The next day, the king and the minister of finance were having a conversation inside the king's office.

"I heard you had a talk with Duke Eberbach yesterday your majesty."

"Hmph! We did." The king snorted. "For a person who was against summoning the hero, he sure did change his colors quickly."

"Did the duke agree to making good use of him?" the minister questioned.

"No. It was several warnings about agitating the hero. While he claimed to have done his job on giving the hero an introduction on our kingdom's situation, he says that we need to be more careful in not making the hero turn against the kingdom."

"Is he making a threat your highness?" the minister's eyebrows twitched. He wasn't one of the people that liked Elrich because of his overbearing nature.

Though Elrich appeared to be amicable and easy to talk to, the n.o.bles in the palace thought otherwise. This was because of the difference between their posts. Most military families usually are at odds with the statesmen so there were not a whole lot of people that welcome Elrich's presence.

"I don't believe so, Ivan. Elrich may speak like that but I can guarantee that he would be the first to volunteer to defend against a threat against the kingdom. If only the hero had come at a later time, things would have been different." Benino sighed.

"What do you mean your majesty?"

"Those incompetent people from the church can't even provide a few berserk demons to serve as additional evidence for the threat. All they were able to do was get rid of a few villages." Benino shook his head in disappointment. "Elrich would have been on our side if they were able to do their job well."

"Will the plan to keep the duke occupied work when the hero is currently in his care?" worried that the hero may join the duke in case his reaction to what will happen may be more than what they had imagined, the minister asked carefully.

"Relax. The hero may have been unexpectedly sharp but, one thing I've learned about him is that he values himself above all else. I may have suffered a bad streak ever since he was summoned, but the fact that he hasn't spent much time with Elrich will make them not involve each other in anything personal." The king had taken a look on the bright side since it wouldn't be beneficial for him if he remained hostile to Kazuya.

"I see…" the minister agreed with the king's a.s.sessment. "Should I grant the hero's request on funds then?"

"Yes. Make sure to let him know once he arrives today. He's supposed to meet with Alicia to give her some treatment." Benino commanded.

"Understood. I will make sure to mention the king's generosity on the matter." The finance minister bowed before excusing himself.

"Hero Kazuya… I will make sure to see through you and put you to good use…" the king whispered as he stood near the window facing the front of the palace.

Little did the king know that he was currently in the eyes of Kazuya who had just entered the palace. He was accompanied by the two maids who were instructed to accompany him and help with whatever they could.

"(Oh you will?)" Kazuya grinned after reading the king's lips. "(I'll be waiting for you eagerly Benino.)"

"I suggest you practice on your smiling face, Kazuysama." Nuen commented after being startled at Kazuya's expression.

"Nuen is right Kazu-sama! Your face looks like you're about to scam someone!" Acht chimed in.

"Ugh… you two are merciless…" Kazuya slumped his shoulders and walked with the two to the castle while being led by one of the knights who had guided him before.

He had grown closer to the two maids after the two had confirmed that Kazuya was just like any other person. His t.i.tle of hero as well as the duke's warning to be careful of their actions initially made them extremely careful around Kazuya.

Their visits around the shops in the previous day made the two realize that even though his entrance into this world was enough to separate himself from all his predecessors, the hero Kazuya was a kind person.

Though he looked very capable, the fact that he was new to this world despite his mastery of the knowledge had helped them be more at ease when interacting with him. Kazuya made good use of his apparent deficiency about the norms in their kingdom to ask the girls subtle questions about matters he needed to know about.

He was able to learn about the young miss of the Eberbach family while asking about her dislikes when picking out clothes for himself. Kazuya even revealed some of his apparent weaknesses towards them so even Nuen had begun to relax herself around him.

The two maids were shocked when Kazuya asked them questions about the slums and orphans around the common districts when they pa.s.sed by. If they hadn't been informed about how Kazuya had acted when he arrived in Edea, the two would have been skeptical about it after they have already met.

"Please refrain from using that expression. If the n.o.bles saw, they would a.s.sume that you were plotting something." Neun reminded.

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"Ugh… None of my subordinates ever complained about it before though. They told me that it was an expression that a.s.sured them of victory." Kazuya sighed.

Of course, the two were also curious about earth. Kazuya stayed true to his role as a commander and told them about how he had met his first group of subordinates when he was still a young boy. He also told them about the various inventions of his world that seemed unbelievable to the two.

"That's because they were your subordinates! They're too afraid to point it out!" Acht giggled.

"While it may be true that a smile like that can improve morale in the battlefield, it does not apply when socializing." Neun added. "I believe I just had a grasp of Kazuysama's socializing capabilities." She tried to hold back the smile growing on her face.

"How rude. I'll have you know that I—" Kazuya immediately stopped to turn towards the other end of the hallway.

Kazuya immediately called the gun to his hand and pointed towards where the sudden killing intent came from. He saw a flash of light that came from the a.s.sailant drawing a weapon. This caused him to be unable to identify the blurry figure who had been in a hurry to do him harm.

"Tsk" he clicked his tongue and hesitated on squeezing the trigger. He didn't have the luxury to identify who the attacker was if he wanted to maintain his façade.

"Please leave this to us." Neun immediately stepped in front of Kazuya to prevent him from shooting.

"Hehe, someone actually dared to attack someone under our protection!" Acht giggled and stood beside Neun.

Neun pulled a pair of hair ornaments that held up the back of her hair. Acht on the other hand crunched her knuckles. The two prepared to take on the sword strike from the unknown a.s.sailant.

"For the princess!" Kazuya's eyebrow immediately twitched after hearing the annoying voice that was full of blind loyalty.

*CLANG!*

"(Hou… quite impressive)" he thought as the attack from his former party member was completely stopped.

Kazuya had heard about the members of the steel wolves unit but it was the first time he was able to see them in action. Using metal ornaments, Neun was able to imbue her mana on them and stopped the sword that was struck down at Kazuya. Though it looked to have been simple, Julia Tisdale was no normal royal knight.

Acht didn't stand around either. Immediately after Neun blocked the sword, her fist agilely moved towards the a.s.sailant's throat. Though it stopped before it made physical contact, the wind pressure caused by it had accurately hit it its mark.

*cough* *wheeze* cough*

Julia Tisdale who hadn't been wearing her uniform immediately fell to her knees. She tried to gasp for air while glaring at the two who prevented her attack and launched their own.

"Steel… wolves…" she could barely let her voice out. Let alone have a good grip of the weapon on her hand.

"You are not wrong, but you are not right either. We are but candidates." Neun corrected Julia while wearing a neutral expression.

Kazuya took the opportunity to look at the sorry state the annoying princess' guard was in. He regretted not being able to be the one who caused it as he wasn't able to identify her earlier.

"I don't think we have ever met before. Why did you try to attack me?" he asked her curiously.

"Bast—" Julia mustered her strength and lifted her sword.

*click*

"—ard" she felt cold steel on her forehead and froze.

"Looks like you're an ingrate who hasn't realized your life has been saved by the two ladies who blocked you." Kazuya grinned. "My patience is extremely limited against those who want to do me harm so I will not ask again. Who are you?"

The cold smile from Kazuya made Julia's back feel like it had been doused with cold water. He gave her the feeling that he didn't care about her ident.i.ty at all and was just curious if she would answer. The two maids who saw this had sighed as the warning they had given earlier had just been ignored.

"She is the personal guard of Princess Alicia." Someone interrupted. "A guard that is supposed to be off duty today." A man who had been introduced to Kazuya as the kingdom's finance minister walked up to them looking displeased.

"So let me get this straight… I was asked to come here by the king to treat his daughter via the duke. Now, I come here only to find that the personal guard of that daughter tried to kill me. I somewhat find that amusing and unamusing at the same time." Kazuya didn't hide his displeasure.

"I—" Julia tried to speak but Kazuya only pressed the gun's barrel on her harder to prevent that.

"I am terribly questioning this world's standards for personnel. Wasn't the palace supposed to be the safest place in the capital?" he looked at Julia directly in the eye. "I should have the right to end this failure of a guard's life, right? Minister Ivan?" he directed the question towards the minister but kept his gaze at the trembling Julia.

"Please don't. This is not the place to be spilling blood if we have a choice." Ivan quickly replied to prevent him witnessing the sudden attack from the hero's soul weapon. "This person is very close with the princess since they have grown up together. She must have lost her temper after seeing her liege's condition."

"Though that is indeed my fault, I had the proper reasons to do so. None of you have questioned me about it so I expected it to not be an issue. Should I be expecting people like her attacking me then?" Kazuya had no intention of listening to his excuses for her.

"I will make sure that she gets punished for what she has done. This I swear on my name." Ivan had no choice but to make an oath in front of the duke's subordinates. "Rather, I would like to inform you about the good news that the king has granted your request on this world's currency." He immediately tried to move away from the topic.

"I will take your word for it then. I'll make sure to come to you if another loyalist tries to come after me for the same thing again." Kazuya lowered his gun. "I've changed my mind about helping the princess so I'll come with you and hear what you have to say instead."

"That…" both Ivan and Julia flinched at Kazuya's sudden decision.

"I'm a pretty good marksman so I'm sure the pretty princess should have a lot of trouble moving right about now. I hope that people in this world have a good understanding about healing techniques that don't involve mana or it would be a waste for that pretty girl to not be able to walk again." Kazuya moved to the side and made sure to step on Julia's sword on the ground before pa.s.sing by.

*grab*

"P-please… Heal Alicisama…" Julia finally let go of her sword and grasped the hero's pants.

"That was the reason for me being here in the first place but, congratulations, you have changed my mind. That doesn't happen very often." He scoffed and tried to brush off her hands.

"I am willing to give up my arms and legs in exchange!" she shouted just as he was about to get away.

Kazuya stopped and took another look at Julia. He had made his mind up about this woman's fate but what she just said had surprised him more than anyone had expected. This girl had no problems about showing her loyalty towards Alicia even in his previous life but he had always a.s.sumed that there had been a limit.

"(Looks like I didn't know about her as much as I thought I did.)" he thought.

"…" Julia looked nervous. Even so, she returned his stare and steeled her resolve.

"I am not interested in taking your body parts. (At least not according to your wishes.) But your resolve has piqued my interest. You of all people should know that your life as a knight is over the moment you are unable to even walk. Does that mean that you are offering your life in exchange for the princess' ability to walk again?"

Though Julia's resolve had been taken as a desperate plea, Kazuya's confirmation had made the others realize just what Julia Tisdale was offering. Even as the two maids who had been at the receiving end of her attack couldn't help but admire the loyalty she was showing her master.

"Yes…" Julia couldn't help but swallow after watching that chilling smile once again show on Kazuya's face.

"Neun"

"What is it Kazuysama?" a little surprised at suddenly being called out, Neun flinched.

"Is there a method in this world that will make her not go back on her words after I heal the princess?" Kazuya already knew the answer to his question. He only asked to prevent any suspicions about what he has been focusing on learning about Edea.

"I can think of two… A soul contract and a slave contract."

.