"Damn...can't believe that just happened," Remarked Rion, as the king went back into the castle and the crowd began dispersing.

"I saw it coming...he's been threatening to exile me for a while now, all he needed was a push," I replied with a wry smile.

​​

"What are you going to do now?" Asked Azeria curiously.

"Hm...well, I have two options. I could either destroy the castle, along with the king...or I could take the high road and just leave peacefully, I guess," I shrugged in reply, "Though I don't see much benefit in going with option one, since most of the citizens seem to agree with the king's opinion of me."

Though as far as taking the high road and just leaving peacefully goes...well, let's just say peacefully for now, anyway.

"Assuming you go with option two, where do you plan to go?" Inquired Ekai.

"Hm? Well, that's easy. I have my own nation, remember?" I pointed out.

The others then looked around at each with slight nods, before turning back to me...

"Then it's settled...we're going with you!" Declared Rai with a grin.

Huh? I mean, I didn't expect to be completely alone, at the very least I was pretty sure that Persia would come with me...but I didn't expect this, not by a long shot.

"Wait, really? You're all sure?" I asked in surprise, looking around.

"I'm more comfortable in Abyss than here anyway, so why not?" Replied Fuo with a shrug.

"And the three of us and Persia decided that we'd go with you back during the first time the king threatened to exile you," Chimed in Key, Az giving me a nod as well.

"After The Valaque Empire was destroyed, I fully expected to be executed, but the Rustlands spared us and even let us become citizens...but that probably would not have happened if you had not spoken in our favor, so I owe you a debt," Added Azeria.

"What she said...that, and the fact that I really don't want to be your enemy," Grinned Rion wryly.

"We would be happy to defect as well," Said Lusk, referring to himself and Prato.

Really didn't see this coming...this is pretty great, not gonna lie...

"Wow...thanks, everyone. I...heh, this genuinely means a lot," I replied with a grin, before adding, "Alright, then...I have till sundown, but why wait till that long? How about this, come to my place in two hours, we'll leave then, using my reverse summoning to teleport there."

The others all agreed to that, so with that, we split up, as I used a teleportation spell to get back to my apartment, reappearing in my living room. In less than two hours, I'll probably never see this place again...

Huh, never thought I'd get so emotional over this...I then felt something soft rubbing against my foot, and reached down and picked up Pero. She began purring as I held her and petted her head...cats are the best. Speaking of which...

"Kuro...?" Yawned Persia, walking out of the bedroom and rubbing her eyes, her hair all messy.

I gently put Pero down and walked over to Persia, hugging her and ruffling her hair.

"You're so damn cute."

"H-hey, cut it out," She mumbled, blushing slightly as she buried her face in my chest, before a bemused look appeared on her face as I let her go, "What was that about?"

"Just feeling a bit emotional...oh, I'm being exiled, leaving in two hours...you coming?" I inquired with a grin.

"Huh? What? I mean, yeah, obviously I'm coming with you, but that was pretty abrupt, you caught me off-guard," She replied with a wistful smile, "So, it really happened, huh?"

"Yeah, it did. Things are gonna change a lot now, it's gonna be a pain."

"I don't know, it might be fun," She said with an optimistic look on her face.

"Heh, maybe...well, anyway, let's pack everything up and then use a Store spell on them...after that, it's just a matter of waiting for the others."

"Okay, sounds like a plan. I'll go pack up our clothes, can you take care of the other stuff like spells, equipment and Pero's stuff too?"

"Sure, leave it to me."

We began packing up, which we didn't have a whole lot of, it's not like we were going to take the furniture and stuff, after all. Once we finished, we gathered everything that was packed and fastened them together using wire, before using a Store spell. As for Pero, we took a backpack and poked a bunch of small holes in it and put her favorite blanket inside it, to carry her in when we go.

Still about an hour to go before the others get here...guess I'll just relax till they get here...with weed. Just a little bit left, so might as well finish it off. As I plopped down onto the couch and began rolling a joint, Persia joined me, sitting beside me and leaning her head against my shoulder.

"Hey, once we move, will we still be able to get weed?" She asked with a look of concern.

"Wow, you look really worried about that," I replied with a stifled laugh, before adding, "I've got it covered though, I have a few monsters camping out in the weed cove, so I can teleport there whenever."

"Oh, nice!"

"Heh, that was an excited reaction," I grinned, as I finished rolling and formed a small flame at my fingertip to light it, "Well, things are gonna get hectic soon, so...for right now, let's just relax for a bit and get high, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me."

...

A little while later, with about ten minutes to go, I heard a commotion outside.

"Wonder what's going on?" Yawned Persia, rubbing her eyes.

"I'll take a look," I replied, reluctantly getting up and walking over to the window and peering out, before letting out a groan, "You've gotta be kidding me."

"What is it?"

"There's a mob outside...they're walking into the building with weapons and stuff," I sighed in exasperation...looks like some of the citizens weren't planning to wait till sundown, huh.

"What do we do?" Inquired Persia with a frown, standing up.

"Hm, let me think...oh, I know, let's use that teleport spell that'll take us to Rai's place, we can call everyone else from there and leave," I suggested, as I took out some spells.

I activated a barrier that'd keep people from entering this place and then tossed a Call spell to Persia, as I searched for the Teleport spell. She called Rai and quickly informed him of the situation, before I picked up Pero, took hold of Persia's hand and activated the Teleport spell.

"Hey, you two!" Greeted Rai, as we teleported to his living room.

"You ready to go?" I inquired, he responded with a thumbs up.

"Where's Key?" Asked Persia, looking around.

"Oh, she's gathering up our Call spells to inform everyone else of the change in plan," He replied, before narrowing his eyes slightly, "Hey, that smell...did you guys get high?"

"Yeah, just polishing off the last of my weed," I answered with a shrug.

Suddenly, someone else appeared in the living room...it was Az. He looked a bit downcast...ohh, I think I get it...

"Yo, dude!" Greeted Rai, slapping his shoulder, "You good?"

"Of course he's not, he's going through a break-up," I chimed in.

"I'm not-...fine, I guess that's not completely inaccurate," He sighed in reply.

"I was pretty doubtful that Elina would come along too, looks like that turned out to be the case, huh?" I inquired.

"Yeah, she's not going to leave the Rustlands...she wasn't very pleased when I mentioned that all the other X and S-Ranks are leaving with you."

Huh, it hadn't clicked till he said it, but...wow, yeah, all the X-Ranks, along with all the S-Ranks excluding Elina are defecting from the Rustlands. Nice.

Rai then headed for the front door as someone knocked on it...shouldn't be much longer now before we leave...

...

About ten minutes later, everyone was here...some of them had brought their families along with them, which I didn't have a problem with in the least, the more the merrier and whatnot.

"Alright, everyone ready to go? And I hope you're all sure about this, because there's no going back once we leave," I remarked, summoning a Goblin that I'd had stationed in Abyss.

"We're all prepared for this...I do feel some sorrow in leaving the Rustlands, but I value my life and the lives of my loved ones more than I do the nation," Replied Ekai, who'd brought his parents with him, "And if I'm being frank...I trust your judgment far more than I do the current king, I do not feel comfortable being ruled over by someone who is so easily manipulated by the enemy."

Some of the others, including Lusk, Prato, Siert and Misen voiced their agreement with that statement...I'm more than a bit surprised, but I'm certainly not complaining.

"After we leave, how do you plan to deal with the Rustlands?" Inquired Lusk with a look of concern, "I do not think I would be comfortable attacking the nation I grew up in."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to be aggressive against the Rustlands...I've enjoyed my time here too, after all. But...if they show significant signs of aggression against us, then I'll consider them my enemies. In other words, how we deal with the Rustlands entirely depends on them...if they ignore us, we'll do the same, and if they attack us, we'll crush them. That's my honest stance on the matter," I replied objectively.

"Hm...if nothing else, that is fair, I suppose," He conceded, as I finished explaining my thoughts.

"Well, anyway...let's get going now, shall we?" I suggested with a bittersweet smile, before reversing the summoning after making sure everyone was in physical contact, leaving the Rustlands for good...

_____________________________________________

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