"Go ahead, Ginya. I'll be keeping a close eye on things."

After breaking through 20 spirituality points, Carlos's soul link with his subordinates had grown stronger, letting him get a vague sense of what his retainers were dealing with.

"Yes, master."

Ginya dismounted from the Ghostly Dark Steed—walking it would look better when entering a human kingdom.

....

At the city gates,

the guards were sweating bullets, craning their necks up.

Standing before them was an armored giant, easily over thirteen feet tall.

The armor looked like it was crafted from beautiful withered leaves—gorgeous yet alive with power, clearly no ordinary gear.

The war horse she led was just as massive, forcing the guards to tilt their heads back.

"St... stop right there!"

Seeing this towering figure was clearly dangerous, the guards were scared out of their wits.

Ginya impatiently tossed out a token.

"Northern City-State Alliance—Valois Family Retainer!"

The guard caught the fancy token. The front displayed an unfamiliar family crest, while the back read "Retainer - Ginya."

He thought to himself:

A Northern City-State Alliance noble's retainer coming to our kingdom?

That's pretty damn rare. Aside from merchant caravans, northern federation nobles barely had any contact with western kingdoms.

"Please head to the temporary quarters."

"I'll need to report this up the chain."

Ginya, remembering her master's plan, followed a soldier to the temporary quarters...

...

Soon enough, word about the Northern City-State Alliance noble's arrival reached the bigwigs of Dotruu Kingdom.

...

Deep into the night.

Skeletal beings didn't need rest.

Ginya sat quietly in the courtyard, the Ghostly Dark Steed behind her.

"Ersbah ancient gold coins are stashed in the royal treasury. Master said..."

Suddenly,

Ginya stood up, eyeing the wall with interest:

"Looks like some rats have snuck in."

"Shit! We've been made!"

At the wall, several shadows realized they'd been spotted and decided to attack head-on.

"Move out!"

Each shadow was actually a psychic, but unfortunately they had no clue what kind of monster they were up against.

Sensing their pathetic psychic energy, Ginya immediately lost interest.

"Too damn weak."

Boom!

In a heartbeat, golden light blazed. Screams filled the air as the shadows instantly turned to bloody mist.

"Mon... monster!!!"

The only surviving attacker was scared shitless, collapsed in his buddies' blood, shaking like a leaf.

A shadow fell over him.

"Oh, one's still breathing?"

A demonic voice asked,

"How do you want to die?"

Ginya was curious why this bunch had attacked her.

The terrified attacker stayed silent. Knowing the mission had gone to hell, he steeled himself, bit down on the poison capsule in his mouth, and dropped dead from the poison!

"...Death warriors?"

Ginya sensed something fishy about this whole situation. She looked toward the distant residences where explosive fires had broken out...

...

The next day,

several screams rang out,

then squads of kingdom soldiers surrounded the temporary quarters.

The lead soldier captain demanded:

"Last night dark forces attacked, butchering many civilians. Got any leads!"

Among the temporary quarters' residents, a middle-aged man raised his hand:

"I saw this big bastard talking with those attackers!"

The middle-aged man swallowed hard, like he was staring at some terrible beast, backing away toward the kingdom soldiers.

Ginya was baffled, watching the middle-aged man with interest.

"Why the hell are you framing me?"

Even though Ginya held back her aura, the middle-aged man felt crushing pressure that nearly choked him.

Just then,

the soldier captain drew his greatsword, angrily shouting at Ginya:

"You've got some nerve! How dare you pull this crap in Dotruu Kingdom!"

Clearly, he'd already decided Ginya was one of last night's killers.

Ginya's eyes narrowed. This bunch was obviously setting her up—maybe last night's attackers were working with them.

But why frame her?

Maybe she should just slaughter the whole lot of them. A glint of bloodlust flashed in Ginya's eyes.

"Villain?"

Ginya asked, confused. A bone-chilling aura began spreading as the soldiers broke out in cold sweat.

The soldier captain bore the worst of it, feeling like some awakened monster was about to devour them all!

Suddenly, another group burst in, led by someone in fancy threads with serious eyes.

"You're certainly no villain."

"Please dial back that aura—regular folks can't handle it.

I'll take care of everything from here."

Seeing Ginya had no plans for further violence, the newcomer relaxed a bit.

The soldier captain recognized the new arrival and yelped:

"Sec... Second Prince, how did you get back..."

The Second Prince glanced down, clearly pissed off.

"Take your men and get the hell out of here!"

The soldier captain hesitated, knowing that with the Second Prince here, their scheme was toast.

"Fall back!"

He slunk away with his soldiers.

After dealing with this mess, the Second Prince calmed the people before taking off.

The Second Prince's appearance left Ginya's head spinning.

She started reaching out to her master through the soul link...

....

On the way back,

among the Second Prince's crew, the guard captain asked, confused:

"Your Highness, why'd you help the outsider?

This was definitely the First Prince's doing. Weren't you planning to avoid butting heads with him lately?"

This group were all his trusted allies, so the Second Prince saw no reason to keep secrets.

"I didn't want to get involved, but that outsider's power is off the charts. Those idiots probably would've let him slip away.

Then we'd definitely face the wrath of whatever nobility's backing him!"

Another follower looked puzzled:

"Your Highness, it's just one noble. Our kingdom..."

The Second Prince sighed:

"I get what you're saying.

That family... they're from Ember City..."

Those around him gasped:

"The legendary Ember City..."

"Where the half-elf race gathers..."

"Backed by half-elves!"

"..."

The followers' few words made them understand why the Second Prince was being so careful.

The Northern Territory, serving as humanity's shield, faced the worst monster threats and also housed the most powerful beings.

According to the Sacred Fire Covenant, the superior half-elf race had patrol rights in the Northern Territory—their power was beyond imagination.

Dotruu Kingdom was just some ordinary western kingdom, absolutely lacking the muscle to piss off the half-elf race.

"Good that you get it. Let the First Prince test the waters!"

...

"Master, here's what went down..."

Ginya reported her encounter blow by blow to Carlos through the soul link.

Carlos fell into deep thought.

At this point in time, it was near the end of old King Dotruu's reign. In a few years, the Second Prince would commit fratricide and regicide to seize the throne.

So... Ginya probably got caught up in the power struggle between the First and Second Princes?

"Ginya, no need to rush things.

Stick to the plan—conduct normal trade first."

After all, it was a human kingdom. Carlos preferred working together, though if trade fell through, other methods would be necessary.

All for humanity!

Carlos's sense of justice definitely wasn't some rigid, by-the-book nonsense.

...

Dotruu Kingdom, royal palace.

White marble formed the palace's backbone, elite soldiers stationed at the sides, security tighter than a drum.