Academy’s Barbarian

After the situation was somewhat settled, Hrapun came to us and, upon hearing my plan, readily agreed, calling it an interesting idea.

To spread Knut’s heroic tales and fabricate his identity, his role would be significant, and through this, he aimed to position himself at the center of power.

Although it was just Frigg’s speculation, it seemed highly likely to me as well. Seeing how suddenly he became more proactive than anyone else in cooperating.

Well, whatever his ulterior motives were, it wasn’t my concern. Once he was on the same boat as us, unless he wanted to lose his head, he had to do his best to ensure that Dane and the Empire didn’t fall.

In any case, Hrapun, who had now fully stepped forward, was as competent as one would expect from a talent vouched for by Frigg.

He refined the heroic tale of Knut that I had roughly concocted on the spot and then, like an advisor to the king, systematically laid out what we needed to do from now on.

“First, we need to resolve this chaos. Announcing the birth of a new king can be postponed for later.”

“…It won’t be easy. The Rune Holy Warriors and the Royal Knights in the capital have been annihilated.”

Frigg clicked his tongue as he looked at the pieces of flesh scattered around the palace ruins, clearly showing his frustration.

Yeah, it must be a headache.

The military force that was supposed to become Knut’s solid support, maintain order in Edricksa, and suppress any potential noble rebellions, had been turned into minced meat in the battle between me and Ragnar.

Not all of them were turned into minced meat, though.

“The palace knights were annihilated, but quite a few Rune Holy Warriors survived. I tried not to kill them and just threw them beyond the palace.”

Rolling down from a high hill in full armor, few would have intact limbs, and the unlucky ones might have broken their necks and died… but still, the Holy Warriors wouldn’t have been wiped out by something as trivial as a fall.

So, if we go down and look, we should be able to find survivors.

—

In the end, everything went according to plan. Unbelievably so.

Since arriving in this world, nothing had gone according to plan, but this time, whether it was divine intervention or just a hastily patched-up plan, surprisingly, no problems arose.

First, out of fifty Rune Holy Warriors, only seven had died.

Four had broken necks, and three had suffocated under the rubble.

Except for the unlucky seven, the rest of the Holy Warriors were scattered at the foot of the inner fortress hill with full-body fractures. Knut woke them up and ‘persuaded’ them to become his subordinates.

Most could be persuaded through conversation, but some Holy Warriors needed more special measures.

Hrapun and Frigg scrutinized the Rune Holy Warriors who had sworn loyalty to Knut, identifying those who had falsely sworn, and Knut used the Rune of Domination to bring them to his side.

It might not be called a humane approach, but we were in a situation where we needed even their strength.

In return, Knut promised to release them once their necessity was gone. It would take about two months.

Even if it wasn’t intentional, giving those who participated in Ragnar’s rebellion only two months of servitude could be seen as a merciful act.

Anyway, Knut used the strength of forty-three Rune Holy Warriors to calm the chaos in Edricksa, gathering the city’s residents in the plaza to publicly announce Ragnar’s crimes.

The crime of assassinating collateral royal family members to solidify his position.

The crime of corrupting the late King Hestein, leading to the deaths of over a hundred thousand compatriots.

Finally, revealing his hidden treachery by assassinating Hestein and Prince Eirek, and even killing the young Prince Haral and Princess Alvhild.

The crime of destroying the Dane royal palace and massacring the royal knights. Each one was a capital offense.

“That’s why I drew my sword. As a warrior of royal blood. To punish the traitor Ragnar, who betrayed the royal family, his brothers, and the people of the kingdom, a vile and cruel rebel!”

After announcing Ragnar’s crimes, Knut declared that as the last collateral royal family member of Dane, he had executed Ragnar and, accordingly, had been chosen as the new king of Dane.

He proved his qualification by manifesting the power of Dainsleif towards the sky.

“A collateral royal family member? I’ve never heard of such a thing…”

“Do you dare to defy even after seeing the king’s proof? Then come at me. A king of warriors proves himself not by words but by actions.”

Some nobles who had survived the disaster doubted Knut’s declaration, but all they could do was express their quiet disbelief.

Facing Knut, who had beheaded Ragnar after a battle that destroyed the palace and now had the Rune Holy Warriors as his personal guard, openly showing hostility would mean following Ragnar’s fate sooner rather than later.

The nobles had no alternative.

Even if all the nobles in Edricksa united to rebel, their chances of success weren’t high, and that was an impossible assumption from the start.

Some quick-witted nobles, instead of protesting the sudden usurpation, immediately swore loyalty to Knut and crawled under his wing.

Considering what would happen to the nobles who showed dissatisfaction with Knut’s ascension, immediately prostrating themselves was a swift and wise decision.

In the end, the nobles had no choice but to agree to his ascension, whether they wanted to or not.

After that, everything went smoothly.

The Edricksa defense forces submitted to the master of Dainsleif, and the citizens welcomed Knut with open arms, who had risked his life to save hundreds of thousands of commoners.

Unexpected luck also followed. While dealing with the city-wide panic, monsters hidden underground were discovered.

Beasts that looked like unfinished monsters. The Intelligence Department’s investigation revealed that Ragnar had hidden these monsters underground.

The moment the label of a heretic who controlled monsters was added to Ragnar, who had already been declared a traitor without equal, Knut’s legitimacy soared even higher.

The heroic tales spread by Hrapun at the right time became songs praising Knut’s achievements, spreading not just in Edricksa but to other cities as well.

What was the title again? ‘The One-Eyed Warrior and the Crow Sage’? It was such a funny name that even Frigg chuckled.

He never imagined his master would have such a desire for showmanship.

In any case, Knut became the new king of Dane.

His original residence had long been demolished, and the royal palace was completely destroyed, so even as king, he had no place to stay.

For the time being, he was staying at Frigg’s house.

What Knut might be going through in that house… I decided not to imagine.

—

=====[ Third Apostle ]=====

“What’s the matter?”

The Third Apostle coldly gazed at the crystal sphere emitting mana light and quietly spoke.

The sudden urgent contact from Peirus. It wasn’t hard to guess the content.

“Not long ago, the ‘Eighth’ lost his life.”

Peirus answered in a somewhat grave tone.

The death of the Eighth Apostle. While shocking news to the other apostles, for the Third Apostle, it was old news.

She was the only witness to the Eighth Apostle’s final moments.

Although her plan to keep him alive for future use was thwarted by unexpected interference.

It was truly frustrating.

The contract with the Eighth Apostle had succeeded, and all that was left was to cast a simple fog spell to help him escape… but who would have thought the medium would be destroyed at that moment?

Thanks to the time that had passed since then, she had somewhat calmed down now.

“The Eighth Apostle? How unfortunate… to fall before the day of ascension. A tragic event.”

“A tragic event… is that all?”

Peirus’s question, with its lowered tone, almost sounded like an accusation, but the Third Apostle just chuckled.

“You’ll resurrect him anyway. If the body isn’t destroyed, the resurrection spell will work, and even if the body is lost, if the soul is retrieved, he can be revived in another body.”

“…You already know, don’t you? That the Eighth Apostle cannot be resurrected in that way.”

“Ah, right. You and the Eighth both serve Alfodr, so your powers won’t work on him.”

The Third Apostle pretended to have just realized, though she had known all along that the Eighth Apostle couldn’t be resurrected.

Unlike other apostles, the Eighth Apostle, like Peirus, had received Alfodr’s divine light directly, so Peirus’s power couldn’t hold his soul.

There was no way for Peirus to prevent Alfodr from directly collecting his disciple’s soul.

If a god calls a priest’s soul to his side, forcibly interfering would only incur the god’s wrath.

“Then the Eighth is truly finished. A tragic event. I offer my condolences.”

“……”

Peirus didn’t respond.

As if she knew that the Third Apostle’s condolences were all false and mocking.

“So, is that all you contacted me for? If you have nothing more to say, I’d like to end this now. I don’t have the leisure to exchange messages leisurely.”

“Right, you must be busy. With the Eighth dead, you need to find a new pawn as quickly as possible.”

“…What do you mean by that? Are you saying I drove the Eighth to his death?”

The Third Apostle’s voice sharpened.

“Don’t play dumb. The Eighth Apostle, Ragnar Lokan, tried to use Ka`har to inflict massive damage on the Empire. Although he failed and was assassinated, if his plan had succeeded, the only one to benefit would have been you.”

Peirus replied, her low and heavy voice filled with clear hostility.

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