In the end, the elderly king chose to yield. He had no other path left.
And true to his word, Ren Kuroda allowed the barrier sealing the battlefield to dissipate, permitting the king and his commander to withdraw without further pursuit.
—
"Just as His Majesty feared… the imperial messengers we sent before weren't stopped by demi-humans… they were eliminated by the Holy Kingdom itself, weren't they?"
Standing before Remedios and the heavily armed soldiers behind her, Bajude—the Empire's famed "Lightning General"—didn't need the intellect of an emperor to understand the situation.
The Holy Kingdom didn't want them here.
And the reason was painfully obvious.
They had no intention of letting Ren Kuroda and Yuri return to the Empire.
The messengers had been quietly silenced. And now, even the Empire's elite Four Knights were being blocked.
Over the past month, Ren's abilities had left an undeniable impression on everyone in the Holy Kingdom—Queen Kaguya, her elder brother Prince Kazuma, and the High Priestess Aoi among them.
Because of his experience once ruling an entire nation in another world, Ren handled governance with uncanny ease. Whether it was managing civilians or nobles, he struck a perfect balance every time.
Problems that would give most royal courts headaches were effortlessly resolved under his guidance.
Even amid civil war, the regions untouched by demi-human attacks were thriving—almost unnaturally so—thanks to his influence.
On both the battlefield and in administration, Ren had demonstrated brilliance that bordered on terrifying.
And because of that, the Holy Kingdom had come to value him more and more.
Not only that—after spending time with him, even Queen Kaguya's brother and her closest allies had come to the same conclusion:
Ren Kuroda was flawless.
In strength. In character. In every measurable way.
They all supported the idea of Kaguya becoming closer to him.
—
Unfortunately…
While Kaguya had tried—subtly and repeatedly—to express her feelings, a certain hopelessly dense man remained completely oblivious, convinced she had ulterior motives.
And because Ren had been busy coordinating operations with Aura behind the scenes, the two hadn't even spent much time together.
So despite a full month passing…
Their relationship had made exactly zero progress.
To be fair, it wasn't entirely Kaguya's fault.
She had grown up as a high-ranking shrine priestess. Though she had reached marriageable age and privately worried about it, she had absolutely no experience in romance.
As for Remedios and the others—they could act as wingmen at best, but beyond that, they were completely out of their depth.
Still, they believed that once the war stabilized and Kaguya had more opportunities to be alone with Ren… things would naturally fall into place.
—
But then—
The Empire's envoys arrived.
At the time, Ren had been away fighting demi-humans, leaving Kaguya and Aoi to receive them.
The message was simple:
The Empire was recalling Ren.
And from a logical standpoint, it made perfect sense. Ren was, after all, the Empire's Knight-Commander. If the emperor summoned him, returning was only natural.
Based on what they had learned about him, Kaguya and the others were certain—
Ren would leave.
And that… was unacceptable.
Their original plan had been to bind Ren to the Holy Kingdom through Kaguya—through love.
But that plan had barely progressed.
And without him, the Holy Kingdom could not survive.
So in the end, after discussing it with her brother and Aoi…
Kaguya made a decision completely at odds with her usual saintly nature.
The imperial envoys were detained.
And the entire matter was hidden from Ren.
—
Back in the present—
On a hill in the southern region of the Holy Kingdom, Remedios stood at the front of tens of thousands of troops, staring down at the Empire's forces below.
Her voice rang out cold and sharp.
"Lord Bajude of the Empire's Four Knights… it's been a while. But tell me—what exactly do you think you're doing, marching troops into our territory like this?
"If I recall correctly, your emperor refused our plea for aid."
Her gaze hardened.
"The Holy Kingdom has no intention of welcoming you. Leave. Now."
—
Bajude's expression darkened.
The numbers on both sides were roughly equal—but that didn't mean the odds were even.
Remedios alone was a warrior on par with the Kingdom's strongest champion.
And more troubling—
Thousands of Holy Kingdom soldiers were equipped with high-grade magical gear.
Even the Empire, which prided itself on military strength, couldn't field a force like this.
Still, fighting here would be suicide.
So Bajude chose another approach.
"Does your so-called Holy Queen understand what she's doing?" he shot back coldly. "Detaining the Empire's Knight-Commander… and now blocking us like this?
"Are you declaring war on the Empire?"
His voice rose with pressure.
"Don't forget—your country is still in the middle of a civil war. Do you really think you can afford to provoke us?"
He took a step forward.
"And let's not forget—when you needed help most, it was our Empire that extended a hand to you.
"And this is how you repay us?"
A sneer crept across his face.
"So much for your 'holy' kingdom. Looks like it's full of nothing but ingrates."
—
That… was a mistake.
The moment those words left his mouth, Remedios's expression turned ice-cold.
"Ingrates?" she snapped.
"You dare say that?"
Her voice trembled with fury.
"Ren Kuroda came here of his own will—on his own name—to save us.
"When we begged for help, did the Empire send even a single soldier? Did the Kingdom?"
She took a step forward, hand gripping her sword.
"And you call us ungrateful?"
Her lips curled.
"How laughable."
—
The atmosphere ignited.
The two sides stood on the brink of open conflict—
And then—
"Alright, that's enough."
A calm voice cut through the tension like a blade.
—
Ren Kuroda had arrived.
—
The moment he appeared, the reactions on both sides couldn't have been more different.
The Empire's troops visibly relaxed, relief washing over their faces.
Remedios, on the other hand—
For the first time—
Looked genuinely flustered.
—
"Bajude," Ren said casually, as if nothing were wrong, "take your men and return to the Empire."
He glanced at him briefly.
"Tell His Majesty I'll be back before the meeting begins."
—
That was all Bajude needed.
With Ren's word secured, the Empire's forces withdrew without hesitation.
—
Not long after, Ren and Remedios returned to the royal palace.
Inside, Aoi and the others were already waiting.
Before anyone else could speak, Aoi stepped forward, clearly tense.
"Ren… about the envoys—that was our decision. It has nothing to do with Queen Kaguya—"
"We made the call," another added quickly. "If you're angry—"
"Relax."
Ren waved a hand, cutting them off.
"I get it."
His tone was completely calm.
"You did what you thought was best for your country. That's only natural."
—
For a moment, everyone froze.
They had braced themselves for anger… even betrayal.
Instead, what they got was understanding.
—
But before relief could settle in, Ren continued:
"Still… I'm the Empire's Knight-Commander."
His expression remained steady.
"If His Majesty calls, I have to answer."
—
Those words hit harder than any anger ever could.
The room fell silent.
And on every face—
The same emotion surfaced.
Reluctance.
Loss.
And something dangerously close to despair.