Chapter 491 - A Bond Of Blood
It seems there was something the Seika had that attracted others to him. But, unfortunately, his friend was blinded by the Seika's potential, even allowing him to kill a noble and get away with it. Amon was confused as to why.
"I had a feeling that you disliked Seika the last time we met," Saint Ai smiled. "I want to know, Sir Amon. Are you an enemy of the Seika?"
"I might be," Amon emotionlessly answered. "What are you going to do about it if I am?"
"I am a weak, helpless woman," sighed Saint Ai in her chair. "And the Seika does not need my protection. However, I would advise you against taking this route."
"What do you know, Saint Ai?"
"I am sure that you have realized it as well after seeing what happened that day," she frowned. "I was no revived by a god, but a man."
"That feat is beyond nonsensical," laughed Amon with a shake of his head. "This is the question I wanted to ask. I want to know if the Seika can revive humans who are long gone."
"I am unsure myself, and our meeting was brief," she looked down. "However, the Seika is not a man you want to have as an enemy. Our kingdom is too small to contain him, and the right thing is to serve him."
"I only serve His Majesty," frowned Amon as he supported his chin. "Are you in love with the Seika?" his question sounded childish even for him.
"I... love?" she sounded confused and lost and tilted her head. "I have a question that may serve as an answer," she pondered. "Assuming that you remember your mother, why do you love her?"
"My mother?" Amon was taken aback. "Loving her is only natural. I would have never been here without her; it is a bond of blood."
"Those are my exact feelings," she smiled. "I do not see the Seika as a god, nor do I see him as a man. The Seika is why I am here, and loving him is only natural. Thus, I shall serve him."
"You are older than him."
"I never thought of him as young," she laughed. "Age is for the body, but the soul is eternal. The Seika is far from being young."
Amon sighed because he did not obtain the answer he needed. Seika of Living Being... is a mysterious man. It might be beneficial to give him the benefit of the doubt and befriend him.
"Then," Amon thought of a different matter, and the image of a friend appeared in his mind. "Then, what if the Seika turns evil? Are you going to keep serving him?"
"There is no good or evil for me," Saint Ai stood up and walked toward the window. "There is what the Seika wants and what he does not. I will obey. Please relay my wish to meet him, Sir Amon."
"I will, Saint Ai," stood up Amon before bowing down. "I will take my leave now," he said and left the room. As soon as he walked out, Scholar Jermyn was standing behind the door.
"This is inappropriate, Sir Amon," frowned the scholar. "The Saint is a sacred leader of Schelera. Even the King's Hand does not have the right to intrude and demand a private meeting."
"Ah, I apologize," Amon said with a smile before he left the scholar fuming. Then, Amon left the temple with the path ahead clear for him.
***
"We are going to stop at Livia before we go to Runera," said Yosef to the young princess, who was staring out of her window, her green eyes sparkling.
"Woah, Yosef, look at that!" she pointed, and Yosef followed, only to see a river. "There is so much water!"
"Well, we do lack rivers in the Yozia Empire," laughed the guard. "I guess you haven't seen anything other than sprints, your highness."
"Call me Jasmine," she interrupted. "I fear that I would only be the princess if you keep calling me that."
"Ah, I will try," Yosef scratched his head. "Please do not offend the King of Freda. We worked hard to avoid wars for the past couple of years."
"I need something in return," she grinned and turned, her eyes turning into crescents in an evil smile. "You have to tell me about the bastard."
"Uh, which bastard of them? You call everyone a bastard."
"My father, the bastardest bastard of all," she said as if obvious. "You were in his platoon when he served in our army. That was before he met my mother, right?"
Yosef started sweating as the topic shifted to his old comrade. There was no escape he could use like the king, so he tried to frown and look toward the window.
"We are being followed," he said to avoid the subject. Jasmine glared at him before a smirk appeared on her face.
"Oh, no! How dare this kingdom endanger our lives? I will make sure to lecture the idiotic king about how to rule. That is only natural as the smartest person. I hope it does not end in an all-out war," she whistled.
"It was my imagination! You wanted to know about your father, right?" Yosef changed the subject. Jasmine grinned and pretended not to hear his words. "I will tell you how we met!"
"Go ahead," she uncaringly looked at her nails. "I might sleep if this story is too boring. Therefore, make sure to include all of the details."
"As you command, Miss Jasmine," sighed the guard in defeat as memories appeared from the past. "We were sieged at that time by an army. I thought that I would lose my life, and I had just become captain.
"The enemy was using weapons forged by the dwarves, mana cannons. These would send a mana blast that tore down our armor as if they were paper. We were outnumbered, and the odds were looking slim," Yosef could see Jasmine was looking at him with sparkling eyes.
"Then, a mana blast came my way. I was sure that I would have died, but a man appeared before me. His clothes were ragged, and his frame with thin. To be honest, the man looked unreliable. But, with a wave of his hand, the mana changed its course."
"Are you talking about his ability?"
"Yes, young miss," Yosef smiled. "That man was the only one who could stop wars if he wished for it. So after that, the emperor decided to reward him with a platoon. I volunteered to be the vice-captain. From there, we grew to be the strongest unit in the kingdom."
"You are praising the bastard too much," she huffed, but Yosef could see her lips twitching with pride. "Then, if he was so powerful, he must have left on his own."
Yosef could feel the sadness of an abandoned child. Yosef sighed because he knew the truth. His friend had to leave because... this was not his only family.
The princess might be overjoyed if she learned that she had siblings. However, it would break if she never found them or did not exist. After all, Yosef could not be sure.
The reason that he believed his friend had another family was because of the picture he once found. However, if that was true, the Yozia Empire had two more heirs.
***
Amon jumped off the monster, almost running away. The little girl standing on the dock threw some food for it and blew a conch shell, and the aqua monster looked overjoyed.
"Good Job, Rimy!" she patted the monster, and it was enjoying it. Amon looked at the harbor and saw no ships, only a giant fleet of monsters.
"Welcome to Runera, Hand of The King," greeted the Knight of Courage, who was not wearing her armor, but a pair of linen trousers and white shirt. "Albeit surprising, your visit is welcomed."
"Knight of Courage," greeted Amon with amazement. "I never thought I would live to see you without your armor."
"This city is safe enough for me to take it off," laughed the knight. "Furthermore, I am the Minister of Civil Affairs here. I serve the people directly instead of the front lines."
"Minister of Civil Affairs..." blinked Amon. "I had no idea that Runera had a different governing system than our kingdom."
"Well," frowned Courage. "It seems the Seika thinks our system is too messy because the titles do not indicate the job."
"I... see..." Amon awkwardly laughed. "I am here to visit the Seika, and I hope that he is available? I heard that he disappeared from the public after Runera emerged to the world."
"The Seika is an eccentric man," sighed Courage. "However, he is working for this kingdom just like he promised. How about I take you on tour in our city?"
"I would rather just meet the Seika, Courage."
"You do not have to rush," smiled the knight as she led the way.. "I believe that you will change your mind about the Seika after seeing how much he accomplished."