-----
After hearing Catrise's words, Belladine's smile quickly turned into a look of utter despair.
"Aha, so you're lying. Tell me the truth," Louis said.
"I-I am not lying, my lord. I swear by the name of your mother…" muttered Belladine.
"She's lying again! How dare you swear on the name of the Holy Dragon Goddess while lying, Belladine?!" Catrise demanded angrily, stomping the ground. "Speak the truth!"
"I… we received orders from the noble house that manages our squadron to… take it easy and not hurry," Belladine sighed, looking ashamed of herself.
"Is that so?" Louis mused, drawing his blade. "That is a terrible thing to do. I could behead you right here—I would be entirely within my rights, wouldn't I? I could turn you into my second zombie. Wouldn't that be nice? Zombies are amazing; they don't betray you. They're forever loyal. I can see the charm that necromancers find in them."
Louis gently caressed the bleeding face of his swordsman zombie. His potent aura shocked Belladine and her squadron, who all took a step back.
"I-I sincerely apologize, Prince Louis! We never delayed ourselves out of malice!"
"Hm. So you would rather obey the orders of some bastard noble than your prince? I see you're playing favorites."
"That's despicable, Belladine! I thought you had sworn loyalty to our Queen! Her son is her dearest treasure—the person she loves most…!"
"I know… I'm sorry. I… deserve punishment, but please spare my squadron, Prince Louis."
Belladine lowered her head as if offering her own life in exchange for her squadron's. Elises and Fernand were a little shocked by how quickly Louis had manipulated the entire situation until Belladine was ready to give away her life.
"Hmm. Well, I could also execute them too. They should share responsibility for what you did," Louis said with a nod. "What do you think, Belladine? Your life alone is worthless to me, so you need to offer something better. How about becoming my loyal knight from now on? My personal bodyguard."
"W-What?" she gasped.
"Or… well, would you rather die with your people? Seriously, it's your choice," Louis shrugged.
"I-I swear…! To be your loyal knight," she nodded nervously.
"No, no, that's not enough," Louis shook his head. "Extend your hand."
"…?"
"Do it."
"Yes…"
Louis grabbed Belladine's hand and imprinted a powerful rune combining the elements of Ash, Ice, and Void, then connected it to his soul through a principle similar to Soul Enslavement, but lesser in power.
This was what Louis called an "Ash Soul Contract." Anyone who dared break the agreed terms would suffer a devastating blow to their soul and might fall into a permanent coma.
Louis explained to Belladine what he had done.
"I-I see… such terrifying magic…"
"You and your squadron will move to my castle instead of that noble's territory from now on. And remember—you serve me, not any other bastard. Understood?"
"I understand."
Louis smiled, pleased, with such a calm, almost angelic smile that it sent chills down everyone's spines. It was always bizarre how easily Louis could switch facial expressions and display all kinds of emotions, even though he genuinely felt almost none.
"Good! We are all friends here; please relax. Anyway, as you can see, we took care of the problem, but there are still many drugs down there. I would prefer if you took them away and moved them to the VPI so my father can analyze them before disposing of them."
"Understood! Move quickly!"
Belladine tried to act calm and composed, but her heart was shaken. In just a few words, she had already been dancing in the prince's palm.
"Wait, Belladine. Before that, tell me something—which noble told you to delay your arrival?"
"…"
"Tell me."
Louis's calm and gentle voice shifted to a very serious, dry tone, making Belladine feel an even colder chill down her back.
"It was… Lord Thalor, head of the Vex Family…" she swallowed.
"Ah, those sorcerers my mother was so fond of," Louis nodded. "Aren't they the owners of that Magician Tower where mages go to learn spells and mana cultivation? I wonder why he made such a funny request. Was he trying to joke with me?"
"…"
"Yeah, it must be a joke. Tell him I will be paying a visit so we can discuss jokes and comedy with this bastard," Louis said. "And also tell him that I want him to make me laugh, or his head will be rolling on the ground… as a joke, of course. That's all. Have a good day."
As Prince Louis and his servants left the scene, Belladine sweated cold sweat, breathing heavily. Her mind was in complete chaos.
"It is just as the rumors say. Prince Louis is truly insane! What have I done now?! I should never have listened to Lord Thalor!"
♢♢♢♢
Not long after leaving the first hideout, Louis and his three subordinates moved toward the second hideout, not far from where they had been. The place appeared to be an abandoned factory, though smoke still rose from the chimneys from time to time. Anyone who walked close could occasionally hear the sounds of people walking, talking, and working inside—especially at night.
However, because this was an almost lawless district, no one could put a stop to it, let alone report it to any authorities; there simply were none. Louis was particularly annoyed by this and genuinely considered forming a dedicated group of soldiers and knights to handle the area's safety—mostly locals born here, trained by other knights under his supervision.
Louis climbed onto Catrise's shoulder and peered through the dusty windows. He saw dozens of people working on large machines, processing Fantasium Crystals harvested from Dimensional Rifts along with the blood and bones of Entities—crushing them into dust, boiling the dust, then drying it into a refined transparent substance that was hardened into molds and turned into small transparent pills.
"They've got a whole factory for these things here, my lord."
"Hm. Are these workers even criminals?"
"I don't know… they look completely miserable, and they're being watched by men with guns."
"It seems they're being held captive. Slavery isn't legal in our country… I guess we'll save them."
"Ah, my prince! I thought you were ruthless, but you're actually such a good person."
"…"
If it were truly up to Louis, he would rather not bother doing this at all. But right now he needed to build reputation throughout the kingdom. He was deeply concerned that nobles might turn against him and his father and attempt to seize the throne now that a power vacuum existed after his mother fell ill.
"No matter what, if all the nobles gather with the military for a coup d'état, I'm finished. I have to earn the people's recognition and show the nobles that I am not the crippled weakling they believe they can look down upon."
After weighing his options, Louis decided to storm the place. He killed the guards cold-bloodedly, then sent the zombies inside with orders not to harm the workers. He watched from afar as the massacre unfolded. Guns were deadly, but zombies simply absorbed the bullets with their bodies. His swordsman zombie unleashed a potent Sword Aura that sliced bullets apart before they could reach him.
The agonizing screams of confusion and pain echoed from inside the factory until silence finally fell. Louis and his subordinates entered to find the three zombies feasting on corpses while the remaining workers cowered in a corner, trembling in fear. Some had already escaped on their own.
"Is this it? Is there no hidden underground passage here? Search the place."
His knights and zombies began scouring the entire factory while Louis and Catrise approached the workers and explained the situation. The workers were shocked that the prince himself had come; many were seeing him for the first time.
Among them, an old man stepped forward to explain why they had been forced to work there.
"I am thankful for your help, Prince Louis… Our families were threatened after we couldn't repay debts to The Knife. Most of us were forced to labor here for many hours—sometimes several days straight. We've seen people die from overwork or be killed for not working fast enough… Thank you, truly."
"Hm," Louis nodded, handing each person a gold coin. "Now leave. The Knife won't exist by tomorrow morning."
"Thank you!"
"May the goddess bless you!"
"We're free!"
"Ahh, the sun… It has been weeks since I last felt it on my skin…"
The workers were truly relieved to finally be free. Louis made sure they returned home safely before turning back to the abandoned factory. After his subordinates and zombies had torn the place apart, they found nothing except a separate room containing more drug-making materials.
"So this was just the production area. What we raided earlier must have been the storage and distribution point," Louis concluded.
"Yes, that must be the case, my lord," Catrise said, looking around. "Are you going to keep any of the ingredients? These raw materials—crystals, bones, fur, blood—are all excellent for making proper tonics and elixirs to aid your growth."
"I can't keep everything; there's too much. But I'll store as much as possible," Louis nodded. "Of course, we're taking all the money."
Louis had brought a spatial ring and pouch—gifts from nobles on his earlier birthdays—and used them to store items once his shadow storage was full. Unfortunately, pocket dimensions couldn't overlap, so he couldn't place inventory items inside his shadow.
Nevertheless, Louis procured a considerable haul and seemed quite pleased. Belladine and her soldiers arrived shortly afterward, sparing Louis another long wait, and immediately began mobilizing to cleanse the area.
"It's done. We're moving to the last hideout—probably where the boss is," Louis said. "Belladine, you're coming with me. I'll need a Spirit Knight's assistance if possible."
"Me? Well, if you insist…" Belladine nodded.
"Tell me what you specialize in," Louis said. "I haven't seen you fight yet."
"I… well, I primarily wield a magic rapier and use Spirit Magic of Wind and Nature," Belladine explained. "I am not a Spiralwalker like you, and I am a pureblooded elf from Yggdrasil, of the Alfheim Clan—children of the World Tree. Though I was born in this world, my parents were renowned Spirit Druids and Shamans who followed the Holy Dragon Goddess when she crossed the dimensional walls to settle here permanently."
"I see you're quite proud, huh? Even though you haven't accomplished much yourself," Louis rolled his eyes. "Always taking your parents' achievements as your own—that's why so many nobles have done nothing yet believe they deserve everything."
"E-Eh?" Belladine paled, terrified she had angered the prince for no reason. "I-I'm sorry… I was just proud of my parents."
"…And there's nothing wrong with that!" Catrise said with a nod. "Right, Prince Louis? You aren't that different in that regard…"
"I am not the same, Catrise. I am seeking to walk my own path and achieve my own accomplishments," Louis replied angrily. "However, I'm not truly mad at Belladine; she only did what she was taught from an early age."
"…Have I done something wrong?" Belladine asked, confused.
"It's nothing, Belladine. The prince is just a little jealous of your amazing talents," Catrise giggled.
"That's not the case…" Louis sighed and let the unimportant topic drop. "Well, based on what you said, you're strong enough. Can you heal?"
"Yes, I know several Nature-element healing spells. They aren't as fast as Light-element healing, but they apply strong regeneration-over-time effects," she explained.
"Interesting. Once we arrive, cast them on all of us for good measure," Louis said. "Any other enhancement spells?"
"Yes, I have Vitality, Stamina, and Agility enhancements. Each lasts five to ten minutes," she continued. "I can stack them on one person, but if the target is too weak, they might faint."
"Don't worry about that," Louis nodded. "It will be appreciated. Then, as planned: zombies at the front, Catrise behind us, Elises and Fernand to my left and right, and you between me and the zombies."
Louis wished he could learn healing spells right now, but he truly couldn't. The Ice Giants and Ice Elves of Yggdrasil had indeed developed Healing Ice spells—especially the Ice Dragons—but those spells were far too powerful for Louis at his current level.
"Once I reach Tier 8, it should become possible to use some enhancement and healing spells… hopefully."
-----