Chapter 10 The Standoff

There they stood, Prince Anton and Princess Sara together with 15 other knights on horses wearing magnificent armor. At first it was quiet, no one said anything or moved in any way. But then Prince Anton and Princess Sara got off their horses and drew their swords. They came slowly towards me, but I couldn't sense any danger coming from them, even though they had their swords drawn. Shortly before they stood in front of me, they stopped and looked at the ground in front of them.

'' That's the BARON!'' one of the soldiers suddenly shouted.

'' .... ''

'' .... ''

Prince Anton and Princess Sara, however, did not react as I had thought, they raised their heads from the ground and looked at me.

'' Did you do that? '' Prince Anton asked me

''.... what if it was me? ''

'' wait Anton...say what is it about this woman? '' Sara asked me, holding back Anton, who was about to attack me.

'' This woman was forcibly taken from her farm by the Baron...she was kidnapped, so to speak, and her farm was burned down.

'' .... is that true? '' Sara asked the woman

'' ....Yes princess. '' said the woman in tears.

After the woman confirmed my statement, Sara and Anton both put their swords away again and ordered the knights to do the same. After that I explained the whole story again to Sara, how the children of the woman told me about the baron and that there were probably other women in one of the houses. When I said that, Anton and the knight went to the house where the women were supposed to be. They went to the small house and opened the door before we could all hear loud female screams.

'' PLEASE HELP US. '' shouted one of the voices

Upon hearing this and seeing the women in the barn, Anton only looked at Sara with a look of horror. She then looked at the Baron's head, which she dropped in disgust shortly after, then held her hand over his head and said.

'' Burn. '' in an angry voice

The head began to burn until after a few seconds only ashes remained.

'' I understand what happened here....say what was your name.... no can it be that you are this Shindo ? '' Sara asked me.

I started to sweat nervously and remembered her words while back in the village.

'' ....my- my name, you don't need to know what we need to take care of right now are the women. ''

I said to Sara, who just looked at me before smiling and walking over to the woman. I handed her the woman, and shortly after I heard horses in the background and could see several carriages behind Sara and the woman.

'' Please excuse me, say are my children okay, do you know where they are? '' the woman asked me

''Don't worry, your children are fine, they are at a good friend's house.

After I told her that, the woman fell on her knees and burst into tears while Sara calmed her down and comforted her. I had actually intended to take advantage of this and make a quick getaway, but just then Anton came back.

'' Sister, there are also over 10 women here, they have been kept in rooms, they are in a bad shape, we have to get them out of here quickly. ''

'' How is their condition? ''

'' sigh... not good I'm afraid some of them won't survive the trip home. '' said Anton frustrated

Shin?

'' I could take care of the injured ones. '' I said to the two

They looked at me in confusion before we went to the women who had been taken out of the house by the knights. I looked at them and knew that they had not been fed for weeks. They were only bones and skin, many had bruises all over their bodies, and some had broken arms and legs.

'' What are you going to do now if I may ask? '' Anton asked me

After he said that I went to the first woman who was lying on the ground, held my hand over her body and said Heal.

'' But this is- ''

'' Heal... '' said Sara

Shortly after that the woman opened her eyes which she could only barely hold open and saw all her wounds disappear, allowing her to stand on her feet again. I did the same for the other women and after healing the last one with Heal, they all fell into each other's arms and began to cry. I stood up and turned around only to see the shocked faces of Sara, Anton and the knights.

'' mhhh what's wrong ? ''

'' no- so it is- so its really true, you are this shindo guy right ???? ''

'' ... '' I didn't answer him and wanted to seem mysterious but in reality I was just nervous.

As you probably know, Heal is an extremely rare ability, there are only a handful of people who can use it. And on top of that, Heal has become weaker and weaker over the years, which means that people who can use Heal are considered national treasures. '' Said Sara

'' Wait, what do you mean by weaker? '' I asked

'' Heal was a skill that was not as rare in the past as it is now. Every adventurer group had someone who could use it. But as time went on, there were fewer and fewer people who were able to use it because of the demons. People who were able to use Heal were often hunted down by the Demon's special hunting units. As a result, the people who could use Heal simply died out. What I mean by weaker...Heal is an ability that depends on a person's mana. The more mana a person has the greater the effect of Heal. In the past, someone who was able to use Heal could easily heal someone who was already as good as dead....but now it's barely enough for a broken bone. '' said Sara

'' ok, but I haven't healed anyone who was as good as dead now. ''

'' That's right, however, there is one more thing, the remaining users of Heal can only use this ability once a day... on a single person, but you... could use it over 10 times, and it looks like you still have enough mana otherwise you would have passed out already. You are really fascinating you know, you can not only use Heal but also fight so well...Shindo. '' said Sara with a big grin.

I took a step back, but Sara took two steps forward and stood so close to me that I could feel her breath. At that moment I looked at Anton who looked at me with a questioning look before his look became serious.

'' Say...Are you our enemy? Are you planning to attack our kingdom because if so, you leave me no choice but to eliminate her and now. '' Said Anton

'' Well, and what if I am planning to do that? Do you think you could win against me? '' I said, looking Anton straight in the eye.

'' You should be careful with what you say Anton is not called the sword of the kingdom without reason. He has already fought many strong opponents and has not lost even one fight, he is also far superior to me. So I also want to ask you, are you planning to fight us? You saved the village, but who is to say that it was not just a reason to gain our trust. Unfortunately, even if you are not a danger, we cannot let you go, you will come with us and face the king. '' Sara said, looking at me now with a serious look as well.

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Now you probably expect me to apologize and pretend to be scared and go with them. That's what I also hated about a lot of MCs, that acting like you're stupid and allowing them to do whatever they want with you.

'' .... say Prince Anton so you have never lost a fight but have you ever been afraid of an opponent? ''

'' haha of course not, why should I be afraid of weaker ones. '' said Anton with an arrogant look.

DARK AURA

'' Then let me show you what it means to feel fear. '' I said, using dark aura.

After using Dark Aura, I was surprised by the result. I expected dark Aura not to work on such strong opponents like Anton and Sara. However, after using dark Aura, I saw Anton and Sara both dropping to the ground and trembling all over their bodies. The knights also all fell to the ground and the horses all went crazy.

I think you misunderstand something about Dark Aura.

'' What do you mean? '' I asked Ruri

You know that Dark Aura does not work on strong opponents...what is a strong opponent in your eyes? The two in front of you, the knights, and in the eyes of most of the creatures, you are a T-rex, you know?

'' Oh, I didn't know that the living beings in this world are so weak. ''

Well define weak when a normal human has to fight a T-rex without weapons or anything else can you really call the human weak or is this fight just impossible to win? For them, it is as if they have to fight against a god when they see you.

When Ruri said that, I looked again at Anton and Sara who were both still on the ground and still shaking.

'' Sigh, I have no interest in fighting you, but I also have no interest in coming with you. '' I said and ended Dark Aura again.

At that moment Anton and Sara stopped trembling again and stood up as well as the knights.

'' B-b-but we still can't just let you go- '' said Anton.

'' I see you are still not ready to stop, you know, if you are ready to turn your swords on me, you better put your lives on it too. '' I said and drew my sword as well.

The knights took a step back and to my surprise, Anton and Sara put their swords back.

'' All right, you may go, but we still have to report this incident to the king, and you too, of course. '' said Anton

When he said that, I looked at Sara who was gripping her whole body and began to pant erotically. She only looked at me with wide open eyes, and I could clearly see that she was insane.

'' I HAVE DECIDED IT WILL BE YOU, YOU WILL MARRY ME AND MAKE BABIES WITH ME LET'S DO IT RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW- PONG. ''

Just as Sara was about to jump on me, Anton hit her on the head with all his might, and she fell to the ground and fainted.

'' Sigh.... Excuse me... She is complicated, if you give me your word here and now that you will not go against the kingdom, we will leave you alone. '' says Anto and put away his sword.

'' I promise, I have no interest in going against your kingdom. '' I said and put my sword away as well.

After that I looked at the woman again and whispered softly in her ears that she should go to Velma's tavern where her children are waiting for her. After I told her that, she looked at me with wide open eyes and smiled at me, before she passed by me together with the knights. Then Anton passed me as well, carrying Sara like a package, before he mounted his horse and went to the carriages. But before they left, Anton turned and waved to me, I waved back and they left the estate. As they were leaving the mansion I could hear and see all the women waving to me and saying thank you.

After that I also went back to the road, left the mansion and followed the road again in the direction of the city. On the way, however, I made a break because it had already become night again. I looked for a good spot before I saw a fairly thick and large tree. So I went to the tree, put my sword next to me and let myself drop down against the tree. I put my mask and my suit back into my inventory and put on my normal clothes again.

'' phew I'm done. ''

I said and looked at the night sky which was full of stars again, questioning myself. I mean all the people I had killed so far deserved it and yet there was something.

What's going on, don't tell me you feel sorry for all the people you killed now?

'' What? No, of course not I'm just wondering if I'm not being cringe or embarrassing all the time with this ,, you deserve to be killed ,, and everything.

..... so that's your problem...i'm going to sleep off me not on

'' ok-wait you can go to sleep? ''

Of course, or did you think I was active 24/7 just waiting for your orders?

'' mhh I haven't really asked you this yet, but what exactly are you? ''

....

'' Ruri? ''

But by the time I asked Ruri that, she was probably already asleep, because she didn't answer my question. So I closed my eyes and fell asleep aswell....

The next day

YAWN

'' Oh man that was not a good idea to sleep like that. '' I said with pain in my neck.

Meanwhile, I ate some berries I saw in the bushes on the side of the road and at the same time made my way back to town. I would have been able to cover the distance in a few minutes with my superhuman second, but I wanted to enjoy every second of being in this world. And so I followed the road at normal speed on the way I passed a lake. I decided to drink something and refill my water bottle and after analyzing the lake I saw that the water was drinkable. So I took a sip and filled up my bottle at the same time, and went back to the road and followed it again. And after all the walking I finally arrived in the city again, I saw the same guards as last time and went to them.

Fortunately, they recognized me immediately and let me in without any problem, I immediately wanted to go to the adventurer guild and finally make a damn quest. However, I knew that I should probably first go to the tavern to look after the children. So I went to the tavern and when I arrived at the tavern I already saw Trixie waiting in front of the door.

'' wait-pause...Ruri? ''

Mhhh?

'' .... you know what I just remembered? ''

?

'' I entered the tavern as Shin on my first visit to the city, then rewinded time and entered as Shindo, right?

Yes that's right, and what's the problem?

'' Well I went in as SHINDO not SHIN, but Trixie still calls me Shin and I also don't remember putting on new clothes after I bought them. So I went to the guild dressed as shindo and said that I am Shin?????? ''

o-ok calm down now you're confusing me too, but it's true you've been wandering around as Shindo all this time. It could be that the god Soma has something to do with it I think he might have stopped time and changed your clothes somehow....no maybe he..... He may have been able to manipulate people's memories so that they didn't see Shindo, but Shin. That means that they also didn't see you with a mask, but you without a mask and in normal clothes.

'' .... now you're confusing me. ''

Ok, listen to me carefully, so you entered the tavern as Shindo?

'' right. ''

But the people in the tavern don't remember seeing you as Shindo, they remember seeing you as Shin, and their memories of Shindo have been erased.

'' Ok, ok I understand that now but how the hell did he undress me???? ''

He didn't when you talked to all the people here, they didn't see Shindo, they saw Shin. He didn't change your clothes, he just showed people a picture of you in the clothes you bought. And when you went to sleep, you probably just unconsciously took off your Shindo clothes. After that everything was normal again, you put on your normal clothes by yourself and went through the day until you put them on again by yourself. That means no one here knows a Shindo, everyone here knows you only as Shin.

'' .... I will worship God Soma from today. ''

I said with relief and went back to Trixi who saw me shortly after and ran towards me.

'' Shin say are you alright, is everything ok with you? ''

'' yes-yes what's the matter? ''

'' What's going on?! Haven't you noticed that the Baron you were going to see is DEAD. ''

'' WHAT OMFG. '' I said, pretending to be surprised.

She explained to me that the news had spread like wildfire, even outside the city everyone knew what had happened and who was responsible for it. Trixie said that the very same night the king spoke to the people and explained that a man named Shindo was responsible for it. He had killed the baron and all his guards who had fought bravely against him. The baron himself was said to have given his life for that of his butlers and maids and died a hero's death.

'' ....So you said...say did a woman happen to come by here and pick up the children? ''

Oh yes, I wanted to tell you that too. Yes, she didn't come by not too long ago. I know that this Shindo is not such a bad guy as he is portrayed. After all, he made sure that those children were reunited with their mother. '' said Trixi with a smile

After Trixi told me that, I was relieved, but at the same time confused why the king would say such a thing. Trixi had asked if I wanted to eat something, but I refused, because now I finally wanted to make my way to the guild to finally begin the life of an adventurer.