Chapter 80: Debt 80 - S-Rank Holy Knights

In a way, since he arrived in this world, he hadn’t had any time to relax, and now he had the pressure of being hunted by the whole world.

Ryan knew his days would only become more complicated.

The fact that he was living in an unstable village...

That was also quite a worrying thought.

’I increased my mana as much as I could, but how much will taking charge of that relic drain me?’

"Fine, it’s not like I can refuse if I want to stay here. I just have to recharge it, right?"

"Wait a moment, young Ryan. You could recharge it, but it won’t be effective that way. By tomorrow evening, we will have everything ready to transfer the relic to you as its new owner. Then, its use will not only be more efficient, but it will also have better compatibility with you."

"I think I understand, but are you sure it can wait until tomorrow?"

"Yes, yes, don’t worry. It can even wait a couple more days, so don’t be concerned."

"Ryan! Ryan... where are you!" Helen’s voice echoed from outside the room.

"Oh, it seems I’ve taken up too much of your time, young Ryan. It sounds like your companions are on the first floor. Let’s go."

Ryan left the King’s chamber, though he handed the relic back to the elder.

And as they descended the stairs, the elder told him he could stay in this property from now on and use it however he liked; after all, he was to be the new king.

"Oh, there you are!" Helen uttered as she ran toward him and clung to his arm.

"I was getting bored. You took far too long talking to that old man."

Mirian, who was at the front, brought her hand to her forehead and then sighed.

"Helen is hopeless."

"Wait, what did I say now?"

"Never mind, just forget it."

"Ha ha ha, you’re a very lively group. I’ll take my leave for now, and remember well what I said, young Ryan."

The elder left the place and walked away.

Ryan looked closely at each of his companions, then walked to the center of the room and sat down.

Helen stayed by his side.

And the rest gathered in front of him.

"I know it’s already obvious, but Beatrice will be part of our group from now on. I didn’t introduce her properly—she’s a demon, and I met her in Demon King Rohan’s territory. She was in the service of Solaris."

"Solaris... the next time I see that bastard, I’m going to kick him," Helen grumbled.

"He seemed like a very effeminate person to me," Mirian commented.

Then Karol approached, showing a forced calm.

"It seems S-ranks are unshakable."

Helen approached Beatrice, stood directly in front of her, and looked her straight in the eyes.

"You’re not going to tell me now that you’re still loyal to Solaris, are you?"

"Of course not. From the moment I escaped with Ryan... no, even before that, my loyalty to the demons was already gone."

Ryan cleared his throat, interrupting them.

"Anyway, maybe we should decide on roles later now that Karol and Beatrice are here, but for now, what you need to know is that she’s currently a Principality and her class is Assassin, so her skills will be very useful."

"An assassin like that bastard Solaris, huh," Helen uttered, placing her hand on Beatrice’s back and giving her several repeated pats.

Not exactly gentle, but not too hard either.

Though it was enough that her body jolted with each pat.

"Don’t worry, Ryan. I’ll take it upon myself to turn this weak Principality into a demon much stronger than Solaris, ha ha ha!"

"Helen is in high spirits, isn’t she?" Karol commented to Mirian.

"Yeah, she’s like that when she gets excited about something. Just ignore her, and let’s hope our Principality doesn’t die."

Beatrice said nothing, but she was watching them with a forced smile.

"You’re taking this very well, but I hope you realize that from now on, everything we do must be done with extreme care."

Ryan spent only two seconds reflecting, and his companions were attentive to what he would say next.

"We currently have several problems. The first is that there’s a portal connecting Rigal’s demons to us—that’s where they brought the beastmen through."

"You have beastmen here?"

"Helen, don’t interrupt. Please continue, Ryan."

Ryan sighed.

"Fine, that’s one problem to solve. And the other problems, you already know them—now we’ll be hunted by humans and the people of the Church, on top of dealing with demons."

Ryan looked at Beatrice.

"Demons seal dungeons somehow, but do you know how they do it?"

Beatrice spent a few seconds thinking before responding.

"I... I really don’t know how they do it. This would be my first dungeon, and I didn’t join them..."

"Yeah, I figured as much. Maybe it’s a power tied to the demon king, which is why his sons were there, or maybe it’s a relic that only the strongest demons can use..."

"But..." Beatrice commented hesitantly.

"It’s fine, speak up. Say whatever you know."

"Well, it just occurred to me that Lady Ophelia... she might be able to tell me how to seal a dungeon..."

"O-Ophelia the Demon King?" Karol asked, startled.

Mirian turned toward Beatrice.

"And how do you know Demon King Ophelia?"

Beatrice looked at Ryan with doubt, and he gave her a nod.

Then she began to tell them that Ophelia was meeting with Solaris before he planned the attack on the A-rank dungeon.

And that she was the one who had been left in charge of her younger brother at that time.

The fact that she was a Demon King made it likely that she would know how to seal dungeons.

"Yes, but you’re forgetting something. She has no reason to tell you, especially now that you’re also a fugitive."

"You might be right, but among all the demon kings, Ophelia has never been known to break her word. She is very proud, and she promised me she would return my brother safely. Even if Solaris himself went and asked for him to be handed over, she would refuse."

Then Beatrice paused and clenched her fists.

"Not that it’s going to happen. To Solaris, I’m just an insignificant demon. I doubt he even remembers my brother or me, heh."

"So, are you suggesting we go to Ophelia’s kingdom?"

"No... no, not at all. If it came to that, I’d go alone, but it’s not like I can go right now anyway. I... I want to get stronger, even if I’m abusing Helen’s help..."

Helen approached Ryan.

"She says some really weird things, but from what I understand, she just needs to get stronger, right?"

Ryan remained silent for a few seconds before responding.

’Does she only understand the word "strong" or something?’

"In any case, it is good for Beatrice to grow stronger, so you’ll be quite busy," Ryan said, directing his words to Helen.

’But then the matter of the portal has to wait... staying here makes it dangerous, but we can’t leave either. To where, and how?’

"Is something else worrying you, Ryan?" Mirian asked as she approached him.

"Now we know that the Church will be a problem with their holy knights, and besides, other heroes might get involved... We must be prepared."

Then, before anyone could respond, the door burst open.

"Hah... hah..." Irina panted.

"Irina?"

The elf girl approached them, quite out of breath.

"Ryan, the soldiers reported that there are holy knights in the forest, and from their attire, they’re S-rank."