Amelia looked at the king in shock. She would’ve never thought that the announcer was actually the king. She then recalled some of the comments he made during the tournament.

‘This king went undercover and spread his thoughts and concerns to the public. He told them point blank that he didn’t like how tense everything was, and wanted his kingdom to be lively again.’

She thought.

‘He also made some vulgar comments….’

She looked at the king again. She could tell from his casual posture and mischievous grin that he was a free sprit, which could cause him a lot of trouble if he isn’t careful.

“Oh? So you’re the current king?”

Rory started sizing up the king.

“Not bad. Your ancestor wasn’t nearly this strong.”

He said while nodding in approval.

“Ignorant bastard!”

At that moment, the person Rory had kicked to the ground after kicking the door, stood up.

“How dare you speak to the king in such-”

*Bam!*

Before the man could finish, Rory slammed his heel on the top of his head. This caused him to pass out and collapse backwards.

“You’re the one who should watch your mouth. What’s a king to me?”

Rory said while facing the king.

“If your title doesn’t have Night or Sacred in front of it, I will bow to no king.”

He grinned.

“Besides, I’m also a king. The Devil King.”

“Hahaha! You’re just like what my grandfather said, Rory.”

Said, King Xavier.

“Oh? And just how did Maxwell described me?”

Rory asked.

“Selfish, arrogant, atrocious, and insanely strong.”

Rory smiled.

“It’s the first that I’ve been depicted so accurately.”

Xavier laughed again when he heard that.

“Anyway, my apologizes for my subject’s behavior. He is a patriot, so he can’t accept the fact that you beat everyone from our country to reign supreme.”

“I don’t mind.”

Rory answered.

“Anyway, why did you call for me?”

“Weren’t you the one who broadcasted your return?”

Xavier asked.

“In the first round of the tournament, you defeated a very well-known person and reduced him to a mere mount. According to my grandfather, the members of Pandemonium stated that if they were to return to this kingdom, they’ll return by turning their enemies into mounts.”

“You guys said that?”

Amelia asked Rory.

“I remember Adonis saying something like that. So I tried it out for the heck of it.”

Rory replied.

“You did that for the heck of it?”

Amelia asked.

“Well, the guy did pissed me off as well.”

Rory laughed. He then narrowed his eyes.

“But it seems like I came at the perfect time. This country is in an interesting state.”

He said.

“You’re talking about the competition between my sons. Indeed, because of those brats, things have escalated in a direction I didn’t want it to. But maybe you can do something.”

Xavier said.

“Rory, you won the tournament. That means that you’ve received the rewards, which include the title of General.”

“Not interested.”

Rory immediately cut him off.

“I have no interest in appeasing your sons. In fact, I would prefer to watch and see how everything plays out.”

He said.

“Your sons all had interesting subordinates, so I’m quite interested in meeting them.”

“My sons, huh? While they’re all talented in their own way, they can be real headaches sometimes.”

Xavier said.

“Please, Father. Don’t embarrass us like that, in front of guests.”

A new voice could be heard echoing in the room. At that moment, three silhouettes appeared from three different directions of the room.

They all resembled the king, but had different body types and hair color. It was obvious that they were the three princes of the kingdom.

“Allow me to introduce myself.”

The one who was the most muscular, and had black hair stepped out.

“I am the First Prince, James. The next king of the Marigold kingdom.”

“Oh?”

Rory was impressed by his fearlessness towards naming himself the next king, even though it hasn’t been decided.

James looked over at Amelia and smiled.

“I enjoyed watching the two of you in the tournament. Even though the way you both reached the finals were different, you were both captivating to watch.”

He looked at Rory.

“Overwhelming power.”

He then looked at Amelia.

“Versus Persistence and tenacity. “

He smiled.

“You two make up my life’s motto.”

“Power, Persistence, and Tenacity. That’s quite the motto you follow.”

Said Amelia.

“I believe that all of these are needed to reach the top.”

She nodded in agreement.

“My motto is completely different.”

The slimmest of the three stood out.

“I believe that one needs wisdom, foresight, and wits to reach the top. Without these, all you’ll achieve is mindless violence and unnecessary destruction.”

He smiled.

“Efficiency is what I strive for.”

“What’s your name?”

Rory asked.

“My name Liam. The man who will bring this kingdom to new heights.”

‘He didn’t state his title, but his ambition….He’s definitely the Second Prince.’

Rory thought.

He seemed quite pleased with Liam.

He then looked at the third person.

“And you are?”

“………”

The person didn’t answer Rory immediately and just kept staring at him, with his black eyes. Only after a while, he answered.

“My name is Christi, the third prince.”

He answered with a sharp gaze.

“Well, Christi. I’m quite interested in hearing what your motto is. Especially after you directed that unrestrained bloodlust towards me.”

Rory said with a smile.

“My motto is simple.”

Christi responded.

“Protect, Nurture, and Kill.”

Amelia’s eyes widen when she heard that. The third prince’s motto was contradictory. He also didn’t hide his hostility towards Rory at all.

“Protect, Nurture, and Kill.”

Rory repeated the words before giving a nodded.

“I like it.”

He said.

“See? They’re pretty difficult to deal with, aren’t they?”

Asked Xavier.

“Heh.”

Rory looked at the princes again.

“Your sons are all interesting in their own ways.”

His eyes halted on the third prince, Christi.

“Really interesting.”

He looked back at the king.

“Alright, I’ve decided. We’ll be staying in this kingdom for a bit.”

His words surprised everyone in the room. He wasn’t asking permission to stay, he was saying that he will.

“I don’t mind. I’m sure having you two stay, will make things more lively.”

Said the king.

“Wait, Your Majesty!”

Someone shouted.

They looked and saw that it was the man that Rory had knocked out earlier.

“Oh? I know that I did it casually, but for you to be awake already….You’re pretty tough.”

Rory said after seeing the man struggle to his feet.

“Your Majesty, you can’t just let this man into the country. He’s dangerous and has no regard for your authority. There’s no telling when he’ll harm you or the kingdom anyway.”

The man finally stood up straight.

“He’s a dangerous unpredictable element!”

He shouted.

“Lord Brooks, that’s enough. You ordering the king is defying his authority in itself.”

Said Allen, who have been silent all this time.

“Brooks?”

Amelia took note of the man’s name. He seemed to be the head of the Brooks family, whose daughters she defeated in the quarter and semi-finals respectively.

“Lord Rory, please forgive him. Lord Brooks only wants what’s best for the kingdom.”

Said Allen.

“Ah, I don’t mind. What he said is completely right.”

“Huh?”

Everyone was shocked to hear Rory agree with Brooks.

“I am a dangerous element, and someone who has no regard for the king or any authority in this kingdom. I can lash out at any second and plunge this country into chaos.”

He said.

“See? This man has admitted it himself.”

Said Brooks.

“But, if I really decide to do that, what can any of you do?”

Rory said.

“Since we’re talking about mottos, let me tell you all mine. Freedom, Domination, and Destruction. I live seeking mostly these three things. For your safety, it would be best that you don’t make me seek the third one.”

He said with an indifferent tone.

“You, are you threatening us?”

Asked Brooks.

“Yes, yes I am.”

Rory answered.

“Look, I’m a simple person. As long as nobody purposely messes with me, I won’t mess with them.”

He folded his arms behind his head in a relax way.

“I just wanna have a good time without people constantly annoying me. I wanna drink, party, sleep, repeat.”

“You mean you want to become a bum.”

Said Amelia.

“I have no problem being called that.”

Rory answered with a smile.

He then looked at Brooks.

“So, if you could stop trying to provoke me into showing my strength, that would be great.”

Said Rory.

“I’m sure you don’t want to die for your master like this.”

He glanced at the Second Prince, Liam. Liam showed no reaction to his words at all, which made Rory smiled.

“Let’s get this out of the way.”

Rory looked back at Brooks.

“I just need to defeat whosever outside that door right?”

When he said that, Brooks was shocked. Rory had destroyed all of his schemes without the slightest mercy. It was pure dominance on a psychology level.

“Come in.”

He said as if admitting defeat.

Shortly after, a giant of man walked into the room. He had huge muscles, was around 8 ft tall, and carried a gigantic sword on his back. He also wore a steel mask.

“A descendant of the giants? He’s mostly human though.”

Rory said after seeing the man.

“This is Dogma. He’s a famous General who brought the kingdom glory countless times over the years.”

Brooks said.

“If you’re truly strong enough to be a general, then prove it by beating one.”

He said.

Even though he knew that Rory didn’t want to be a General, he still said it because it was what he had practiced beforehand.

“W-Wait…”

All of sudden Rory’s face looked pale, and his body was trembling. This surprised everyone.

“Is he afraid of Dogma?”

Everyone asked themselves.

Brooks smiled and gestured Dogma to approach Rory to pressure.

“S-Stay back!”

To their surprise, Rory actually backed away. This made Brooks delighted.

“Dogma!”

He ordered Dogma to released his anima to make himself more intimidating.

“S-Shit!”

Rory backed away rather quickly.

“Stay away!”

He shouted. It really looked like he was afraid of Dogma.

“Dogma, get him!”

Brooks shouted. Dogma started to approached Rory who was constantly backing away. He seemed very proud.

“Is this the legend? Ha! He’s a coward!”

He said.

The second prince looked at him like he was a fool, but didn’t say anything.

Dogma caught up to Rory who had nowhere to run.

“Shit…”

He suddenly held his mouth.

“I can’t hold it any longer!”

“Eh?”

What happened next, shocked everyone.

“Blegh?!”

Rory started throwing up, and that puke hit Dogma who was approaching him.

“I-I told you to stay away.”

Rory said while wiping his mouth.

“……..”

The room was silent for a while until Rory broke it.

“It was a real bad idea to eat salted nuts while drinking last night.”

He said.

“Alright. Now that I feel better.”

He looked at Dogma, whose face was covered in vomit. He then ran, and stomped in his chest.

*Bam!*

Dogma was blown back so hard that he slammed into the wall and caused the entire room to shake.

When the others looked at him, there was a footprint in his chest, as blood leaking from his mouth and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

“Looks like I won.”

Rory grinned and said.

“Satisfied?”

He looked at Brooks and said.

“Y-Yeah.”

Brooks answered with clear nervousness.

Shortly after, Rory and Amelia were walking out of the palace.

“Hey, Elia. Are you interested in any of the princes?”

Rory asked.

“Why do you sound like a gossiping girlfriend?”

Amelia asked after hearing his strange tone.

“I think that all of them are quite interestin~.”

Said Rory. Amelia ignored his girlish tone and replied.

“Well, I think that I can get along with the first prince.”

“Oh? So that’s your type?”

Rory said with a laugh, which infuriated Amelia.

“Well, anyway. With princes like those, I’m sure that our stay in the kingdom will be a fun one.”