Polter quickly returned to Solan Neumann. If he had been alive, he would have been panting heavily. Seeing his state, Solan asked worriedly,
"Polter! What's wrong with you?!"
"That's..."
Polter remembered Shi Yun Lan's warning and the mark placed on him—something Solan couldn't sense—so he decided to hide what had happened.
"It's nothing serious. But when Lord Shion Lan woke up, he noticed me immediately and got angry. When I realized he might become my future master, I decided to run!"
Solan looked puzzled.
"Your future master? Why?"
Polter seized the opportunity,
"Won't you be his future wife, milady? Then he'll be my master as well, right?"
"…!!!"
Solan didn't respond—her face had turned completely red with embarrassment.
Bloom asked with doubts,
"Since when do you respect that boy?"
Polter replied,
"Because I discovered he has a powerful soul that truly suits milady! And even when he lost consciousness, he was still receiving inspiration. If that's not talent, then what is?!"
"Really?! Why am I smelling some threatens?!"
"Yes! I felt ashamed of myself as I didn't estimated him well."
"Silver tongue!"
At that moment, the assistant spoke, drawing everyone's attention,
"In the incident at the eastern border, a fierce battle broke out between the kingdom's forces and the Dark Crows. It was an inevitable war after the killing of a Crow who had the potential to reach the ninth level and posed a grave threat. Under the rebel Cliff Biv, things became even more difficult. However, thanks to the one who eliminated that Crow before it could grow stronger, the enemy ranks were shattered, many soldiers were saved, and he even retreated to rescue medics and the wounded despite the overwhelming level difference! Step forward—Shion Lan!"
All eyes turned to him, but Shion remained calm. He walked forward steadily, a deep look shining in his eyes. He bowed and received the medal.
King Jord Joul announced,
"As previously stated, Shion Lan will be granted nobility, and the Lan family will become a third-rank noble house. However, today, a territory has been reserved for you until you graduate from the academy, and it will be directly overseen by the royal palace."
Shock spread through the crowd.
The king continued,
"You may wonder about such a generous reward. But since his teacher also played a role and is not present, we are simply increasing Shion's reward."
Shion bowed again and returned to his place, showing none of the excitement others had displayed.
Pearl Jewel asked,
"What's wrong with you?! Why don't you look happy?! Aren't you satisfied with this gift?!"
Shion replied calmly,
"There's nothing wrong. It just felt… normal."
"…."
Pearl was speechless.
' Normal?! Even ignoring the royal reward, being a noble with a territory under royal protection is extraordinary—and he calls it normal?! '
Redo Grant praised him,
"I won't be compared with Lord Lan when it comes to the mood. He has a presence that represents the nobility and dignity."
"Thank you." Shion said indifferently.
Thinking inwardly,
' I just feel nothing..... Good and bad, praise and shame, life and death. If I just shine my bright whatever it is, everything won't be important. I didn't intend to get anything of that in the first place. '
The ceremony continued.
"And now we move to another event that occurred alongside the Dark Crows battle," the assistant said.
"A gang was discovered by chance in one of the villages. Thanks to him, their locations were identified, a precise plan was devised, and a detailed map of their headquarters and potential obstacles was created. Thus, we captured dangerous assassins without difficulty—otherwise, many heads would have rolled! Step forward, the Moon Duelist—Kin Light!"
Kin stepped forward calmly, but can't hide his enthusiasm in his eyes, received his medal, and the king declared,
"Thanks to you, many lives within the royal palace and the six great families were saved. You may request anything directly from me at any time."
The crowd was stunned—this reward surpassed the previous one.
Kin felt excitement but remembered Shion's composed demeanor and chose to imitate it, showing gratitude calmly,
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
He bowed modestly and returned, hiding his excitement.
Glass Sano thought bitterly,
' Damn it! Both of them achieved great things while I did nothing! I'll work harder this year and surpass them! '
After a few more awards, the assistant spoke again,
"Unfortunately, we cannot disclose the details of the next case due to its extreme secrecy. The royal family and the six great families have agreed on this. However, as our ancestors decreed—every hero must be rewarded."
The crowd murmured in confusion.
"Secret?!"
"Did something happen that we don't know about?"
Shiun thought,
' The king doesn't want people to know that the academy director Tim Ayr and the heads of the Sano and Flair families were nearly defeated by an unknown seventh-level individual'
Shi Yun Lan commented,
"He could have rewarded you and that girl privately. Why reveal it publicly?"
Then he added,
"He's trying to cover something up and distract attention."
Shion realized the logic.
The assistant continued,
"And now, the two heroes who contributed to that final event—step forward! Head of the Lan family, and Sol Hart!"
The crowd was surprised—except those who already knew.
Shion approached Solan and said politely,
"May I escort you, Lady Hart?"
Solan smiled brightly, thinking,
' How happy I would be if he said 'Lady Neumann'… No! Lady Lan... '
She accepted, took his hand, and they stepped forward together. They bowed and received medals.
Shion looked surprised.
"Didn't I already receive a medal?"
The assistant explained,
"This one is for a different achievement. Each family takes pride in the number of medals they hold. Earning two in one year is truly impressive."
Shion nodded in understanding.
The king then addressed Sol,
"Sol Hart, thanks to your dedication over the years, the enemy weakened significantly, allowing us to defeat it. Otherwise, it would have required far greater force. Therefore…"
A servant stepped forward with her reward.
"Here is a necklace. I've heard you've reached the fourth level. With this, you may graduate at the fifth level, repeating the legend of those who graduated at that level. It is bound to spirit magic—only you can use it."
Sol accepted it.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Solan remembered—the king had once promised her that very necklace before everything fell apart.
Then the king turned to Shion. A servant brought forth a sword.
"Everyone has witnessed your unfathomable swordsmanship. With unanimous agreement, I have determined that you possess an exceptional soul capable of fighting without being influenced by others. Therefore, I offer you this sword."
Shi Yun Lan immediately said,
"This sword is the source of that evil..... Don't fell in meditation again!"
Shion quickly asked internally ignoring his nervousness,
"What should I do?!"
"Take it. Don't be influenced by its thoughts, and you'll subdue it without my help."
Reluctantly, Shion accepted the sword.
The sword sensed him.
' You hand me over to a mere second-level trash?! '
The Sword of Sins couldn't tolerate it. It broke free from the king's seal earlier than expected.
A dark, sinister aura erupted. The king was surprised but he ordered immediately,
"It wasn't supposed to awaken now…
The aura spread, causing hallucinations. Those at the seventh level created domains to protect others."
Everyone stared at Shion in fear.
Solan shouted,
"Shion! Stay focused!"
She tried to summon Polter, but he refused,
"I can't come out, milady! You'll be exposed!"
"Come out and save him!"
"I can't!"
Solan felt helpless.
Prince Jaiden Joul thought coldly:
' So Shion will die… convenient. I didn't expect the chaos to be this great, but as long as he dies, it serves my purposes, and I can manipulate Shun Ranus again. '
Shun Ranus thought the same thing, and Elai Shine felt angry that he wasn't the one who killed Shion, and that he would die without suffering at his hands and avenging the humiliation he had endured.
Pearl, who was in one of the domains, looked shocked and felt fear and concern for him, as did the second princess Jina Joul, who wanted to scream at him, but Violet Night caught her and protected her from the evil energy using dark energy. She also surrounded Baro Ferrer and Fiore Tai, who wanted to help Shion, and the others. Kin Light and Glass Sano wanted to summon their guardian spirits to save Shion, but due to the influence of evil thoughts, they couldn't concentrate properly and communicate with the spirits.
Others had similar thoughts—some fearful, some frustrated.
Meanwhile, Shion bit his finger and wrote on the sword with his blood.
Solan panicked,
"If we don't stop him, he'll be bound to the sword!"
The king raised his seal, thinking,
' Damn it! If he dies, his blood is on my hands! I should have believed him! He didn't know about the master of the Shi!'
But Shion suddenly spoke in a different voice,
"Take another step, and I'll kill him."
The king hesitated as he sensed the spirit of the sword.
Then Shion smiled calmly,
"Alright… everything is under control now."
The king wasn't convinced.
Shion raised his hands,
"You can check for yourself."
Before the king acted, the sword screamed,
"You little bastard!!! Did you trick me into binding myself to you?!"
Shion looked at it coldly,
"A lowly servant who preyed only on weak women and children—how dare a rusted sword like you insult its master?"
Without hesitation, Shiun infused the sword with his stellar aura and Neumann-style swordmanship energy, causing it immense pain.
The sword went mad, screaming at the top of its voice…
Everyone, "..."