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Sekke looked at the nobleman with red hair coming toward him, sword in hand.
Without saying anything, the man swung his sword, which was emitting a faint glow — ready to decapitate Sekke's head.
However, the moment the sword touched Sekke's neck, his skin turned into bronze, and the sword that struck him snapped.
"...."
Sekke looked at the blade that fell to the ground, while the man stared at the broken sword in his hand.
They both looked at each other — neither speaking a single word.
"This was one of our Vermillion family's heirlooms," said the man.
"I see. It was a nice sword, sir," replied Sekke.
"It snapped."
"...Are you absolutely sure that it was the real one?" asked Sekke.
The man nodded.
"I see... perhaps it caught up with its age," replied Sekke.
"...You destroyed it."
"I simply defended myself."
The two stared at each other — neither backing down.
"Brother. Let's leave it at that. You were at fault this time for taking the sword out to kill him," said another noble who too had red hair.
"Stay out of it, brother! I will end this fiend who is eyeing my precious Mimosa!" roared the first noble.
Sekke stared at the scene as the two brothers talked things out. He was still in restraints — though he could break them in an instant — but decided not to provoke the man any more than necessary.
From the sides, two women approached him and began checking him out from top to bottom.
"..."
Sekke didn't say anything and simply looked at the two lovely milf— cough cough —lovely ladies, before asking,
"Can I help you with anything?"
"Is it really you? The one who stopped the elf invasion last time? I can't feel much mana from you," said one of the noble ladies.
"Yeah, you look quite older than the time when we saw you in the magic display during the elf invasion," said the other lady.
"Oh, I'm suppressing my mana so as not to cause everyone to feel uneasy," replied Sekke with a smile.
"Heh. A commoner — and an arrogant one at that! Do you think some mana from you will make us royals feel uneasy?!" roared the royal man who had tried to attack Sekke.
Sekke simply smiled and began to slowly release his limits, careful not to send these people flying away from the sudden surge of mana.
The air around them turned denser and denser, and within seconds, the royals unfamiliar with Sekke widened their eyes in shock. Soon, the people near him dropped to their knees — but Sekke immediately stopped releasing his mana and suppressed it once again.
"Sorry for the inconvenience," said Sekke with a helpless smile.
The mana released by him destroyed the wooden restraints around him, freeing the Dark Lord.
Sekke immediately helped the ladies near him, who were almost on their knees.
"I apologize for this," said Sekke.
The ladies looked at Sekke's calm smile — and easily understood what their daughters saw in him.
"..."
Sekke then turned to the noblemen and offered his hand to help them up as well.
"..."
The gentlemen, too, now understood why their daughters had suddenly told them they wanted to get engaged to this man.
"Good! You are good! Fine! Take care of Mereoleona! No take-backs allowed though!!" said the man, who now revealed himself to be Mereoleona, Fuegoleon, and Leopold's father.
"Brother! We should imprison and interrogate him about the spell he used to charm our daughters!!" said the other man.
"Now, now, Valerian — let's first invite him to talk. Mimosa will hate you if you do something so rash," said the older of the two nobles.
Hearing that, Valerian — who was Mimosa's and Kirsch's father — clicked his tongue.
Sekke smiled at that. First level pass.
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Currently inside a grand drawing room in the Vermillion estate, Sekke and the rest of the Vermillion family sat together.
Mimosa was happily sitting beside her brother and waved at Sekke. Sekke smiled back at her — much to the annoyance of her father.
Mereoleona was glaring at her two brothers, who were constantly asking if she was really Mereoleona. Their parents were thinking the same thing, though their mother had a smile on her face.
Sekke had the same question — because right now, the lioness was wearing a dress.
"Let me formally introduce myself once again. I am Sekke Bronzazza, the Dark Lord. I am from the Black Bulls magic squad and just recently reached the rank of Grand Magic Knight," said Sekke.
This earned surprised looks from around the room. The young man was a Grand Magic Knight — the same rank as the captains of all the squads in the kingdom.
They looked at Mereoleona and Fuegoleon for confirmation. Fuegoleon nodded while Mereoleona smirked — she had intentionally kept it a surprise to shock the older Vermillions.
They blinked in disbelief. Sekke's worth had just shot through the roof.
He was from the Black Bulls — the same squad that broke all records and replaced the Golden Dawn as the top squad of the kingdom. He was also the savior who had protected countless people during the elf invasion, and now, to top it all off — a Grand Magic Knight.
"Ahem. Nice to meet you, Mr. Bronzazza. I am Ignatius Vermillion, and this is my wife, Lucina Vermillion," said Fuegoleon's father.
"Hmph. I am Valerian Vermillion, and this is my wife, Aurelia Vermillion," said Mimosa's father in an annoyed tone.
"You don't need to be so formal with me, Mr. and Mrs. Vermillion. You can simply call me Sekke. Ah, I didn't get to give these earlier, but please have this — a gift from me," replied Sekke with a smile.
He took out four bottles from his storage and presented them to the Vermillions before some servants came forward to receive them.
"What's that? Some cheap alcohol?" asked Valerian mockingly.
"It's a 200-year-old blend that I got from the world where I was trapped. I hope it suits your palate," replied Sekke, still smiling. He so wanted to return that mocking smirk but held himself back.
"...Hmph," snorted the noble, remembering the days when Mimosa cried daily — and now seeing the man who was the reason she did.
"I heard from my son that you stayed back in the Shadow Palace while letting others escape during the fight against the devil," said Lucina.
"It's more like I wasn't able to come out. I used a trick that made me too big to fit through the exit, and since the palace was collapsing, I thought it better to let the others escape instead of holding them back because of me," answered Sekke with a helpless smile.
"You are quite a selfless man. Though, don't you think such actions sadden those around you? My Mimosa cried for days because of that decision," said Valerian.
Mimosa looked down sadly, remembering how she had felt back then — but soon glared at her father. There was no need to bring that up.
"Selfless... I don't think of myself that way. In fact, I think I'm a rather selfish man," replied Sekke.
The room's attention turned toward him, curious at his words.
"Back then, it was my selfishness — I didn't want to feel the guilt of being the reason why my friends and loved ones would be trapped with me. I'm selfish because I want to be the one to keep those dear to me safe and sound. And with this selfishness... I ask you to let me pursue your daughters."
The room turned silent. The Vermillions hadn't expected him to transition into that topic so smoothly.
"Right... let me rephrase myself," said Valerian dryly. "You are a very selfish man. In fact, let's call you greedy — since you're trying to pursue two women from the Vermillion family."
"I cannot say what we're asking is conventional," replied Sekke calmly, "but it's an arrangement we all agreed upon and wish to go forward with."
"I don't have any problem," said Lucina warmly. "Considering Mereoleona, I was expecting her never to even consider marriage — let alone introduce a boy she liked on her own."
"Hmph, he just happened to be my type. Better claim my prey before someone else snatches him away," said Mereoleona with a snort.
She then glanced at Mimosa.
"Mimosa seemed to like him too. So I proposed this arrangement — so we both get what we want without compromising much."
They all turned toward the lioness — and her uncle glared.
'So she was the reason behind this absurd arrangement…'
"Still, there's a limit to what can be done," said Valerian. "Marrying two royals to a commoner? Think of how much our name would be tarnished."
"Uncle, let me say this — having Sekke as part of the Vermillion family will bring more benefits than you can imagine," said Mereoleona.
"He's a strong man with more mana than all the royals and nobles of our kingdom combined. He's strong enough to take on all Magic Knight captains at once and come out victorious without breaking a sweat. The first generation of royals weren't even half as capable. Taking that into account — he's no worse than a royal himself. The Vermillion family's future would be guaranteed. As for our name — giving him a noble title for his feats would be an easy matter."
Valerian snorted in annoyance but said nothing. He knew the first royals gained their power and status through overwhelming strength and contribution to the kingdom — and this man matched, if not surpassed, that standard.
"...Can I say something?" asked Sekke.
The older Vermillions gave him a nod.
"Mereoleona-san indeed praised me a lot, and it's true that I'm strong. However, even without me, the Vermillion family will prosper — every one of you, be it Captain Fuegoleon, Mereoleona-san, Leo, Mimosa, or Kirsch, is capable in your own right. I just want to say that I'll make sure your daughters are safe and face no harm... though I can't guarantee that for Mereoleona-san, since she'll probably come to beat me up if I try to stop her from fighting."
"Heh, I'm only allowing you to be my husband so I can fight you anytime I want. Try stopping me," said Mereoleona with a ferocious grin.
"Father... I want to be with Sekke-san as well. I'll have to marry one day — please let it be with someone I love..." muttered Mimosa, getting embarrassed toward the end.
Valerian looked at Mimosa — and felt his entire world shatter.
His beloved daughter had just openly declared she liked a man.
"Ah, he died," muttered Kirsch.
"You alright, brother? Should we take that as a yes?" asked Ignatius.
"Dear? Should I give the consent on your behalf? Mimosa is very fond of this man, you know," said Aurelia, tapping her husband's face.
Valerian sat up stiffly, moving like a robot, his soul clearly in pain.
"...If this is what Mimosa truly wishes... I... I... I... I—"
"He gives his consent, Sekke-kun. Take care of our Mimosa," said Aurelia sweetly.
"Take care of Mereoleona as well," added Lucina with a smile. "She'll cause you a lot of trouble — we apologize in advance. Though, no backing out now or later."
"Agh!" Valerian collapsed onto the floor. The thing he feared most had actually happened.
"Are you alright, Lord Valerian?" asked Sekke, helping the man while everyone else happily congratulated the two girls.
"Y-You... take care of her," said Valerian, a single tear rolling down his cheek.
Sekke smiled, helped him back to his feet, and offered him a handkerchief.
Valerian took it and wiped his tears, watching his family celebrate while only Sekke stood beside him to help in his suffering.
'Maybe he's not that bad...' thought Valerian.
"Oh, by the way," said Mereoleona casually, "there are two more girls apart from us. Just a heads-up."
Everyone fell silent. Fuegoleon, Leopold, and Kirsch smacked their heads.
Valerian looked at Sekke, whose smile twitched.
"You damn bastard!!!!!" yelled Valerian as mana erupted out of him.