Amongst the many methods that Gabriel thought of, which were fast and Swift in helping him achieve his goals, all options had one thing in common... It was that he had to prove the innocence of the Arecia Clan, which he couldn't do without revealing the Sword of Ulien.
It was only after proving that the Sword wasn't sold but was passed down the Arecia Clan generations could he clear the name of the Arecia Clan, allowing him a path to reach the throne. Unfortunately, this didn't come without risk.
The only advantage he had for now was that there were no Mages in the crowd for now, none other than the Dark Mage. As for the Dark Mage, Gabriel was sure that even that person hadn't seen this sword since he couldn't have entered the Lumen City.
The only problem here was the Holy Priestess of Summoning. Unfortunately, having no choice, this was all he could do, even though it had the potential to create some new problems in the future.
Fortunately, according to the rumors, it looked as if Avilia really didn't care about other Holy Priests. With that kind of personality, it was highly unlikely that she would've ever gone to the Academy of Elements.
Even if she did, the chances of her seeing the Sword there should've been as slim as nine since the Academy rarely took anyone who wasn't a student to the Treasure Hall. No matter what, it was only a guess for now, which he couldn't be sure about. He had already considered the other possibility.
For now, he knew he had to handle the task at hand... He had to sway the hearts of the people first!
"Was this the kind of Empire you're proud to call your home?!"
His words echoed far and wide like thunder falling on the consciousness of everyone present here.
"I refuse to believe that the people of the Proud Arecia Empire would be so vile. I'll leave the choice to you. Tomorrow, I'll go to the Royal Clan to demand for the return of the throne. If you wish, you can stand on their side and fight against me."
" Even if I die, I won't step back. If I need to walk through the sea of blood to protect this Empire from the demons, that's what I shall do! I leave the choice to you! You can either correct the injustice of the past or double down to protect your false sense of reality!"
Gabriel made a declaration, leaving the rest to others. He was sure that one day was enough to get this information to every citizen of this city. It was enough time for everyone to know about his return and clear the name of the Arecia Clan.
He wasn't sure how many of those people were going to side with him in the end, but even if he was all alone, he was still going to do it. At least he now had a righteous excuse to stop the interference of the Churches here!
After his declaration, Gabriel turned around and started leaving. For one day, he didn't have to fight anyone. Things all needed time. He had to let the people go back to spread this news.
For a moment, even the Saint Knight was left stunned. He noticed the expressions of the Knights around him. Their expressions were telling him a lot. It was as if they had all fallen for a spell of Gabriel.
"Stop right there! Even if what you say is true, you should come back with me to the Royal Palace! We shall discuss it there!" The Saint Knight called out to Gabriel.
"Don't worry. I'll go there tomorrow. You'll get your moment to shine," Gabriel responded, not stopping. "You don't have to be in a hurry."
Saint Knight Albetron's face twitched. 'This guy... He is really arrogant.'
"Don't force me to take action! Please cooperate with the authorities! I promise we will be fair, and you won't be harmed!" He knew that the words which were spoken here... If Gabriel was given one day, he could easily gather an army of his own, causing a civil war. He couldn't let that happen.
'I can't let him go! If I try to kill him, I'll only provoke the sentiments of everyone present here. Even the Holy Priestess of Summoning doesn't allow me to kill. I can only try other methods.'
Unlike the other people here who were swayed by Gabriel, the Saint Knight was truly loyal to the current Royal Place. Even if he had to get his hands dirty to protect the Royal Family, he didn't care!
'For now, I'll play along and take him to the Castle. There, he'll be all alone. If we kill him there and share the story that he ran away after his lies were exposed, no one will know!'
He had already planned a plan of action to take Gabriel out without provoking the citizens. He was sure that some of the citizens were going to be suspicious for a little while, but after a few weeks, they were all going to forget that this even happened.
"I won't be harmed?" Gabriel repeated. "If you say so, I'll accompany you."
He didn't worry about being harmed. He wasn't even sure if the Royal Family could harm him even if they wanted. Instead, they were going to take him to the castle, which was exactly what he wanted.
Gabriel knew what these people wanted to do. It was clear that the Saint Knight wanted to kill him inside the Castle, but that didn't matter much. The best way to defeat an opponent was using their own strength against them, and this gave him the perfect opportunity for that...
He had already cast a seed of doubt in the citizens. With the spreading of the news, he was sure that quite a few citizens were going to side with him. All he needed was a little more push, and this was what gave that push.
"Albetron, I'm afraid that's not fair, is it?" A voice came from behind. "Shouldn't you stop?"
"It's him..." Gabriel muttered, glancing back. Just as he expected, it was the Dark Mage who had been observing everything from the back. It was strange that he was taking action.
Even the Holy Priestess of Summoning glanced at the Dark Mage in the back, slightly surprised. She expected the man to stay hidden, but this guy really came forward.
This only confirmed her suspicions that this man didn't know that his treasure didn't have an effect on her.
"This is getting interesting," she muttered.
