There was an immediate uproar in the barracks at the news of the Emperor's arrival.
"His Majesty?"
"How could he come unannounced…….?"
They understood that he's visiting because of events in the capital, but his visit was unexpected.
A commotion erupted outside, and a group of people rushed in through the barracks' entrance.
Everyone inside the barracks held their breath as a man emerged, surrounded by his armored escorts.
Dazzling blond hair and wrinkle-free skin that didn't give away his age of over 40, a gentle-looking man, but with the authority and charisma of royalty, he was the current pinnacle of the Empire, Emperor Augustus von Exilion.
"Greetings, Your Imperial Majesty!"
Everyone in the barracks dropped to one knee and bowed their heads in deference to the Emperor.
With a wave of his hand, Augustus acknowledged their respect and said they could rise.
Everyone rose to their feet again.
The current Emperor was said to be a glazed-over, powerless figure, but the mood in the room suggested otherwise.
'And her.'
Next to the emperor was a woman that caught everyone's attention, First Princess Eileen von Exilion, the next ruler of the Empire.
If the Emperor was the sun, the First Princess was the full moon in a blue sky.
"His Majesty the Emperor and the First Princess are here together."
"That's how serious they are about this matter."
Finally, an old man with a huge frame walked into the barracks.
The knights recognized the old man with the long brown hair and beard like a lion's mane.
'Luther Werdot.'
Head of the Royal Guard, an organization that only a handful of knights are allowed to enter, and currently the most powerful swordsman in the Empire.
His brown hair and beard, still lustrous despite being more than half a century old, showed that he was still in good shape.
It was no wonder that the knights looked upon him with both fear and respect. Even Trina, the leader of the Nightcrawlers, looked at him and bowed respectfully.
Luther acknowledged her greeting with a slight tilt of his head.
There was a difference between the two masters.
"I am pleased to meet you."
Emperor Augustus spoke. His voice was soft and gentle, yet strangely irresistible.
"But such lighthearted greetings are not possible at this time. As you know, horrible things have happened in the capital of the Empire. I have heard the news so I have traveled here myself to learn more."
As the Emperor spoke, Lloyd of the Nightcrawler Knights stepped forward to summarize the situation.
"I'm Lloyd of the Nightcrawler Knights."
"Right."
"First of all, this is a major attack by the Liberation Army in collaboration with the Warlocks. First, the Liberators attacked a heavily populated area with firearms to cause chaos, and then they unleashed their chimeras from the underground to strike a fatal blow."
Lloyd pointed to a map on one side of the barracks.
"There was a massive outpouring of chimeras from the sewers in over a dozen neighborhoods."
The result was chaos in the neighborhoods, with many casualties.
It was a good thing the Knights had patrolled the perimeter beforehand and increased their vigilance, or there would have been a lot more casualties.
"We're currently barricading the area to keep them at bay. The chimeras have decided it's too much and are backing off, but their behavior suggests there's someone giving them orders."
"A warlock."
Luther's words stunned everyone.
Then the Emperor, who had been listening, spoke up.
"I hear there are students from the Theon Academy here as well. That's where my dear Third attends."
The men in the barracks could see why the Emperor had come in person.
"By any chance, do you have any news of what happened to Erendir?"
"It's……."
Lloyd hesitated for a moment, then coughed and spoke up when Trina, his captain, nodded.
"For starters, it is believed that the Third Princess went to the Crystal Palace with Mentor Loina Pavlini."
"The Crystal Palace attracts a lot of tourists, so transportation is easy. But it's also where more of the chimeras that have overrun the boulevards can be found."
The Emperor had a point.
Indeed, the Crystal Palace was the most dangerous place in the current Chimera invasion.
"Still, they have a Lexer-rank wizard with them, so it shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"That would be true for Erendir."
The Emperor's words meant that while Erendir might be okay after all, others might not be. Especially the many citizens who visited the Crystal Palace.
No matter how great a sixth-rank wizard was, he wouldn't be able to protect all those people inside the Crystal Palace.
The emperor's expression naturally darkened.
Of course, the Crystal Palace itself had its own private guards to prevent terrorism, and some knights also patrolled the perimeter of the Crystal Palace, so they wouldn't be easily defeated by the chimera horde.
Still, their numbers were so overwhelming that it was impossible to rule out the possibility that something could go wrong.
"Ah, they should be fine."
It was a petite woman who spoke up, Caroline Monarch.
Those who recognized her were stunned. For a woman who despised aristocracy and royalty, the fact that she stood so boldly in front of the emperor was unsettling.
If, out of the blue, Caroline were to insult the Emperor here things would really get out of hand.
"You are……."
"Caroline Monarch, Your Majesty the Emperor."
"I never thought I'd meet the head of the Monarch Mercenaries in a place like this."
Caroline's eyes widened at the Emperor's recognition of her. As far as she knew, the current Emperor was actually a puppet, but there was something in his demeanor that suggested otherwise.
'Rumors are not to be trusted after all.'
Just as Caroline was thinking that, Emperor Augustus said.
"Why do you say they will be fine?"
"Loina is a rather insignificant child, little more than a pawn among us sixth-rank wizards."
"That sounds more like anxiety-inducing than reassuring."
"But she's got one of the best in the field with her, so she'll be fine."
"An outstanding one?"
For the first time, Emperor Augustus's voice contained a hint of interest.
He had heard of Caroline Monarch, a sixth-rank wizard, and the leader of Monarch Mercenaries, who could rival a knight order.
They are known to have fierce tempers, having traveled the world and fought in all manner of battles. Caroline Monarch as their leader naturally has a similar personality and is someone who recognizes people purely on merit and skills.
Emperor Augustus couldn't help but be intrigued.
"Who is it?"
"He is……."
Caroline opened her mouth to speak when outside the barracks there was another uproar.
The commotion was different than when the Emperor had arrived, and everyone's eyes widened in wonder.
"Let's see what's going on."
The Emperor spoke to one of the nearby guards, who quickly replied and left the barracks.
It didn't take long for him to return.
"What's going on?"
"They say the survivors of the Crystal Palace have arrived!"
"Survivors of the Crystal Palace?"
Most of them sighed with relief, knowing who was in the Crystal Palace but what mattered now was not whether there were survivors but how many there were.
Feeling the emperor's gaze on him, the knight answered immediately.
"There are so many survivors, I don't know exactly how many have returned, but from what I hear, very few of those who were there are dead."
"And Erendir?"
"The Third Princess is alive and well. Mage Loina Pavlini was with her, and the students of the Theon Academy are safe."
There was a murmur of appreciation in the barracks at the news and the Emperor's gaze casually turned to Caroline again.
"It seems that the great man you spoke of has arrived."
With that, the Emperor walked out of the barracks and everyone inside the barracks followed suit.
Outside, the atmosphere had been enlivened by the arrival of a group of survivors.
There had been no deaths, but the news that so many had made it home safely brought hope to those who were beginning to despair.
Just as the Emperor had found the group of survivors, so too had one of the survivors found the Emperor.
"Father!"
The Third Princess Erendir saw the emperor and ran to him with joy and the Emperor smiled with relief when he saw that she was safe.
The people suddenly realized that Erendir's hair color closely resembled the emperor's.
Erendir was overwhelmed by the emperor's presence, but her face hardened when she saw the person next to him.
"Oh, my…Erendir you don't have eyes for your sister?"
"Ah, big sister Eileen."
Erendir's expression changed to one of horror at the sight of Eileen, as if he had spotted a natural enemy while Eileen smiled at Erendir's appearance.
The smile turned Erendir's face pale, and her body trembled like an aspen tree.
"This sister is sad, you're only looking out for father and never pay attention to your sister who's right next to you. Or are you deliberately ignoring me?"
"It's not that……."
"Enough of that. Why are you bothering your sister on this happy occasion?"
Their conversation was interrupted by the emperor as he gently coaxed them, knowing that this was not the first time they had done this.
Those in the barracks who watched closely realized that the Emperor was still a man who cared about his children.
"Erendir, I'm so glad you're safe. Nothing dangerous happened."
"It wasn't without…."
Erendir opened her mouth to say something but in the end she spoke frankly.
At first, they managed to hold off the chimera's army thanks to the efforts of mentor Loina, but they were gradually worn down as victims began to appear.
Then, the chimeras heard someone's order and began to shoot thorns from afar, and the war situation reached a dangerous situation.
The Emperor's grave expression softened at Erendir's next words.
"If it weren't for him, we would have all died on the spot."
"Who is he?"
It was Eileen, not Erendir, who answered the emperor's question.
"Father, there he is, just in time."
At Eileen's words, Emperor Augustus's gaze shifted to a spot in the group of survivors where a man was coming toward them.
"Hooo……."
His steps were slow, but there was an innate dignity to them.
The nobility and leisurely pace of the man, so out of character with his surroundings, made Augustus gasp inwardly.
'What kind of noble is he?'
Even the Emperor, who prided himself on having met many high-ranking nobles, could not help but be impressed by the appearance of Rudger, who was now approaching him.
When Rudger saw the emperor, he kept his distance and casually dropped to one knee. Even the way he bowed to the Emperor was solemn, and there was not even the slightest mistake.
"I greet your Majesty, the great Emperor. I am Rudger Chelici, I have just returned from leading the survivors."
* * *
In the crowd of survivors, Theon's students were joined by others. They hugged each other and rejoiced that no one had died.
Rene was relieved, too. She could barely relax as she realized that she had indeed almost died.
Rene spontaneously looked at Flora Lumos next to her and opened her mouth.
"Hey, that……."
Renee was about to say something to the woman with the long, navy-blue hair, but then she shut her mouth. Her expression didn't look happy at all for someone who had survived. Rather, she had a frown on her face, as if she was somehow unhappy, and yet she didn't know why.
"……."
Flora left the area as soon as she heard Rene's words and Rene could only stare after her, speechless.
"Flora? Flora!"
Cheryl called after her, but Flora didn't answer. She was thinking about what had happened earlier in the Crystal Palace.
The moment when everyone was in danger Rudger had appeared in a flash of light from the sky and saved them all.
His magic was so amazing, it was nothing short of divine power.
He summoned light, wind, fire, and ice in quick succession, and even those who knew about magic thought he might be an archmage.
Of course, she didn't know how many potions Rudger had swallowed in between, but it was enough to make her think so but that wasn't the point.
Once he had swept away the chimeras and seen them flee, Rudger descended from the sky and approached the survivors as the sweet scent of his magic lingered in the air, along with the beautiful colors that dazzled her eyes.
Once Rudger was satisfied that they were safe, he hovered over Flora.
Flora was excited at the moment thinking that Rudger would ask her if she was okay and praise her for a job well done.
She couldn't help but think so, because as a student, she had done a great job with her courage but it wasn't Flora he approached, it was Rene, who was right next to her.
-Rene, are you okay?