Faye Mowish’s arrival shattered many conjectures—no one thought of introducing their daughters to Malin anymore. Her presence overshadowed others in both her background and beauty, and around noon, Nova accompanied the Misses of the Malin household to Count Nobel’s private residence, calling Faye a sister. The princesses from earlier no longer harbored any aspirations—asides from Nova, no one else could bring an entire country as a dowry.
Yes, the girls from the Malin family were overwhelming in every aspect—be it skin, strength, or appearance, and most importantly, Malin made his rejection of others abundantly clear.
That afternoon, Faye and Nova issued a joint command to execute all Black Orc captives.
It was a relatively perfect conclusion to Malin’s first military leadership.
In Malin’s eyes, the entirely non-human appearance of the Black Orcs did not stir any compassion within him, and their cannibalistic nature extinguished any mercy he might have harbored.
Come evening, the King of Sydney arrived at Nobel City, and for this occasion, Earl Seymon held a grand banquet. Malin initially did not want to attend—his height of one meter two would cause many troubles, especially since that morning he had to smash more than one challenger against the wall.
After all, his stature, aside from invoking a protective instinct amongst noble ladies and princesses, also sparked ill-conceived heroic fantasies in some dim-witted individuals.
But there was no helping it—their own father, Goethe, was present, and he heard that both of his ladies and that unfortunate third son would also attend.
Speaking of that unfortunate Joe, Malin couldn’t help but marvel at how Divine Arts could miraculously heal and allow one to be up and running a day after being so badly injured.
Malin heard that the fellow intended to personally apologize, and could not help but think that his mother, Lady Manli, must be quite distressed by it all.
Speaking of which, had it not been for Joe’s injury, the command would never have fallen to Malin, so in a way, despite Joe’s questionable methods, he had inadvertently aided and crowned Malin’s achievements.
Now, Malin felt he should also give Lady Manli some peace of mind—at least, he did not wish to meet her in battle before the end of the Tide of the Dead.
She wanted to maintain the Mowish royalty and see her eldest son become the new King. As a Queen, she was not wrong, but in Malin’s eyes, if the world’s royal houses did not change, they would ultimately become barriers to the progress of the age.
If only this world were without Chaos, without Deities, without different kinds... how wonderful that would be.
Alas, without ifs, Malin could only strive to maintain human civilization—if humanity was lost, then all else would lose meaning as well.
Malin, remember, civilization is the most important and beautiful thing on this planet.
"My dear, what are you thinking about?"
The voice from behind the sofa pulled Malin out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Nova, who, as the future Queen of Farol, was the brightest among the young people that day. Her association with Faye and belonging to some fellow named Malin also ignited the envy of many overconfident young men. Indeed, some chose to stand up and challenge Malin, but after Malin continuously hammered down five challengers, the vast majority of them finally came to their senses, and those who didn’t become ostensibly strong chose to make friends, not enemies.
At this point, it’s necessary to mention Logan. Speaking of this golden cousin, Malin again wanted to ask that classic question—Logan, just how many good cousins do you have?
Because these fellows all claimed Logan was their cousin and then each tried to get close to Malin—only to be sent away by Malin who, free from the nuisance, chose to leave the party as well. After all, lingering was no longer feasible.
At least it was better than being carried out.
"I’m thinking about where my new challenger might be." Malin smiled as he reached out to touch Nova’s hand resting on his shoulder, responding to her query.
"Malin, there you go again," Nova laughed, walked around the sofa, and sat down beside him. "Even now, it feels like I’m dreaming. The man I chose for myself just became a double champion and holder of the Goddess of Harvest’s Pastoral Staff, and a Legendary leader as well."
"And I hope to do well in the role of your husband," replied Malin as he looked at the young girl. "How is it? I thought you, a Farolian, would find the Sydney banquet quite boring."
"Not at all. My father is acquainted with the King of Mowish. Otherwise, why do you think Faye would help me?" Nova’s explanation caught Malin off guard—were their fathers acquainted?
So that’s how it was. However, Malin grew more curious about Nova’s father’s identity. There should be information on Jason’s side. It would be good to learn more about it—after all, Malin wanted to know exactly how that poor father had died.
"It’s nothing. I’ll take you to find Faye," Malin said with a smile, standing up. After a word with the Earl’s eldest son who was in charge of maintaining the salon for the young people, he then led Nova to find Faye.
"By the way, where’s Rewo?"
"In Mana’s arms, over there."
Malin turned his head, and with Nova’s guidance, spotted the small circle of different kind girls, with his sister Maya naturally being the center—after all, she was Malin’s sister and the actual companion.
Rewo was in Maya’s arms, looking unharmed.
"You’re quite good at caring for others, Malin," Nova said with a smile.
"I just don’t want to lose any of you since you’ve entrusted yourselves to me," Malin replied with a smile, noticing the elf butler who approached him, "Mr. Malin, you must be looking for Miss Faye, please follow me."
"Then I’ll trouble you," responded Malin with a smile.
Following the old elf through the banquet hall to the doors of the open side room, Malin saw Faye sitting there, opposite her parents.
Malin walked over with a smile and took a seat next to her, then gestured for Nova to sit beside him. Only then did he greet the others, "Your Majesty, ladies, and Joe, good evening."
"Good evening, Malin. Honestly, you’re quite a surprising young man," said Lady Anna, seemingly unfazed even though her daughter had missed the chance to fight alongside Malin.
King Goethe, however, was somewhat embarrassed, given that Joe was his child.
Lady Manli, on the other hand, was quick to capitulate, "In this incident, my child was at fault. Faye’s demands are not unreasonable. Since Joe has caused his sister to miss her only opportunity, he too should pay a price."
With that said, Malin had no other response—as, relatively speaking, it was impossible for him to contest Faye’s demands. After all, Joe was in the wrong and deserved to be punished.
"My lady, personally, I’m not bothered, but I have to consider Faye’s feelings. Her rights and responsibilities have been violated, and I cannot further harm her dignity. I can personally forgive Joe, but he must be punished," Malin put forth, immediately winning Lady Anna’s affection, and even King Goethe agreed with Malin’s point, "It’s really great that you can think this way, Malin. I will personally see to Joe’s punishment."
This made Malin realize—evidently, King Goethe did not want Malin to harbor grievances because of this.
For the Queen, the happiness of her daughter was important, and it was equally significant for the country to retain someone like Malin.
And for Manli, it was crucial that Malin did not choose to confront her offspring because of this incident.
Interesting, conversing with intelligent people is indeed a delightful matter.
Thinking this, Malin smiled at Joe, "Joe, do you have anything to say?"
"I’m sorry, Brother Malin," Joe said, grimacing with a smile.
Malin also smiled, "I forgive you."
Malin heard the fear and torment deep within the boy’s heart—that was enough to teach the lad a lesson about fear, and it was a small triumph in instilling discipline.