Chapter 552

Crossing the border of the Holy Kingdom, we returned to the Empire.

The high-ranking paladin guarding the border looked visibly flustered, quite the opposite of when we first entered. He probably didn’t know that I had become a saintess of their church, but even Lacey, whom he had subtly dismissed before, had now established a position incomparable to when we first arrived.

Frankly speaking, if Lacey wanted to kill him, she could quietly bury him in a corner of the border and leave, and no one would dare say a word. Not that Lacey or I would do something like that, though.

The air of the Empire, which I hadn’t felt in a long time… honestly, it didn’t feel particularly special. The air in places where people live is pretty much the same everywhere.

If there was one difference from the Holy Kingdom, it was that the Empire’s vast territory made it difficult to maintain proper security. The losses from the civil war and the great invasion still hadn’t been fully recovered, and bandit groups were rampant on the remote mountain paths, with monster attacks also being frequent. Even small mountain villages had erected makeshift wooden fences and organized self-defense groups to prepare for attacks.

Not that it would be enough to stop bandit raids or monster invasions… but it’s better than nothing, I guess.

Anyway, thanks to all that, our journey was one that never lacked the smell of blood.

I, too, actively swung my sword when dealing with the bandits who attacked us. Since defeating mere bandits wouldn’t help accumulate the Power of Feats, there was no reason to let the others handle it.

So, rather than wasting time watching idly, it was better to use the bandits as dummies to practice new techniques.

– Swish!

A horizontal Vacuum Slash. The transparent blade, extending like a beam of light, simultaneously decapitated three bandits who had tried to flee as soon as they saw my face.

Their bodies, spouting fountains of blood, tangled and collapsed in a heap.

What do they call that again? A sworn brotherhood?

From what I heard, they weren’t born on the same day, but at least they died together.

“Now you’re cutting them down without even getting close. How did you do that?”

Leonor’s eyes widened.

“It’s creating a vacuum with the Power of Feats and shooting it out. Like this.”

I smiled at her and swung my sword again, vertically slicing an enemy who was further away.

Though he was wearing armor and I couldn’t cut all the way through his collarbone, it was enough to finish him off. His brain, split in half, oozed out from the cracked skull.

“See? Simple, right?”

“How is that possible without magic…?”

Leonor swung her sword in the air a few times, trying to mimic me, but all she got was the pitiful sound of wind whistling. No vacuum blade appeared.

“No, why can’t I do it? You just do it like this, like this!”

I chuckled, taking the rare opportunity to tease Leonor as I harvested the bandits’ heads.

Using the Vacuum Slash on mere bandits was a bit of a wasteful luxury, but it would only take a day to recover my energy, so I didn’t mind.

The others were also using the bandits as sandbags to get used to their new weapons.

– Crackle!

A throwing spear, imbued with lightning, pierced and burned a bandit before returning to its owner’s hand. Nigel laughed as he repeatedly threw and retrieved Eberond’s Holy Spear like a fisherman’s harpoon.

“This is more fun than I thought. I think I understand why nobles enjoy hunting.”

The bandit’s body, skewered on the spear, flew through the air and landed near Nigel as the spear was pulled out. It was like watching a fisherman catching people.

“Ahhh! My body! There’s wood in my body!”

“It itches! Save me! Please get this off me!”

On the other side, Milia was implementing an eco-friendly policy with the bandits’ bodies. With each twang of the Bow of the Divine Tree, saplings sprouted from the blood and flesh, forming a small forest.

“Maybe I should’ve chosen a weapon too…”

Leonor looked enviously at Nigel and Milia.

The earring of Saint Leila she had chosen was a decent divine artifact, but compared to weapons, it felt a bit plain.

“Why are you hesitating? Just shoot out vacuum blades like me. See? You don’t even need Durandal.”

Of course, for me, it was just a perfect opportunity to tease her. I picked up a steel sword dropped by a bandit and unleashed another Vacuum Slash.

– Crash!

The sword, being ordinary steel, shattered under the pressure the moment I swung it, but the vacuum blade itself shot out cleanly, slicing through two or three bandits.

“Ta-da.”

“…….”

Leonor glared at me with a terrifying gaze, similar to the look Ophelia gave Claire.

…I better not tease her anymore.

Feeling a bit scared of the repercussions, I quietly sheathed Durandal and stepped back. Leonor’s gaze felt like it was stabbing the back of my head.

[Even if you get your head cut off in your sleep, you’ve got it coming.]

…Well, Leonor wouldn’t do that, right? She just seemed a bit upset.

—

At the back of the carriage, Hersh was helping Rana with her training.

She’d dismember a bandit and bring him over, and when she sheathed her sword, Rana would heal him. Bethania was nearby, giving tips on healing magic.

Since the party rarely got injured anymore, this seemed like a last resort… but…

“Ahhh! Just kill me! Kill me!!”

…I’m not sure if this is okay. Doesn’t seem like a good scene for emotional education.

“Just wait a bit. Once all your comrades are gone, I’ll send you after them.”

Hmm… seems fine. She doesn’t seem too shocked.

Rana must’ve gotten used to seeing people die after following us around.

“You little brat!!”

“Don’t you dare insult my sister.”

I picked up a dagger and cut out the tongue of the bandit who was spewing curses. He’d be healed anyway, but it was a warning to watch his mouth.

“Gurgle!”

The bandit, with his tongue completely cut out, screamed through his gaping mouth, blood gushing out.

“Ah, sister! You said you were testing a new technique. Is it over already?”

“Not quite, but Leonor was so envious of me. She was staring at me with such fiery eyes. As her leader, I had to consider her feelings, right?”

I pointed at Leonor, who was venting her frustration by mutilating the bandits’ bodies, and patted Rana’s head.

[That’s not consideration, that’s deception. Even Amin wouldn’t deceive his subordinates like that. It’s truly impressive.]

‘How can you say something so harsh?’

No matter what, I’m a thousand times better than Amin.

—

The idyllic days of slaughter didn’t last long. Unlike the border regions, the area near the Imperial Capital was tightly secured.

In fact, even in the border regions, the areas near the nobles’ castles were probably peaceful.

Our visit would’ve caused trouble if it became known, so we stuck to remote paths, but near cities and castles, the nobles likely maintained security with their private armies.

Anyway, thanks to that, we got to kill plenty of monsters and bandits. We also got to test the abilities of the unicorn Cascador.

Occasionally, there’d be a female bandit among them, and Cascador would suddenly charge, skewering her with its horn.

Not just skewering, but lifting her into the air with its legs and then stabbing her vertically. Hersh was absolutely horrified.

Of course, the other bandits swung their weapons in shock, but Cascador used its horn like a lance to block their attacks, stabbing and killing them, while kicking any bandits approaching from the side or behind, rupturing their organs.

For a spirit beast, it had skills surpassing even most knights.

After about ten more days of travel, we finally arrived at the Imperial Capital. The cold had subsided, and the warmth of spring had returned. We had left in winter and returned in spring.

—

Upon arriving in Exra-shapel, we were greeted by a messenger from Leopold, summoning us to the palace immediately.

He didn’t call the entire party, just me and Lacey as the leaders, but since we were all in the same carriage, the whole group ended up heading to the Imperial Palace.

The palace, which had been destroyed during the winter, had been rebuilt. While it hadn’t regained its former glory, it was at least somewhat fit for an emperor’s residence again.

Leopold seemed to have moved back to the main palace from his detached palace, as the knight who greeted us at the entrance guided us to the main palace.

We met Leopold about half an hour later. After the long journey, we were all a mess, so we had to bathe before the audience.

The palace bathhouse. For me and Lacey, it was a given, but for the others, it was quite a luxury. Except for Leonor, none of them had ever experienced something like this.

“The mansion was better…”

Or not.

Milia, upon seeing the palace’s grand bathhouse, tilted her head slightly and muttered in disappointment.

…Well, Isabella’s mansion was the epitome of luxury, so the newly built palace bathhouse couldn’t compare.

Anyway, after bathing, the party, having refused the maids’ assistance, followed the maids waiting outside to the reception room. Only me and Lacey, who had to meet Leopold, were excluded.

—

“…You’re later than I expected. I thought you’d return by spring.”

Leopold, whom we hadn’t seen in months, greeted us while lounging on the throne in his office, casually brushing back his lush golden hair.

…Lush?

Wait, had the Empire finally developed a magic to revive dead hair follicles?

[That’s a wig. Has it come to the point where he can’t manage without a wig… how pitiful and sad.]

On the contrary, it seemed he had lost so much hair that he needed a wig to cover it up. If he took it off, he’d probably shine as brightly as Carolus.

The image was so vivid that I had to muster all my strength to hold back my laughter.