellina.

He wasn't sure if the Sunstone could protect Cellina from mind control without her noticing.

Just to be on the safe side, Roland decided to take some measures. He also needed to keep one of Polycia and the Demon King on his person.

They don't need to worry about mind control skills, but they still need to be wary of enemy attacks.

Since we've decided to travel in a group, it's best to take precautions.

Moreover, these runes engraved on physical objects can be preserved for a very long time. As long as they are not triggered, this set of runes, which Roland has infused with magic, can exist for decades in a silent state.

After examining them closely, Roland took the two badges and walked up to Cellina and the Demon King.

"Here, take it. Remember to keep it with you at all times, and it's best not to put it on your clothes."

"If you don't want to stick it on your clothes, at least put it in your pocket."

Cellina didn't ask any questions. She took the badge and pinned it to her beloved black hooded cloak coat—which, after Roland's modifications, now had basic stealth and protective functions.

Originally, this precious cloak, which symbolized her difficult years of wandering, had been carefully stored away in a box by Cherlinina, but she took it out again for this mission.

For no other reason than that she felt more comfortable wearing this outfit for covert operations.

After receiving the badge, the Demon King touched it and immediately noticed the runes engraved on the back.

She flipped the badge over and examined Roland's runes... but couldn't make out anything.

"Tsk... what's the point of this rune set anyway?"

"It doesn't look like something that would appear in modern magic at all."

"Even in runic magic, which has been largely phased out by you humans, there is no similar combination."

"So complicated... but it seems there's only one effect?"

Roland smiled slightly: "If you don't understand it, don't bother looking at it. Just keep it safe; it's a lifesaver."

"Let's rest for a while. There's still some time before we leave, and I still need to carve some other effects."

The Demon King was speechless upon hearing this: "They really are cautious... but let's just forget about it. At that child named Polycia's flying speed, we'll be able to reach the territory of Wislova by tomorrow morning."

"Even if we stop halfway to find the Great Sage and the others, we will have more than enough time."

"Better safe than sorry." Roland smiled and said nothing more.

……

Meanwhile, Cardinal Clark and his party, who had set off ahead of time at Roland's request and with the support of the Papacy, had arrived directly in the city of Heria, where the Princess resided, and were looking up at the towering city walls.

However, these city walls were filled with laborers repairing the damaged sections and soldiers with tense expressions, responsible for security.

Clearly, a major battle has just taken place here.

Clark stroked his beard and frowned slightly.

Clearly, the situation in Heria was worse than he had imagined.

Although he had heard not long ago that the city had been attacked by the King's army on a large scale, the damage to the city walls was much more serious than he had imagined.

"Teacher, what do we do now?" Suren, dressed in tattered clothes and with her hair deliberately disheveled and draped over her shoulders, turned to look at Clark.

Clark thought for a moment, then turned to look at Suren and Gawain and said, "You two split up and conduct reconnaissance outside the city. See if you can find any demon spies or informants, and also try to extract some information from the nearby residents."

"Do you remember the information that Lord Roland had Princess Iluvia convey not long ago?"

"The Great Sage's plan was leaked by someone close to the Queen."

"Judging from this, the person hiding next to the princess must be of high status, but his strength should be average."

"Otherwise, the princess would have died long ago."

Clark thought for a moment, then said, "I'll go into the city first and find the Princess to have a chat."

"Given the current state of the Princess's army, it seems unlikely they will be able to withstand the next wave of attacks."

"If there is a risk of Heria falling, you need not worry about your status. Escort the civilians to safety, and I will take the princess with me."

"Now……"

"boom!!!"

Before Clark could finish speaking, a huge explosion came from the other side of the city, and several compressed and condensed beams of magic exploded in the sky, forming blue mushroom clouds.

The King's army has launched another offensive.

Clark's face darkened: "Proceed according to plan, protect the civilians in the city and evacuate them!"

Along with the magic beams came countless artillery fire.

The conflict has started again.

The most prosperous city in the central part of the Kingdom of Platia, Heria, is once again facing war.

Before the first round of artillery fire even reached the city, the seemingly unstable defensive array finally activated, generating a huge semi-circular shield spell that blocked the artillery fire and the subsequent magical cluster bombardment.

Although the shield flickered violently after withstanding such an attack, as if it would fail at any moment, it did manage to withstand the most deadly wave of artillery fire.

Clark's figure was like a ghost, and his strength, comparable to that of the Lord of the Royal Court, allowed him to move freely through the city. He quickly found Princess Andreip, who was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of her room, quietly watching the city where war was about to break out.

(End of this chapter)