The Max Level Hero Has Returned!
chapter-800

The Pallan Empire, at the heart of Tionis.

With the Emperor bedridden, Crown Prince Sullivan, who was ruling in his place, was troubled by a pressing issue.

“Sigh… He’s got nothing,” Sullivan murmured.

The document in his hand contained personal information about a certain man: the Duke of the Lyndis Empire, Neto La Lili. He was a young prospect from the Lili Duchy who had lost his parents at a young age and taken control of the dukedom by himself. With his vast knowledge and financial power, he had become a formidable man of great influence in the Lyndis Empire.

The Lyndis Empire ruled over a vast territory, and he was one of the dukes overseeing the outskirts of it. He stood in direct contrast to the renowned one-man army—the Archduke Kathryn “Red Fox” Carabella. While there was no real political conflict between them, she was considered a formidable rival.

“Am I doing a good job…?” Sullivan wondered aloud.

A minister approached him. "Your Highness, you should take a break. You've been searching for information for days now."

“Chancellor,” Sullivan called out.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“What do you think, Chancellor, when you see someone who seems spotless?”

“Your humble servant does not fully understand what you mean.”

“The question is whether a person who appears spotless and flawless can truly be trusted as a confidant.”

Hearing Sullivan's weary tone, the Chancellor quietly shook his head.

“I see. Is this about that young duke from the Lili Duchy?”

“…”

“I wonder what your wife would think if she knew how much you worry about Princess Illyna.”

“I’m telling you clearly: don’t mention this to her.”

The Chancellor smiled at his stern yet odd combination of words.

“The engagement is already nearly finalized.”

“Yeah, most of the arrangements are in place.”

“Then what’s there to worry about? Although you may find him suspicious, there’s nothing conclusive about him. Even though he lost his wife early, he has a good reputation, wealth, and power. He should be able to keep the princess safe for the rest of her life.”

“I guess… Yeah…”

Sullivan set down the paper scribbled with his investigation findings. However, the report seemed all too clear that there were no issues regarding the man’s suitability.

***

“Are you saying you won’t use the Absolute Gem to close the Abyss…?” Kain asked.

“Yeah,” Davey answered.

“Why not? It’ll be difficult to eliminate Thanatos with your current strength, even if there really is another way to do so. Besides, you went all the way to the Demon World to recharge the power of the Absolute Gem, and now you’re saying you don’t want to use it…”

“What does the Absolute Gem do?”

“Well, it uses immense primordial power to interfere with the laws of the world…”

“Exactly. So it’s not limited to closing the door, right?”

“Ah, you’re saying you’re going to use it in a different way. In that case, you would have to be able to subdue Eclipse or Thanatos…”

“Which is pretty doable.”

His eyes widened at Davey's confident response.

“Can you really pull that off? Nothing has changed, so how…”

“Some beings who should never have stepped in have done so. If I still can’t subdue our enemies after their intervention, I might as well bite my tongue off and kill myself. But more importantly…”

“More importantly?”

“More importantly, what Eclipse said to me when she regained her senses, just before disappearing, was quite disturbing.”

Eclipse had told Davey that there was a traitor inside his circle, helping Thanatos. If their goal was to make him use the Absolute Gem to seal the doors, he knew it’d be a mistake to let them have it their way. Even so, just because the plan changed didn’t mean he couldn’t use it at all. In fact, he figured a different plan might’ve been better from the start.

He also had to consider the possibility that Eclipse might’ve lied to him.

Zzzttt!! Boom!!

Suddenly, the space tore open with a loud noise as a gigantic airship, several hundred meters long, left Earth behind and appeared in the skies over Tionis.

As soon as the Destructive side of Neltarid had disappeared, every human on Earth was freed from the hallucinations. The remaining god, Tranquility, was managing the situation on Earth as best as possible. Davey figured there would be no major threat to Earth itself for the time being, meaning there was no reason for him to stay on Earth as well.

He also needed to use a magic furnace to transplant Arbit’s dragon heart into Blue Ribbon and Red Ribbon. The people of Heins Territory noticed Davey's return when they saw the massive airship suddenly appear in the sky.

"Your Highness! Welcome back!"

“Nothing happened while I was gone, right?” Davey asked.

This time, it wasn't a hallucination; it was reality. However, Davey still had to deal with some of the confusion caused by Destruction and the hallucinations.

“The Heins Territory… Nothing much happened,” they replied.

"Good."

‘But why are they just mentioning Heins Territory…?’ he thought.

It was then.

"Your Highness."

A surprisingly deadpan voice echoed behind him. Davey felt his body stiffen reflexively when he heard Royal Attendant Bernile call him out.

As the saying goes, no one can predict what’s to come, and even if you know your fate, you can only see the flow of things, not the details within.

“Royal Attendant Bernile.”

"Your Highness, it's been a while since you returned, so I think you should prepare to leave for the palace."

Davey turned cold at his words. It felt exactly like before. Nothing was different from then.

He then asked with a stern face.

"What's the matter?"

“Your Majesty... Her Majesty the Queen, and the Princess…”

He was saying the same words. But this time, it wasn’t just about King Krianes—he was also mentioning Winley, the next queen, and Baris' biological mother, Concubine Anisha. Even though Davey knew they had nothing to do with him, he had the chills run down his spine for some reason.

Even if the death Davey had seen in his hallucinations became reality, he knew he’d be fine. After all, he had completely detached himself from the king. Although he couldn’t entirely abandon the title of Prince, he had been pushed to the outskirts—which was basically equivalent to severing all ties with the royal palace. This being the case, he knew nothing could possibly shake him now.

Davey looked at Bernile with a tense face. But something different from what he originally wanted to say slipped out.

“Royal Attendant Bernile, I don’t have time for games.”

Even though he usually pulled off silly pranks, this time he tried to keep a straight face and give him a warning. But Bernile remained calm as he delivered his message.

“Your Majesty, yesterday… A new prince was born. Princess Winley, Princess Anisha, and Princess Tanya have already left for the palace.”

“…”

‘Wait, what? A new prince?’ Davey thought and looked at Amy. She covered her mouth with her hand and whispered cautiously.

“Concubine Anisha gave birth to a prince without any complications during delivery. They say the royal capital is in an uproar right now.”

Davey couldn’t help but try to recall if the queen had been pregnant. He was confused, but he nodded.

“Sigh…”

Davey then realized he was wrong to think such a thing.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Davey didn’t know why he felt relieved that it wasn’t news of his father’s death. Davey nodded, hiding his conflicted feelings.

Although Bernile said they needed to leave immediately, the banquet—where delegates from various countries were invited to celebrate the new prince’s birth—was set to take place in about four days.

The Kingdom of Rowane had once been a small and insignificant realm. But now, for some reason, a truly extraordinary scene was created. Delegations from various countries were attending, even those with direct succession rights to the throne.

"Alright, Davey, perfect," Perserque smiled brightly as she tied his tie.

“Ugh… I can never get used to wearing Earth clothes and then switching back to formal Tionis dress…” Davey muttered.

“Hehe, Earth’s clothing is very beautiful,” Illyna remarked, wearing a pure white dress. Beside her was Aeria, who wore a blue dress, and the scene of their conversation was like straight out of a painting.

Whether or not a Crown Prince had been designated before, the safe delivery of a baby boy was considered a lucky day for the kingdom. In fact, the royal family’s birthdays were declared holidays from the moment they were born.

“Uh… Welcome! His Majesty is waiting, Your Highness!” A knight shouted stiffly as soon as he spotted Davey, his face filled with tension.

Davey turned to Royal Attendant Bernile. “Did something else happen while I was away?”

“No, Your Highness, nothing else.”

“Then why all the tension?”

“Well, you were given the ruling title of Heins Territory as a conciliatory gesture, but Heins Territory has now become one of the most developed cities in the Kingdom of Rowane. Honestly, there’ve been rumors that most knights want to be assigned to Heins Territory.”

The new knight in front of Davey had frozen when he saw him, knowing the man could be his future superior. At least, that’s how Davey understood his actions.

“Do not salute anyone carelessly while in His Majesty’s presence. I am his subject and have no intention of going against him.”

“Forgive me, Your Highness!”

Davey sighed when he saw the knight's pale face.

“If you understand, then open the door,” Davey said calmly. The knight, completely frozen, lowered his head and meekly opened the door.

From what he remembered, the royal banquet hall of the Kingdom of Rowane wasn’t actually that large. However, perhaps due to the taxes Heins Territory sent every quarter or because international diplomacy had become more active, the nobles, ever faithful to appearances, now had built a massive and splendid banquet hall. This was the rumor that had swept the school… no, was the prevailing opinion in academia.

As the doors to the massive banquet hall opened, Davey felt many people locking their eyes on him. The reason his name hadn't been called separately was because King Krianes O’Rowane was already present.

Davey walked leisurely through the room, which fell silent at his arrival, and knelt on one knee before King Krianes O’Rowane who was seated at the head of the table.

“Glory to the Sun of the Kingdom. First Prince Davey O'Rowane and Princess Perserque von Rowane salute Your Majesty.”

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting. You may lift your head.”

Although King Krianes looked tired, he still seemed healthy. When Davey raised his head, he saw his face and noticed no major problems in his flow of mana. It seemed that the king’s death wasn’t something he had to think about any time soon.

‘It’ll be troublesome for me if you die already. You need to live a bit longer to clean up the mess you've made,’ Davey thought.

“Welcome home, my child. Was your journey here difficult?” the king asked.

“I barely experienced any hardship, thanks to Your Majesty’s great generosity,” Davey replied.

When Perserque, who was bowing beside Davey, smiled sweetly, small murmurs rippled through the room.

The people of the Tionis Continent liked using the ridiculous title of "The Six Beauties of the Continent" rather frivolously. Even so, when it came to Perserque whose appearance drew more attention than any of those so-called Beauties, they couldn't help but take notice.

Like it or not, beautiful things naturally drew attention.

“Rise. Thank you for coming today to celebrate our new Prince's birthday. I’m especially grateful that the Princess of the Pallan Empire and the Princess-to-be Aeria have joined us.”

“Congratulations on your kingdom’s good fortune, Your Majesty,” Illyna said. Though she was uncomfortable in her dress, she exuded the grace and poise of a princess as if the discomfort didn’t bother her at all.

“Thank you so much for coming, Prince Davey and Princess Perserque,” said Queen Anisha.

“Your Majesty the Queen, how are you feeling?” Davey asked.

“The medicine you sent me worked wonders. I don't feel out of breath at all, even if I move around a lot,” she replied.

‘Which is probably why you were able to deliver the baby safely,’ he thought.

The atmosphere of the banquet grew more lively as the night went on. Aeria began mingling with Archduke Catherine, who was representing the Lyndis Empire, while Illyna went out of sight. And of course, a lot of nobles from other countries tried to establish connections with the Heins Territory, but for now, Queen Anisha was serving as a buffer.

"Cute," Davey murmured, smiling slightly at the sight of the tiny infant in Queen Anisha's arms.

“Very cute…” Perserque gazed at the child with envy. Davey figured that the fact that she couldn’t have children was weighing heavily on her mind.

“Would you like to hold him, Princess?” Queen Anisha asked warmly.

“Would that be alright…?” Perserque hesitated.

“Of course.”

Perserque blushed at the queen, smiling brightly and with green hair, and gently took the child into her arms. She smiled as she met its eyes. Some people in the room had their eyes fixed on her as if they were on the verge of having a heart attack. Davey silently hoped that no one would be audacious enough to approach a woman with a husband.

At that moment, Davey noticed a young man—a man with a gentle face and low-key thin-rimmed glasses.

"Long time no see, Prince Davey."

Davey, having stepped away from Perserque for a moment, waved off the attendant offering him a wine glass and instead took a non-alcoholic drink typically meant for young ladies and gentlemen.

"Your Highness, is something wrong?" the attendant asked.

“I’ve quit drinking,” Davey replied.

Typically a royal couldn’t avoid drinking alcohol, not even if they wanted to. But for him, it was possible.

He sent the servant away looking confused and smiled at the grinning Grand Duchess Kathryn.

"Long time no see, Grand Duchess."

"It certainly feels that way, doesn't it? It seems like ages since we last met, even though it was just a short time filled with many events.”

“Are you here as an envoy of the Lyndis Empire?”

“I also wanted to see our lovely princess. I didn’t come alone, you know.”

At her words, Davey turned his attention to the man standing beside her.

"Nice to meet you, Prince Davey. I've heard a lot about you, and I’ve been looking forward to this meeting," the man said, extending his hand.

Davey quietly shook his hand, feeling a strange sense of power.

“I’m Neto La Lili, head of the Lili Duchy of the Lyndis Empire.”

“Davey O’Rowane. It’s an honor to meet a distinguished nobleman from the Lyndis Empire.”

“Compared to you, someone famous across the continent, I’m just a humble firefly.”

His friendly smile and soft voice seemed captivating. There was nothing wrong with him, but something about him still made Davey feel oddly uncomfortable.

“Actually, I’d like to talk more, but I suppose I'll have to settle for just greeting you today. I hope you two enjoy your conversation.”

As Neto retreated, Kathryn, now standing next to Aeria, spoke quietly to Davey.

“So, what do you think?”

"About…?”

“What do you think of him?”

She whispered in her normal tone and also made sure no one else could hear them.

“Well…”

“He doesn’t have anything bad about him,” she remarked.

“It would seem like that, yeah. I’ve heard the rumors.”

He was known as a man whose beloved wife had passed away early, with a good reputation and character. Most people knew of him. Plus, he had good manners.

“Does it bother you that he's so… flawless, in a way?”

“To be honest? Yeah.”

“You shouldn’t be suspicious of everything all the time. That makes you a twisted person.”

“Who’s calling who twisted? You’re someone who gets suspicious even when others do something good.”

She giggled and raised her glass.

Clink!

As they clinked their glasses, Kathryn made a puzzled face.

“That’s not wine. Are you sick or something?”

"No, I quit drinking,” Davey replied.

Kathryn made a shocked face. “Oh my goodness. That’s more surprising than finding out you were a saint.”

‘This woman…’

As surprising as she claimed it was, Davey had good reason. He had just gone through all of that because of alcohol.

“Prince Davey, long time no see,” a voice interrupted. It was Prince Sullivan who was approaching them.

“Thank you for taking care of Illyna all this time.”

“It’s just helping each other out. It’s nothing,” Davey replied.

“Actually, I’m thinking of bringing Illyna back because of an incident within the empire. For protecting Illyna all this time, the empire will offer you proper compensation…”

“I didn’t do it for compensation.”

After all, Illyna had only disguised herself as a student at Heins Academy; she wasn’t a real student and rarely attended classes. There was nobody who could teach her anything about swordsmanship. No way.

Davey looked at Sullivan quietly as he continued.

“You just met him, right? Duke Neto La Lili. There’s been a lot of talk in the Lili Duchy about the marriage between him and Illyna.”

After hearing those words, Davey turned his gaze to find Illyna. Sure enough, he saw her with Duke Lili, who was speaking softly with a smile while Illyna responded with her own calm smile.

“He is wealthy, well-connected, and doesn’t seem to have any major personality flaws. He appears to care for Illyna, so he should be able to protect her well.”

“Protecting her…” he muttered.

Looking back now, Davey couldn’t help but think that it had turned out for the best.

“Her standards have gone downhill,” he said.

"Pardon?" Sullivan looked at him, puzzled.

Everyone had flaws. There was no one without them if one dug deep enough. So, in other words, it meant the man had done a good enough job of hiding away his past.