Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

"Is this the only way?"

The old butler broke the silence again, but his voice was heavy.

It's like someone seeking answers, wanting to confirm whether there's another, brighter path.

Rune smiled slyly to himself.

'It's finally here.'

He withdrew his gaze from the distance and turned to look at Sebastian.

"of course not."

Rune answered with great certainty, his confident tone infecting Sebastian.

“In addition to gradually changing perceptions through morality and constraints, strong legal constraints can also achieve the same goal.”

When he said this, he deliberately slowed down his speech and met Sebastian's gaze calmly.

Rune knew that Sebastian was troubled by the plight of the orc women and children, but he also wanted to protect humanity.

What Rune had to do was tell Sebastian that there was another method that was more in line with Sebastian's inner principles.

Sebastian's eyes flickered slightly.

His furrowed brows relaxed slightly as he awaited Rune's next words.

Rune continued, "Sebas should know about the Minotaur Sage, who implemented a series of reforms in the Minotaur kingdom."

"I've heard a little about it." Sebastian nodded slightly.

He didn't actually know.

"Two hundred years ago, the Minotaur Sage enacted a law in the Minotaur Kingdom that prohibited cannibalism."

Rune’s tone in recounting this history sounds quite objective.

"Through strong legal constraints, after one generation, no minotaur in the kingdom of minotaurs would ever again consider cannibalism a matter of course."

Sebastian seemed to be deep in thought.

He recalled Lord Tapchimi's words: "Laws are used to tell people what is wrong."

At that time, he didn't quite understand the meaning of that sentence.

But now, looking into Rune's earnest eyes and listening to him tell the story of the Minotaur Sage, Sebastian suddenly felt that he could understand the deeper meaning behind some of Lord Touchimi's actions.

“From a practical standpoint, this is also the most suitable method for the Orc Kingdom at present,” Rune said. “As long as the Orc King is willing to amend the laws, the custom of cannibalism will be eradicated in no time.”

He paused for a moment, then forced a bitter smile.

"but……"

Rune's voice trailed off.

"To achieve this, one must at least have the power to force the Orc Kingdom to change its laws."

He raised his hand, pointing to the distant hills shrouded in twilight, gazing upon this land of the orcs.

"But I can't do it."

Rune exuded an aura of helpless pain.

"The cavalry of Aindora's territory can move freely in and out of the orcish kingdom's heartland, relying on their mobility and surprise attacks. If we want to decisively defeat the orcish army head-on and force the orc king to change his laws..."

He shook his head.

"That's impossible."

As if forced to accept reality helplessly, Rune's shoulders slumped.

"So this is the only way I can change things little by little, so that the orcs will remember this taste and forcibly bind this 'taste' with 'pain'."

He paused.

"If we keep doing this, then eventually a generation of orcs will grow to hate war and stop eating people."

Sebastian looked at Rune silently.

The young man stood in the twilight, his eyes brimming with a sense of helplessness.

Sebastian understood Rune's good intentions.

"So..."

Sebastian already knows how to achieve peace.

"Would it be enough if the orc kingdom changed its laws?"

Rune paused slightly and looked at Sebastian.

Sebastian's eyes gleamed after he found his way.

“That’s right.” Rune nodded, but clearly without hope. “However, the orcish leadership has no intention of changing anything. Unless I can completely defeat the orcish army and then forcibly amend the laws to make the orcs obey.”

He sighed.

"Unfortunately, the troops led by Aindora are unable to do these things. It would be fortunate if they could kill the Orc King as planned."

Sebastian, however, did not show any disappointment.

Instead, a faint smile appeared on his face.

"I'd appreciate it if you could leave the rest of the battle to me, Lord Rune."

Rune looked at Sebastian in disbelief.

"I will help Lord Rune defeat the Orc King quickly, and then amend the laws to achieve true peace."

When Sebastian said this, he was quite confident, no longer showing the troubled expression he had before, and he didn't even consider the possibility of defeat.

"As it stands, the soldiers of the Orc Kingdom are not strong in my opinion."

Looking at Sebastian's earnest yet innocent face, Rune felt a pang of guilt.

But on the surface, Rune quickly frowned, and obvious worry appeared on his face.

“Absolutely not, Sebastian, that’s too dangerous.” His voice was filled with genuine concern.

At the same time, as if to persuade Sebastian to abandon such a dangerous move, Rune continued to add.

"Moreover, Sebastian, you need to conserve your energy to deal with the Orc King, who is equivalent to the fighting strength of about a thousand Orc soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Sebastian smiled slightly.

"If the Orc King is only this good."

He paused for a moment, then met Rune's gaze with a calm and confident look.

"Then I think I should be a little bit stronger than the Orc King."

As Sebastian spoke, he raised his right hand and gestured to Rune with the fingertip universe.

"There should be no need to deliberately conserve energy."

Rune's mouth gaped slightly, and he looked utterly shocked.

Sebastian seemed to misunderstand his silence and added, "Of course, I did not mean to belittle Lord Rune."

He said it with absolute certainty.

"After all, there are only forty-one people and a few others in the whole world who are stronger than me."

After listening, Rune fell completely silent.

He stood there, his expression somewhat obscured by the twilight.

His brows furrowed slightly, and his lips pressed tightly together, as if he were caught in a very difficult dilemma.

Sebastian waited quietly for Rune.

'Lord Rune is probably hesitating because he's worried about my safety.'

Actually

Rune was trying to suppress his laughter.

Too much work.

He mentally recalled the saddest movie scenes he had seen in his past life, the miserable state of being scolded by his boss for working overtime until 3 a.m., and the real emotions he had suppressed for acting over the years since he transmigrated.

Those memories were like buckets of cold water, poured over his barely suppressed smile.

at last.

Rune's expression returned to its usual gentle and composed state.

Chapter 74 Life-Saving Items

The twilight deepened behind them.

The campfires at the campsite were all lit, and the orange-red light spread up from the valley between the hills, dyeing the surrounding ridgeline with a dark golden edge.

In the distance, soldiers were shouting something, probably because there had been a small mistake in the distribution of dinner, but it quickly subsided.

Rune looked at Sebastian's eyes, which were full of energy because he had found his direction, and hesitated for a long time.

Finally, he pulled something out of his pocket.

It was a round metal piece slightly smaller than the palm of your hand, its surface polished smooth, and it gleamed with a dull copper color in the twilight.

A tiny magical ore, the size of a grain of rice, was embedded in the center of the metal sheet, emitting an extremely faint blue light.

“Sebas.” Rune regained his usual gentleness, but there was a hint of solemnity in his expression. “This is a two-way sensing magic item developed by the Aindora Territory.”

He held the metal plate in his palm and handed it to Sebastian.

“The function is very simple,” Rune said, pulling out another almost identical metal piece from his pocket. “If one of the items is destroyed, the other item will heat up, and the magic ore will turn red.”

As he spoke, Rune put one of the magical items into his pocket and then handed the other to Sebastian.

"When the time comes, no matter what difficulties you face, Sebas, I will lead the cavalry of the Aindora territory to your rescue."

Sebastian looked at the metal piece lying in Rune's palm, his gaze softening slightly.

“Lord Rune,” Sebastian said, though grateful for Rune’s concern, “I believe there is no need for that.”