[Level Up!]
[Congratulations! You are now level 51]
"Acheval-sama, is something wrong?"
Marquis Raeven who was standing quietly behind Shido felt something amiss when he suddenly fell silent, so he gently called out to him.
As if roused by the voice, Shido snapped out of his daze and shook his head at Marquis Raeven.
"Nothing, I just blank out for a second.."
Even though he was pleasantly surprised by the reward and his level-up, there was still something Shido needed to take care of.
Shido then turned to face everyone in the castle. Instantly, an invisible pressure descended over the crowd. Shido released a bit of his conqueror's presence, causing everyone in the castle to feel intimidated by his overwhelming aura.
Even with just a brief display of his newly acquired conqueror's haki, everyone's faces went pale, and a sense of dread washed over them.
Those with weaker wills collapsed to the ground in submission, while the stronger, like Gazef Stronoff and Brain Unglaus, struggled to keep themselves from kneeling. However, they couldn't prevent themselves from kneeling when Shido increased the power of his conqueror's haki.
Shido's gaze swept across the battered castle with a calm yet sharp expression.
"Hear me well." his voice carried, low but filled with absolute authority. "The ruler you once served is no more. His reign ended the moment he proved unworthy to protect this kingdom."
He let his words hang in the air for a moment, watching their fearful eyes shift toward him.
"From this day forward." Shido declared, his tone sharp as steel, "I stand as the supreme king of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Your loyalty, your service, and your oaths shall belong to me."
"All hail, Your Majesty!" they cried in unison, their voices echoing through the castle halls.
Soldiers, nobles, royalty, even the former king, knelt before Shido and paid him their respects.
From that day forward, a new king was born.
...
A week had passed since the battle ended. As planned, while Shido assumed the throne of the Re-Estize Kingdom, he appointed Prince Zanac as acting king to manage the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom.
The first order Shido gave to Prince Zanac was to repair all the damage to the castle and capital, as the castle bore numerous breaches and structural damages from the recent battle.
Although Prince Zanac was merely carrying out Shido's orders, he felt satisfied, knowing his rank still placed him above the others.
Meanwhile, Marquis Raeven also became an influential figure in the kingdom, holding equal or even greater authority than Prince Zanac, thanks to the trust Shido placed in him. He assisted Zanac in managing the kingdom, effectively serving as a trusted adviser.
Those who had surrendered and now followed Shido also rose in glory, particularly the former members of the Eight Fingers. Yet, even as victors and holders of newfound authority, Shido's word remained final, and none dared act against his will.
As for King Ramposa III, he had stepped down from his throne and decided to spend the rest of his days quietly in his mansion in the capital.
Prince Barbro, on the other hand, had turned cowardly after his defeat at the hands of Prince Zanac. He was now confined to a mansion under Zanac's control, effectively under house arrest.
The only one who remained lively and unrestrained was Princess Renner. Shido had no plans to harm her, so he allowed her to act as she pleased. Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to grant her complete freedom. So just like everyone else, he also branded Princess Renner with a slave crest to prevent her from doing something stupid.
To ensure the safety of his kingdom, Shido personally eliminated the shadow demons that had been hiding within the castle. He also stationed his two Azure Knights there, ready to protect everyone should any danger arise.
However, contrary to Shido's expectations, Princess Renner no longer behaved like the graceful, modest golden princess she once was. She had become nothing more than a girl chasing after her love.
Though she still retained her saintly, innocent appearance, Princess Renner had become more direct in her actions.
She openly pursued Shido, even going so far as to seduce him in public. Climb, meanwhile, seethed with helplessness and hatred toward Shido, but there was nothing he could do, he could only continue to follow and guard his princess's safety.
Princess Renner's boldness gave Shido a slight headache, leaving him mildly troubled by just how direct she had become. Prince Zanac, on the other hand, was secretly pleased that his dear sister had fallen for Shido. A marriage between them would only strengthen his own position. For that reason, he made no effort to restrain Renner's advances; in fact, he quietly encouraged her to get even closer to Shido.
...
During the battle in the castle, panic spread throughout the capital as a barrier encircled the city, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. The sudden surge of fear could have caused chaos, but Shido had anticipated this. He had stationed a group of nobles and soldiers to maintain order and calm the citizens.
But there were always those who sought to exploit the chaos. Criminals lurking in the shadows emerged one by one, looting, setting houses ablaze, and even attacking innocent people.
Fortunately, Frieren and Rumia acted swiftly, neutralizing the threats before they could cause any real harm.
...
"I'll strike the left flank!"
"Gather them and unleash your magic!"
BOOM!
[Level Up!]
[Congratulations! You are now level 46]
Rumia wiped at her slightly flushed cheeks after obliterating a group of Blood Wolf Leaders with a massive, concentrated mana blast. Despite the exertion, a satisfied smile lingered on her face as she had leveled up.
"Good work."
As Rumia took a deep breath to ease her tense body, Shido walked up beside her and handed her a bottled drink.
"Thanks."
Rumia smiled gently, expressing her gratitude to Shido.
Currently, they were on the 28th floor of Aincrad and were already started grinding levels and clearing floors.
It had only been four days since the three of them began exploring the massive flying fortress yet they were already approaching the 30th floor. It wasn't just because they were strong that the three of them manage to clear so many floor in a span of four days.
It was also because, Shido had been using 'Search' to find dungeons and the correct path to the floor bosses. With so many possible paths within each dungeon, navigating without such guidance could have taken them far longer to ascend to another floor.
"Your mana control is still as impressive as ever." Shido said, watching the spot where Rumia had unleashed her 'Zoltraak'. It didn't even leave trace of the Blood Wolves as they turned into particles of light after being hit.
"No, I'm still far behind you and Frieren-san."
"Ahaha, don't be so hard on yourself," Shido said, laughing awkwardly as he saw Rumia looking down.
"Comparing yourself to me is a bad idea considering how I have the system. As for Frieren, she's a thousand-year-old elf, so her mana is immense and her control came from years of training. And you, Rumia… while your mana and control aren't on our level, it's not because you're weak. We're simply on a completely different scale. But I can confidently say that among humans, you're definitely one of the best. So be confident since you're already getting stronger and stronger."
"Un! I'll do my best!" Rumia's energy returned, and her confidence began to grow at his encouragement.
"That's good. Ow!"
Shido felt a fist hit his head and turned around, only to find Frieren staring at him with deadpan eyes, as if she was looking at a trash.
"Um... is something the matter, Frieren-sama?" Shido laughed wryly seeing her glaring daggers at him.
"It's rude to tell people their age, Shido. Do you want me to teach you some manners?"
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." Shido immediately bowed his head, knowing better than to argue. Women could be unreasonable, even for the smallest reasons, and he didn't see the point in challenging her with words.
Instead, he would be the one who would teach her manners in bed when night comes.
Frieren didn't say anything further, only letting out a small snort before looking away.
Still, seeing Shido act so humble in front of her teacher made Rumia find it amusing, and she couldn't help but chuckle.
"So? Why are you back already? Did you find the boss room?"
Once things had settled down, Shido asked Frieren.
"Yes, I've already mapped the way up to the boss room." Frieren nodded her head and responded.
Shido had taught Frieren how "Search" worked, so she immediately tried it to see if she could locate the boss room. Thanks to that, she became the pathfinder after clearing the 10th floor, and she seemed to enjoy it, as it made finding things much easier.
"Oh? Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
"Yeah!"
"Un."