Inside Elrich's office, two men were seated across each other while having tea. This situation might have sounded to be a tranquil sight, but reality usually isn't that simple. The atmosphere was more tense than usual because news had arrived that the hero had successfully made it back to the capital after a sudden departure.

"Isn't the hero making us wait for him a little too much?" Julian; Julia's father and head of the king's guard impatiently tapped on the table.

He had been coming to the Eberbach residence for the past couple of days with the purpose of negotiating for Julia's said contract to the hero be voided. Of course, that was not the only reason he was here. With Sodina's arrival to the capital, it only meant that the people that were sent to take care of her had failed their mission.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click for visiting.

Julian also came to a.s.sess Elrich's stand and current moves. With his daily visits, it would be harder for the duke to make preparations if in case he had already decided to point his blade at the kingdom.

"Be patient, old friend. I'm sure the hero has his reasons. Don't forget, it hasn't been that long since he had arrived here. He might have been overwhelmed by the differences in our worlds when he went outside the capital to look around." Elrich calmly sipped his tea.

Though Kazuya didn't inform everyone of his sudden expedition, it wasn't hard to understand why. Surely Elrich would have sent some people to serve as guards which Kazuya didn't seem to like very much. Though Elrich didn't agree with the hero venturing out on his own, there wasn't much he could do since the hero was not a subordinate to anyone.

"Did you properly inform him that I was waiting for him?" Julian impatiently turned to Laura who was the one that reported that the hero had safely made it back to the capital.

"Yes. I also made sure to tell him of the purpose you have made clear for the past few days." Laura replied in a polite tone.

"Hmph!" Julian snorted. He didn't like Laura's att.i.tude.

*knock* *knock* *knock*

"Excuse me Elrich-sama." Zwei moved to meet with the servant that just entered and received a report. "Pardon me, there is a matter that needs your attention." He whispered to Elrich after hearing what the subordinate had to say.

"Pardon me, old friend, it looks like my daughter has something to discuss with me in private. I will be back shortly." Elrich stood up.

"Wasn't she supposed to come here?" Julian was a little confused. Elrich indeed had someone summon Sodina earlier but why did he suddenly get called out?

"It seems that my daughter has something to discuss with me in private. I believe it should not be a secret that she had encountered an unfortunate event while she was on her way to the capital. Due to that, she has developed a little bit of issues regarding trust." Elrich hinted before leaving the room.

How could Julian not understand what was implied? He was worried that as time progresses, Elrich might have had some kind of evidence to use against the king's faction. With him being in the right, there were a lot of people that could have been implicated in this matter.

"(No… he wouldn't have hinted it in this way if he had undeniable proof…)" Julian calmed himself. He knew what kind of man the calm duke was. When it came to the battlefield there would not be any hesitation after the most feared 'war duke' had decided to act. There would have only been a victor and a loser.

After hearing Acht and Neun's report at the nearby room, Elrich couldn't help but look at Sodina sternly.

"Really… I don't know what kind of ill fate that hero and you have. First, you stole his horse, now you barged inside his room and acted arrogantly! You even treated him like a servant who was neglecting his duties and walked into him bathing? What are you thinking!? Even if that were the case, did I raise a daughter that would nonchalantly walk into a man who was bathing!?!" Elrich tried hard to calm himself as he ma.s.saged the beating veins on his forehead.  

There weren't many occurrences that he reprimanded Sodina but what had just happened couldn't be overlooked. From Neun's earlier report, Julia Tisdale was already trying to put some strain on the good relations.h.i.+p between him and the hero. Was Laura's theory really correct? If so, Julian's continuous visits here were no coincidence.

"Father…" being scolded, she understood that she was wrong. Her father had never been wrong before and she knew just how much she was treasured. "I apologize… I was mistaken… I will try to not act rashly next time." She lowered her head.

Elrich couldn't stay mad on Sodina for long after seeing her sincere apology. It was good enough for him if his obedient daughter understood what she had done wrong. Of course, as her father, it was his responsibility to teach her what was right and help her if ever she needed it.

"It is not me who you should be apologizing to." His tone softened as he ma.s.saged his temple. He knew that it wouldn't be a simple matter to deal with this while Julian was here. The moment that old fox who had been hanging around the political circle around the king noticed something was wrong, he would do whatever he could to take advantage of it.

The duke wondered if it was a mistake to ask his daughter to return to the capital to meet the hero. His daughter already did not have a favorable impression even before they met, and it had gotten worse the moment they did. What's more, the steel wolves unit, which was the unit that that spoiled his daughter, was not on good terms with him because of Laura's mistake either.

"(What if he meets with 'her'…?)" he wondered if there was a possibility that the leader of the elite unit that treated Sodina like a little sister would make their relations.h.i.+p go to a point of no return. As unpredictable as she was, the commander of the steel wolves unit was wise yet, most of the time showed a very fierce personality. Even Elrich had some trouble with her whenever their opinions differed.

"Should I go back and apologize before he meets with 'that slave's' father?" Sodina might not have been familiar with political affairs but she understood that her father did not get along with anyone from the king's faction recently.

"No. Kazuysan is a very sharp individual. As long as you act like there is nothing wrong, I believe he will catch on and act tactfully." Elrich seemed confident in that statement as his daughter wondered just what that rude young man did to gain her father's favor like this.

Though Sodina wanted to ask about the hero through her father, she knew this wasn't the right time. As soon as Elrich commanded Neun to stay by the hero's side so that there wouldn't be any more unexpected troubles, he took his daughter along back to where Julian had been waiting.

"Good day to you Sir Julian." Sodina politely greeted Julian.

"I heard you had experienced troubles, don't think too much about it as the experience will only make you stronger in the future. You are one of the kingdom's most talented young people after all." Julian said in a comforting tone.

"Thank you for the advice, Sir Julian." She said with grat.i.tude before joining the two for tea.

It didn't take a long time before Neun had made an appearance to announce Kazuya's arrival. Julian was a little displeased because his daughter had been treated as air and wasn't even introduced after he saw her enter with the young man who was supposed to be the hero that was called by their kingdom.

"It has been a while Elrich-san. I ended up extending my stay outside the capital because of… well, I'm sure you already know the reason why." Kazuya ignored Julian and exchanged greetings with the duke.

"Ah, yes. How could I not be? Not only have you ended up saving one of my subordinates' life, but you also saved my daughter's life even without knowing who she was." Elrich praised whilst stealthily glancing towards Julian.

Kazuya was the same. He also turned his attention towards Julian who could not prevent himself from not showing any reaction to the sudden bomb that was dropped in front of him. All of the people in the king's faction couldn't figure out what happened nor could they send people to investigate because of how much Elrich's forces have been active around the scene of the crime. How could Julian not show any reaction to this shocking revelation?

Was fate really playing a joke on their faction? Did the G.o.ddess favor the Eberbach family that much? Not only did the hero hit it off with the Eberbach house after he was summoned, but he also ended up saving the duke's beloved daughter by chance?

What about them? What had happened to their side? The princess was almost crippled by the hero to make them realize that they had done him wrong, he had lost his daughter who now had a status of a slave, and let us not forget the failed attempt on the life of Sodina Eberbach.

"(Father…)" Julia glared at her dad because of the obvious surprise he was showing. From her point of view, Julia already saw that most of the people in the room had already noticed Julian's strange reaction to the sudden news.

"What kind of 'hero' would I be if am selective with the people I save." Kazuya gave a light laugh. "Though I haven't accepted the role officially, I just couldn't ignore a person who I would have been able to help. It turns out that I did make the right decision as she turned out to be the only daughter you are famous for doting on."

"Haha!" Elrich laughed out loud. He didn't deny the hero's words at all because he was proud of the fact that his love for his daughter was renowned. "Let me introduce you; this is Sodina, my daughter." He turned to introduce Sodina who slowly stood from her seat.

"I apologize for the trouble I have given you. You have my deepest grat.i.tude for saving a stranger like me and even caring for one of my escorts who tried to sacrifice himself." Sodina sincerely bowed.

It turned out her father was correct. Not only did the hero not act any differently towards her, but he also seemed to have been paying attention to the reactions and behavior of Julian Tisdale.

"Please don't mention it. Your Father has been very accommodating. He was even generous enough to let me stay in such a luxurious room, so I am glad to have helped him in some way." Kazuya gently smiled at her despite the light jab in his words.  

Surely enough, despite Kazuya's expectation, Sodina was indeed raised as a n.o.ble. Her face remained calm and did not show any reaction towards his leaded words. The only thing that she couldn't hide was the look in her eyes that held some resentment towards Kazuya.

Julian, of course, did not notice the fire in Sodina's eyes as he was not very familiar with her character. Only those who knew what happened nervously looked at their young miss while wis.h.i.+ng she could hold it in. Laura, who wasn't aware of what happened, could only turn to Neun because she knew that something must have happened.

"We should discuss that matter later as we have a guest that has been anxiously awaiting your arrival, Kazuysan." Elrich gestured towards Julian who had waited long enough to be introduced. "This is Julian Tisdale, captain of the king's guard. It is the position that the Tisdale family had held for several generations."

"It is an honor to finally meet you, young hero. I wish we would have met under better circ.u.mstances." Julian saluted as a knight should.

Kazuya wasn't very familiar with this man. He had talked to the king numerous times in his first life but he hadn't seen this man do much apart from standing by the side. Kazuya didn't know what this man was capable of, so he was on guard around him. This guy was the one that raised and trained one of his former party members after all.

"Ah yes, I did hear from the gla.s.ses girl over there that someone had been making a fuss over here." Kazuya used his thumb to point at Laura who was beside Neun and Acht.

Though he was cautious with this person, that didn't mean he was afraid. If this man wasn't at least as strong as the demon lord, there wouldn't be any problems for Kazuya to face him alone. This was the reason why Kazuya had acted less politely towards him.

"I don't know what you have been told but I am here to—"

"If you do not have any business other than trying to take back my new subordinate, you may go back to where you came from, Mr. royal guard."

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