I must draw my sword immediately!

Chapter 33 The Clown Knight
Admittedly, the group of cavalry outside had become a potential source of leaks in Lukan's words, revealing that Suya, who was not the heir to the kingdom, was actually the heir.

But by this time they had already chosen to pledge allegiance to themselves.

Regardless of whether this loyalty belonging to deserters is reliable, this group is the only force that Suya can try to control in this small group, apart from the sword at his waist.

So, without even a second's hesitation...

Suya, who feared being killed by her own people more than by outsiders, broke the silence that enveloped the stone house. Looking at the two people before her, she asked:
"So, can someone explain this?"

"Why must I rely on my identity to gather the defeated soldiers in order to reach the capital?"

Having already accepted the fact that Suya was illiterate, Mary turned around and explained:
"Because of magic."

“A well-organized army can spontaneously form a magical resistance to counter the numerous detection eyes of magicians in the sky.”

"This might sound a bit abstract, but the more people there are, the more discreet we become."

"Without magic resistance, a lone professional will be immediately located once marked by the detection network and then hunted down by the magicians of 'Lycoon'."

“Lü Ke'ang?”

Suya scratched his head, racking his brains but still couldn't figure out what this was.

Lucan picked up the thread and explained, "Lukeon, whose full name is the Lukeon Philosophical Magic Academy, is a magic academy founded by the legendary philosopher-magician Aristotle."

"Initially it was indeed a formal academy for training magicians, but now you can think of it as a mental hospital, housing a group of madmen trying to reach the 'roots' from a philosophical perspective."

"In order to study 'philosophy,' they are capturing large numbers of lone professionals from enemy countries."

"If we disguise ourselves as the army, then we'll only encounter the army," Meryl continued.

"And if it's a solo player, then what they might encounter on this land isn't just an army, but also magician assassins, philosophical magicians from the Free and Easy School, church agents, ancient magical beasts revived by magical tides, and the most dangerous of all."

"The Cross of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Duke of Cornwall."

"Therefore, we professionals either follow nobles of high status or infiltrate organized armies. Right now, the British organized armies are being blocked by the Macedonian army in front of the Golden Iron Curtain and are being slaughtered everywhere, forcing us to gather small groups of people in the name of nobles and flee."

Suya nodded.

He didn't actually hear or understand that long string of details, but there was one thing he did understand—

Now, here, my role is indispensable.

The reason Lucan approached him was not only because the identity of 'Hector' was no longer valid and he needed to use his own identity, but also because...
He was eager to kill the group of knights who had been so close during the day.

As for why?
Suya didn't need to understand; he only needed to know that, while it seemed that the two 'strongmen,' Melly and Lucan, were discussing the next steps, he was actually the one who held the initiative.

On the surface, eliminating those knights outside would benefit oneself, but in reality, the one who benefits is—

Suya turned her gaze to the conman who was about to continue his flirtatious talk.

Lukan sensed his gaze, so he turned his head and gave him a highly infectious, intellectual smile.

Then, he turned to look at Meryl, his expression turning serious, and said in a deep voice:

"Hesitation only leads to trouble, Miss Meryl. You don't want to be killed by the Cross Knights before you even get back to the capital alive, do you?"

Mary hesitated for a moment: "This..."

Although she might resort to robbery when she's broke, it doesn't mean that Mary is an extremely cold-blooded and selfish orthodox magician who kills without batting an eye. Rather than pursuing the roots of her school of magic as a magician, Mary prefers to roll a couple of dice for fun.

Her motivation for doing things, for robbing and plundering, was to get some money to roll a couple of dice.

To think that a magician girl whose logic was based on the idea that 'the meaning of life equals rolling dice at a casino' would suddenly kill a group of innocent people for such a cold-blooded reason... Mary felt an indescribable chill run down her spine.

She had originally bet that Sua would become king, but after witnessing Sua's abilities during her journey, she bet that Sua could help her win against that despicable princess. After learning that Sua could not become king, all she could hope for from Sua was playing cards.

For the sake of her card-playing friends, that excuse sounds a bit high-sounding. All Meryl wanted was to win, to rely on Sua to win back what she had lost.
But in the end, it's all for myself.

So now,
To act for one's own benefit, against one's own conscience and what little conscience one has left, and to do things even more despicable than robbery.

Is that correct?

Mary couldn't help but turn to look at Suya, her small hands behind her back tightly gripping the broom handle.

Silence fell again inside the house.

And at this moment,
Suya spoke up, looking at Lukan and asking calmly:
"Are you done?"

Lukan's expression stiffened, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Melie turn to look at Sua.
The primary key to negotiation is not how many bargaining chips you offer.
Instead, they choose the right negotiating partners.

He had assumed that of the two, the one in charge would be Merry, who was stronger, had more trump cards, and was more likely to win a man's heart and be at his beck and call.

But in the end, it was this fake kid who made the decision.

"This isn't just about Miss Meryl, Mr. Sua; I must say, it's closely related to you as well—"

Lukan immediately changed the subject, looked at Suya, and continued speaking with great sincerity.
"so."

however,
"Are you done?"

Suya repeated the sentence again, staring intently at Lukan.

Lukan gave a stiff smile: "Wh-what?"

"You got one thing wrong from the beginning."

Suya stared at him coldly.
"You think I'm just a fake."

But if we say—

Suya suddenly curled her lips into a smile, staring at Lukan with a playful expression, and asked, word by word:

Am I really?

"This this--"

Lucan's pupils suddenly contracted, and the words he was about to say were abruptly swallowed back down his throat the moment Suya suddenly raised his hand, revealing the scarlet dragon emblem on the back of his hand.

"This is... the royal family's magical crest!?"

Lukan stared at Suya in disbelief, before he could finish uttering the rest of the sentence, "You really are..."

A loud, gruff voice suddenly rang out excitedly from outside the door:
"You, you really are—"

The three people in the room were all startled by the sudden loud voice.
Immediately afterwards, we saw—

Outside the arched wooden door, a figure clad in white plate armor rushed swiftly into the room.

The knight, who looked somewhat familiar to Suya, slid to his knees in a near-sliding tackle, caught his shoe, and shouted excitedly as if holding a priceless treasure:
“Oh my God!”

"Your loyal knight, Dagonet, reports to you!"

(End of this chapter)