.

Two days later after Kazuya had purchased the slaves from Raizer, he got word that half of the slaves that he had purchased were sent to the mansion that was provided for him.

He had yet to return to the mansion as he did not want his presence to affect Nell's decision and gave them free reign over their stay at the place.

Due to his successful subterfuge, the necromancer's curiosity about his ident.i.ty had been calmed as he was no longer stalked by the paranoid old man. Though all of the dark magic pract.i.tioner's wariness when it came to Kazuya could not be completely alleviated, it was still a large burden that was off of Kazuya's shoulders.

Now, he did not have to waste time in losing the old man's pursuit and was able to get back to most of his activities without any trouble.

Though, while Kazuya was finally able to lose some of the stress he had been suffering from, the same could not be said after Zwei had given his report to both Benino and Alicia who had summoned him to hear it personally.

"So, you say that the hero's combat abilities are below that of Elrich's daughter?" Benino rested his chin on one hand after discerning that Zwei was not trying to hide anything from him.

"That is correct, your majesty. Kazuysama has yet to best Sodinsama when it comes to a duel against blades. They have done this exercise almost every day and the result has not changed ever since it started… but…"

"but what?"

"It is as Kazuysama had stated before. He is not the type to fight in the front lines. His interest in support magic supports that and I believe he has been learning from the clerics of the churches in the city." Zwei continued.

"What do you think about his talent as a healer then?"

"From my observations, Kazuysama has excellent observation abilities and battle sense. His claim to have been in a commanding position in his world does not seem to be a lie because even though he has lost to Sodinsama in every sparring session, the same could not be said when it was a battle against wits or tactics."

"That does not prove anything. Sodina has always been the type of person to not think and just fight." This time it was Alicia who spoke.

There was no way that she would not know about the single person that she was being compared to. She believed herself to be superior to Sodina in every way which was why she was a little frustrated that her current condition wouldn't let her test her skills against the hero. She believed that Kazuya would treat her differently if she showed her talent to him.

"Kazuysama, at his age is able to observe, discern, and make critical choices in the midst of battle without many problems. Although he eventually loses to Sodinsama, his losses were all with little to no damage to himself. That is a trait that is very hard to possess even amongst the best commanders in our kingdom." Zwei ignored the princess' remark and continued.

He did not want to give away too much about Kazuya. Zwei believed that there would be danger if he exposed Kazuya's opinion and suspicions about the kingdom and its n.o.bles.

"A healer and a commander type…" Benino muttered with a frown.

This was not what he had expected from the hero at all. Although there was once a hero that was once called the hero of life, most of the other heroes' abilities had been specialized for battle.

"Are you positive that the hero does not have much potential in learning battle arts?" Benino refused to give up on the possibility of sending Kazuya to the front lines. That was where they had the best chance of eliminating him if he became a problem or has already outlived his usefulness.

"While I cannot guarantee it because it has been almost three centuries since the last hero, I believe that Kazuysama himself may not be open to being forced to learn skills he does not want to learn." Zwei reminded them that despite their opinions, Kazuya was not the type of person to simply agree to their suggestions.

This made the frown in Benino's face grow deeper. Everything they have prepared for seemed to have been going awry ever since they succeeded in the hero summoning ritual. Even Alicia, who was supposed to have been an irreplaceable part of the plan was in a state that they did not know whether she could join in on the plan or not.

-

Meanwhile, while Zwei was having a private audience with the king and princess, Kazuya had just arrived in the castle and was unaware of what was currently happening.

"(Looks like that girl is not here today.)" he breathed a sigh of relief after checking the surroundings of the royal library.

There were very few people there since the princess had yet to show up. From the looks of the people who had all turned when he entered, the people who were there were hoping to catch a glimpse of the princess who had been religiously visiting the library recently.

"(Hopefully she isn't coming back here again…)" Kazuya shook his head after that thought as he knew Alicia too well to expect such a thing from an individual as stubborn and prideful as that princess.

"You're quite early today young man." The old librarian greeted him when he went to greet his old acquaintance.

"I actually came to see you since the atmosphere here is kind of awkward. Can I borrow some of the books and read somewhere more appropriate?" Kazuya asked.

"As long as it does not leave the vicinity of the royal palace, I don't see any reason why I should reject that request." The old man smiled.

He had no problem giving Kazuya that much since he was one of the main reasons why the library has so many visitors lately. The old librarian did not question many of the visitors' initial intentions since he had observed many of them get interested in some of the books that were offered by the library.

"Thank you." Kazuya took a few selections with him and showed it to the old man. He didn't take very long to gather some material as he did not know if the princess he wanted to avoid was going to show up.

Being a resident of the royal palace in his previous visit to Edea, Kazuya of course had taken note of places where he could have some time alone. Though he may have been almost an entirely different person compared to how he was back then, that did not mean that he had no attachment to certain things just because they belonged to or had been under the rule of one of his enemies.

One such place was the gardens in the eastern part of the royal palace. It was a beautiful place that one could easily get lost in if one was not familiar with.

Due to that fact, not many people ventured into the gardens that had been like a maze made up of beautiful plants and flowers that had been meticulously been taken care of by the gardeners the royal palace had employed.

Of course, such a big garden was cared for not only for the guests and gatherings that were hosted in the palace. Many places inside the gardens had hidden secrets in them that not many people were aware of.

One such place was a hidden area where not many people would have ventured into. The private s.p.a.ce was used for secret meetings that had been hidden behind thick walls of vines. An exquisite looking gazebo was inside this place and Kazuya had once spent much of his time in here when he wanted some time alone or had been skipping his intense training sessions from his previous life.

"Looks like this place had been undiscovered as it was back then." Kazuya smiled as he activated his mana to clean off the dust and dirt that have acc.u.mulated on the antiquities that were uncared for.

"Hmm?" In one of the corners of the gazebo, Kazuya noticed something he did not expect to see.

Several practice swords that looked to be for the size of children were hiding behind it.

"I don't remember something like this being here…" he picked up the short swords which revealed a toy that seemed to have been crafted for a n.o.ble.

Kazuya pondered about it for a moment before putting it at the back of his mind. There was little point to be worrying about it much because he had grown used to seeing things that he was not expecting any more. Pondering too much about such things was unproductive and there was no point about worrying about every little thing that did not match up with his memories at the moment.

"(I should start reinforcing the seal…)" closing the book that he had finished reading, Kazuya placed a palm over his chest and started concentrating his mana on forming a seal that slowly illuminated from his body.

This was a seal that he had been slowly reinforcing after he had arrived in this world. This seal prevented most of the mana he had gained from the hero summoning ritual from leaking out of his body or being felt by those with high perception.

His time with Tsuna, Lailah, and Natsu back on Earth made him get reminded numerous times about his habit of letting his mana affected by his temper. This was something that he could not help but lose control of especially when it came to things that involved people that he cared about.

This was a measure that was suggested by Natsu who had given up on trying to fix Kazuya's uncontrollable temper when it came to his triggers. He figured that Kazuya valued his former companions like family since his previous experiences made him treat them like the relatives he had in this life.

"Phew…" feeling his body get a bit heavier because of the restraints he had yet to remove, Kazuya felt that his current capabilities were just about the level of an elite soldier if he pushed the limits of the current level of his seal.

"This should be enough for now… hmm?" he noticed the lower part of the thick wall of shrubbery shake and felt a small presence coming inside slowly.

When he focused his sight on the small opening that separated the path outside from where he was, he noticed a golden head of hair slowly emerging from the small gap on the ground.

A child wearing a blue dress emerged from the opening and started tidying her clothes as soon as she got through. Her looks reminded Kazuya of one of the people he least wanted to see. He chose to act like he did not notice her arrival and started reading the next book that he borrowed from the royal library.

"!!!" The girl walked towards the gazebo and was surprised to find that someone was sitting inside the new looking structure.

Not expecting to see a person in the place that was supposed to have been inaccessible to adults, the little girl panicked and quickly jumped behind the bushes nearby.

She scanned the area and was shocked to find out that the stuff she had left in this place was not in the corner she left them at. The little girl was shocked to see that the toy was meticulously placed on the table where the young man who appeared to have been reading was.

Pondering about how she would recover her toy without Kazuya noticing her, she was unaware that she was completely visible to Kazuya who had been pretending to read.

"(How careless…)" he had already locked his senses towards the strange girl and a.s.sumed from her clothing and demeanor that she was someone who was not unfamiliar with the castle.

From her actions, she didn't seem to be a person who possessed a threat to him. Even though he had just finished an additional layer to his seal, his current mana reserves would be able to handle this little girl even with the potential he felt this little girl had.

"(He's…)" the little girl's mood lifted when she noticed that the young man who was reading appeared to be dozing off.

This was her chance. She waited for his drowsiness to take over and silently wished that he would fall asleep without any problems.

She looked at the sky and confirmed that there weren't going to be any problems before she quietly sneaked closed towards the gazebo.

Carefully looking at the sleeping young man and prepared to retreat at any sign of him waking up, she carefully made her way towards the table to retrieve her toy.

"(How amusing…)" Kazuya stopped himself from laughing at the nervous but careful movements of the girl that was slowly getting closer.

She looked like an overly cautious cat who would glance at Kazuya's face after every step.

When she finally reached her stuffed animal, a clean and flowery scent instantly filled her nostrils. She immediately examined the supposed to be worn out toy she had left here in a hurry in the past to see it in a condition that was like when she had first gotten it.

She couldn't help but turn her attention towards the sleeping young man who she was surprised to see in the secret s.p.a.ce she found in the castle gardens. Just how was he able to enter this place without even a speck of dust on his clothes.

"(This big brother doesn't seem to be from our kingdom…)" the clever little girl observed Kazuya's physical appearance from head to toe.

He was wearing an attire that was very unlikely for a n.o.ble to wear. Garbed in clothing that was very similar to the clothing that people would wear whenever she pa.s.sed through commoner areas, she immediately a.s.sumed that he was not someone from the castle when she first entered this place.

"(Do you want to burn a hole through me with that stare little girl?)" Kazuya couldn't help but think as he clearly felt her gaze.

"(Could this big brother be…)" A thought entered her mind after remembering some of the topics the adults kept talking about non-stop recently.

Lowering her arms that were used to hold the stuffed animal. She sincerely bowed towards the sleeping young man in front of her with grat.i.tude.

"Thank you… for taking care of my friend…" she said in a shy and low voice to avoid waking him up.

She turned around and silently walked back to where she came from. This area was now a place that was occupied by another person so she did not intend to intrude upon someone who was resting here.

"You're welcome." a voice came from behind her after she had taken a few steps away.

"!!" she jumped towards the nearest place she could hide behind in panic.

Kazuya held back the urge to laugh at the cute antics of this little n.o.ble. He hadn't expected to be thanked for something that he had done randomly. He felt that this child had been sincere and this was a very rare thing that could be found in the place they were currently in.

"Are you planning on getting your friend dirty again by going out the same way you came in?"

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