Demon War Summit.

The summit had been planned from the moment Cadel revealed the existence of the Scarlet Dragon Kunra to the Emperor the day before. Cadel had compiled the information Kunra had gathered so far, as well as what he knew as a transmigrator, and delivered it to the Emperor.

A mere knight commander holding this much information in his hands was not enough to move the world. He must give it to someone with the power to move the world.

As a result, the Emperor decided to hold a summit of the leaders of the seven great nations, and Cadel was invited to attend. Cadel was a beat late in informing his subordinates, however, as he had a meeting with the siblings of Cadel Lytos shortly thereafter.

Cadel first informed Garuel and Lydon of the information he would share at the meeting, and then went to see Lumen, who was currently in trouble.

Lumen was in the training grounds outside the Knight Order’s annex. The annex housed the Scarlet Scales Knight Order, but there was no limit to the number of people who could use the training grounds. That was why, when he arrived, Cadel found the training grounds full of people other than Lumen.

“That’s Lumen Dominic? ……He’s as handsome as rumored.”

“I want to know if his skills are as great as they say.”

“I’ll ask for a spar, though.”

“There’s a whole cartload of people who asked and got rejected.”

“Are you saying he rejected them all? Hmm……. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to show that his skills are lacking.”

They looked like the villagers who had spied on the Knight Order practicing in the Yingchen Village. Cadel poked his head out from the center of the circle to find Lumen, swinging his sword steadily. His slightly disheveled hair was damp with sweat, as if he’d been practicing for quite some time.

“He is a talented person who was so coveted in the Mainue Kingdom, how could his skills be lacking? A man’s jealousy is ugly.”

“It’s not jealousy, it’s just reasonable suspicion. Besides, look. After all, didn’t he come to the Empire and not the Mainue Kingdom? I’m not saying that the Empire is inferior to the Mainue Kingdom, but wouldn’t it mean that if the Kingdom is willing to send a talented person away, it’s a person who can be let go?”

“……Is that so?”

“Of course! The reason the Guardian Knight Order praised Lumen Dominic’s quick sword is because the Scarlet Scales Knight Order played a bigger role than them, so they want to protect their pride. It’s definitely an exaggeration on purpose.”

It was hard to break through the wall of people. They were all training muscle pigs, and Cadel’s nudges didn’t work, until finally he poked the man in front of him in the back to make him turn around.

“Besides, with a beautiful face like that, the suffering he goes through on the battlefield is…… Huh?”

The man, who had been talking excitedly for a while, only noticed and turned around when Cadel stabbed him a total of five times. Cadel flashed a harmless smile into the man’s face as he stared at him blankly.

“Could you please step aside for a moment? Because I want to move forward.”

“……Huh? Uuh? Could it be that…….”

A pure white robe and red cloak, hair as black as ebony, and gray eyes with a strange, cloudy glow. The man’s expression quickly hardened as a cold gaze, incongruous with his soft features, slowly swept over him.

“You are, the Scarlet Scales Knight Order’s commander……!”

“Yes, you are correct. You’re probably a member of the Heaven Time Knight Order……. Shall I ask your name as well?”

The man’s booming cry drew the attention of the other knights in the vicinity. The man, shaken by the unwanted attention, spoke in a muffled voice.

“My name is Nefelie Dreiz, a member of the Heaven Time Knight Order.”

“Yes, Sir Nefelie. Now will you please make way for me?”

His tone was gentle, but Nefelie was not reassured. He was unnerved that Cadel had bothered to learn his name as a member of another order, and instead of giving Cadel a pass, he watched him closely.

“I apologize if you were offended by what I said earlier. I got excited and my mouth ran out of control, so please……. I didn’t really mean it that way.”

“Hmm? Was I mad at Sir Nefelie?”

“Not, not really, but…….”

“So why apologize when I’m just going to pretend I didn’t hear you.”

Cadel patted Nefelie on the shoulder and smirked, his face as docile as if he were dealing with a neighborhood kid.

“But this is the third time.”

“……Pardon?”

“Move out of the way. Your large body is in the way.”

“Ah, yes, I’m sor―”

“……No. This is not it. Now, come here! Come with me, Sir Nefelie.”

“Knight, Knight Commander Cadel?”

Grabbing Nefelie’s arm again to clear the way, Cadel made his way to the center of the grounds, asking the knights in front of him to excuse him.

He then saw Lumen, who had long since stopped practicing after sensing something was amiss. He glanced back and forth between Cadel and the strange knight he had brought with him, and his brow narrowed.

“What are you doing, Leader?”

“It’s no big deal. This is Sir Nefelie. He wanted to spar with you, so I brought him here, do you mind?”

“……Spar?”

Lumen’s cold gaze turned to Nefelie, who was sweating profusely. Lumen was guessing that he had been dragged here by Cadel because he had done something to disturb him, and while he would normally refuse to accept a sparring match because he thought it would be endless, it was a different story if Cadel asked him to.

Nefelie’s complexion darkened even more as Lumen nodded slightly and turned the sword around. Cadel patted him on the back and squinted at him thoughtfully.

“You’ll have to show off your skills to deal with him. It seems that your beautiful face doesn’t apply to Sir Nefelie.”

* * *

Unsurprisingly, the sparring ended in Lumen’s favor. In what was hardly a sparring, Lumen taunted Nefelie with basic thrusts, not even using his specialty, the sword drawing technique.

Nefelie was a strong enough swordsman to be an Imperial Knight, but he didn’t have the nerve to handle the pressure of being in the spotlight.

In the end, Nefelie lost badly and fled the room. Cadel also left, taking Lumen with him, apologizing insincerely for interrupting everyone’s training.

“Why did you do something you didn’t do before? You don’t like to stand out.”

As Lumen sat down on a garden bench and pulled out a bottle of water, Cadel dropped the façade of the good-natured commander he’d been maintaining and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“I don’t mind they calling me names, but I can’t stand it when they belittle my subordinates. I wanted to set his butt on fire, but I held back because there were a lot of eyes watching.”

“……Well, that must have been fun in its own way.”

With a small smile, Lumen emptied the bottle of water and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Cadel stared at Lumen’s sweaty face, then spoke quietly.

“You must have been practicing hard.”

“I’m always working hard.”

“Is it because of the summit? If you’re not comfortable facing King Mainue, you can stay somewhere else in the meantime.”

“……Not really. By the way, Leader, are you coming to the meeting? We’ve got the Scarlet Dragon on our side, so I’m guessing the Emperor will bring you along, if only for the chance to speak.”

“I know it without you telling me.”

“You’re not usually one for this kind of thing.”

Lumen fiddled with his finished bottle and kept his eyes on the ground. Cadel closed his mouth, and silence quickly fell between them. After a few moments, Lumen cleared his throat, cautiously.

“Until the talks are completely over, stay away from me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re welcome to stick close to the Emperor’s side, but I’d prefer you have no contact with me until all the leaders have returned.”

“What do you mean, why would I do that?”

Lumen’s mouth clamped shut like a clam at Cadel’s question. It was an odd reaction to have simply because of the King of the Mainue Kingdom. And Cadel didn’t particularly feel guilty towards the King. Even if someone scolded him for something, he was confident that he would listen with one ear.

But just as Cadel was about to reassure Lumen.

“My father is coming. I got a telegram last night.”

Cadel was interrupted by unexpected news.

“……Your father?”

“He told me to accompany the King. Not only do I, his son, live in the Empire, but the Dominic family is also the central family that supports the Mainue Kingdom. His justification must be sufficient.”

Why Lumen’s father was coming to the Empire, Cadel didn’t know, nor did he want to know. What mattered was that Cadel knew Lumen’s past.

‘That non-combustible waste that cannot be disposed of comes back to see Lumen?’

Cadel still remembered the emotions he’d felt when he’d planned the assassination of Froch Dominic. An irredeemable devil who had stolen Lumen’s entire childhood. If Cadel couldn’t kill him, he hoped he’d never have to see him again.

Cadel’s gaze turned murderous, and beside him, Lumen was consumed with the worry that his father might cause Cadel trouble. It was unintentional, but the subtle withdrawal fueled Cadel’s fighting spirit.

“As long as I don’t see Leader, my father will continue to stick by my side. So don’t worry about it and just stay away for a few days.”

“……Okay, then. I’ll be careful.”

Now that the demons were defeated, the humans were the problem. You want to stand by Lumen’s side and harass him for the duration of the summit? Fine. If you’re going to hold on to a son who ran away from home in search of freedom, I’m not going to stand idly by.

Cadel pretended to have no interest in other people’s domestic affairs, to know nothing of his past. To Lumen’s reassurance, he began to formulate a plan to get rid of Froch Dominic once and for all.