After being lead into a luxurious bedroom, Oskal kicked the nearest piece of furniture. The table shattered noisily after flying across the room and smashing into the wall. Seeing the expensive looking table suddenly destroyed, the other knights stood shocked, mouths agape, before trying to calm their captain down in a panic.
"Please calm yourself, captain!"
"It'll be a big issue if they use this as an excuse against us!"
Oskal clenched his teeth and shouted at them.
"Hah! They have plenty of other things to complain about! You think they're going to break the alliance now? Hah! As if. That bastard is completely looking down on Prince Pygni. He's not the type of person to let go of such a convenient puppet! Shit…!"
Oskal threw open the door to the bedroom. The Holy Knights standing outside took one look at Oskal and immediately blocked his path.
"Oi. I'm going to the bathroom. Move aside."
The Holy Knights stood their ground and replied to Oskal's order. "There is a restroom inside the room."
"Huh?! I'm sorry, but I hate bathrooms that are that white. I'd rather squat in an alley to relieve myself, so move aside."
The words he spoke sounded too vulgar to have come from the mouth of a Royal Knight; the other knights could only reach for their brows or shake their heads out of embarrassment.
However, the Holy Knights remained indifferent. In other words, he was literally being ignored.
"I said move!"
"These are the Pope's orders."
"I am a Knight of the Kingdom of Lome!" he yelled.
"And it was also an order from Prince Pygni."
Oskal frowned when he heard this.
He was a Royal Knight of Lome, but he was also the head of the La Penrose duchy, which had protected the royal bloodline for generations. More than anyone else, his family valued their loyalty to the crown and would absolutely follow the orders of the royals.
He groaned before kicking another piece of furniture—this time a chair—across the room as the Holy Knights were watching.
"Shit! Why?" he complained noisily. "Why are we forbidden from leaving the palace?!"
There was a festival outside, celebrating the alliance between the Holy Kingdom and the Kingdom of Lome, but also in celebration of the news that the newly dispatched Hero's party was gaining ground against the Demon Lord. The merchants, as well as the wealthy residents of the capital, were gathered in celebration.
'That bastard, I'm still worried about him.'
Oskal was concerned for Thoma. He could imagine his old friend collapsing after he'd left, with nobody but the children of the abbey around to help him.
"This festival, just how long is it going to go on for?" he asked the Holy Knights. "Aren't you pouring tons of money into it? Perhaps a month?!"
As Oskal was shouting, he noticed something strange going on outside.
"Formations!"
"First Row Complete!"
"Second Row Complete!"
"Third Row Compete!"
He could see large formations of Holy Knights gathering in lines across the palace's plaza. They were all dressed in hardened plate armor, carrying cross spears exceeding 2 meters in length in one hand and large full-body shields in the other. The one who appeared to be their captain was shouting with a roaring voice, while carrying his own shield and warhammer.
"From this point on, we are going to capture all of the heretics committing blasphemy!"
Oskal frowned internally.
"What is this?"
'Heretics committing blasphemy?'
They definitely had excessive numbers for such a task. This was a military force capable of razing a small kingdom. Organizing this many troops right in the capital, were they planning on starting an uprising? Regardless of what it was actually for, it seemed serious, seeing as hundreds of Holy Knights had been gathered.
'Could it be a show of military force for us?'
"Oi? Isn't that strange?"
The other Royal Knights gathered at Oskal's call.
"Well… couldn't it be for keeping the peace during our diplomatic visit?"
"… For what?"
"There's also the matter of increased crime we heard about earlier, but I've also heard that the newly dispatched Hero party is doing well. The demons are probably getting worried, so they might launch a counter-attack."
"… Is that really the case?" Oskal asked, unconvinced.
He rubbed his chin in contemplation, finally starting to notice just how much the Royal Knights admired the Holy Knights.
"Wow… The Holy Kingdom is really amazing. Each of those Holy Knights can face off against one of us. They say there are several thousands of them guarding the capital alone… Ugh… I wouldn't want to make this kind of nation our enemy. Anyway, the Pope seemed like he was of good character, didn't he?"
"Eh? That bastard?" Oskal asked incredulously. "You really don't have an eye for people!"
"… The same could be said of you as well captain. Anyway, he's much better than that loser prince."
"… Loser prince?"
Oskal paused and looked at the knight in disbelief. The knight quickly covered his mouth once he realized his mistake.
"Do you all share that sentiment?" he asked, turning toward his men.
"Huh? No… t-that is…"
The Royal Knights were sweating nervously while glancing at each other, until Oskal nodded.
"Yeah, I think so too."
"… Huh????!" A collective cacophony of surprise rang out from the Royal Knights.
"No, captain! Isn't that too much?" one of his men asked hastily.
Oskal was surprised by their reaction, frowning as he spoke. "What? You guys can make fun of him, but I can't?"
"Well, the captain of the Royal Knights shouldn't do that!"
Oskal crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "… Aren't you guys the subordinates of said captain?"
"But, isn't the situation different for you?"
"… You're not wrong," Oskal finally conceded. "Mmm, he's a loser prince in your eyes as well, is he?"
Oskal sighed as he said this, and recalled what had happened a few months ago. Prince Pygni had been expelled from the kingdom after he had molested a maid right in front of the king. In that moment, Oskal had wanted to shout profanities at the little fool. He'd wondered how it was possible for such a garbage person to exist? The incident was enough to make him doubt whether such a person could have been born in Lome, known for its wisdom.
He remembered what the King of Lome had asked him afterward.
"Oskal, how do you view Pygni?"
"…He is the prince."
"That's not what I am asking, do you see him as a dog or a pig?"
Oskal had stayed silent under the weight of such a question. At the same time, he didn't deny the king's implication. Prince Pygni's actions had plummeted both the authority and the reputation of the royal bloodline to such a degree that even the king could no longer ignore his actions, and his current questions showed as much.
"There are two things I fear the most in the world. First is the Pope of the Holy Kingdom. The one person who has the power to force other rulers to bow to him, and also the one person who has the power to crush our kingdom. Next, is…"
He weakly shook his head.
"Prince Pygni, my son. I am scared of him."
"What do you…?"
"Others say that he is nothing more than a beast, like a dog or a pig. How could the words 'loser prince' reach my ears otherwise? But, more than a beast, I think he is," the Wise King of Lome trembled faintly, "a monster. A monster that is hiding its identity."
Oskal couldn't help but blurt out a response to the words in his head. "… No, no! How could that be! He was just grinning pervertedly at those women, that's all!"
He shook his head in vexation. Pygni was already enough of a troublemaker to concern the elderly King of Lome, who was nearly past his 70s.
Outside, the Holy Knights were getting ready to move out.
"Are you all prepared?"
The gathered Holy Knights looked toward their captain. He spoke loudly to ensure that everyone could hear him.
"We will now enact justice on those heretics spreading evil; we must suppress those blasphemers! Now, remember the Pope's orders. Do not kill them! We are the soldiers gathered by our God, Lord Arrtark. Blessings of…!"
Every Holy Knight shouted as they slammed their spears into the ground
"Lord Arrtark…!"
The captain held his hammer up in the air. "Now, forward!"
***