After Servious took Freego's body, the King now looked towards Bane and his advisors.
"With that matter resolved, now we come to the matter of you, Young Prince. With no Kingdom to return to, you could leave and become a freelance Warlord. We could give you a start-up fee to aid you on your trips, which would be a handsome sum. Or you can choose a guild here and become a Warlord for Mordell. However, should that be your decision, your rank and royal stature will not affect anything here. You would be a normal Warlord and have to progress as a normal Warlord."
The advisors scoffed. "There will be no way the Young Prince would agree to such terms." They couldn't fathom any of the royal line becoming a 'normal Warlord.'
Bane raised his hand to silence them. "I have already made my decision. I will remain here. I have no need for titles for a Kingdom that no longer exists. I can only aim to ensure another catastrophe doesn't happen again, and I feel that the best chance of that is to remain here and grow stronger."
The advisors were shocked by Bane's decision but understood. "Very well, Young Prince. We shall no longer be in your service. We shall return to what remains of Algoro with the intent of rebuilding. As long as a Royal lives, we will hope you decide to take your rightful place on the throne." Bane nodded and went to shake each of the advisor's hands.
"Thank you for your undying servitude. I will not forget your duty to Algoro, and I hope we all meet once again. Farewell on your journey. May the divine watch over you." They all bowed and then proceeded to leave.
The King nodded. "We look forward to your future here in Mordell, young Bane. Warmaster Serena, due to this new information, start the processing tomorrow for the new Warlords. We cannot afford to be lax in these crucial times!"
Serena immediately stood with a smile and bowed. The King turned to exit as the rest of the Vanguard stood and bowed as did Bane. If one looked closely, they could see a single tear fall from Bane's eyes.
LATER THAT DAY
Haruto walked back through the capital as it had returned to business as usual. As he walked, he realized he was still wearing the same clothes that he'd worn during the battle.
'Hmm, I guess it is time to get some new clothes. Everything happened so fast I haven't taken care of anything small.'
As Haruto thought about this, he suddenly heard someone screech his name. He looked up and could see Sylvie, who had just come out of a shop holding too many bags. She slightly stumbled while trying to wave him over due to the number of bags she had.
As she did, the bags opened, and the contents spilled all over the ground. Various items like clothing, weirdly shaped accessories, and other things could be seen strewn about. Before she could bend down to pick anything up, people immediately rushed over to help grab her things as Haruto looked perplexed.
"Um, have people always done that?" he asked as he and Sylvie watched the people quickly pick up her things.
"Um, gee thanks," Sylvie replied, laughing nervously.
"No problem, your lordships!" They immediately scurried off as Sylvie turned to Haruto. "Yeah, that has been happening a lot lately. People see the armbands and try to help in any way they can. It's a little unsettling. Have you noticed it yet?"
Haruto could tell Sylvie wasn't used to being the center of attention. He was still lost, as back in his world people would have never helped in such a situation. It's even possible Sylvie might have been robbed in the process!
"No, nothing like that. Umm, did that place only sell girls' clothes?" he asked nervously, pointing toward the shop. Sylvie immediately beamed, taking the hint at what Haruto wanted.
"We're going shopping!!! Yes, let me store these items quick!" She quickly put all the items into a ring on her finger. "What was that?!" he asked as he immediately started to inspect the ring.
"This, my friend, is a storage ring. It's a magic item that can store items in a separate magical space made up of mana. In fact, it can be upgraded as you grow stronger. Many magic items can evolve."
He immediately remembered his Divine Band and his guide book Dimitri had given him. "Yeah, I think I read that somewhere."
Sylvie was more surprised, as she assumed he was a straight newbie who stated this matter of fact.
"Well, would you mind coming with me? I'm just looking for some new clothes and maybe see what else is there." Sylvie nodded as she looked him up and down and realized he had yet to change his clothes since the initiation. At least he washed them, it seemed.
"Ok, let's go!" she said enthusiastically.