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**
Gathered in front of the cathedral was a sea of faces numbering in the thousands: the common people, Nobles, imperial army, Great Nobles, Emperor, Bishop and the church officials.
When Arnold came outside, everyone lowered their heads.
Even the nobles bowed.
Jurnick and Julius were the only ones not bowing but the former had a conflicted expression while the latter was all smiles seeing his sworn little brother for the first time in years.
Ronia was also beside the two with Siana, giving Arnold a nod with a smile.
Seeing her smile like that just creeped him out.
But it appeared that he made a new ally—a very powerful one. Why is it that in times like these, she decided not to use her powers? Was her promise to live the life of a regular human this time really that important to her?
Anyway.
The bishop, an old bald man with a kind air around him, was the first to come up to him. The elegantly dressed old man's face and hands had some dried blood on them but his robes remained ultimately clean (probably a fresh change of clothes for appearances' sake).
The bishop had the best healing abilities in the empire, second only to the Pope and Angelica. Instead of the common people, he had been healing the soldiers while the potions that Siana brought along, were given to the common folk.
"—From the bottom of my heart, I wish to thank you for your noble deeds, Lord Arnold!" the bishop prostrated on the ground in front of Arnold.
This gesture was only given by the heads of the church to someone who had done great deeds for humanity in the name of the goddess.
But Arnold didn't do this for Melis or whatever. That useless goddess had never helped him at all so why would he promote faith in her?
Arnold, thinking this was troublesome, leaned down and helped the bishop up, "I didn't do anything spectacular. If anyone deserves praise, it's Luke, Guinevere and Freya who were fighting on the front lines."
Naturally, his intervention wouldn't have made a difference because he didn't have any divine skills to speak of. Besides that, he wouldn't risk himself just to fight two demon lords and Mumulbur.
He owed no one to risk his life like that.
"That's not true!" one of the common folks shouted, forgetting all etiquette and interjecting, "Were it not for Lord Arnold's troops, how could we have escaped that store in time before its barrier was destroyed? Those corrupt companies cheap out on everything so we almost died in there! I think Lord Arnold deserves to stand beside the heroes that fought the demon lords!"
"Yeah! I agree!" another shouted.
Soon, that sentiment carried throughout this entire crowd numbering in the thousands.
All Arnold heard was "ding, ding, ding!" as the system showed him that his karma was quickly returning to positive.
That useless Goddess Melis must be watching.
The bishop laughed, "As you can see, even the citizens don't want you to be humble. Rather, you should acknowledge that what you did saved countless lives when the imperial army's forces were split up. Once again, I thank you for what you did for us when you knew most of the empire was skeptical about your origins as a demon lord factor."
This sly old man. He brought up Oriel to remind everyone about it. But it didn't seem like it was for bad intentions.
Rather, it was to improve Arnold's reputation. Demon factors might've been rare, but they didn't appear and were absolutely vicious fiends since they carried the hatred towards humans of their living selves.
Many might've been worried Arnold would turn on them.
Why would he do that when he could make so much money? What kind of sicko kills his own customers?
"That demon could never win against the will of a hero such as you, hahahaha!" he shook Arnold's hand with a wide smile as if they were friends.
"Ahem, His Majesty has something to say as well. Apologies, Emperor Jurnick. With the disaster now over, I can't help be in a merry mood." The bishop stepped aside with a hearty chuckle.
Jurnick approached Arnold, his face calm and composed now that everyone was focused on him.
Since they were in public, Arnold wasn't going to act like a brat just because Jurnick didn't choose his side. But what happened this time should've been an eye opener for everyone.
"At my birthday banquet, I will grant you a medal and your rewards for both your contributions from saving the town in Eswick Valley and supplying your troops when I wasn't present to protect my citizens. As a father and emperor, I sincerely thank you for fighting alongside us."
Jurnick extended a hand. Without delay, he shook the emperor's hand.
The two stared into each other's eyes, a knowing light in the emperor's gaze. He definitely wanted to speak about something important but didn't bring it up here.
"I must return to the palace now, Bishop. I will leave the imperial soldiers here at your command. They know their orders." Jurnick looked away first and addressed the bishop.
"Yes, Your Majesty. We'll make sure to turn the entire empire upside down to get rid of every demon."
After the two nodded, Jurnick left with his entourage of generals who gave Arnold rather favorable stares.
"I never would've thought I'd get to see you lead your own army." Julius, who had been standing beside his father earlier, finally spoke, "You always said you hated such a big responsibility."
"If it weren't for my allies, I never would've had this army in the first place so we share responsibilities."
He didn't like leading troops even now. A guild he could handle but not an army numbering in the thousands.
"Allies? I heard you were disowned by the Berkley House. No noble allies themselves with a disowned son." Julius laughed.
'You brought that up deliberately, didn't you?'
This would cause the Berkley's reputation to take a dive.
But it's not like Arnold wanted to go back.
"I almost crippled my own father so I'm unworthy of any support."
"Haha, don't feel sad about that. I'm sure everyone understands why you had to do that." saying so, he took a glance at everyone—every soldier, noble and commoner.
All their eyes were on Arnold.
Their gazes ranged from admiration, love and confliction.
Who would've thought that he, a villain for most of the game's story, would be looked at like this?
Maybe this kind deed will eliminate the sin he committed. After all, Norn was just one girl compared to the thousands who will be taken off the streets by him.
He took a glance at his negative karma and almost coughed up blood. The Gods really hated his guts.
"Melis has truly blessed us with a strong and kind young man like you." the bishop's hands found his shoulder and he spoke with tears in his eyes.
'Melis has nothing to do with it.'
"I heard you were still recovering so I suppose you can't stay for too long, hm?"
"Yeah, I had something to take care of and was planning to leave soon after."
Julius leaned in to his ear, "Mother was in the army briefly and took a separate platoon to head to your city. Take good care of my mother, Al."
"…"
Roseria chose to leave the capital again, huh? Maybe she was bored.
Or.
She had a fight with Jurnick.
Whatever it was, Arnold couldn't go see her at that moment regrettably.
**
The gathering was informal so the discussion was short. Restoration and rescue were more important than useless banter.
Most of the thousands of imperial soldiers would stick around to help the red knights while the rest spread throughout the capital to look for survivors.
Arnold and Julius had a short talk before separating as well.
Even Julius had to quickly leave as he had his duties as the Crown Prince. He'll probably stay for a week or so to help with the aftermath before returning to his fortress again.
**
Standing in the courtyard of the cathedral, was Denise Silverlake.
She came to the capital yesterday for business when disaster struck and didn't even know if her husband was still safe back home. Last she heard, he was visiting a friend in the countryside.
Since Rolak was with her, she had to quickly find refuge in the empire. Whether coincidence or not, no demons managed to catch her. Every time a monster appeared, a shadowy figure would come out of the shadows and kill it.
Out of the corner of her view, she'd always see these shadowy figures. They seemed more like demons than the monstrosities themselves but didn't harm her or her son.
Naturally, Denise heard Siana's words earlier and saw Arnold speaking to the emperor and bishop. That beautiful fairy with long white hair and a soft, delicate appearance—was Arnold's wife-to-be.
She looked like a delicate vase that could shatter from the slightest touch but her confidence and presence told others that she was also strong.
Arnold was no longer that troublemaker and bully she knew him as. He matured into a handsome young man with both strength and… kindness.
Without asking anything in return, he vowed through Siana's words, to help the empire take care of the refugees and those made homeless by the destruction.
Even to this day, many people affected by the Nuria invasion, still didn't have homes. They'll likely also take advantage of this opportunity.
"Daddy is so cool…" said Rolak as thousands of people cheered his father's name, "Mama, can we meet daddy soon? Pleeeeeeease!"
"…Arnold is a very busy man. I'll send him a message and ask when his schedule will be empty so… just wait patiently, okay?"
He pouted.
'I looked away for a few years and look what he became…' she patted her son's head with that thought in mind.
"Let's go get some sleep, little one."
They've been up all night. You can't exactly fall asleep during an invasion where you need to worry about your life.
"Awwww! I wanna go see daddy!"
"Daddy's back home. We can't go just yet. We might have to stay a few days before the empire is completely safe."
"Not that daddy!" he pulled on her hand when she was about to walk.
"—If that's the case, dad's right here."
Surrounded by several knights from his city, a mix of the regular knights and the red armored ones, Arnold approached the two.
Denise had a small fright from how imposing he looked at that moment. A true war general's aura was radiating from him; it made her feel small even though she was older than him.
"Daddy!" Rolak tried to run to him but his hand was still caught by his mother's.
"Are you two okay?" even his voice sounded deeper than she remembered.
"Yes… You don't need to worry about us…" for some reason, she couldn't look him straight in the eyes.
This was their first time meeting in years. He was now a stark contrast to the person he was four years ago. before he had an air of innocence and his childlike features. But looking at him after all this time, he grew up into a young man with no childhood innocence in his eyes or face.
"I see." He looked to the side. The next moment, the shadowy figure she noticed before appeared next to him, "Good job. Go join the others in looking for demons."
It bowed and simply vanished.
"That thing… works for you?" her dumbfounded state made her let go of Rolak's hand for a second so he had a chance to run to Arnold, who picked him up.
"Yeah. I have them follow everyone I know in case any danger happens." Rolak pulled on his dark blue hair and compared it to his father's, "They should be as strong as an S-rank adventurer so most threats can be handled easily."
It came out so casually, passersby had to wonder if they heard it right. But since it was someone as powerful as him, none questioned it and simply continued listening.
'What kind of backing does Arnold have…? Could it be that this person doesn't want to show themselves publicly?'
Arnold put Rolak down, who pouted at him for the short-lived uppies.
"How long will you be staying in the capital? I can arrange for my knights to take you home."
"Ah, I was waiting for the officials to declare if it's safe to travel. Though the village isn't far from Horvine city, we still need to travel about two kilometers. We can't tell yet if demons will be hiding on the highway."
"That's true. Alright." He looked to the side, making eye contact with one of the knights standing guard. One of the female knights came up to them, "Escort these two to Siana. Tell her to arrange twelve red knights to take them home and protect them for a few days."
"Yes, sir."
"Ehhh? I don't wanna go!" Rolak pulled on Arnold's cape when his mom took his hand.
He patted the boy's head, "We'll see each other when all this chaos dies down and both of us have time for a get-together. Be a good boy, alright?"
"…"
"Listen to… your father, Rolak… He's a busy man so he can't spend with you yet."
His eyes slightly widened hearing her calling him the boy's father.
He probably wasn't expecting her to acknowledge him as the father of her child.
Denise stood silently for a moment, "…If you're too busy this month… Rolak's baptizing is next month on the second. We're holding it in Horvine's St. Gruedra Church."
"I'll be there."
She stared at him for a moment before nodding. Without another word, the two followed the female knight.