WM V3C0711

Chapter 0711 The Return of King Abel

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

 

“We’ve finally made it back.”

“Yeah. Feels nostalgic.”

Facing the royal capital, Ryo and Abel wore deeply moved expressions.

 

“I’ve only been away for about a year, but since Ryo left before going to the Western Countries, it’s been even longer for you, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’ve been waiting this whole time, you know.”

Sera raised a voice of protest.

 

“Ah, um, sorry…”

“Just kidding. For elves, a year and ten years are not all that different.”

Ryo apologized, and Sera laughed it off as a joke.

 

An elf’s lifespan is far longer than a human’s.

Races with long lifespans seem to experience time differently from humans.

 

“While Ryo was gone, I found a lot of delicious restaurants in the royal capital.”

“That’s just like you, Sera! We definitely must go.”

“I knew you’d say that.”

Ryo answered with almost embarrassing enthusiasm, and Sera nodded.

 

But that was not all.

 

“But tonight there’s supposed to be a banquet celebrating Abel’s return, so you have to attend that too.”

“Eh… but Abel is the guest of honor, so I can be absent…”

“Ryo is the Premier Duke, and you came back together with Abel, so you can’t skip it.”

“Ugh…”

Ryo had no way to resist.

 

He had given up on arguing back, but he took his frustration out on the king, who was nodding along as if everything made perfect sense.

 

“Keep nodding along like that when this is all Abel’s fault!”

“Me?”

“Yeah. Because Abel was carrying that sword, Garwin’s rampaging magic went and caused trouble!”

“Even if you complain about that to me.”

Abel shrugged.

 

Hearing the two of them talk, Sera looked at Abel’s sword.

“That’s the sword you’ve been using for years, right?”

“Yeah. When I left the castle, I just grabbed one that was in the treasury at random.”

Abel nodded in confirmation.

 

“Grand theft!”

Ryo sharply pointed it out.

 

“The statute of limitations has already run out.”

Abel answered with a laugh.

 

“Besides, it was royal property in the first place, so I wasn’t going to be charged anyway as the Second Prince.”

“What about embezzlement or breach of trust or something…”

“Don’t know.”

“How outrageous!”

Abel shrugged, and Ryo lectured him from the side.

Sera laughed beside them…

 

“Well, as long as Abel is king, he won’t be prosecuted, right?”

“Of course the kingdom has laws. If someone violates them, even the king can be charged… but there are no laws governing royal property.”

“What do you mean…”

Sera asked with a smile, Abel explained, and Ryo was left speechless.

 

“Ryo too—your own assets… for example, if you remodeled or even destroyed the house in Rune or the house in Rondo Forest, that would be entirely up to you, right?”

“Y-yes, of course. They’re mine.”

“Royal property is the same. They were acquired by past kings and the royal family, then placed in the treasury. Anything in there belongs to the royal house, so there are no laws covering it. That’s intentionally left unspecified.”

“So that the king can give treasured items to loyal vassals as he sees fit?”

“That’s right.”

Abel nodded and continued.

 

“Even so, I don’t think it’s right to use everything up in my own reign. The kings of Knightley who will continue after me… I think these are things that should be passed down to them.”

“So there are things that belong not to the royal house… but to the kingdom itself?”

“Of course. There are laws governing that, so even the king can’t just make them his own.”

“That’s… a little reassuring.”

 

Ryo knew.

Historically, when monarchs mixed up ‘the kingdom’s assets’ and ‘the king’s assets’, it became the root cause of chaos in a nation.

 

At the same time, he also believed Abel would never go down such a mistaken path.

In the end, it came down to people.

People are what throw countries into chaos, and people are what guide them onto the right path.

 

 

While they were having that trivial conversation inside the carriage, the party reached the entrance to the royal capital.

 

From there on, Abel would ride on horseback and proceed to the royal castle while showing himself to the citizens of the capital.

Naturally, Ryo and Sera would as well.

 

“M-myself, I can stay in the carriage…”

“Nope. Ryo and I are on horseback.”

Ryo resisted, and Sera crushed that resistance with a smile.

 

“Ryo is to Abel’s rear right, and I’m supposed to follow from the rear left.”

“When did that happen…”

Sera explained, and Ryo was taken aback.

 

The outline of the entry procession had somehow already been put together.

“Knightley Kingdom has plenty of talented people. If you give them instructions, they’ll handle the finer details properly.”

Sera laughed.

Abel shrugged.

Ryo frowned, but gave up resisting.

 

Attendance at ceremonies was an obligation for anyone of a certain rank or higher.

Even Ryo understood that.

 

The Premier Duke was unquestionably a person of ‘a certain rank or higher’…

 

 

From carriage to horseback.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Abel rode Feiwan, while Ryo mounted Andalusia.

 

Feiwan was as majestic as ever, while Andalusia looked delighted to have Ryo on her back again after so long.

As for riding Andalusia, Ryo was happy too, but he still decided to say a word to his boss.

 

“This happened because of Abel.”

“This time, you gave up without much resistance, didn’t you?”

“Well, because there’s Andalusia, and because Sera is riding too…”

“Setting Andalusia aside, it seems the best way to persuade Ryo is to have Sera talk to him.”

“Grrr.”

It was a conversation between Abel atop Feiwan and Ryo riding Andalusia behind and to the right.

 

“Abel, you haven’t forgotten your promise, have you?”

“Promise?”

“The weekly cake privilege!”

“Oh… was it weekly? I thought it was monthly.”

“It’s weekly!”

Ryo declared firmly.

 

To be honest, Abel didn’t mind either way.

For Ryo, the truth was that even on days when it wasn’t his privilege day, he would go ahead and order cake and coffee anyway.

In Abel’s office.

 

 

The party advanced with Abel at the center.

The citizens of the royal capital welcomed them with cheers.

 

After a while, even those citizens noticed the two riders flanking Abel on either side.

“The graceful female knight on the left…”

“Looks like an elf?”

“Oh! Could it be…”

“The Kingdom’s Grand Knight Commander…”

“Sera-sama, the First Knight!”

 

“And the robed person on the right?”

“So cute!”

“No, not that—I mean, he’s paired with Sera-sama?”

“That robe… a magician? Any idea?”

“A magician who always follows His Majesty Abel…”

“Oh! Could it be…”

“Icefall…”

“Also known as the Silver Duke…”

“Lord Duke Rondo!”

 

Ryo seemed to have become famous too.

 

 

The party arrived in front of the royal castle.

A beautiful woman waited before the castle, and a small child stood firmly on their own two feet.

 

“Rihya, I’m home.”

“Welcome back, Abel.”

 

“Noah… you’ve become quite the fine young man.”

“Father, welcome home.”

 

Abel took Noah into his right arm and drew Rihya close with his left.

“I’m sorry for putting you through that.”

“It’s okay.”

 

The emotions of the watching citizens surged up.

“Long live King Abel!”

“Long live the royal family!”

“Long live the Knightley Kingdom!”

 

Knights quietly wiped away tears.

 

For some reason, Ryo and Sera both nodded in satisfaction.

“This is what a peaceful country looks like.”

“Absolutely.”

 

 

Even after Queen Rihya and Prince Noah returned inside the castle, Abel kept waving to the citizens lined up along the street.

A suspicious water-attribute magician drew near from behind.

 

“I honestly think that kind of serious, sincere behavior is amazing.”

“Serious? It’s one of the roles of the royal family, isn’t it?”

“But you weren’t born into the royal family because you wanted to be, were you?”

“You can’t choose where you’re born.”

“Have you ever wished you’d been born somewhere more carefree… as an ordinary citizen, or something like that?”

“No.”

Abel answered instantly to Ryo’s question.

 

“Ever since I was old enough to know things, I had my older brother. I kept watching his back, so I never once wished to live as anything other than a member of the royal family.”

“Ah, Crown Prince Cain…”

 

That was right. Abel had admired his late brother, Crown Prince Caindish.

That name—Caindish—came up all the time… even Ryo could easily imagine just how large a presence he had been in Abel’s life.

 

People are shaped by people.

The way they live, the words they give, the experiences they share—all of it becomes part of a person.

Not the organization they belong to, nor the place where they stand.

That is what it means for people to make people.

 

So it would not be an exaggeration to say that Caindish was what shaped the Abel of today.

And that Caindish had been called, from a young age, a vessel worthy of a brilliant king.

 

So Abel, too…

 

“A nation exists because of the people, and the king exists because of the people. If that is so, then I think it is one of the king’s roles to give the people strength.”

“It’s because you can say that from the heart, Abel, that I respect you.”

“Hm?”

Ryo praised him, and Abel tilted his head in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

 

From Abel’s point of view, it was truly just the obvious thing.

So he didn’t understand what there was to praise.

 

“As long as Abel doesn’t stray from the path of a king, I’ll keep supporting you.”

“The path of a king?”

“For example, as long as you don’t take away the First Duke’s cake privilege.”

“Fair enough. I’ll keep that in mind.”

 

 

And so, after nearly a year, Ryo and Abel returned to the kingdom.

 

 

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