From now on, I am your creditor.

Of course, Flam's astonishment was far from over.

She looked at Roland with a puzzled gaze, then recalled what had happened on the train bound for the capital.

The aura of the World Tree...

This time, she could not be mistaken.

There was power stemming from the World Tree within Roland.

Furthermore, the affinity was remarkably high.

Although she did not understand why that sword had undergone such a transformation under the influence of the World Tree's power, it was now certain that Roland had a connection to the World Tree.

"How curious... A human from deep within the continent, why would he be linked to the World Tree?"

Flam did not intend to ask him directly.

After all, Roland had not told her the whole truth last time.

Never mind... Having lived in human society for so many years, she still understood certain unwritten social rules.

Do not pry into other people's secrets, at least not proactively, and even if you do, ensure the person in question never finds out.

She would just observe quietly for now.

She had plenty of time.

At that moment, Roland was also processing a few things.

The final section of the item description clearly stated that the weapon named the Sword of Silence had once been placed within the royal family's ancestral secret realm.

Then why was the Preceptor of Frenzy, Slow, a high-ranking member of the Chaos Brotherhood, able to acquire this weapon?

What was the royal family's heritage?

As the primary culprit, how had Slow managed to cause the fall of the capital?

Why had the system changed its designation for Kalia?

Why did the Sword of Silence cause Kalia's abilities to run amok?

If he caused this royal sword to vanish, would Iluvia hunt him down to the death?

After all, judging solely by the weapon's effects and origins, this was clearly no ordinary object.

And this final question was answered very quickly.

Iluvia walked up to Roland with a straight face and spoke, "Roland, you are going to take responsibility for me."

As soon as these words were uttered, the scene instantly fell silent.

Roland could feel the entire aura around Kalia shift dramatically.

Toran was also left utterly speechless.

His eyes turned with astonishment toward his newly accepted, proud disciple.

He had originally thought this princess was merely coveting his ability and talent, but it turned out she was coveting his body instead!

Good lad!

Although Toran had always held deep prejudices against Iluvia, at this moment, he could not help but admire his disciple's prowess.

You young rascal sure have a way with the ladies, and you've got quite the nerve, too.

To have already hooked up with a princess, yet still dare to mess with other women.

After a brief hesitation, Iluvia chose to step right in front of Roland, locking her eyes onto his.

"This is a secret heirloom used by the royal family for generations. Have you thought about how you're going to compensate me?"

"No need to answer in a rush..."

Following that, Iluvia raised the hand she had previously kept behind her back and pointed her index finger at Roland.

"The terms of compensation will be decided by me."

"However, I haven't thought of them yet."

"Until I decide on the compensation terms, I am your creditor. Remember to be a good boy and do as you're told, oh~~"

Just as her voice trailed off, Toran stepped in front of Roland, shielding him behind his back. "Name your price, how much is the compensation? I'll pay it!"

As the founder of imperial magitech and the director of the Magic Academy, Toran's financial backing gave him the confidence to utter such words.

What was mere money? He was so poor he only had money left.

Most importantly, he wouldn't let his student be wronged!

Before Iluvia could reply, Flam interrupted the supremely confident Toran.

Although she could not recognize the origin of the Sword of Silence, since it could react with the mysterious power originating from the World Tree inside Roland,

there was basically only one possibility left.

This sword itself was connected to one of those three elusive Elven Kings.

Combined with its strikingly similar appearance to the holy sword Durendal, Flam suspected that this sword, much like Durendal's origins, might have been forged by the Elven King Selan, who excelled in metallurgy.

A weapon forged by an Elven King whose status was equivalent to a true god—that was nothing less than a holy sword...

This was truly not something whose value could be measured simply by money.

"Toran, I suspect you genuinely cannot afford to compensate for this item."

"This is not something whose value can be measured by mere money."

Roland clearly did not want his teacher to pay for anything on his account.

After all, though called a student, he hadn't even had the chance to perform under him or learn anything yet before receiving a gift in advance.

No matter what, he couldn't drag him into this compensation matter.

"Teacher, I will bear the compensation myself."

At this moment, Iluvia also chuckled. "Master Toran, I would not accept compensation from you. Otherwise, certain people would just use it as an excuse to make a fuss."

"As for the compensation, let Roland handle it himself."

"Don't worry, it's definitely a price he can afford."

...

"Oh, my dear Orian, has the assassination plan been completed?"

Inside the Wellington Grand Duke's mansion, Slow, who was conscientiously playing the role of a butler and methodically handling the estate's affairs, looked up as Orian returned from outside.

"Apologies, Butler. The security detail surrounding the target seems to have exceeded our intelligence."

"Aside from the Hatter, there was someone else protecting him."

"I fooled the Hatter, but I couldn't fool the other person."

Slow looked slightly surprised and put down the documents in his hand. "A Tier 6 quasi-puppet was actually discovered?"

"Yes. Even though it had already disguised itself as a roadside decorative tree, it was still found out."

"The process was unanalyzable; the puppet instantly lost both control and signal."

Slow's fingers began to tap rhythmically against the tabletop.

Things seemed a bit more troublesome than he had anticipated.

The security strength around Roland appeared to be no weaker than that surrounding Iluvia.

Relying solely on puppets, even his most trusted assistant Orian could not breach Roland's security perimeter.

However, Wellington's trust was virtually essential for their subsequent plans.

Otherwise, they would have no opportunity whatsoever to enter the imperial palace.

"I will send reinforcements for you, and I will also create an opportunity for you, Orian."

"This is your final chance. If you fail again, I will act personally, and you know the price of failure."

"In the future we aspire to, there is no need for useless waste."

Orian remained silent for a long moment, then nodded and left the room.

After Orian departed, Slow produced a communication device.

He did not choose to activate the communication magic upon it, but instead used the device simply to transmit a message.

[The time to fulfill our agreement has arrived.]

[Just as we discussed previously, it is time for you to provide a measure of convenience for His Grace the Grand Duke.]

[Do not disappoint the Grand Duke.]

After sending this message, the communication device automatically incinerated, reducing to ashes under the flames ignited in the palm of Slow's hand.

"A task well completed."

"Don't disappoint me a second time, Orian..."

"Ah, I almost forgot."

Remembering something, Slow pulled open his desk drawer.

The drawer was packed tightly with sealed file folders.

Slow looked at these files and smiled. "Ha, that useless Parker at least accomplished his most basic task."

"As the harbor city, the Governor-General's Mansion of Ryscan naturally holds the investigation report on that sea storm from thirty years ago."

"My Lord, what kind of revelation have you bestowed upon your believers this time?"