After everything settled down, Kojo walked up to Cabolt and started examining him.
'The hell happened to him?'
(The after-effects of the parasitic slug and Rey's attack have overdrawn him. He's basically a vegetable with less than 10 years to live now.)
"Damn, that's brutal,"
The girls and Rey came with some guards and looked at the skeletal form of Cabolt.
"Well, what do we do with him?" Sharone asked.
"Just cuff him up; he's basically harmless now," Kojo replied.
The guards then picked him up and lugged him away.
There was a brief silence as everyone took in the situation.
"This is becoming too frequent," Sasha said.
"And it's annoying," said a peeved Koniko.
"Agreed," Lin added.
"Let's just go and rest," Rey said.
"Yeah, things are becoming crazy," Kojo said.
With that, they all began walking to what's left of the castle.
A few days later...
The capital has once again ushered in a period of unrest, particularly among the nobility. Knights could be seen regularly breaking down manor doors for raids, confiscations, and arrests as the king had ordered an investigation into the most recent incident.
Royal Castle
Kojo walked through the corridors as he contemplated recent events.
'Things are beginning to get weird, and I don't like it,' he thought with a frown.
(What did you expect when you were told you were going to be involved in the politics of the country?)
'I thought it would be one of those clichés where one would befriend the king and live in luxury.'
(Get your head out of your fantasies, Kojo. This world is much, much more dangerous than meets the eye. How many times have you almost died so far?)
"I was supposed to count?"
(Idiot. But you proved my point. This life isn't vanilla and ice cream; one screw-up and people could die. You could die. Take this seriously.)
Kojo stopped in front of a door as he listened to Sysia, and his face became cold and serious, showing no emotion.
"I know," he said.
He knocked on the door before him and went in after getting a response from the king.
"Come in,"
"Your Majesty," Kojo greeted him.
"Have a seat," King Gorges said.
Kojo then sat down, and the room. He was sitting in the king's private study. It was well furnished with shelves of books on either wall. There was a desk with its back facing the window and a coffee table between two large and comfortable couches. Kojo sat on one of them facing the king, who sat on the other one.
There was silence for a minute.
"I want to thank you again for all you've done for my family, Kojo. But not as a king but a father," the King said as he bowed.
"Please stop, Your Majesty. I consider Duke Philip a really close ally, so I see his family as my family," Kojo said, stopping the king from going further.
"Thank you," King Gorges replied, straightening.
"So what happened after your conference with the other dukes?" Kojo asked.
King Gorges met with his siblings to discuss their plans moving forward. While he would have wished for them to meet in person, he decided to meet with them using communication crystals. The recent attack had left them all on high alert, so they tightened security in their various provinces. If they agreed to meet up, their territories could be attacked in their absence, or worse, it would be playing into the enemies' hands, and they could be eliminated, plunging the kingdom into disarray.
King Gorges sighed and leaned back on his chair with a troubled expression.
"An investigation into Cabolt's affairs revealed more corruption among the nobility than I'd anticipated, reaching all the way to deals with other countries and illegal transactions. It was through this that we were able to ascertain his accomplices. It was an organization, a cult if you will, who call themselves the Apostles of Doom. Though that's the only thing we know about them. We don't know their members or their financial backers. We don't even know their motive. All we know is that they're out for blood and wouldn't mind sacrificing people to do so."
Kojo listened in silence with a serious expression.
(This attack most likely has to do with the manipulation of the organizer of the Tournament, Giovanni, by Cyranius, who is most likely a member. My theory is this was all done to direct attention from their true aim. They are probably interested in you too since you dealt with one of their lackeys. My guess is they now see you as a threat and are trying to test your strength in order to formulate a plan to eliminate you.)
"I see," Kojo thought.
"But the fact that they are not actively in pursuit and thought a decoy and a test of strength would be killing two birds with one stone means they don't view me as an immediate threat. They are underestimating us."
(And we can use this to our advantage.)
"Times are changing, Kojo," the king said, halting the conversation between Kojo and Sysia.
"I don't get why those who are duty-bound to protect would rather seek to destroy what their ancestors fought for just for their own agendas," the King said after a pause.
"And the Prince?" Kojo enquired.
"Yeah, it's evident that he's not bright enough to come up with such a scheme himself, but he went along with it nonetheless, and his desires were what prompted Cabolt and his cronies to come up with this entire scheme."
"Oh, Billiam, huh?" Gorges' expression became one of disappointment once he thought of it.
"Under normal circumstances, he should have been stripped of his right to the throne and either banished or executed for treason. However,"
"However?"
The king sighed again.
"It wouldn't be in the best interest of the country," King Gorges said. Kojo was about to say something, but he raised his hand, stopping him before continuing.
"I'm not saying this as a father but as a king.
Even though we were able to learn a lot through our investigation, we still couldn't exactly catch the culprits among the council without evidence. The people are already beginning to doubt the royal family; it was, after all, my siblings and I who caused the previous king to divide the kingdom into provinces. If Billiam is executed, the nobles will lose a controllable pawn, yes, but they'll also gain leverage to rise against us in the future, and you've already seen how they're like."
"They'll collapse the kingdom," Kojo said.
"Right. For now, Billiam is being made to help in the rebuilding of the entire city. His prized possessions and personal property are being sold to that end."
"I see," Kojo said.
"I just don't know where I went wrong with that child. Makes me envious sometimes of Philip," King Gorges said sadly.
There was silence for a long while before the King spoke again.
"I was going to throw an award ceremony for you in appreciation for your help,"
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty, but I'll have to decline. Now is not the time for fanfare. That money is better off being used for the reconstruction of buildings and rehabilitation of the wounded," Kojo said.
King Gorges looked him in the eye for a second before sighing.
"Alright then, if that is what you wish for,"
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Kojo replied.
"You may leave then," Gorges said.
"Excuse me," Kojo said as he stood up and left the room.
King Gorges stared at the door for a while.
"If only..." he murmured and then trailed off into his own thoughts.
Later that day,
Kojo lay naked in his bathroom's tub, lost in thought.
"This will just go nowhere," he muttered with a sigh as he got out of the tub and made for the exit.
Just then, the divider to the changing room opened, and Klara walked in in all her naked glory. The two spotted each other then froze. Kojo's eyes wandered around her sumptuous physique as his brain short-circuited, and Klara eyed his toned body and well-defined muscles until her eyes caught sight of his glorious manliness.
A blush slowly crept up on her cheeks before she shouted, "S-sorry," and tried to leave in a hurry, but slipped on the wet floor instead, falling towards Kojo. He came to his senses just as she collided with him, and they both fell to the ground with her on him.
It took a while for them to snap out of their stupor and discover that Klara lay on Kojo, her breasts pressing on his face, his hand holding her buttock firmly. Instinctively, he gave it a squeeze out of subconscious habit, and Klara let out an unexpected moan. Her face turned red at the realization of what happened, and Kojo, seeing this, thought to himself,
"I'm fucked."
A few minutes later
Kojo walked through the castle halls with a burning red hand mark on his face.
After Klara came back to her senses, she got up and gave Kojo a hard slap and ran out of the bathroom. When he came out, he was met with the sight of all the other girls undressing and getting ready to bathe, comforting a crying Klara and giving him death glares. After literally wringing what happened out of him, they threw him out of the room, saying they'd take care of it and that he should go somewhere else.
'But that's my room,' he thought bitterly.
(Then stop being a perv.)
"Where's my authority as the group leader?!"
(Leader? When did that happen?)
He walked to the courtyard rubbing his cheek, where he saw Rey training to get used to his newfound strength.
Kojo watched in silence until Rey finished.
It was late, but Kojo then invited him for a walk around the capital, and they left the castle after Rey freshened up.
Kojo wanted to ask questions, but he didn't know how. After all, Rey had been in a coma while he was away.
They walked in silence as they observed the nightlife of Dia'mon.
"How are you feeling?" Kojo suddenly asked.
There's a short pause before Rey says, "A bit out of it, really."
"How so?"
"Not sure how, but just having more control, deeper understanding, higher output, it was just ... overwhelming at the time. Then I figured the castle was under attack and moved without thinking much. Just wanted to end it quickly and meet up with you guys," Rey says after some introspection.
"My sister said you performed a spell on me to restore my damaged circuits."
"Yeah."
"I'm grateful," Rey said, though Kojo noticed he was unhappy.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Things are becoming dangerous, Kojo, and I don't like how I'm powerless to prevent bad things from happening, how I needed your help to get stronger,"
Rey said while looking Kojo right in the eyes.
Kojo was unsure how to respond.
"I'm going to do my best to become stronger and help you. Whatever it takes. I'll evolve my skills and become the best warrior ever. Only then can I become a shield to protect my sister and the others. Will you help me?" He asked, his voice full of determination.
"Sure, no problem," Kojo said with a smile after a pause.