The kings palace was completely silent. It was as if he had completed his work and had gone to bed. Nothing could be heard in the palace except for Daveys footsteps and the pitter-patter of Rinnes bare feet touching the ground.

Rinnes feet were durable, but it was quite weird for her to avoid shoes. Aside from protection, shoes would also keep her feet from getting dirty. However, Rinne didnt seem to care. Davey did make her wear black tights under her skirt as Illyna had begged him to, but her white feet were still exposed since the tights only came down to her ankles.

Hup! YYour Highness!

Davey familiarly entered the palace. As he headed toward the kings bedroom, he quietly spoke to the servant and lady-in-waiting guarding the door. Open the door.

BBut, Your Highness! Without any message beforehand at this time

Open. Davey instantly frowned as his voice got colder. The door.

The servant and lady-in-waiting turned pale from Daveys flowing killing aura, since they were not used to his powers yet. It wasnt their fault in the first place, but it was difficult for Davey to control his killing aura right now. It was like his soul was used to it, but his body wasnt. Unlike the time he first woke up and slowly familiarized himself with his powers over the course of a few months, it was faster this time.

As Davey was about to sigh while the servant and lady-in-waiting looked at each other in a complete panic An old mans voice rang out from inside the bedroom; it was King Krianes. He was still awake although it was quite late.

Thats alright. Let him in.

The door hinges quietly moved as the doors opened, and Davey walked into an antique-style room.

Davey, its been a while.

May infinite blessing be upon the Sun of the kingdom. Please forgive my insolence.

Thats alright. I do not want to receive such a formal greeting from you here. And its also not rude for a son to come visit his father.

Your Majesty, for your subordinate to show respect

That is not needed between a father and son.

Are you still being stubborn?

King Krianes, who smiled at the kneeling Davey and held his hand tightly, looked more worn out than when they first reunited. He said, Yes, I heard you went to the Lyndis Empire.

Yes, I was invited to the coming-of-age celebration of Princess Aeria El Lyndis, the empires youngest princess.

You probably met Carlus.

I wont deny it.

Tsk tsk It would be nice if he came to his senses and grew up.

Strangely, there was almost no hint of care or love in King Krianes voice. The closest comparison that Davey could make would be love and hate. Noticing that, Davey then said, Your Majesty, you do know why I came to see you this late in the night.

King Krianes eyes deepened as Davey spoke. Then, he said, Can you give it up, Davey?

I am sorry, Your Majesty.

I am not going to live much longer. Can you think of it as your fathers last request?

Last request? Granted by who?

Davey couldnt help but scoff. Your Majesty, may I tell you something?

Speak.

Your Majesty, you have yet to pay for your sins. As King Krianes remained silent, Davey then added, Do not try to die without my permission. I will revive you even if you die.

Davey.

Your Majesty, you made this kingdom into this mess, made Mother die, abandoned me, and allowed the nobility to run wild. You did that, and you are just going to run away?

You cannot die until you take care of all of that. I will revive you if I have to. And when you have done everything, you will have to leave the crown to Baris. Only then can you die in my hands or live a long life or do whatever you want.

I heard about the Lyndis Empire. You grew up so well even when a neglectful father like me couldnt protect you. You also have outstanding judgment and the bold decisiveness a leader should have. King Krianes stood up and slowly approached Davey. He went on while holding Daveys hand, like he was appealing to him. Not only that, but your stigmata has been recognized by the Holy Empire, and you have used your exceptional medical knowledge to cure the Lyndis Empires youngest princess; you have achievements great enough for the empires acknowledgment and you have made your own ally.

King Krianes sighed. If you want the crown, it is yours. However, as a king, anyone who takes the path of force cannot decide on every little thing. It was like that for me as well.

That is an excuse.

A king King Krianes went on with a painful expression. Has too many people to protect. Davey, do you know how many people there are in this kingdom? There are five million. Not one, not a dozen, but five million. Do you know what that means? It means that five million people can live or die depending on a kings decision.

That is why a king cannot decide everything, and there are things he has to ignore even while knowing it.

Davey erased the cold smile from his face and stared at King Krianes, who went on to say, Alright Just let out all of your resentment toward me. I can happily die by your sword with a smile on my face if you can become a successful king.

Your Majesty, I have told you from the beginning

Davey.

Please grant me the title of Investigator. I will take care of the nobility.

King Krianes widened his eyes in surprise. He exclaimed, Davey!!

It seems like you dont know, butthe Bariatta family has joined forces with vampires and has been offering this kingdoms subjects to them as a sacrifice for a long time. Did you know that?

King Krianes widened his eyes even more. That is

At first, it was Her Majesty the Queen. Her Majesty didnt know the truth, but it is true that she was their support. And Davey emphasized every word that he said. That damn Carlus is doing it even while knowing what is going on. But you just let them be? Is that the path of a king? Does being a king meant ignoring the deaths of hundreds and thousands of people to save five million?

King Krianes couldnt say a word as Davey bombarded him with criticism. Davey went on. I cannot let such senseless people run wild in the kingdom that Baris, my brother, will inherit. Please send word if you decide on it. Your Majesty, you do not have to interfere in this anymore. No matter what they do, I will crush them.

Daveys language became rougher as he became more emotional.

Are you thinking of something else? Are you thinking of trying to use the allied Lyndis Empire to crush the nobility and force an end to this situation?

If that happens, they will lay low and hide while looking for another opportunity.

Do you think I would stand by and let that happen? If you want, I will cause a rebellion.

Davey!

Do you think I wont? I will do it. That is the kind of guy I, Davey ORowane, Your Majestys son, am.

The enemies last hit wouldnt be King Krianes or Marquis Peiltris who had been handicapping the nobilitys power; it would be Davey, which was why he had rushed to regain his power.

* * *

Perhaps King Krianes thought that he couldnt subdue his sons stubbornness, because he did give the title of General Investigator to Davey. No matter what the past relationship between Daveys mother, King Krianes, and Queen Lynesse, was, King Krianes probably had no choice since he had become aware of the fact that the nobility had crossed a line and that Davey may do something extreme.

However, if what Davey had told him was true, this was a heavy crime that the nobility couldnt glaze over with any kind of excuse. Of course, there was pushback about giving Davey the title of Investigator, but there werent any problems in the end. The nobility didnt possess the amount of power they had before, and King Krianes, who was furious, had pushed this through.

The very first thing Davey did after receiving the royal order that formally named him as General Investigator was to use his newly given right to gather the palace knights. Although they were just Experts, they would be enough helping hands. The second thing he did as the General Investigator was spread a rumor and command the fifty knights who had been selected to serve him.

We will start to break down the house of a harmful insect. Dont worry. Even if the insect is dangerous, you have me. All you have to do is break the house down.

Your wish is my command!

Remember, you are valuable knights of the Rowane Kingdom. I wont let you die.

A flame flared up from Daveys hand, then disappeared. His mana reacted with his emotions and showed up as a hot flame, since he wasnt used to it yet; it was worse than he thought. Although

Fire is the best at getting rid of insects.

* * *

Its Davey ORowane.

Hup! I I greet His Highness the Prince!

Davey glanced at the empty storage space behind the man who was lowering his head nervously. He asked, Is this an abandoned storage?

Oh Yes, it is. It was originally a storage space to store supplies for the dukes family But the supplies were cut off for some reason, so

A spider has set up its web, but its totally empty.

The five knights who followed Davey here looked confused. The facility did just look like an abandoned storage space from the outside.

Really? Is that so?

Yes Of course But what brings you to this small territory? Asking that question, the man slightly raised his head from the floor.

Davey chuckled. Why do you think Im here?

Hup. Davey took a short breath and wielded Blue Ribbon. He could use his hands to undo the barrier, but why bother when

Crack Crack!

Sh Shriek?!

The barrier would break with a slash from Blue Ribbon?

As the space distorted and the barrier broke, the storages interior completely changed. The empty ground sunk down to reveal a path.

It seems like you gave the barrier some thought, but you shouldve remembered who youre up against. As he spoke, Davey nonchalantly released his holy power.

[Holy Coating]

[Defensive Armor]

[Divine Shield]

It was an adequate level of holy magic that should be effective.

The knights, who looked down in surprise at the instantly engraved holy magic, soon remembered that Davey had a stigmata and began to quickly charge into the abandoned storage spaces basement. Soon, they widened their eyes in shock.

What should we do with you? Davey asked the man who was managing the storage calmly, and the man turned pale.

He wouldve kept it secret even though he knew what was going on.

PPlease kill me!

Lets do that then.

Pardon?

Splatter!

You asked me to kill you, so what else can I do?

If the man kept quiet despite knowing such atrocities were happening, not even a decapitation would be enough for his crimes.

The man collapsed onto the ground without a single scream. His eyes remained wide open. Davey walked over the mans corpse, and slowly walked into the basement as he coated Red Ribbon with holy power.