"Don't falter, protect the prince at all cost!"

That's not helping, mister knight.

Even shivering, the knights assumed their battle formation.

I think there are 20 of them and I don't think it's a good idea to let a battle take place here and now.

"Drop your weapons before this situation turns into a tragic event," I said as I walked toward them.

"Or don't, it doesn't matter!"

You are not helping, Leo!

"You people gravely harmed the crown prince of the great kingdom of Inizio, don't assume that our kingdom or the king himself will take it lightly!" Said one of the knights in front of the line while raising his spear, I think he's the highest-ranking of all of them.

"You entered our territory and our ruler himself took his time to give you a warm welcome, and in return, the reply that he got was mockery? What? Are ya' expecting us to kiss your prince's foot and ask him to spit on our faces? Take that narcissistic bastard here so I can teach him some proper manners of how to talk to someone superior to him!"

I instantly turned my gaze to Leo and found him smirking while arguing with the knight.

Ahm, I think he's getting a kick out of this incident. He's just messing with them at this point.

I shook my head.

"Drop all of your weapons! Don't engage, it's my order!" From the crowd of the knights, Prince Dieter emerged while still holding his decapitated arms.

"But, Your Highness!"

"Put all of your weapons down. Don't make the situation worse than it already is." He insisted authoritatively. He stood up properly and faced me. "It's my fault. My misconception and blind curiosity brought me to this situation. With that said, I desire to resolve this matter without causing more violence."

It's my fault, he said. That's the last thing I'm expecting to hear coming from such a pretentious prince like him.

His voice was still full of arrogance in it, but it was sincere. It felt sincere.

"This is a one-time chance for me, this place is the very realization of my dream, I won't let this opportunity go to waste. So, can we do that, Ruler of the town of Agrona?"

Is it just me, or I misjudged him so badly?

I nodded. "Very well."

I was about to walk towards them when a certain group suddenly rushed into the middle of us and used their bodies as walls between the two groups.

"Stop!" Captain Callan immediately approached me and bowed his head. "Lord Casimir, we don't desire any harm in this town. We will leave right away."

"What are you doing here, Callan?" Prince Dieter asked with annoyance in his voice.

I stared at Captain Callan, he was looking at me with great fear in his eyes. The 14 knights with him immediately joined the other knights, took their weapons, and threw them to the road.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Prince Dieter is the first and only prince of the kingdom of Inizio, next in line to the throne. If something happens to him, it will hurt the long-time good relationship between the town of Agrona and the kingdom of Inizio. I desire to resolve this problem without any form of violence."

I smiled. "What do you mean? This issue is already resolved."

Captain Callan looked at me with confusion. "Ha?"

I raised my hand and clicked my fingers.

And thank God all of them put their weapons down! It would be very embarrassing if they didn't!

"Your Highness!" One of the knights shouted.

Captain Callan immediately ran towards the location of Prince Dieter and as I followed him, what greeted me was the enlarged eyes of the knights surrounding him. All of their eyes were dwelling on his decapitated arm slowly regenerating to its original form.

"His hand! It returned!" One of the knights said while looking at his now fully regenerated arm.

"It didn't return, I just replaced it," I responded. "We don't need it here lying around the road, so take it as you leave." I threw his decapitated arm on him.

As I stared at Captain Callan, he was looking at me with his shivering eyes.

Yeah, cool isn't it? That's one of the great perks of having a wide mana manifestation area. I can heal people without touching them!

"Due to this disaster, it will be very uncomfortable if I ask you to have a cup of tea and walk around the town with me. So, for now, I'm asking you to take your leave and just come back after some time, is that alright, Prince Dieter Inizio?"

Prince Dieter stood properly and flashed a somewhat extremely infuriating proud smile. "Soon, we will meet again, Lord?"

Man, he should do something with that arrogant smug of his. Even Tanya doesn't smile like that!

"You may call me Casimir."

"Lord Casimir, huh?" He nodded and turned his back on me. "Let's take our leave."

"Ye- yes, Your Highness."

The knights and even Captain Callan just followed him while making a 'what the fuck did just happen face'.

"Until next time, Captain."

Captain Callan stared at me with confusion, after a few seconds, he nodded and went inside Prince Dieter's carriage.

We watched them as they withdrew and disappeared from our eyes. As I exhaled to finally release the tension around us. I walked towards the carriage where Karoon and Kuro were poking their heads just watching the scene.

"Let's go home."

What came next was the loud cheering of the people around the place.

I couldn't help but smile due to my overwhelming happiness.

Thank goodness it got resolved! I almost thought I was done for! I should work on my recklessness, I should always consider that I am a leader of a town filled with shady people now. I almost started a freaking war just because I got pissed off!

***

(Third person)

As the caravan led by the prince of Inizio journeyed back to the kingdom. Inside the carriage, between the 2 seats where Captain Callan and Prince Dieter were sitting, the decapitated hands bounced to the floor as the carriage ran through the dirt road in the middle of the forest.

"The disappearance of Magerna's grimoire, a meruem ruling the town of Agrona. It's coming together now! It only means one thing, someone managed to summon a meruem back from wherever void dimension the Gods sent them to. Isn't it a big deal, Dieter?" Captain Callan said with eagerness in his voice.

"You forgot to say prince first to address me, Callan. You said that we are no longer friends, remember?" Prince Dieter said while looking outside, opening and closing his new hand and revealing a subtle smile on his face.

"Are you listening to me? I have a conclusion here."

Prince Dieter stared at him briefly and looked out again. "I am listening. Meruem, void dimension, that witch's book, and summon. What else did I forget?"

"Do you know what would happen if the entire humanity discovered that there's still a meruem existing in this world? It will cause great turmoil!"

Prince Dieter slowly exhaled. "Haven't you seen it, Callan?"

"Seen what?"

"That place. Humans and demi-humans. They are living together in harmony." He turned his gaze to Captain Callan and revealed a gentle smile. "If you won't call that town a paradise, then what is it?"

Captain Callan paused for a second then slowly nodded. "As expected, that's the only thing that interests you."

Prince Dieter looked back at the window. "The only thing that I am upset about is, why haven't I discovered that place sooner? That place is beautiful."