He returned to where the others were and stood beside the hero. "What are we going to do now?" Nina asked with a frown. She was looking at the hero with disgust.
"Let's wait for the kingdom's soldiers to come," Astrophos answered before he found himself a place to sit.
"How about him, shall we wake him up?" Lieutenant Ainglar asked after frowning at the man. He thought that he was strong because he was an S-rank hero but he was disappointed.
"Let him be and instead carry him here and lay him down. Let's just say that he was injured fighting the bandits." Astrophos shook his head and leaned on the tree behind him instead. He closed his eyes and crossed his arms in front of him as he waited for the soldiers to come.
Leif carried the unconscious man and placed him on the grassy part of the patch where they sat down to wait. Nina was a bit dissatisfied because she wasn't able to fight. After fifteen minutes, they could already hear their footsteps on the ground. The soldiers were led by General Ishmael who rushed towards the location after he received the report.
He was surprised at what he saw after they reached the location. There were bodies scattered on the ground and the signs of a battle littered the whole place. There was not a part of the open field that did not have a hole on it. He Immediately looked around to find the people he was involved with and saw them on one side of the battlefield.
They were sitting down and looked to be resting. He alighted from his horse and approached them. That's when he saw that the one lying down was actually the hero. He also noticed that the man in the middle, had gashes and that his clothes were torn but the other two seemed to be fine.
"What happened?" he gestured at the injured and unconscious hero who was lying on the ground. He then looked at the three of them particularly at the man who was leaning on the ground.
"Isn't it obvious? He fought the bandits alone. We intended to help but he said that he could do it. When he was down, I joined and finished the fight. All of the bandits are there, you can take their bodies." Astrophos answered without looking at the general. He was not in the mood to add anymore explanations.
General Ishmael was offended by the sarcastic tone from the man but he gritted his teeth and endured because he was in front of his men. Instead of answering, he turned around and started to direct his men on what they should do. He walked away from the mages and supervised the cleanup.
A carriage came together with a doctor who immediately acted and checked on the condition of the hero. He sighed because he was actually alright aside from the burns that he sustained which could be healed by magic. Some of the soldiers came and carried the hero towards the carriage.
The doctor then moved on to check on Astrophos and told him that he was fine, with just a bit of healing magic his wounds would disappear. They were then ushered to another carriage that was waiting for them. While walking towards the carriage, he looked at the soldiers and saw that they were lining up the bodies of the bandits and placing them on body bags.
He knew that those bodies would be burned after the king had a look at them. He was actually glad that they all died. That way, they won't be subjected into humiliation and torture. It was better and it made him relieved.
They entered the carriage and they left the place. General Ishmael finished the cleanup and they transported all the bodies back to the palace where the king would check on them. The night ended with one more noble house getting burned down and all the bandits dying. He was sure that the king would be delighted and those aristocrats would be satisfied.
The next morning, the news of another noble house being burned spread like wildfire and the news that the bandit group who did it were defeated made the people sigh in relief. They were overjoyed because finally the terror that the city had been subjected to has finally ended. Now, they were waiting for more news about what happened.
They were curious to know who defeated the bandits and the whole day they were anxiously waiting for the palace's announcement. The king on the other hand was satisfied when he saw the cold bodies of the bandits that caused terror in his kingdom. Now that they were all dead, he could finally relax.
He ordered the soldiers to place all the bodies in the plaza and prepare for all of it to be burned. He also called the Hero Association and Cygnus to his office to discuss the merits they would receive. Acasia, who heard about the news, was grinning from ear to ear because finally another prestige would be written in their history.
Both parties arrived at the same time and they were ushered to the king's study. President Acasia was alone while Cygnus was together with the three mages that he lent to help in the investigation. They all sat down and waited for the king to speak first.
"I am glad that we finally solved our problem. Now that the bandits are all dead, I can rest assured that peace will return to the kingdom. I want to thank you all for the effort and service you've rendered for the kingdom." The king was smiling and he was really in a good mood.
"I only did my role as the president of the Hero Association," Acasia sounded smug. He did not do anything but he was still so proud of himself.
"I heard that Hero Arcaine is still unconscious, how is he?" The king then remembered that the hero was injured while fighting the bandits.
"He is doing fine now, your majesty. His wounds were already treated and anytime now, he would wake up," the man answered. His expression turned into a sad one at the mention of the hero then he gave a small smile.
"That's a relief. We could schedule the bestowing of reward unto him when he wakes up. My secretary will contact you soon." The king nodded and now he shifted his attention to the young man who had been silently drinking his tea.
"Rigel, if not for the mages you lent to us, we won't be able to achieve this victory. The bestowing of reward would include these three mages behind you so I hope that you too can attend the ceremony," the king enthusiastically invited.
"There's no need to bestow them any rewards, your majesty. The prize money would be enough. Since Hero Arcaine defeated all the bandits, he should be on the spotlight together with the Hero Association." Cygnus shook his head as he grinned at the king. He then looked at the president for a moment before returning his gaze to the king.
Orpheus was taken aback by the young man's words. He did not expect that he would not accept such prestige. He then narrowed his eyes when he saw the slight movement the young man did. He sighed because he guessed that there must have been an agreement between the two parties.
Since he was in a good mood, he would not pry about it. This thing was also favorable for him because the Ginehart won't be recognized. He then nodded to the young man, "Alright if that is what you want. I will then send the prize money to you by the end of the day."
Cygnus nodded and showed a grateful look to please the king. Now that the matters regarding the bandits and the Hero Association was settled, he was now free to move. The thought of it made his adrenaline pump as he almost left the room in excitement. The Hero Association would experience the highest prestige and would be recognized would soon fall into his hands.
