Chapter 59: You stupid fool!

Three hours had passed, and the evacuation process had progressed smoothly. Despite the dragons circling the sky, most of them ignored our presence and the civilians. Unfortunately, the soldiers and some magicians were targeted by the dragons.

As a result, most of them fled the capital and abandoned the civilians.

“Lumina-sama, Gen. Meyers has arrived. He has gathered his men near the borders of the capital.”

As I observed the surroundings, Emilia, who stood beside me, reported Gen. Meyers' arrival.

“Tell him not to attack the dragons and to delegate his men to evacuating the civilians.”

“Yes.”

You might wonder why I gave such an instruction. Two hours ago, we discovered that the dragons we shot down were being healed by their kin and then flew back into the sky. Their ability to heal allies was incredibly strong. Even after Shin had slashed, stabbed, and cleaved ten dragons, it only took one dragon to heal those he had injured. Furthermore, even when their wings were broken or their chests pierced, they could regenerate those parts, even if they were beheaded.

Thus, we shifted our focus to evacuating the residents.

This work is hosted on mananovel.com

Bang!!!

[Grrraaaaar!!!]

Boom!!!!

The roars and explosions reached us, even though we were far from the capital. I continued to give instructions and orders to my servants when Liza and Victoria landed near me.

“How was it inside the castle?”

Earlier, I had sent Liza, Victoria, Shin, Michelle, and Eclara to the castle. Since Fate’s father was an Earl, there was a possibility she was there.

“The situation inside the castle was quite messy.”

“Yes, the factions belonging to different households fought amongst themselves.”

“...”

I was speechless at their report.

“They even declared that their houses wouldn’t send any reinforcements.”

“Not until the King accepts their demands.”

“Demands?”

“Each house had different demands, but they all had one thing in common: the downfall of their enemies and reparations for the soldiers who might lose their lives.”

“...”

“Shin, Michelle, and Eclara stayed there to protect the servants caught in the crossfire between the factions.”

“What about Fate and her father?”

“That’s also one of the reasons why Shin stayed there.”

“I see...”

My thoughts were filled with questions and anger as I considered why the defenses of the royal capital were so thin.

“Liza... Are the servants and Fate still inside the castle?”

I asked Liza with a voice filled with fury. I was extremely angry and frustrated. Who wouldn’t be? The country was in a state of emergency, and the top brass were inside the castle arguing with one another.

“Shin and Eclara are escorting people who weren’t part of the commotion, Lumina-sama.”

“I see...”

I responded curtly and flew towards the castle, leaving the evacuation command to Emilia and the others.

A few moments later, I arrived near the gates and saw Eclara, along with some soldiers coordinating with several servants.

“Where’s Fate and her father?”

I approached her and asked. Her eyes widened when she turned towards me.

“L-Lumina-sama?”

“Where’s Fate and her father?”

I repeated my question, my voice colder than before.

“They’re still inside, along with His Majesty and His Highness. They haven’t given up on pleading with the nobles inside.”

“Is that so?”

I nodded and walked into the castle. As I entered, I heard clattering sounds behind me. It seemed Eclara had followed me.

Since some of the books I read from the ruined library at school featured the Royal Castle, I had a rough idea of where the audience room was. Thus, I didn’t get lost, even though it was my first time there.

After a while, I stopped before a door adorned with engravings and designs.

Clink!

Kachink!!

“Uwaaa!”

“You stupid fool!!!”

The sounds of metal clashing and war cries filled the air. The atmosphere inside the castle was very different from the chaos outside.

Even in such a crisis, they’re still fighting each other!? This is just absurd! Can’t they see the country might perish any moment now?!

With intense anger, I opened the door to the audience room.

Bang!

Boom!

Swoosh!

Clank!

I saw magicians firing spells at a group of people. The group under attack had erected a barrier and was retaliating.

“Were you the ones who sent that assassin to kill the King!? When the Ginsburg left your faction, you resorted to dirty tricks!”

“Look who’s talking! Weren’t you the ones who wanted the King dead? You didn’t even send a single soldier from your camp to the front lines!”

Two people, positioned in front of their respective groups, argued heatedly. In a corner, a man with green hair smirked as he observed the bickering. Meanwhile, a young boy with blonde hair and blue eyes cried on top of a person sitting on a luxurious chair. The person’s head bore a crown, and a knife was lodged in his chest.

“...”

I continued to scan the room and found Shin, Fate, and the parents of Liza and the others near the corpse. Seeing them, I approached slowly.

“Lumina-sama?”

“““Eh?”””

“Look out!”

Fate, staring at me, shouted with all her might. Ignoring her warning, I continued walking.

Fwoosh!

A fire lance flew toward my chest. As it neared me, the spear stopped mid-air. I paid it no mind and continued walking towards Fate.

As I walked, various spells flew toward me, but like the fire lance, they all stopped mid-air as they approached me.

“Weinberger-sama, Faustina-sama, Ginsburg-sama, Hurstorn-sama, Harlington-sama, and Amethyst-sama, let’s leave this place quickly. I need your help in evacuating the civilians.”

I spoke in a solemn voice to the people I knew, thanks to Emilia’s assistance in reminding me.

“Is that your command?”

The moment he asked, the arguing factions fell silent. Even if they had protested, I would have ignored them. They were simply a bunch of fools.

“Yes. As the leader of our faction, I want you to ignore this rabble and head out. Your powers are urgently needed.”

Although Fate’s father was the one who acted in the Royal Castle, I was still the leader of our faction. Technically, I had no right to command them as I was only the master of their children, not them. However, since I had no other means to request their help, I used this authority as leverage.

There might have been other ways to request their help, but I was too angry to think of them calmly.

“Then, we shall head out under your command... However, what about the Crowned Prince and the body of the deceased King?”

Amethyst-sama smiled broadly as he spoke to me in a respectful manner. His behavior felt strange and unsettling, but time was of the essence with the crisis unfolding outside.

“Drag him out. We’ll worry about the dead later.”

“As you wish.”

Amethyst-sama and the others from my faction slowly made their exit, each with a broad smile. I couldn’t understand why they smiled despite the state of emergency.

....

Don’t tell me, they’re also a bunch of idiots!?

Haaa, forget it. If they’re idiots, then let them be. I don’t care anymore! Just get outside and save the civilians!

I shook my head to clear these thoughts and faced the arguing groups. By the way, the magic I had stolen from them floated around me. Most of it was intermediate to high-level spells. As long as it was made of mana, I could steal it, even if I didn’t know what spell it was. Wahaha!

I gave the idiots a smile and said:

“Idiots.”

I snapped my fingers, sending all the stolen magic toward them. They hastily formed barriers and countered with their own spells, but their efforts were in vain as I could reflect the spells back at them.

In short, their attacks would return to their casters.

“Fate, let’s leave this place. It’s too dangerous to stay any longer.”

“Y-yes.”

I, along with Fate and Shin, exited the audience room amidst the curses and shouts. Some soldiers bowed to me and locked the audience room, apparently following some orders.

The moment we reached outside the castle, a Golden Dragon descended in front of us.

Haaa... First, a sudden invasion, and now this!?

God, I’m really tired! I could really use a cup of Darjeeling right now!

I complained in my mind as I faced the Golden Dragon observing us.