Martin quickly wiped his tears and stood up before glancing at the unconscious Prince Heath. He could see a pool of sea beneath the prince's body too, and there was a horrific injury on the man's stomach, but it wasn't at the center. The armor was covered in blood, and the lower right side was where the black-cloaked man had thrust the sword, leaving behind a wound that looked like it would kill the person on the spot.

The worse thing was that Prince Heath had even used the forbidden attack to kick the black-cloaked man out of here. This, combined with the injury, had a significant impact on the man's body that made him unconscious. To say that Heath had probably gone into a coma wouldn't be an exaggeration.

​​

But at this time, Martin didn't know that Heath's condition was delicate. So he thought that as long as the prince's main organs weren't touched, that person should still be alive. Still, he grabbed Prince Heath's body and was just about to enter the courtroom when a soldier approached him and said, "The enemies are closing in on us. What should we do?"

Yes, the soldiers dressed in black robes were still approaching. How could he forget about them?! Martin gritted his teeth and said in an urgent voice, "Run. Everyone, escape! I'll bring Prince Heath to safety." Then he glanced at the soldier who had brought him the news. "Ask the court officials what has happened here after we are safe."

He didn't know where the princess was at this time, but since this was the last request of his king, he would fulfill it. But what about the Vanne kingdom? What about the citizens who had just been evacuated before the war? Now that the king had died and even Prince Heath was injured, no one could take charge of the situation! He couldn't trust Princess Edda at this point, who looked like she had just seen a ghost. Even the court officials and other soldiers inside were too frightened to speak a word.

So would everything ultimately fall on his shoulders? He glanced inside the courtroom and found the Chief commander standing there with a pale face as Martin's shoulders relaxed. There was still the chief! How could he forget the commander?

Martin pursed his lips and forced himself to stay calm. He took a deep breath and glanced at the same soldier, and said, "Let us first go and meet up with the citizens who had evacuated. Then, we'll think about what we should do."

At this point, he didn't know where the citizens were evacuated to, so he would give the seal back to the chief and let him handle everything from here on out. He was tired, and he just wanted to lie down and sleep. It had been a long day for him.

But what should he do about Prince Heath? He hesitated and decided that the prince should stay back with the citizens. They still needed a leader who could give them hope that their hometown would be saved one day. After making this decision, he held the prince's unconscious body with his arm and dragged the heavy Heath toward his horse.

While they were heading over to the place where the remaining citizens of the Vanne kingdom were alive, Princess Lia and Zion were still on the road. They didn't know what had transpired at the kingdom, nor did they know the Dhampirs had lost and were forced to escape. They were still silent as they kept thinking. Well, at least Lia was thinking in her mind, but Zion seemed to be talking with a specific chibi system, who was dead set on showing off his perverted side now when things had calmed down.

"Can you move closer to her?" the system said while pointing his finger at Lia, who sat in front of Zion on the horse. His eyes glistened as he continued to stare at Lia's back. It even seemed as if saliva dripped from the corner of his lips. "I cannot move the camera closer, and I want more!"

Zion sneered. "Shameless system. Do you not have any conscience? We have just witnessed a war, and many people died. Yet, you want me to move closer to a girl. What are you? A pig?"

The system pouted and shook his head before taking a deep breath as if he were trying to calm himself. A trace of guilt flashed in his eyes, and he sighed. "I know, host. I was trying to lighten up the mood."

Right…..

As if Zion would believe that. Before the system could utter any more nonsense, he opened his mouth and asked, "What's the status?"

"Oh, right!" The system's mind was instantly distracted. "That's what I wanted to tell you. Congratulations, host! You have successfully passed the first case with a 75% completion rate. You'll get 100 points, out of which 82 will be deducted automatically for the temporary boosting power, identities, and the torch. Although you can't keep the boosting power anymore, you can still have other things, including identities."

"....no need." Zion didn't think he would get a chance to change his identities with Lia wandering around him. "25% were deducted because we lost the kingdom, didn't we?"

The system pursed his lips and nodded. "It seems to be the case. Although I don't know what exactly happened, Princess Lia and the king aren't suspects anymore. Even though no one could catch the enemy, they still knew that the murderer wasn't the princess nor the king. So you have passed the case."

If it were before, Zion would have felt relieved after hearing that he had passed the case, but now, all he felt was regret and helplessness. Why was he so weak? If only his body were a little stronger, and if only he knew how to fight with a sword….

His eyes glanced toward the princess, and before he could think about it, he opened his mouth and asked her, "Can you teach me sword fighting?"

Zion knew that the princess was powerful, and he had seen her 'playing' with Edda earlier. So he was ready to make her his first teacher. He thought that she would agree, but-

"No."

It was a firm rejection that didn't give him a chance to refute. Zion pursed his lips and asked, "Why?"

"Because no human is allowed to fight," Lia said in a solemn voice. "It's the rule. They aren't allowed to learn how to fight."

He rolled his eyes. "No one will know."

Lia's eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to learn anyway?"

Zion was silent for a while and looked at the sky. The system had retreated into his mind when he had started talking to Lia, but he wasn't focused on that. All the detective could think was how good it would be if he could stand on equal ground against his enemies. How good it would feel after saving millions of people with his strength, but for that, he needed to grow. He needed to become powerful. "I just want to save more people."

Lia was stunned as the corners of her lips curved up. "I'll think about it." This was the first human she had seen who was ready to risk his life for others, and she didn't doubt him. If it were any other human, she would have doubted them, but this person was innocent and pure-hearted. She could tell. So perhaps she could trust him just a little.