When everyone realized that the one interrupting their heated argument was none other than their Wizard King, they froze in shock for a moment.
Standing before them was Julius, the Wizard King, wearing his signature kind smile.
"Wizard King-sama."
"Wizard King-sama."
"Wizard King-sama..."
One by one, they saluted him respectfully, even Mereoleona, known for her fiery temper and strong will, followed suit with a salute.
Julius gave a slight nod of acknowledgement before turning his attention to the traitors, who lay battered and broken, having been ravaged by the relentless waves of stones from earlier.
After Three Hours...
The continuous barrage of stone attacks eventually took its toll on the prisoners.
One by one, they began to lose consciousness from the heavy bleeding and relentless assault.
By the end, every traitor had fallen into unconsciousness, their bodies limp and unresponsive, even when stones struck their most sensitive spots.
Sigh~
"Harry… burn them,"
Ben ordered with a heavy sigh, his voice laced with exhaustion.
"Let's finish the execution."
It had been hours since the punishment began, and Ben was eager to return to the castle.
Sitting there, watching the pitiful state of the former king Augustus and his lackeys, had drained him of patience.
At the command, Harry's expression turned cold as he approached the execution platform.
He signalled to a guard, who promptly nodded and informed the public to halt their assault.
"Fire Magic: Fireball."
As the crowd quieted, Harry conjured a series of large fireballs, launching them at the traitors who were still bound to the pillars.
Thud~ Thud~
Ahhh~ Ahhh~
The fireballs struck the traitors with force, and flames erupted instantly, greedily consuming their bodies.
The intense, searing pain roused the prisoners from their unconscious state, forcing them to endure the full agony of the fire as it devoured them alive.
After Three Weeks...
It had been three weeks since Benjamin Salvador Kira XIV was crowned as the new king in a grand coronation ceremony, which also marked the execution of the traitors.
The kingdom had gradually calmed down, but the people were still buzzing with discussions about their new ruler.
Those who returned to their villages or settlements after attending the coronation eagerly shared stories of the event.
Their excitement was contagious, as they recounted the spectacle with wide grins and shining eyes.
Although the citizens of the Clover Kingdom had witnessed many coronations throughout the generations, this one was unprecedented.
For the first time, ordinary citizens had seen nobles publicly punished and executed for their crimes.
Even the former king, Augustus Kira Clover XIII, had not escaped justice for his treachery.
The shock of seeing such accountability from the throne left an indelible impression on the kingdom's populace.
This moment solidified the image of their new king, Benjamin Salvador Kira XIV, as a decisive and just ruler who would not tolerate corruption, regardless of rank.
Liberator's Hideout...
In a circular round table in a dark room, which has only the light from the little candle that has nearly half melted at the centre of the table in its stand.
Four figures were sitting at the table while one seat was empty, looking at each other with serious expressions.
"We still couldn't determine the location of Sirius. If it wasn't for the seal—I can still feel the seal active on Sirius' mind—I would have thought he had committed suicide."
The silence was broken by an old man with long, flowing hair and a beard, silver-grey, cascading down his back and chest.
His piercing blue-grey eyes narrowed, looking at the other three seriously.
"____"
Sigh~
Grit~
"We have sent our best recruits, who were masters of concealing themselves, to investigate. But no matter how much we tried, it seemed impossible to break into the prison of Kira Sekke without causing a big scene."
With a defeated sigh, massaging her temples, McGonagall looked at the old man and stated the recent report she had received from the special team they had formed.
The security at the Kira Sekke is no joke.
The whole squad of Green Mantises was guarding the prison, along with a few teams from various other squads who were tasked with the mission.
"We need to do something. If we can't save him, then we should prepare to free Sirius from his misery."
Hearing McGonagall's answer, Gandalf was not satisfied, which was visible on his displeased face. He turned to look at Dumbledore and gave his opinion.
"Enough!... Gandalf... Sirius is one of us. He won't betray us. I believe in him with my life."
Not wanting Gandalf to continue the topic, Dumbledore raised his voice and declared his trust in Sirius.
Even though it seemed like Gandalf was caring about Sirius, Dumbledore could see that Gandalf had no trust in him and wanted to eliminate him before Sirius could backstab them.
Nod~
"Yes, Gandalf... the seal you placed on Sirius' mind is still there. That means they were not able to extract any information from him until now."
Snort~
With a nod, McGonagall supported Dumbledore's decision, while Gandalf snorted in response.
"Don't forget what's our purpose, Gandalf... This society, which treated us like trash, must pay. Even if it's our blood... they must feel and experience the pain they made us go through by backstabbing us. So don't try to do something that will make all our efforts go to waste."
Looking at Gandalf, who snorted at McGonagall's answer with a frown, Dumbledore snapped back at him and warned him not to do anything stupid.
"____"
"____"
Feeling the magic pressure released by Dumbledore, who seemed to not be in a good mood, both Gandalf and McGonagall became silent and stopped their bickering.
"I remember it clearly, Dumbledore. That's why I'm suggesting this. We can't afford to lose even a single failure."
Grumble~
After a few seconds of silence, Gandalf grumbled and looked at Dumbledore seriously, making eye contact without avoiding it, showing his resolve for their cause.
"____"
Sigh~
"Now, onto another important matter. What is your opinion on the new king?"
With a defeated sigh, Dumbledore asked another important question, one of the main reasons this meeting was being held.
"I don't believe he is different from other nobles. We shouldn't provoke him. He didn't even hesitate to execute his uncle."
Hearing Dumbledore's question about the new king, Gandalf gave his honest opinion based on what he had seen during the coronation.
During the coronation, all three of them visited the capital and attended it by blending among the public.
Even though their organization had been exposed to the Magic Knights, their identities remained a mystery.
So it was very easy for them to attend the coronation by blending into the crowd, and their harmless, elderly appearances helped them avoid any patrols' suspicion.
"He is really young. We could use him to our advantage, like organizing an assassination on him to distract the Wizard King and his Magic Knights, and use this diversion to free Sirius from the Kira Sekke."
After Gandalf gave his honest opinion, McGonagall also shared hers.
While explaining her opinion, McGonagall elaborated on an idea that had sparked in her mind just moments ago.
"____"
"____"
Hearing McGonagall's idea, both men were silent, contemplating whether it would help them or backfire.
"It's too risky..."
After a moment of silence, Gandalf immediately interrupted and shook his head, rejecting her idea.
"No, Gandalf... McGonagall is right. Send 200 members for this task. The king and the Magic Knight who captured Sirius were the same person, so it's only natural for us to seek revenge. It will keep the Magic Knights distracted while we rescue Sirius."
Seeing that Gandalf was opposing the idea, Dumbledore interjected again, explained his perspective, and gave his approval for the plan.
King's Palace...
Ben, in his office where he usually does paperwork, was sitting in his seat with a defeated look on his face.
He had finally completed the mountain of paperwork that had piled on his table for the past three weeks.
During these three weeks, all he had done aside from sleeping and eating was sign paperwork, which was utterly tiring.
'Finally, I understand why even the Wizard King runs away from paperwork.'
At last, he understood why Wizard King Julius would run away at the first chance he got to escape from doing paperwork.
"Don't worry, Lord Ben. You have already completed the paperwork. Since you've just taken the mantle, the first round of paperwork is always the most tiring."
Looking at the defeated Ben, who was slumped over the table without much energy left in his body, his butler Harry spoke with a gentle smile on his face.
[Ding...]
[Special Task: Escape the Assassination...
Description: The Liberators have decided to coordinate an assassination attempt on you and use it as a distraction to free their companion from the prison.
Completion: 0/200
Task Reward: 250 FP Points, Spell: Acid Infusion. ]
Just as Ben was about to respond, he suddenly froze as the system generated a task.
He could see the reward for the special task, which was unusually generous, and for the first time, he saw a spell as a reward for task completion.
'Oh... I nearly forgot about them.'
With a little thought, Ben remembered the old man he had captured along with the old man's lackeys in a joint operation near the forest by Hage Village.
When Harry looked at his king, who had suddenly stopped chatting and appeared dazed, his expression shifted from shock to joy, and a huge smile spread across his face.
"Did something happen, my lord?"
Seeing Ben's sudden smile, Harry asked curiously.
He wanted to understand his king better, as a good butler must know his master well and anticipate their needs.
Harry aimed to be the best butler his king could trust with his life.
Chuckle~
"Well, I feel like I need to go hunting."
Hearing his butler's question, Ben looked out the window, chuckling as he expressed his desire to go hunting.
Spending all this time doing paperwork had made his hands itch for action, and he wanted some entertainment to shake off the monotony.
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(Author's POV)
(A/N): Sorry guys for not uploading yesterday's chapter... I will upload another chapter tomorrow. Since I missed uploading another one.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
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