"Don't kill me. I'm here to deliver the message from the Third Prince."
"!!!" Noel and Anna exchanged looks and immediately returned to the bed as if they had a hard time moving.
As soon as the Sword Arbiter knew this person's identity, he replied, "You should know that both of them are still gravely injured after fighting me, right?"
"I'm sorry, Sir. I'm only here to pass the message."
"…" The Sword Arbiter frowned. On the one hand, Noel had known that the Third Prince would take this opportunity to make him overwork himself. On the other hand, Noel had recovered most of his injuries.
He had made enough ruckus, so Noel should have heard about him and began his acting. Hence, the only thing he needed to do was sheathe his sword and say, "Follow me."
"Yes, Sir." The messenger had three objectives when infiltrating the city. The first was to deliver the message to Noel. The second purpose would be to observe the Sword Arbiter's action to see whether it was possible or not to take down this city. The last objective was to observe rune technology.
He was quite surprised by the third one and was ready to report it to the Third Prince. However, if the Third Prince forced Noel to hand the technology to him, Noel might use this chance to cut ties with him.
Hence, the message wouldn't be related to technology.
The Sword Arbiter led the messenger through the main hallway just to buy some more time for Noel.
Eventually, both of them had reached the room where Noel and Anna were taken care of. Anna looked like she was sleeping while Noel was sitting on the bed while reading something. His face was pale and his body was covered with bandages.
Because of the appearance of the Moon Temple, the Third Prince was in a rush since the longer Noel stayed with the Moon Temple, the more he would recover. After all, the Moon Temple had its own healer.
After observing Noel's complexion, the messenger opened his mouth. "I am the messenger of the Third Prince. I'm here to pass his message to you."
"…" Noel furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm still in this condition. Do you think I have time to do anything else?"
"I apologize, Sir. I'm only here to pass his message." The messenger shook his head, but he was happy that Noel's condition didn't seem to be much better. It seemed that the Sword Arbiter had injured them so severely that even with a healer, it would still take a long time for him to recover.
"I'll listen to his message for now." Noel finally agreed and gave him permission to speak.
The messenger said, "According to our information, there is a weird demon activity west of this city. The demons are most likely to build their nest in that place and will attack this city again in the near future. It's best to eliminate them right now."
"…" Noel let out a long sigh. "Do you think I'm in a shape that is capable of doing so?"
"Do you want me to eliminate those demons?" The Sword Arbiter smirked, confident in his ability to eliminate all of them. "In exchange, I stay in this place a few days less. The city will be safe with that saintess here."
The messenger tensed up. The purpose of this message was to have Noel injure himself further, so if the Sword Arbiter was the one going, it would ruin the entire plan.
That was why the messenger added, "The Sword Arbiter is forbidden to move. The Royal Family is turning a blind eye to your actions because you are staying in this place. But if you go out in a direction other than your territory, the Royal Family is going to take action."
Duke Lorelei narrowed his eyes. "Since when the Third Prince was working with the Royal Family?"
"I'm merely conveying the word of my master. As for the depth of his connection, I'm as blind as you, Sir. The Sword Arbiter is respected as the number one Arbiter. The reasons other Arbiters don't visit this city is because of your existence."
"Huh?!" Duke Lorelei stepped forward, glaring sinisterly as though he were about to kill him.
"Please wait, Duke Lorelei." Noel suddenly opened his mouth. "While it's true that the Royal Family will frown upon your action as soon as you make a move, it doesn't mean that there is a need to act. In the end, Lounstein is a new territory filled with demons. I'm the one governing the territory. Do you think I will just go to subjugate some demons just because someone tells me to?
"I do respect the Third Prince, but this is my territory. So, please choose your words carefully or else, your head will roll even if you are a messenger." Noel pressured the messenger even further.
The messenger actually expected this rejection. The conversation had been going according to the Third Prince's plan. The Third Prince already knew that Noel wouldn't move without an incentive. And with the Rune Technology and multiple Grandmasters, Noel wouldn't be afraid to go against the Third Prince.
Hence, the Third Prince told him this next part.
"It appears that the Supreme Devil Organization is behind the recent demon activity. There is a high possibility that they are creating a base around this area. There is a possibility that they are going to massacre the surrounding villages. It's better to take them right away."
"Supreme Devil Organization?" Duke Lorelei was the first one to react. "It is the duty of an Arbiter to maintain the stability of the nation. In that case, I will go to subjugate the Supreme Devil Organization. If the Royal Family scorns me for this, does that mean the Royal Family is working with them?"
"!!!" The messenger's heart skipped a beat. To think there was such a reaction from the duke—even he didn't expect it. The relationship between the duke and Noel seemed to be a bit stronger than they originally expected.
On the one hand, if one was good at politics and big enough to understand the entire kingdom's operation, they would know that the Royal Family was connected to the Supreme Devil Organization in one way or another. On the other hand, the nobles didn't really do anything unless they were harming their territory.
So, it was quite surprising to find Duke Lorelei reacting so fiercely.
"Please wait, Duke Lorelei. I'm thankful that you'd like to help, but this is my territory. If I let you, Duke Lorelei, subjugate the evils in my territory, it's the same as showing my weakness. For the subjugation, it's better for me to go personally."
"But… your condition!" Duke Lorelei looked concerned because he was the one inflicting those wounds.
"I am aware of my body's situation. That's why I'm planning to bring the saintess with me. The Saintess won't be dealing with anything other than demons, so the Supreme Devil Organization will be subjugated by me. Even if we fail, the saintess can protect me and allow me to return to this city safely. While I can't move and my inside is still a mess, I should be able to use my Spiritual Energy to defeat my enemies."
Duke Lorelei didn't look convinced, but Noel's eyes were pleading with him to accept the circumstances.
"But… if you use your power, your injury…" Duke Lorelei clenched his fists.
"I know that, but this is the only way." Noel shook his head helplessly.
The Third Prince actually used the Supreme Devil Organization as bait to force Noel to use his power. However, this would make him look bad because it was the same as endangering Noel.
Due to this threat, Noel had no choice but to act immediately before the Supreme Devil Organization noticed. And there was a possibility that the clue he would get from that place would link to another place, which caused him to move around for a few days and worsened his injury.
He obviously expected Noel to be annoyed even though the Third Prince was merely giving Noel some information.
That was why the messenger had one last message to make the Third Prince look a bit better in this situation.
"To congratulate Earl Ardagan for becoming a noble, the Third Prince is giving you this important information. Not far from the target, there seems to be a giant building from the previous civilization. It's most likely that the Supreme Devil Organization is building the base there in order to explore this ruin. They are using the numerous demons to create a barrier that pushes you away.
"You are the one who discovered the fact that they are able to work with demons. So, there's a high chance for them to enter this building and extract all kinds of things with their secret technique.
"We have investigated this place before. It appears to be a building with a lot of different things. There is a big hall with a lot of food items. On the other side of the building, there are a few machines that still work. Most of them have decayed or become rusty, but some are still preserved.
"I believe this place might allow you to get something your territory might need in the future. It's best to hurry before the Royal Family uses the subjugation as an excuse to floor your territory, especially with spies."
The Third Prince's information made sense. The buildings from the previous civilizations were definitely interesting, considering they contained a lot of mysterious items. It was especially true for bigger places. Noel had learned it during the expedition with the Demon Banner Army.
Still, this place was extremely dangerous due to the numerous demons inside it.
If Noel took too long to subjugate this place, the Royal Family might get involved. If they sent people here as well as the Demon Banner Army, they could mix the forces with some spies. It might even give them a chance to enter Noel's main city.
The messenger seemed happy when he saw Noel carefully consider the message. The Third Prince gave him one last weapon to cause Noel to agree.
"According to our information, there is no Superior Demon, but there are a lot of Peak Level Demons. Their number should reach one thousand. His Highness will stop the Royal Family for one and a half months. If you can't do it by then, the Royal Family might use this opportunity to invade."
The Third Prince looked generous. If the Third Prince said there was a Superior Demon, Noel wouldn't take the bait. That was why there were only Peak Level Demons, but with enough Peak Level Demons, Noel would have to overwork himself. Even if he didn't die, his injuries would just get worse.
Noel had no other choice but to do this. The Sword Arbiter was agitated by this obvious move, but he couldn't really do anything to stop Noel.
Noel said, "Alright. Thank you for the information. We'll subjugate the demons and the Supreme Devil Organization in five days."
"Sir, I'm afraid that the Supreme Devil Organization will be able to realize your intention if you wait that long."
"Then, two days. At least, I have to wait until my fiancee passes the critical condition. You surely don't want to cause my fiancee to die, right?" Noel squinted his eyes.
"No!" The messenger furiously shook his head to avoid angering Noel. "I will convey your reply to his highness."
"Go." Noel waved his hand with an annoyed expression.
The messenger bowed to him and immediately left the building. The messenger was overjoyed, thinking, 'His highness is awesome. Even that prodigy can't do anything but comply. With this, he will be in critical condition for weeks if not months.'
He was ready to convey everything he had found to the Third Prince.
Unbeknownst to him, Anna was actually holding her laughter the whole time. When the messenger was gone, Anna burst out loud. "Ahahahaha. I can't! He will definitely think that we have no choice but to accept that idea."
The Sword Arbiter shook his head. "To think you expect the Third Prince to use the Supreme Devil Organization as bait. Still, the building from the previous civilization, huh?"
"I have investigated it. Not that much, but I'm already aware of its existence. Considering the Third Prince is using the Supreme Devil Organization as bait, it's clear that he's also working with them. So, he must have used that secret technique to enter the building and take everything important. I guess this is the downside of having visited by the Moon Temple. The messenger arrived a few days earlier than I expected. Noel sighed.
"They are too wary of them. Either way, the building is precious, right?"
"Yeah. I don't care about the items, but the building itself can be a lot of inspiration for Rune Technology. I'm thinking about using it as a base to create Rune Technology. Of course, you will be my priority, Duke."
"Haha. You're making this even harder for me." Duke Lorelei chuckled. "But don't worry about this city. As long as I'm still here, it won't fall."
"Thanks." Noel looked down, falling into deep thought. "Now, how much am I going to make them believe?"
