The next morning, the moment Rudeus finally left the land of dreams, Alaric informed the boy of their next destination.
"The Kingdom of Dicathen."
Rudeus gaped, looking at The King with eyes as if he was looking at an idiot.
"The place that was destroyed by the demon king himself?"
"We’re going there? Just the two of us? No army or anything? Just an adult, and a child?"
Like before, Alaric nodded.
His answer and voice were still firm.
"I have something to check in the Kingdom of Dicathen."
Alaric couldn’t tell Rudeus the details of that dream or his past.
It was too unbelievable.
To the point that even a child, the creatures described as possessing a rich imagination, couldn’t imagine it.
"You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Of course, I’ll find you an orphanage, make sure you’re safe, and then leave."
There was no guarantee that Rudeus, a child, would willingly go to the Dicathen Kingdom, which had probably become one of the main bases of the demons.
Besides, leaving a child who couldn’t even defend himself alone wasn’t in The King’s character.
So, Alaric had prepared a way out for the child.
But that was if Rudeus needed it.
"What are you talking about? Of course I’ll follow you."
"Are you sure? Not only is that place dangerous, but there are also a lot of demons. Aren’t you afraid of demons?"
"No no no, you’re wrong, brother."
Rudeus shook his head.
"To get rid of fear, the best way is to face it."
"So in short, you’ll be coming with me, right?"
Just like that, together with Alaric’s steed, they set off.
It was a long journey, but it wasn’t boring at all.
Sometimes, they would have to sleep outside.
But fortunately, the weather was always on their side.
The temperature was usually cool, and they had never experienced a single rainstorm.
Moreover, it felt as if they had become nature’s darlings.
Whenever Alaric and Rudeus had to camp out in the woods, some animals that could be eaten would inevitably come near, as if they wanted to give their lives to them.
And of course, The King didn’t refuse.
"Who hates free stuff?"
This was destined to be a long journey, and since Alaric was traveling with Rudeus, a child, sitting on the saddle for a whole day wasn’t a good option.
But thankfully, they knew how to kill time.
"Hold on tight and speed up your attacks, Rudeus!"
Standing beside him, Alaric gave the order.
The boy swung his sword again, and this time, it was clear that the swing had become more violent than before.
Yes, the activity that entertained Rudeus was sword practice.
And learned some other fighting skills as well.
Now, the Dicanthen Kingdom had definitely become an extremely dangerous place, where if people weren’t careful, they would definitely be killed by potential threats.
Even a well-trained knight wouldn’t dare to go there alone.
And now, a kid was heading to that place.
That was nothing short of a suicide.
So, in order to reduce the chances of Rudeus being killed, Alaric needed to make the boy stronger during this time.
"Don’t be angry at me for forcing you to train with such a harsh intensity."
Lying on the ground, panting, Rudeus replied tiredly, giving The King a thumbs up.
"It’s all so... I can survive... or at least hold out for a while, right?"
Then, he continued, this time, not only his voice, his expression, but his eyes became much more serious:
"Are you mentally prepared to be killed? Like I said, that place is not ordinary. If you make one mistake, or lose your guard even for a moment, your head will definitely be severed from your neck."
As if he was discussing some important matter that would affect the entire world.
"...Death is the thing I don’t want the most. After all, I just survived that massacre."
"Now, I’m mentally prepared."
"Good job, kid. I’m very proud of you."
With a gentle smile, he patted Rudeus’ head.
Alaric was very proud of this kid.
And Rudeus also loved The King very much, always treating him like a brother, a family member.
Not only did they need to practice swordsmanship, but they also had to try to overcome their own fears.
"You bastards! You animals! Are you crazy!? Let me go! What the hell did I do?"
Lying on the ground, with all of its limbs chopped off, being blinded, and screaming like a pig being slaughtered, was a demon.
And this demon was right.
It really did nothing but sleep under the tree, but was still caught by Alaric and Rudeus.
"Because you’re a demon, and that’s enough of a reason."
"You might be harmless now, but there’s no guarantee that you won’t kill humans in the future."
The demon was completely speechless.
"Anyway, please let me go! I’ve become a cripple! I can no longer harm humans! Please have mercy on this lowly being!"
The demon continued to scream in despair.
But unfortunately, Alaric and Rudeus didn’t care about it at all.
"Then Rudeus, will you do it, or will I?"
The boy glanced at The King, then glanced at the demon writhing on the ground.
At this point... it really didn’t look threatening anymore.
Taking a deep breath, Rudeus made his decision:
With that, the boy approached the demon, looking at it as if he was looking at some disgusting and dirty creature.
"Hey, what’s with that look?"
Rudeus didn’t respond, only closing the distance between him and the demon.
"H-Hey kid, please let me go, okay? If you do that, I’ll definitely grant you a wish. How’s that, great?"
The boy sneered contemptuously.
"You might be able to fool the kids, but that kind of petty trick won’t work on me."
Said Rudeus, a kid who was only 7 years old.
"You really want to be released, right?"
"Yes! I’m willing to do anything!"
The corners of Rudeus’s lips curled up slightly.
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The boy decided to play with the demon for a bit.
"If you can finish this dinner, I’ll consider it."
After saying that, Rudeus took out a large, solid, brown object from behind him and threw it down in front of the demon, near its nose.
The demon sniffed the object, then immediately frowned.
Like a good child, Rudeus answered the demon’s question:
"This is the excrement of some animal we just found in the forest. Now then, enjoy your meal."