Chapter 95.

CHAPTER 95.

Amber was shocked— normally, such news shouldn’t have shocked her, but this time around after having just dealt with the Guild, she didn’t expect anything else to happen. But clearly, she was very wrong.

For a moment she wondered what was the catalyst for all of this, but that thought vanished as soon as it came. This most definitely had to do with her actions against the nobles in general and what had happened with Aveline. But still, to be exiled from this kingdom…?

It’s kind of my home… Well it was her home as much as it could be, but the idea hurt her slightly.

“Are you alright, bud?” Ave asked.

Amber blinked, being pulled back out of her thoughts, and then a frown quickly settled on her face as she shook her head.

“I’m fine, I’ll just deal with this and ensure it does not happen again.”

She wasn’t angry per se, not yet at least, she however, was still very damn annoyed. But if there was a positive from this situation was that regardless of the outcome, she wouldn’t have to deal with this anymore.

“Let’s go then?” She turned to Terrel and then to Ave. “To this meeting.”

At that, both of them nodded and she was promptly escorted out of the premises. Aside from Ave saying she’d be fine as words of reassurance, nothing else was spoken.

* * *

William Bankal felt anger like never before. It was strange to some extent, because even when dealing with the most irritating human beings in existence he never felt in such a way. After all, those people were not as gifted as him, but this instance was different. Not only was he in a meeting ⁠— a kind of event that he abhorred ⁠— but he had also been here more than a day.

Of course, there had been some breaks here and there, but every single person present was over level 100, Liz Starkell being the exception, they could discuss things for hours on end. And the reason for this meeting were none other than the actions of hero of the kingdom, Amber, and how unacceptable they were. A meeting that unfortunately couldn't be dismissed by the king due to the sheer volume of people that wanted to punish Amber. Dismissing it ⁠— as great as Amber was ⁠— would lead to massive problems within the kingdom at least in the short term. So it was wiser to try to reach an agreement; even if William wished the king could have told them to kick rocks.

At first it had been a calm discussion that slowly grew more heated, but now it had reached a new crescendo, a new high that truly made William detest the nobles in front of him.

Aveline Dawnriver sighed. “She still hasn’t shown up and it’s been a day, maybe she’s afraid of her reckoning.”

Once more, William felt incredible irritation, but he remained formal as he replied back. “Didn’t you say that Amber the barbarian had been hyper-aggressive with your group? Why would she suddenly be afraid? Or could it be that you vastly over exaggerated what happened?”

The marchioness frowned. “Lord William, I believe you were present during the encounter. Princess Aurelia was there.”

“And as Princess Aurelia and I have told you, it was perfectly reasonable for Amber to act in such a way. Just because you can’t wrap your head around the actions of the hero of the kingdom, it doesn’t make her unreasonable.”

The princess that was not too far away from William nodded. While her word didn’t carry as much weight ⁠today — given that today the king was ultimately the arbiter and he would not pick her words over others’ — she was still a great presence.

“I’ve been around Amber ever since she was a low level individual, and I can say that she is a very reasonable person. In spite of being a berserker, she does not act brashly,” Liz Starkell said from her seat next to him. “Frankly, at this point I believe you should feel ashamed for thinking of Amber in such a way.”

William nodded at Liz Starkell’s words, while they were quite respectful in comparison to hers, they also carried quite a lot of hostility. And while the two of them weren’t on the best of terms, right now both of them were interested in defending Amber from the stupid nobles in front of them.

The princess, Liz and William were on one side of the room, while a lot of other nobles were seated across from them. It was a large gathering, and they were split into two sides, the people on his side; his father, the princess, Liz Starkell, and two other dukes and a few lower ranked nobles; they were against punishing Amber.

Whereas the people on the other side, such as Aveline Dawnriver, Duchess Giana or Duke Werdell ⁠— among many others ⁠— wanted to punish Amber. And more specifically they wanted her exiled. And unfortunately, the overwhelming majority wanted her out, and the reason was simple ⁠— or it was simple to William at least ⁠— they were scared of her. They were scared that Amber wouldn’t take their shit.

As for why exile specifically? They had long informed the king that stripping her of her nobility wouldn’t change her brash actions⁠— which honestly, William and agreed with. Losing nobility for someone like Amber hardly meant anything. And imprisoning had actually been the original idea and what was first proposed during the meeting, they wanted her to suffer the same beatings she lashed out, but the king quickly shot that down.

He quoted a variety of reasons, from resentment to potential troubles for the kingdom should such information be found out, to just straight up hypocrisy on their part. So in the end, it became exile. Nothing more, nothing less, no other compromise could be found. All over the fact that she had acted accordingly to certain situations.

And that was what annoyed William. They wanted her out for such stupid reasons when she was undoubtedly an amazing asset to the kingdom, and they were hellbent on getting their wish. Even though Amber was stellar, a true prodigy that was even better than him when it came to battles. Sure, she most definitely wasn’t as smart as he was, because he was very obviously a genius, but Amber was still incredible.

As for how the king felt about it? Well, it was clear he was greatly displeased; but he had yet to pass his own judgment. Shutting down all the nobles instantly wasn’t a great move either after all.

Still, no matter how long they argued, as the meeting ran longer the push towards exile got stronger, all from increased frustrations and desire to get their wishes. It was the same with him subtly mocking the opposing nobles at every chance he got.

Duchess Giana shook her head, all while Marchioness Aveline had a death glare.

“It is a matter of fact that a lot of us feel unsafe around Amber because of her brutalitarian methods,” she said succinctly.

The princess coughed. “As I’ve stated numerous times before, in the grand majority of cases Amber was attacked first, and the only time she was not attacked first she was still greatly disrespected and had her wishes violated.”

“Violated?” Marquess Nueville snorted. “All I did was try to talk to her.”

“When a person says to stop and you continue to try to convince them of something, is it not harassment?” Duke Zizel, William’s father, asked, confused.

“That is⁠—”

“That is quite a disgusting thing to do is it not?” Liz asked with an innocent tone. “Especially to a woman.”

The marquess immediately lowered his head in shame.

Duke Werdell scoffed, “Regardless, her methods cannot be tolerated even in this offense. After all, Marquess Nueville suffered multiple broken bones for his transgression⁠—”

And at that moment, the grand doors to the king’s chamber were knocked on. The heavy and hollow taps echoed in the hall, interrupting the meeting. Everyone immediately became tense, and it was because the only things that could interrupt the meeting were things pertaining to it or absolute emergencies.

This time, it was something pertaining to the meeting⁠, or rather, someone.

Amber walked into the room and was quietly guided to take a seat in the middle of the room, where a chair was quickly placed. She, of course, complied with a solemn expression, allowing herself to be judged by everyone present. William looked over at her, however it couldn’t compare to Liz’s worried expression. She was probably the most stressed person here.

“Amber you are extremely late,” the king was the first to speak, his tone had a hint of annoyance as he tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne. “Why?”

“I was out of the capital doing Guild requests, and I returned an hour and a half ago,” she explained simply.

“I see.” The king closed his eyes for a moment, accepting the fact. “I assume you’ve been informed of the reason for this meeting?” Amber nodded at his question. “As you know then, you are being accused of being a detriment towards my kingdom. And while we both have an important friend in common, it is unfortunately not enough for me to dismiss these concerns.”

The Primordial Spirit, huh? William quickly surmised the friend the king spoke of. He looked over at Liz who had a solemn face before turning back to the king, who continued his statement after a brief pause.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“So, I ask for you to read the document you're about to be given and then hear your response.”

Following his words, a sheet of paper appeared floating in front of Amber with a poof of smoke. One that she quickly grabbed and began reading with a frown.

The seconds that followed had nothing but silence, one that carried an atmosphere of anticipation and nervousness. However, it did not take long for her to finish and put it down.

“Your reply?” the king urged.

“Exiling me over these reasons would make you a clown,” she finally said.

There was a silence as everyone wondered what a “clown” even was. But judging from her tone it wasn't a flattering term, one that immediately made King Octavius III frown. Many people were.

“Amber, the main reason for this meeting is because you cannot continue to act in such a way, you are the hero of this kingdom, and therefore your actions reflect upon me and the kingdom as a whole,” he said sternly. “Do not waste my time. You should understand that I am the arbiter here, and as such I am acting as the king not as your friend. I cannot allow you to piss everyone off regardless of how justified it is.”

She shook her head.

“I acted as I saw fit, perhaps I was overboard with my punch upon the marquess, but aside from that I stand by my actions. However, I am willing to change if it’s for your sake Octavius. This kingdom is my home after all.”

“That’s a big claim considering you’ve been residing here for less than a year according to records,” one of the nobles said from the side against Amber.

“Mind your own damn business, if you did research you’d know she grew up sheltered,” Liz snapped.

The king raised his brow at the disrespect but ignored it, and instead turned to Amber. “Do you truly call Cytel your home, Amber?”

She slowly nodded. “I do, or at least I think I do, but I do stand by my words of intending to change. While I will still act in self-defense should I be attacked, I shall try to amend my brutal and savage ways.”

The emphasis in her words rang clear, and numerous nobles smiled. William however was frowning, he didn’t like this outcome, because in his mind Amber had done nothing wrong, and the nobles should be begging for forgiveness. Liz too had a scowl on her face, many on their side looked displeased in general.

William believed that Amber was truly special, and as such should receive biased treatment. But he couldn’t voice that thought, not now at least.

King Octavius III nodded after a moment of consideration before turning to the accusing party of nobles. “Is this an acceptable change?”

At that, there were some hushed mutterings but Marquess Nueville was the first one to speak with a scowl on his face.

“And how do we prove she has changed? What prevents her from going back to her brutal ways?”

“That’s right, this is nothing more than a slap in the wrist. I propose we exile her for at least a year before she can return,” Duke Werdell said with a frown.

“I concur,” Duchess Gina added.

And many voices in agreement came, something that made William grit his teeth. Amber had to take this with her head down unless she wanted to prove the nobles wrong, and he could not even act because as a defendant of Amber it would just prove she is a bad influence. It was infuriating. Liz too seemed on the verge of snapping.

The voices did not last long, as the king finally spoke.

“That is enough, I’ve made my decision,” he said with a grave tone before turning to the brown-haired girl. “Amber, you will not be punished unless you go back on your words.”

She nodded.

“But if you do, then you will be exiled, no questions asked.” A sigh left him. “To prevent others from exploiting this, each accusation made against you for this will be tested under the truth spell, and those found to be lying will be exiled from the kingdom instead of you. I will also go over each case factually with you in a personal meeting to understand.”

The terms thoroughly protect Amber, but also do require for her to change, William concluded. He didn’t know how he felt about that, but the situation was better.

The king finally turned to the rest of the room.

“Those that provoke Amber will not be punished lightly either,” he warned before he continued explaining. “She is the hero of this kingdom, and while her previous actions may have been extremist they still carried logic that can easily be understood.”

The nobles against her immediately rose from their seats.

Aveline raised her finger. “You are still letting her go without consequences!”

At that multiple nobles nodded in unison.

The king shook his head. “Should anything happen that requires me to deal with the terms I’ve stated, I will make changes accordingly, but for now that is all⁠—”

And a series of hasty knocks echoed before the doors to the king’s chamber opened. A single messenger knight arrived with a very bad expression.

“What is it?” the king raised his brow, evidently confused.

The knight hesitated, glancing over at Amber before finally setting his eyes on the king.

“We just uncovered that Amber, the hero of Cytel, nearly destroyed the Guild and gravely injured two adventurers and also injured this branch’s Guildmaster. Based on eye-witnesses it was an act of revenge for her merchant friend Cecile who was knocked out by the adventurers in the guild as an act of violence.”

And following his words, those that wanted to exile Amber began to ask for it to happen now, deeming her irredeemable and a truly wild beast.

* * *

The news that Amber hoped wouldn’t arrive any time soon did. Perhaps they had come from an adventurer that had accused her of trying to kill him or from a concerned civilian, but either way the knights had completed her investigation of events and relayed factual yet brief information. And while, Amber, again, believed herself to be in the right, it was clear that those that wanted her out would pounce at this opportunity.

And pounce they did. They fervently argued with the king to exile her right now, who had a very grim expression because clearly he did not want to get rid of her. Liz and William argued back with nothing but rather respectful anger, while the princess and the others refuted claims in a much more civilized manner. And while Amber at this point could offer to step down from nobility and just act if called upon and under her own discretion, it wouldn’t be enough at this point.

This is stupid, she thought. They are trying to punish me for pissing me off.

She was tired. Tired of all these politics and other dumb things.

Amber zoned out from all the accusations, all while she stared at the ceiling. She didn’t feel defeated, nor did she feel like she was going to get exiled, because in the end Val’leri would be royally pissed at the king should it happen.

She had the favor of three Primordial Spirits, the gods of Vir. And she was sure that they would approve of her actions, because the strong ruled the weak in this world, even if it wasn’t apparent. The king himself was the highest leveled individual in this kingdom, the highest leveled members of the Arcane Council were also their leaders, the strongest Primordial Spirit, the First seemed to be also held in such a position, and she was sure that this law applied in a near universal manner.

Yet, even though she was stronger than every single noble here, they were still trying to punish her because it scared them. So that left the question, what would Val’leri do in this situation? What would Sid’fril do? What would Ax’thra do?

And suddenly the answer seemed obvious.

“Anything you can say Amber?” the king asked, frowning. “Otherwise, if you are causing such unrest then you’ll leave me no choice.

“She didn’t even do anything wrong,” Liz said loud enough for her to hear.

“That’s right, this is absolutely unacceptable!” William exploded from his seat. “You people are absolutely fucking brain-damaged⁠—”

“It’s fine William,” Amber interrupted. “Thank you for sticking by me.”

She smiled at the narcissistic man that had once greatly offended her. Then she turned towards Liz, one of the first friends she made in this world.

“And you, Liz, for being here.”

The blonde mage paused sensing something was wrong, but Amber paid it no mind. Instead she first faced the accusing nobles.

“The Guildmaster himself had been silently letting the Guild members harass and drive away adventurers from outside of Cytel. And as a result of that my merchant friend, Cecile, was beaten up by the adventurers of the Guild to the point of being unconscious. So I retaliated, that’s my explanation for these events.”

Finally, she turned to the king, not waiting for replies or counter-arguments.

“But instead of arguing my case I’ll just say some things about me: I have an extremely rare Legacy Branch, there has been less than ten individuals in history with my class, I have defeated a level 202 Abyssal Beast and also killed the members of the Arcane Council that attacked the kingdom,” she said simply.

“Impossible, those are ridiculous claims!”

“Even if they are true, that means she has incurred the wrath of the kingdom ending threat that is the Arcane Council!”

“That’s right, all the more reason to⁠—”

“Silence!” the king bellowed. “Listen to her first, you impulsive dimwits. After she’s done, a decision will be made.”

Amber ignored that, and simply smiled before continuing.

“So you need an excuse to keep me around? Well, it is simple really, I am favored by the gods. And while they won’t answer my call or anything fancy or even help me past simple guidance, I am sure that they would be greatly disappointed if I didn’t stand here and say the following.”

Amber turned towards the nobles and immediately scowled.

“All of you should be ashamed of being so damn pathetic. Embezzling money, feeling threatened over someone that won’t act unless provoked, asking for exile just to keep your power.” Her aura flared, blue light enveloping her. “You people can go fuck yourselves.”

A large majority of the nobles flinched, but the dukes immediately stood in defiance.

“Is that a threat?”

“This is why you must be exiled.”

Amber ignored their words, taking a step forward and looking towards King Octavius III.

“Perhaps I am arrogant, perhaps I have greatly changed, but even when I first came to this damn world I would retaliate against being attacked, and while I didn’t have protective instincts over my friends back then, they gradually grew. I’m not going to apologize for who I am, but I also won’t put you, the king that has greatly helped me, in a difficult position. After all, no matter what I say, even if you change your mind, these people will continue hounding you to kick me out of your kingdom.”

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. As susurrations about her not being from Vir began, even the king had looked shocked as she said it. Nonetheless, Amber continued.

“Which is why, just this once, I won’t be selfish and I will take my leave, because I’m grateful for what you’ve done for me.” She bowed. “There is no need to exile me.”

The king’s eyes grew wide immediately regretting his previous actions, but before he could interject an ethereal voice came.

“That won’t be necessary.”

And before everyone, with a flash of light the red Primordial Spirit that had been around the kingdom for thousands of years appeared. Val’leri.

“After all, I’d hate for the kingdom I partially built and own to kick you out Amber.”

Following her words, the Primordial Spirit of the Great Desert and owner of the Grand Dungeon of Torl also appeared, his arms crossed with a scowl on his face looking at Amber. It was Sid’fril.

“Stop giving up before I kill you, you didn’t earn my respect that way, Amber.”

And everyone’s jaws dropped.