Riezel naturally had no idea that his appearance had stirred up so many complicated emotions in those who had crossed paths with him in the past.
Not long after entering Hydromel Restaurant, he found himself being greeted by a great many people who practically swarmed around him, eagerly striking up conversations.
Among them were nobles, members of the royal family, and even quite a few people he already knew.
For example, Raven Mavros walked straight up to him under everyone’s watchful eyes and began reminiscing with him.
Nibald also came over, and the moment he saw Riezel, he let out one sigh after another, saying he had never imagined that, after only a short time apart, Riezel would accomplish so many incredible feats.
Finally, there was Florent Borley, the captain-commander of the Royal Knightly Order, who, the moment he approached, fixed Riezel with an intense gaze.
"You’re stronger than I expected. I’ll find time to challenge you."
Right after tossing out that single sentence, Florent turned around and left as straightforwardly and decisively as he had arrived, leaving Yuri, who was standing beside them, almost unable to react.
"...Did he just challenge you?"
Yuri asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty as she looked at Riezel, clearly unsure whether she had interpreted the situation correctly.
"I guess so..." Riezel replied with a faint smile. "Guess that’s what you’d expect from someone from a family of Sword Saints. He’s definitely pretty direct."
He was genuinely interested in Florent’s challenge.
As Jinas’s strongest combatant on the surface, Florent was undoubtedly a Level 8. Even if he wasn’t quite on Redson’s level, he certainly wouldn’t be any weaker than Ottar, which was enough to qualify him to challenge Riezel.
Thinking back, during the final three months in the world of Danmachi, Ottar had challenged him as well.
At the time, Ottar’s had left an especially deep impression on him.
As the captain-commander of the Royal Knightly Order, Florent’s strength was probably no weaker than Ottar’s after activating .
With that thought, Riezel became even more interested.
It was worth mentioning that, besides Florent, two other people had also come over to greet Riezel and expressed their desire to challenge him.
One of them was Hardt, the One-Eyed Sword Saint.
After being defeated by Riezel back when Sorren’s rebellion had occurred, he had still fallen into madness, and the only eye he had left had remained completely black, showing no sign of recovering at all, just like the others who had been mind-controlled.
Even though Sorren, the mastermind behind everything, had already died, none of the people he had mind-controlled had recovered.
In the end, it was Riezel who found a way to restore them, and the method he used was actually very simple.
All he had to do was destroy that sinister black curved dagger.
In other words, the one controlling Hardt and the others had never been Sorren but had been that dagger all along.
After obtaining the dagger, Riezel used appraisal magic to determine its true function before destroying it, allowing Hardt and the others to return to normal.
However, that had apparently left many members of the royal family deeply dissatisfied.
It was only natural.
If there had truly been a way to restore those who had been controlled, then why had he chosen to kill the Shadow Sword Saint?
Every Sword Saint was considered one of the kingdom’s greatest individual combat assets—a national treasure.
Rohm, in particular, had been personally nurtured by the royal family and was fiercely loyal to them. Yet while under mind control, he had been cut down by Riezel without any hesitation, so it was only natural that the royal family felt both heartbroken and furious.
Unfortunately for them, they didn’t dare express their dissatisfaction to Riezel’s face. Otherwise, he certainly wouldn’t have tolerated their nonsense.
As far as he was concerned, killing Rohm had been completely justified, regardless of the fact that he had been under mind control.
After all, from the very beginning, that Shadow Sword Saint had already fought him over Lizbeth. During the incident when Lizbeth had been placed under house arrest, it was that old man who had led the members of Shadow in surrounding and attacking him inside the throne room, showing absolutely no mercy.
Later, the man had launched another sneak attack from behind, and even after being cut cleanly in half, he had still tried to throw himself at Riezel.
Given all that, why would he leave someone like that alive?
Thinking about the Shadow Sword Saint reminded Riezel of the operation to conquer Man-Made Dungeon Knossos back in the world of Danmachi.
At the time, while he had gone off to deal with Ein and had even encountered Alaya, the true body of the Corrupted Spirit, Finn, who had remained with the first party, had been ambushed by the remnants of Evilus, led by that madwoman named Valletta.
After being enhanced with those colorful magic stones, the woman had transformed into a Creature, and without anyone realizing it, she had infiltrated the battlefield where the first party had been stationed and ambushed Finn, nearly causing his death.
Not long afterward, when Tione had arrived at the first party’s battlefield, she had flown into a rage and hacked the attacker into pieces, dismembering her on the spot.
Compared to her, Rohm had actually received much better treatment despite also being an ambusher.
At the very least, Riezel hadn’t personally killed him.
Yes, because Rohm’s brain had been destroyed by Riezel’s , he had only died afterward from excessive blood loss, which basically meant that he had not died by Riezel’s hand.
If the royal family dared come to him and complain about that, Riezel would gladly let them experience what it felt like to suffer brain damage as well.
Of course, compared to Rohm, Hardt had truly been fortunate because at least he had been given the chance to return to normal.
Even so, after learning that Riezel had defeated him with a single slash, Hardt had approached him with obvious dissatisfaction.
"I know I’m no match for you, but I still want to prove myself. It’s unthinkable that I’d fail to block even a single strike."
In fact, this former slave wasn’t actually a competitive person.
However, because he had already sworn his loyalty to Sergius and served him wholeheartedly, he wanted to prove to everyone that Sword Saint Hardt, one of Sergius Cordelion’s retainers, was a true powerhouse. Only then could he prove how exceptional Sergius’s judgment truly was.
In Riezel’s eyes, that way of thinking was a little too straightforward.
"If you’re really that loyal to Sergius, then you should know that picking a fight with me right now could end up costing your master his throne if you piss me off."
Fortunately, Riezel wasn’t that petty, so he accepted the challenge without hesitation.
Even though Hardt’s strength was no longer particularly impressive in Riezel’s eyes, he was still a Level 7 Sword Saint, so he should still be able to provide at least a little excelia.
Riezel hadn’t forgotten that he was waiting to accumulate a large amount of excelia to improve all of his basic abilities. Once every ability reached SSS, he would immediately level up and become a true Level 9.
Because of that, Riezel had no intention of refusing anyone capable of providing him with excelia.
For the same reason, he also accepted the second challenger who approached him afterward. It was a man who appeared to be in his thirties, noticeably younger than Florent, Raven, and Hardt.
"My name is Orto Patrasch. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me, Lightning Sword Saint."
He greeted Riezel with remarkable familiarity, acting like a friendly middle-aged neighbor without the slightest trace of restraint.
"Hm, so you’re Orto Patrasch?"
Naturally, Riezel knew exactly who he was.
He was none other than the famous Meteor Sword Saint who had been wandering abroad for years. Before Riezel appeared, he had been Jinas’s youngest Sword Saint.
Standing beside the Sword Saint in his prime was another man.
He was a noble of roughly the same age as Orto. At first glance, he appeared refined and courteous, though a faint hint of pride could still be seen in his eyes.
"I am Belmont Muraguet." Belmont introduced himself with a respectful bow. "I’ve long heard of your reputation, Sir Riezel Brynhart."
Hearing the introduction, Riezel narrowed his eyes slightly.
He naturally recognized the name.
Just like the Borley family, the Muraguet family was also a marquis family, one of Jinas’s oldest noble families, having existed since the founding of Jinas.
However, unlike the Borley family, which had continuously produced Sword Saints and earned the title of the family of Sword Saints, the Muraguet family was famous for producing magicians.
According to legend, the founder of Spriller Academy had been an ancestor of the Muraguet family. Every generation afterward had produced outstanding magicians, including numerous Tactical-Class Magicians and even Strategic-Class Magicians.
And the current head of the Muraguet family was the man standing before him—Belmont Muraguet.
He was not only a marquis but also one of Jinas’s two existing Strategic-Class Magicians.
Yes, besides Yuri, Jinas’s other Strategic-Class Magician was him.
Because of the Muraguet family’s unique status, this Strategic-Class Magician actually held greater influence within Jinas than Yuri herself.
At this moment, the renowned Strategic-Class Magician had arrived together with the Meteor Sword Saint, Orto.
In the next moment, however...
"It’s been a long time. You’re just as beautiful as ever, Ms. Yuri."
Belmont shifted his gaze toward Yuri beside Riezel, the courteous smile he had shown Riezel transforming into one so warm that it could only be described as enthusiastic.
"It’s been a long time, Marquis Muraguet."
Ever since Belmont had appeared, Yuri had been secretly stealing cautious glances at Riezel, her expression carrying a trace of wariness throughout the entire encounter. In the end, when Belmont greeted her directly, she could only respond with a helpless smile before gracefully lifting the hem of her skirt and offering him a polite curtsy.
Watching Belmont treat Yuri with such obvious enthusiasm, Riezel’s expression turned into an amused smile, while Orto simply grinned foolishly as though pretending not to notice.
Only Lizbeth and the others standing behind Riezel immediately sensed that something was off.
"Oh?"
Lilith narrowed her eyes, her gaze toward Belmont becoming noticeably dangerous.
"Um... Please don’t do anything rash, Ms. Lilith."
Lizbeth gently tugged on Lilith’s hand and whispered cautiously.
"Hm?"
Euryale merely tilted her head, completely confused by what was happening.
As for everyone else, the moment they witnessed the scene, they instinctively lowered their voices and quietly moved farther away.
"Oh my, this is going to be interesting..."
In the distance, Serena couldn’t help but smile with undisguised schadenfreude.
Every noble in Jinas knew that Marquis Belmont Muraguet had long harbored feelings for Marquis Yuri Frenzel.
As for why, it was simply because, for generations, the Muraguet family had been staunch bloodline supremacists who firmly believed that if an outstanding magician married another outstanding magician, then their children would certainly become exceptional magicians as well.
Because Belmont believed the same, Yuri had inevitably become his target.