Two days later, Sergius won the election as expected and became the next king.
After the day Sergius visited them, Riezel and Yuri also cast all of their votes for him, making the outcome completely beyond doubt.
On the day the election results were announced, with the Letryss family taking the lead in supporting him as the ceremony’s host, Sergius was immediately crowned and proclaimed the new king of Jinas.
Under normal circumstances, the coronation would not have taken place so quickly, but Jinas was currently in a difficult situation, so the sooner a new king ascended the throne, the better.
As a result, every procedure was simplified.
On that very day, Sergius accepted the Sword of Authority, placed the crown upon his head, and officially became the King of Jinas. On that same day, he also wasted no time making a series of appointments and issuing punishments.
Serena Cordelion was appointed the new Duke Cordelion.
Carrera Elliott was appointed the new Count Elliott.
Reinhard and Benedict were each granted the title of duke.
As for the nobles who had chosen to support Sergius, regardless of whether they had belonged to the Duke Faction or the Royal Faction, they all received generous rewards and promotions for backing the new king.
At the same time, the nobles of the Royal Faction and members of the royal family who had previously tried to stop Sergius from taking the throne through various underhanded methods were either stripped of their noble titles and exiled to the borderlands, executed on the spot, or thrown into prison.
After ascending the throne, Sergius carried out those sweeping reforms without the slightest hesitation, causing an enormous shift in the balance of power among Jinas’s nobles, to the point that the changes were even greater than those brought about by the chaos Sorren had created before.
Yet that restructuring completely stabilized Jinas’s power structure. Although the measures appeared drastic, they brought the kingdom’s internal conflict to an end within a short period and greatly eased the nation’s unrest.
As a result, Reiburg, which had originally been preparing to make a move, no longer dared launch any major actions. Instead, it limited itself to carrying out small-scale probes to test the strength of Jinas under its new king.
Meanwhile, the neighboring small nations became even more cautious, fearing that once Jinas regained its footing, it would settle accounts with them.
As a result, one after another, they all abandoned their previous schemes.
As for the turmoil caused by Hendrick’s death, the fall of Rohm, and Sorren’s coup, it was cleanly and decisively resolved through Sergius’s series of actions. Even Riezel, Yuri, and the people of the kingdom could not help but privately admit that they had truly chosen the right king.
It was also worth mentioning that both Riezel and Yuri received rewards.
Because Yuri had led troops to assist the Cordelion family when Sorren attacked them, earning the merit of rescuing the royal family, she not only received permission to choose one mystical artifact from the royal treasury as a reward, but also received assistance from the kingdom in recruiting knights from the Royal Knightly Order, replenishing the combat strength lost by the Frenzel Knightly Order.
Riezel had originally been offered a noble title and was set to become a marquis with the same rank as Yuri. However, because he declined the offer, Sergius instead decided to award him the Crimson Dragon Medal. Like Yuri, he was also granted the right to choose one mystical artifact from the royal treasury.
As for what the Crimson Dragon Medal was, it was Jinas’s highest honorary medal. Unlike the Sword Master Medal and the Sword Saint Medal, it was awarded only to those who had made extraordinary contributions to the kingdom.
Since the founding of Jinas, the Crimson Dragon Medal had only been awarded three times. Once to an ancestor of the Borley family, once to an ancestor of the Muraguet family, and once to a Sword Saint who had saved the kingdom from disaster a hundred years ago.
Riezel became the fourth recipient of the Crimson Dragon Medal.
He had earned that honor because he slew Sorren, thereby indirectly saving the entire kingdom.
Anyone who held the Crimson Dragon Medal enjoyed treatment equal to that of a duke throughout the kingdom and possessed the authority to oversee all kingdom nobles. If they discovered a noble secretly harming the kingdom’s interests, they could execute that person immediately without reporting the matter first.
At the same time, even if the medal’s holder committed a capital crime, they would still receive a full pardon.
Needless to say, that meant he not only could execute corrupt officials before reporting the matter, but was also immune to capital punishment.
It could be said that Riezel truly belonged to the highest class of the privileged now.
However, because the Crimson Dragon Medal was an honor that lasted only for one generation, once its holder died, all of its special privileges would be revoked.
In other words, in the current Jinas, Riezel was the only person who possessed the Crimson Dragon Medal, and only he enjoyed such extraordinary authority, while his descendants would not inherit those same privileges.
However, when the holder of the Crimson Dragon Medal passed away, if one of their descendants presented the medal before the reigning king, regardless of who that king was, they would, at the very least, be granted the title of viscount, making it a privilege that could be passed down to one’s descendants.
Riezel naturally did not refuse the medal since the authority to oversee kingdom nobles and execute them on the spot without prior approval was simply too valuable.
Of course, it was not because he craved power. Rather, he clearly understood that, given his current status and reputation, there were undoubtedly countless nobles secretly watching him.
Some wanted to recruit him, some wished to harm him out of envy and jealousy, while others hoped to use him to achieve their own goals. Even though they did not dare offend him openly, there was no guarantee they would not cause trouble behind his back.
Needless to say, with the privileges granted by the Crimson Dragon Medal, Riezel could openly and freely retaliate against those nobles without holding back, making the level of intimidation this would create among the kingdom’s nobles obvious.
And that was exactly what he valued about it, as it would save him from countless future troubles.
As for choosing a mystical artifact from the royal treasury, that would have greatly interested him in the past. But now, after obtaining all the burial treasures from Euryale’s tomb and acquiring a large collection of ancient treasures, his desire for the royal treasury’s mystical artifacts had naturally fallen dramatically.
Still, there was no reason to refuse a free reward, so he ultimately went to the royal treasury together with Yuri anyway.
As soon as he arrived, Riezel once again found Redson standing at the door to the treasury, clearly waiting for him.
"If you’re willing to become a kingdom noble and serve the kingdom, taking even three mystical artifacts from the treasury isn’t something we can’t negotiate."
Right after exchanging greetings, Redson immediately began enthusiastically trying to recruit Riezel.
It was obvious that the Old Sword Saint understood that the times had changed.
Given that he was no longer the kingdom’s strongest warrior after Riezel had surpassed him, recruiting someone like Riezel naturally became a top priority if possible. Offering several mystical artifacts as an incentive was only a small price to pay.
Unfortunately, Riezel did not give him what he wanted.
"I’m actually pretty interested in your swordsmanship. Would you mind teaching me?"
Riezel casually tossed out that question.
Redson, in response, could only let out an awkward laugh before making a strategic retreat.
Teaching Riezel?
It was no exaggeration to say that those two swordsmanship styles were his greatest lifeline.
How could he possibly hand them over so casually?
Besides, Riezel was already incredibly powerful. If he also mastered and the ancient swordsmanship capable of extending one’s lifespan, how could the future Jinas possibly restrain him?
Redson had no intention of handing over his life’s greatest achievements only to cultivate an enemy of Jinas’s future.
Although Riezel was already close to being unmatched, Redson still refused to increase the threat. Coupled with the fact that he could tell Riezel had little sense of belonging to Jinas, he simply withdrew and never brought up the matter again.
Afterward, Yuri selected a grimoire that contained the inheritance of Control System Magic from the ancient magic civilization.
Meanwhile, after walking around the treasury without finding anything he particularly liked, Riezel ultimately chose the Earth Dragon Egg he had noticed during his very first visit.
Back then, he had considered the Earth Dragon Egg little more than a useless collectible. Now, however, he had mastered well over a thousand magic spells from Tier Magic, including summoning magic capable of calling forth all kinds of monsters, finally making the Earth Dragon Egg useful.
He intended to use it as a sacrifice to permanently summon a true dragon.
Using the Earth Dragon Egg as the primary offering, supplemented by large amounts of gold, jewels, dragon fangs, dragon scales, dragon blood, and similar materials, Riezel was fully capable of summoning a special dragon comparable to Lilith, thereby gaining another powerful subordinate.
If circumstances allowed, he also intended to use to raise the upper limit of the summoning.
By spending some excelia to activate the Super-Tier Magic and increase the summoning limit, Riezel might even be able to summon a dragon whose level exceeded Level 7.
And just like that, all matters concerning Jinas were finally settled, and Riezel could now begin the next stage of his plans—going to Theresis.
===
Frenzel Residence, Underground Basement.
In the dim underground area that resembled a dungeon, Riezel’s figure suddenly appeared. Standing beside him was Lizbeth, and unlike usual, she was the only one accompanying him this time.
"Let’s go meet those two."
Holding Lizbeth’s hand, Riezel smiled at her as he spoke.
"Mm."
Lizbeth nodded firmly, her expression filled with unwavering determination, without the slightest hint of hesitation in her eyes.
With that, the two continued walking hand in hand, their footsteps echoing softly through the dim, silent corridors.
Rather than looking like a master and servant, they looked far more like a couple as they walked side by side, heading deeper into the dungeon with an air of quiet intimacy.
Before long, they arrived outside a heavily reinforced prison cell, where they heard voices coming from inside.
"...Hey, Ivy, how much longer do you think they’re gonna keep us locked up?"
"I don’t know. It depends on how that guy feels."
"Tch, this seriously sucks."
"We’re prisoners now. Of course it sucks."
"I mean, this is the first time I’ve ever been treated like a criminal. Back in the Sanctuary, we were high-ranking officials."
"But this isn’t the Sanctuary. It’s not even our Hidden Land anymore. We’re on the Akasha Continent now. Nobody here cares about our status."
"Dammit... One day, I’m gonna get revenge on that bastard."
"...I’ve already given up hope."
Listening to the exhausted conversation, Lizbeth could not help looking at Riezel.
Riezel simply shrugged, walked up to the prison cell, and spoke.
"You two attacked first, so you kinda brought this on yourselves."
As soon as those words fell, the prison cell instantly fell silent.
Moments later, hurried footsteps sounded, and Leo and Ivy finally appeared before the cell bars.
"So you finally decided to show your face, huh, you bastard!"
Leo grabbed the bars and roared at Riezel.
"Your Highness!"
Ivy, meanwhile, immediately turned her gaze toward Lizbeth and called out.
"A-Are you two doing okay?"
Lizbeth asked timidly, looking very much like someone visiting prisoners.
"Hm, you two seem to be in pretty good spirits..." Riezel said calmly, his gaze moving between them. "In that case, guess it’s about time we had a proper talk."
Hearing that, Leo was just about to shout again when Ivy suddenly wrapped an arm around his neck and threw him backward.
"What do you want to talk about?"
Ivy glanced at the hands Riezel and Lizbeth were holding together, causing the corner of her eye to twitch several times. Unlike before, however, she did not lose her temper, having finally accepted reality and chosen to negotiate with Riezel.
Honestly, she had no choice.
Now that she had become a prisoner, if she still failed to recognize the situation, she might never leave this place until the day she died.
Having accepted that reality, Ivy gave in and stopped yelling at Riezel like before.
"Good."
Riezel was satisfied with Ivy’s current attitude and then explained why he had come.
"I told you before, didn’t I? I’m gonna head to the Hidden Land."
Ivy immediately understood his purpose from that single sentence.
"...You want us to take you there?"
Ivy asked quietly, seeing through Riezel’s intentions.
"Yeah, somethin’ like that..." Riezel replied while snapping his fingers. "Before long, Lizbeth and I are gonna head out to Theresis, so I’m gonna need you to take us to the teleportation magic circle that leads to the Hidden Land when that time comes. I’ll also need you to guide us once we’re inside. If you’re willing, sign this contract. Once you do, I’ll let you out."
As he spoke, he tossed the prepared contract document into the cell.
"In your dreams—"
Leo rushed forward with a shout, but before he could finish speaking, Ivy punched him squarely in the chin.
Clutching his mouth in pain, Leo collapsed onto the floor and rolled around in agony.
"...Are you okay?"
Lizbeth asked Leo awkwardly.
"I-I’m fine, Your Highness!" Leo immediately sprang to his feet as though he had been injected with fresh energy. "Thank you for worrying about me, Your Highness!"
"!!!"
Lizbeth was so startled by his sudden burst of enthusiasm that she was left speechless.
Meanwhile, Ivy had already picked up the contract document, unfolded it, and begun reading it carefully.
Thankfully, the contents were straightforward and not nearly as bad as she had expected.
Riezel agreed to restore Ivy and Leo’s freedom, but they could not leave on their own. Instead, they had to guide Riezel and Lizbeth to the Hidden Land and then introduce them to the Sanctuary’s High Priest.
"Why do you want to meet the High Priest?"
Ivy asked cautiously, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied him, unable to hide the hint of wariness in her voice.
"I’ve got something I need to discuss with your High Priest." Riezel glanced over at Ivy and gave her a calm look. "Don’t worry. As long as she doesn’t do anything against me, I won’t lay a finger on her. I’m not looking for trouble here. So? We got a deal?"
Ivy remained silent for a while before finally speaking again.
"If I refuse, I’ll probably spend the rest of my life locked in here, won’t I?"
Ivy spoke with a self-mocking smile.
Riezel did not answer and simply kept looking at her.
Meanwhile, Ivy turned her gaze toward Lizbeth, who was standing behind Riezel, and slowly closed her eyes.
After a long moment, she opened them again.
"...Fine. I agree."
With those words, the contract was made.
Ivy and Leo regained their freedom and would soon set out alongside Riezel on the journey to the Hidden Land.