“Indeed. So, such events unfolded at the palace while I was at Mount Malice.”

After we subdued the bandits of Mount Malice, Astrid and I arrived at the Dragnaut residence in the royal capital. There, the master of the house informed us of the entire sequence of events.

I recall hearing the name of the mastermind, Duke Clovis, several times before, but to be honest, it left no impression on me.

Upon my arrival in the Kingdom of Canaria, having been banished from Demon Island, I found that the chief retainer was already Duke Dragnaut. Even if Duke Clovis was a major noble connected to the royal family, to me, he was just one of many nobles.

However, to Duke Dragnaut, he must have been a respected predecessor. The duke’s expression remained deeply sorrowful throughout his explanation of the events. Astrid, who was sitting with us, looked at her father with concern.

Upon noticing his daughter’s gaze, Duke Dragnaut smoothly stroked his face and, seemingly regaining his composure, continued the story.

According to him, Duke Clovis was confined to a royal villa under the pretext of recuperating from illness as a result of this incident.

Covering up the conspiracy meant that it was impossible to publicly prosecute Duke Clovis. Therefore, this isolation measure was taken, and he would likely remain confined until his death.

The Clovis dukedom would be inherited by his son, who would also be supervised by an inspector sent by the king for the foreseeable future. Of course, officially, the person sent would be under a different title.

Then, Duke Dragnaut’s story shifted towards the Temple of Law god.

“Lord Zelam has requested, on behalf of Pope Noah, to station a temple knight order in Titis Forest.”

“A permanent stationing of the knight order?”

I frowned and asked, to which Duke Dragnaut solemnly nodded.

“Yes. As you know, Sora, before the recent wedding ceremony, Her Holiness had erected a barrier in Titis Forest. This prevented the Hydra’s poison from flowing into the Kale River. However, upon witnessing the state of the forest, Her Holiness became concerned about its desolation. If this situation continues, the foundation points of the barrier built within the forest might be destroyed.”

“And the knight order is to prevent that?”

“Correct. Lord Zelam has offered to bear the costs of stationing there as well. The Kale River is vital to our country for agriculture and logistics. The barrier to protect it is indispensable. If they request troops and funding, we have no choice but to comply. However, the Temple of Law God is offering to bear both burdens themselves. This is indeed fortunate for our country amidst ongoing turmoil…”

With these words, Duke Dragnaut sighed.

While it was fortunate, it wasn’t something that could be easily accepted. This entailed stationing soldiers from the Holy Kingdom of Caritas, who are under Pope Noah, within our country. The risks associated with allowing foreign troops to be stationed domestically are clear.

However, after exposing Duke Clovis’ conspiracy and cooperating in its cover-up, it would be difficult to refuse the request of the Holy Kingdom. Especially when they offer to take on the necessary personnel and costs themselves.

Duke Dragnaut had harbored doubts in his heart upon hearing this request.

The Holy Kingdom had been unsettlingly considerate towards the Kingdom of Canaria in this affair. Without being asked, they exposed Duke Clovis’s conspiracy and, instead of seeking to leverage this significant favor, they offered their soldiers and funds to protect the essential Kale River for Canaria.

Such actions couldn’t possibly stem from mere goodwill. Pope Noah’s offer to station the temple knights in Titis Forest was motivated by what he perceived as beneficial for the Holy Kingdom of Caritas and, by extension, the Temple of Law God.

However, the nature of that benefit remained elusive. Duke Dragnaut couldn’t see the value in the desolated Titis Forest that had been ravaged by the Hydra—this was his doubt.

Now, I can answer the duke’s question.

The target of the Temple of Law God is likely the dragon den in Titis Forest. This conclusion comes from combining my experiences in the demon realm and the words of Lascaris, whom I met in the Catalán Desert before.

At the time, I lacked the information to verify the truth of Lascaris’s words, so I refrained from disclosing what I heard. However, after the events in the demon realm, I’ve come to believe most of what Lascaris said was true.

Therefore, I shared everything with Duke Dragnaut and Astrid, who were present: the events I experienced in the demon realm, the objectives of the Temple of Law God as told by Lascaris, my current stance, and even the final actions and words of Pope Sophia.

To them, this must have been completely unexpected, but they listened to my story with serious expressions until the end.

And then…

“Indeed, this is utterly astonishing,”

That was the first thing Duke Dragnaut said after hearing everything.

The duke repeated the same words with a gravely heavy tone.

“Utterly astonishing indeed. The Temple of Law God’s aim lies with the dragon den. Furthermore, to think that the great war three hundred years ago was a plot concocted by the dragon and Pope Sophia. Considering the matter of Lascaris, the immortal king, it would be difficult not to doubt the veracity if it came from anyone else’s mouth.”

Astrid looked anxiously at her father.

“Father…”

“I understand, Astrid. I said, ‘if it were from anyone else’s words.’ These words are from Lord Sora, we shall believe them.”

Astrid placed her hand on her chest in relief. She probably feared that if her father denied my words, it could lead to a confrontation between me and the Dragnaut family.

I bowed deeply as well. What I had experienced directly could be readily accepted by me, but for Duke Dragnaut and Astrid, who only heard the story, it must have been filled with unbelievable content.

Despite this, I couldn’t help but be moved by Duke Dragnaut’s declaration of trust.

“I am grateful, Your Excellency.”

“There’s no need for thanks; it is we who should be thankful. Thanks to you, we’ve come to understand the Temple of Law God’s objectives that had been elusive. Now that I think about it, there might have been influences from the Temple of Law God behind Duke Darren’s schemes as well. If they had believers infiltrate the circle around the Duke after he retired from the public eye and continuously fed him the threat of the Empire to stoke his sense of crisis…”

His murmured voice seemed more wishful than speculative. For Duke Dragnaut, it might have seemed more palatable to believe that Duke Clovis was incited into conspiracy by someone else rather than having planned it on his own initiative.

The former would leave only emptiness, while the latter provides a target for his anger.

Indeed, I believe there’s a possibility that the Temple of Law God was manipulating Duke Clovis from behind the scenes.

Duke Clovis, who despised the Empire and the Temple of Law God, would have been nothing but a hindrance to the Temple’s desire to increase its influence within Canaria.

Eliminating Duke Clovis and simultaneously indebting the Kingdom of Canaria would be something the Temple of Law God would spare no expense or effort in achieving.

As Duke Dragnaut mentioned, it’s possible that the Temple of Law God had been moving since five years ago when the Duke retired to his homeland. I couldn’t help but wonder if they could really spend five years on a scheme with uncertain outcomes—

“The Temple of Law God has been expanding its influence through the Adoastera Empire for three hundred years. They have been pursuing their goals for such a long time. Compared to that, forty years doesn’t seem like much, does it?”

Lascaris’s words from before flashed through my mind.

This was his response when I expressed doubt about the Temple of Law God’s involvement in the destruction of the village of Kamna forty years ago.

For the Temple of Law God, which has been pursuing its goals over three hundred years, forty years is not considered a long time. Therefore, spending five years to corner Duke Clovis could certainly be within reason.

At this moment, Duke Dragnaut shook his head slightly as if to clear his tangled thoughts, and then, once again, he began to speak to me.

“Lord Sora, if the Temple of Law God’s goal lies with the dragon den, then it’s unlikely that Pope Noah will withdraw the proposal to station the temple knights. And given the significant debt our country owes to the Temple of Law God from this affair, it would be difficult for us to refuse their request.”

“Yes.”

“However, they’re asking for stationing, not governance. If we entrust the governance of Titis Forest to the appropriate individual, we can check the stationed knights. Normally, no one would wish to govern such a difficult territory as Titis—”

Duke Dragnaut said this and then stared intently into my eyes.

His gaze was so stern it seemed to question my resolve.

“According to your earlier statement, Lord Sora, you wish to become the lord of Titis Forest and welcome the Kijin tribe there. If we inform His Majesty of the Temple of Law God’s objectives and suggest entrusting Titis Forest to you, His Majesty will likely agree. If he refuses, the Kingdom of Canaria’s dragon slayer might end up serving the Empire. Additionally, His Majesty himself would have to deal with the Temple of Law God’s ambitions. His Majesty would not choose such a path.”

“Yes.”

“However, if that happens, Lord Sora will formally serve the Kingdom of Canaria. You will not be allowed the same freedom as before, and should our nation find itself in conflict with the Empire or the Holy Kingdom, you would be placed at the forefront of the struggle. There will also be the matter of negotiating with the stationed temple knights, governing the migrated Kijin tribe, and the political machinations with your peers among the kingdom’s nobility. Once appointed as a lord, you would have to bear all these burdens on your shoulders. Running away or abandoning your post will not be permitted, and you would likely spend the rest of your life dedicated to the governance of Titis.”

After saying this, Duke Dragnaut paused for a moment before quietly asking,

“Am I to understand that your proposal comes with full awareness of this commitment? Before I advise His Majesty, I want to be sure of your resolve.”

There was no hesitation in my response.

Even before Duke Dragnaut mentioned it, I was aware that this would be a lifelong commitment. Having already taken action with that in mind, there was no reason for doubt.

“Yes. I have made my proposal with full commitment.”

“Very well. Then I, Pascal Jim Dragnaut, will take it upon myself to persuade His Majesty.”

I bowed deeply to Duke Dragnaut, who had taken on the responsibility with such determination.

Reflecting on the more than five years spent in Ishka, I felt a slight sense of solitude at having put an end to that chapter of my life…