“Just go back to the capital and act like nothing happened. And don’t tell father a thing. You can remain the heir of House Arvale, and I’ll continue being mayor of this little wilderness village. It’s a win-win, don’t you think?”
It was an incredibly merciful deal, considering Luke had just crushed Raoul’s army of five thousand.
But his pride wouldn’t let him agree.
“You built all this out of nowhere in just one damn year! Forget House Arvale—you could conquer the entire kingdom if you wanted to! Even the world! And you’re seriously telling me you’re fine staying out here?!”
“Pretty much.”
“Tch... What the hell is wrong with you?” Raoul clicked his tongue and sighed in disbelief.
They were brothers, but their values were so different. Raoul couldn’t understand Luke at all. And honestly, all the years he had spent resenting him were starting to feel like a complete waste.
While Raoul stood there, running out of steam, Luke must have picked up on his resignation. He suddenly slid the doors to his cell open.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Raoul asked.
“Huh? Didn’t we just make a deal?”
“Tch.”
Raoul scowled as he stepped out of his cell. He didn’t have his sword, but he could probably kill Luke with his bare hands if he wanted to. But for some reason, the will to do it just wasn’t there anymore.
Luke stood there, totally unguarded, like he knew exactly how he felt.
“You’re looking better than I thought you’d be. I’m glad.”
“I just passed out for a little bit.”
“You were unconscious for three days, Raoul,” Luke said.
“Three days?! I was out that long?!”
“Yep. We patched you up pretty quickly, but you wouldn’t wake up.”
Well, that explained the hunger. And if it really had been three days, his army had probably disbanded by now. Most of the soldiers were heading home now, with only the top brass choosing to stay behind.
“And your whole army is here. All five thousand of them.”
“What?”
The city bustled with energy as people walked between the dozens of shops lining the streets, chatting among themselves.
Raoul couldn’t believe his eyes. “He built all this in a year?” he murmured.
When Luke was banished to the wastelands, this place had been nothing but a barren desert. But now there was a city of over ten thousand people. He couldn’t have imagined it in his wildest dreams.
Delicious smells and the sound of vendors hawking truly unbelievable menus filled the air.
“Get your minotaur skewers here. Fresh from the dungeon!”
“Steaming hot pork buns made from Forsaken Zone orc meat!”
“Wait, what? You sell minotaur and orc meat here as street food?” Raoul asked, dumbfounded.
“Yep. It’s totally normal.”
The memory of the flavor from earlier came rushing back, and Raoul instinctively took a step toward the food stalls before forcing himself to stop.
Luke led him toward a cluster of buildings so large they nearly took his breath away.
“What the hell is that?”
“They’re called apartments. They’re like big housing complexes. I’m keeping your army in them for now.”
“What do you mean, you’re keeping them? My army’s made up of five thousand soldiers. They’re not some lost kittens you found or something!”