An upscale ryōtei in Akasaka, Tokyo.
In this establishment, which the History Compilation Committee had cleared out entirely for the 'Summit of Kings,' a suffocating silence reigned supreme.
The seat of honor in the tatami room was vacant. Across from it sat Kusanagi Godo, a boy whose face was frozen with tension, and his knight, Erica Brandelli, dressed in casual red attire, standing by his side. Behind them, Shinomiya Kaoru and Amakasu Touma knelt with pale complexions, looking like prisoners awaiting their executioner.
"Hey, Erica. Are you sure we're just here for a meal?"
Godo whispered, swallowing hard.
"Well… at the very least, we should hope our lives aren't on the menu."
Erica tried to act nonchalant, but her fists clenched beneath the table were trembling slightly. She knew. She knew that smuggling a dangerous Divine Artifact into the territory of another King and causing a god to manifest was an act punishable by summary execution according to the laws of the magical world.
It was then.
Slide.
The sound of the sliding door wasn't loud, but it instantly shifted the density of the air in the room.
First to enter was Alice Louise of Navarre, a platinum-blonde woman trailing the faint scent of black tea. Behind her followed Alessandro Gaspare, a knight in a pitch-black suit, exuding a heavy presence. He scanned the room with a sharp gaze, securing a path for his master.
Finally, a young man in a plain shirt entered. His attire was nothing special, yet the moment he took his first step, every sound in the room died.
The Seventh Campione, Min-jun Jeong.
He looked down at the gathered group with indifference.
I scanned the frozen figures before me and flopped down into the seat of honor. Alice and Alessandro stood on either side of me like sentinels.
"The atmosphere is pretty bleak. I said I was coming for dinner, not a funeral."
At my first cynical remark, Shinomiya Kaoru flinched and pressed her forehead against the floor.
"We... we welcome the King's visit!"
"Cut the formalities."
I waved my hand to dismiss her. They were already subordinates under my thumb; there was no need to terrify them further. My gaze fixed on the two sitting opposite me: Godo and Erica.
"It's been a while, Kusanagi Godo. Your face looks a bit more lively than when I saw you in Italy. Is it because you had a little tumble with Athena?"
"Ah… well… it’s been a while, Senior… I mean, O King?"
Godo offered a clumsy greeting. As expected, he still looked like an ordinary high schooler who hadn't fully realized he was a King. I let out a smirk and picked up a teacup.
"You can use a comfortable title. It’s ridiculous for Kings to quibble over ranks, anyway. However…"
My eyes shifted to the person beside him, Erica Brandelli. Stopping the cup just before my lips, I spoke in a voice that had grown cold and heavy.
"A King can be treated comfortably, but a troublemaking knight is an exception."
C-crack.
A fine fissure appeared in the cup I was holding. Erica’s shoulders jolted.
"Erica Brandelli. Were you the one who delivered that bomb?"
"……Yes, I was."
Erica didn't bow her head; she answered while looking me straight in the eye. It was an attitude befitting a proud knight, but to me, it looked like mere reckless bravado.
"The Gorgoneion. You brought that dangerous thing into this land without my permission. Thanks to that, Tokyo almost got erased from the map."
I placed the cracked cup back on the table.
"Your excuse?"
"I have none. I believed it was the best decision to empower my lord, Godo. I will take full responsibility for the consequences."
"Responsibility, you say…"
I burst into a hollow laugh.
"How arrogant. How exactly do you plan to take responsibility? Will you offer up your head? Do you think the value of your single life can compensate for the lives of tens of millions of Tokyo citizens?"
A grey haze began to rise around me. The aura of Medusa's Authority, the 'Garden of Stone,' began to encroach upon the room. It wasn't literal petrification yet. However, the crushing pressure of a King's wrath weighed down the space, beginning to tighten around Erica’s heart.
"Urgh…!"
Erica’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. She desperately tried to manifest her mana to resist, but before the majesty of a King who had slain gods, it was nothing more than a flickering candle in a gale. Her knees trembled, threatening to buckle toward the floor.
BAM!
Godo slammed his hands onto the table and stood up abruptly.
"Stop it!"
A golden aura erupted from Godo's body. The power of Verethragna’s Authority, 'The Bull,' met my pressure head-on.
"Erica is my knight! I didn't order what she did, but as her King, it's only right that I take responsibility for her actions!"
Godo shouted, sweat dripping down his face, yet refusing to break eye contact.
"If you're going to punish someone, punish me! Don't bully the weak!"
Silence fell over the room. Alessandro’s hand, standing behind me, moved toward his sword hilt—a reflexive movement to execute someone who dared raise their voice to his lord.
I held up a hand to stop Alessandro. Then, the corner of my mouth quirked upward.
"Ho."
I didn't withdraw the pressure; instead, I pushed it a bit harder.
"Don't bully the weak… you're playing the part of the righteous hero quite well. But don't misunderstand, brat. This isn't bullying—it’s education. And you’ll take responsibility?"
I slowly rose from my seat.
"If a King can't manage a single subordinate and allows them to cause a nuisance in someone else's territory, that is the King's incompetence. An incompetent King can take responsibility for nothing."
"Call me incompetent if you want! I protect my own people!"
Godo's eyes blazed with fighting spirit. The naive look he had back in Italy was gone. It seemed the struggle with Athena had caused him to grow.
He speaks well enough. But in the world of Kings, words hold no power.
"Anyone can talk, Kusanagi Godo."
I took a step forward. The tatami floor of the ryōtei creaked and screamed under my feet with every stride.
"You'll protect them? You? When you’ve barely even become a King?"
I gestured with my chin toward Kaoru and Touma. They bowed even deeper the moment my gaze touched them.
"Take a good look. This History Compilation Committee, and the entire magical world of this country. This is my territory, held in my palm for three years already. Yet you brought a dangerous object here and played with fire without my—the owner's—permission."
My voice was calm, but the majesty contained within it was absolute.
"This wasn't a simple mistake. It was a challenge to my authority and a threat to my order. If I were so inclined, burying the both of you right here would be trivial."
Godo bit his lip. It was an undeniable truth. He had essentially walked into the lion's den of a senior Devil King on his own accord.
"However, I will acknowledge the fact that you defeated Athena. Whether it was luck or skill, the fact remains that you forced a god to retreat."
I reached out my right hand casually, pointing at the space between Godo's eyes.
"So, I'll give you a chance. A chance to prove you have the right to remain here in Japan, which is my domain. To see if you have the power to back up those words you just spat out."
"……A right?"
"Yes. A test."
I stepped back, creating space. Alice and Alessandro, reading my intent, quietly withdrew toward the wall. I didn't activate any Authorities, however. This place was too small for a fight, and more importantly, it would ruin the appetite.
"I have no intention of flipping the table and fighting here. You'll need time to prepare, too."
I smiled coldly and handed down my verdict.
"Prepare yourself, Kusanagi Godo. Soon, I will designate a location and notify you. At that time, pour out everything you have. Whether it's the Bull, the White Horse, or that golden sword. I'll take it all on."
My eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
"If you disappoint me… you and your knight will be banished from my territory. And that 'peaceful everyday life' you wanted to protect? Consider it over."
Godo clenched his fists. He understood. This was no mere sparring match. It was an unavoidable trial from a King, a struggle for survival where he had to prove his worth.
Leaving Erica behind his back, he looked up at me with eyes full of resolve.
"……Fine. If I have to do it, I'll do it. I'll prove once and for all that I'm not lacking as your junior!"
The fire of a warrior ignited within Godo’s pupils. I nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
"I'll look forward to it. We'll see if you're a suitable partner for my post-dinner exercise."
I turned around, flanked by Alice and Alessandro.
"Let's go. The air in here is so thick I've lost my appetite."
The sliding door closed, leaving only a heavy silence in the room. But it wasn't the end. It was merely the calm before the storm.
The real battle was about to begin.
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