Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight

He took a deep breath and exhaled all the emotions that had been building up for so long.

"So I must become the heir, even if I am not as smart as Lana, or as popular with the nobles as my older brother, I must sit in that position."

He sat up straight again, his gaze towards Lei Wenhou filled with a heavy seriousness.

"Although my elder brother is no longer here, I will not back down. This country needs to change."

Raven looked at Zanak's simple yet exceptionally earnest face, then leaned slightly forward and bowed in Zanak's direction.

"Your Highness's awareness puts my mind at ease."

Zanak waved his hand, as if to dispel the heavy atmosphere. "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's think about how to deal with the Demon King first."

Lei Wenhou sat up straight again, regaining his composed demeanor.

The wall lamps in the side hall continued to shine steadily, casting the shadows of the two people on the wall behind them, one tall and one short, yet surprisingly maintaining a similar posture.

After leaving the royal city, Rune walked along the main street of the capital towards the adventurer's inn.

His steps were slow, and his boots made a rhythmic, soft sound as they stomped on the stone pavement.

After walking through two streets, the hotel's sign came into view.

The aroma of food wafted from under the inn's door, mingled with the clinking of cutlery and the faint conversations of adventurers.

Rune pushed open the door to the inn.

The familiar sound of the door hinges startled the waiter who was dozing behind the counter. After recognizing Rune, he greeted him and went back to sleep.

Rune's lips twitched. Are there really people in another world who so openly slack off...?

There weren't many people in the lobby on the first floor. A few adventurers were sitting around a few empty tables, chatting with each other.

Rune didn't linger and went straight up the stairs to the second floor.

He stood in front of that familiar door and knocked twice.

"Please come in."

It's the sound of silk.

Rune pushed open the door and went inside.

The room was more lively than he had expected.

Everyone from the Blue Rose is here.

Si sat in the chair by the window, the light from outside shining through her from behind, casting a dark gold outline on the edges of her golden hair.

Gagland sat on the edge of the bed opposite her, his thick arms crossed over his chest, a smile on his square face, as if he had just said something funny and hadn't had time to hide it yet.

Tina and Tia sat in the corners of the room, the ninja sisters in almost identical postures, both kneeling with their backs against the wall, their two wine-red eyes looking towards the doorway in unison.

Iveria stood further inside, her red robe still covering her from head to toe, her mask obscuring her expression, but Rune could feel her gaze falling on him as well.

"Yo! You're a lolicon!"

Gegrand greeted him, his voice as rough and loud as ever, like sandpaper polishing stone.

She grinned, revealing a slightly roguish smile. "Long time no see. Well done, defeating the orc kingdom. Need a reward from me?"

As she spoke, she deliberately gestured with her chin towards Rune, exuding a knowing, teasing vibe.

Rune swallowed nervously. The only person who would consider Gagran a reward was probably Osko, the owner of the Imperial Arena.

Rune thought he was already familiar with the banter of this warrior lady from the Blue Rose, but now he realized that his cultivation level was still not high enough.

“Ms. Gregland, thank you for the compliment. You still love to joke around.” Rune tried his best not to show any embarrassment.

He stepped into the room, paused for a while, and finally decided to close the door behind him.

"You like joking?" Gagland raised an eyebrow, shifting his muscular arms to cross his chest, his smile widening further. "I never joke."

“Gegran”.

The sound of silk came from the window, carrying the captain's authority.

Gegrand closed his mouth, but his eyes still held a mischievous smile.

The expression on her face when she looked at Rune seemed to say, "I'll let you off the hook for today."

Rune silently thanked his younger sister for coming to his rescue, then walked towards the window.

He pulled out the chair next to Si and sat down. The chair was still a little warm, so he didn't know who had just sat there.

Silk's light green eyes fell on his face, carrying a hint of lingering apology from Gegrand's teasing.

“Brother, don’t take Gegran’s words to heart. That’s just her personality.”

“I know.” Rune waved his hand, his tone relaxed. “I’m used to it…”

Gagran whistled beside him, as if to express his satisfaction, but it abruptly cut off Rune's words.

Rune was about to get down to business...

Si's nose twitched slightly at that moment.

The movement was small, but the smile in Si's light green eyes took on a different meaning after the twitch.

“...Brother.”

Her voice suddenly became light and airy, as if something terrible was slowly seeping out.

Rune's heart skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

"what happened?"

Silk didn't answer. She turned her head slightly and brought her nose closer to Rune's direction, as if to confirm something.

The room fell silent for a moment, and even Gegrand's roguish smile faded slightly, clearly noticing the change in atmosphere.

“Brother…” Si’s voice was still light and airy, but the temperature in her words had clearly dropped a few degrees, “Why do you… smell like another woman?”

Rune's body stiffened.

Si leaned closer, and this time her expression became even more subtle.

"And," there was an indescribable undertone in her voice, "...it still tastes like Lana."

The moment the words left his mouth, an eerie silence fell over the room.

Gegrand's gaze swept over Rune, and a mischievous smile reappeared in his eyes, carrying a hint of "this is going to be interesting."

Tina and Tia exchanged a glance, and the ninja sisters continued to move in sync.

Iveria turned her head slightly, her gaze seemingly falling on Rune beneath her mask.

Rune felt a fine layer of cold sweat seeping out of his back.

He quickly reviewed his itinerary in the royal city that day in his mind.

He did sit next to Lana during the small meeting in the side hall, but the time added up was no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

And the distance wasn't close enough for the smell to pick up, was it?

Rune silently complained to himself that his younger sister's nose was even more sensitive than a dog's.

But on the surface, Rune tried his best to keep his expression calm.

Chapter 133 My Brother's Protection

Rune cleared his throat and tried to explain in a calm tone, "After attending the King's council meeting today, His Highness the Second Prince invited Princess Lana and me for a small get-together, so..."

He seemed completely innocent. "I guess that's when I got involved."

But Si's gaze did not waver.

Her light green eyes were still fixed on Rune, as if scrutinizing something, but judging from her slightly relaxed shoulder line, that scrutinizing feeling had at least faded a bit.

"Really?" Si was somewhat skeptical.

“Really.” Rune nodded, his gaze frank.

As this delicate stalemate continued...

A calm voice came from behind.

“Rune”.

Iver's voice came from beneath the red robe, a flat tone that just interrupted the ongoing scrutiny.

"What did the Imperial Council discuss? Was it about the Demon King Sagara?"

Silk's attention was indeed drawn to this question.

She turned her head slightly towards Iverie, and the scrutinizing aura in her light green eyes dissipated somewhat.

"Ah...right." She adjusted her posture, resuming her captain's stance, "Brother, what was discussed at the royal council? How did His Majesty the King decide to deal with the Demon King Sagara?"

Rune breathed a sigh of relief and cast a grateful glance in the direction of Iverie.

Iverie responded with an extremely slight nod, clearly indicating that this tacit cooperation under Silk's watchful eye was not the first time.

Rune sat up straight and briefly recounted what had happened at the royal council meeting.

The Death Knight, an emissary of the Demon King Sagara, delivered a declaration demanding that the kingdom cede Riblomrushur and its surrounding areas, while acknowledging the existence of the Demon Kingdom, in exchange for the peace of the capital.

The nobles were outraged, and the king was determined to fight.

"...Therefore, the kingdom has decided to confront the Demon King Sagara head-on," Rune concluded.

The atmosphere in the room became somewhat heavy.

Si paused for a moment, then asked the question that had been on her mind: "Whom does His Majesty intend to send to fight the Demon King?"

“Feifei,” Rune replied, “that adamantite-level adventurer, the captain of the Dark Squad. The king asked Feifei about his willingness in the meeting, and Feifei promised to fight.”

After listening, Gegrand changed the position of his thick arms and crossed them over his chest, a thoughtful expression appearing on his square face.

"Feifei is really powerful. He has always defeated the Demon King Sagara. This time will probably be no exception."

Tina and Tia exchanged a glance. Although the ninja sisters did not speak, their expressions clearly showed that they agreed with Gegran's judgment.

Only Iveria remained unresponsive, her gaze beneath the mask quietly fixed on Rune.