The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing.

Chapter 348: Be bold in your pursuit of love, don’t stop
The conversation was pleasant.

The long-awaited reunion brought closer intimacy. Firut and others were also very interested in what had happened to Zun Zun in the past year. When they learned that he had been tricked and kicked into another world, they applauded and praised him, which was a rare case of being embarrassed.

“By the way, Reinhardt.”

"Yes, your Excellency."

"According to the time, it should be less than a year since I left. Is there something urgent that called me back so soon?"

"I can't hide it from you after all."

Reinhard smiled with relief. Could this guy think that he was as willful as Felt?

"Actually, Lord Miklotov summoned you."

In case someone forgets, I will remind you again here. Miklotov is the representative of the Council of Sages, and he was the one who met with Zun Zun privately after the King Selection Ceremony and expressed his support for Zun Zun to become the next king.

"In fact, I have turned down such summons several times, but..."

"Don't say it, I understand."

Reinhard must have stood by him to help conceal his actions, but no matter what excuse he used, not showing up for a year would always arouse suspicion. Not to mention that the old man said that his territory would be handed over to Zun Zun to manage.

However, his own internal affairs officer was actually helping Firut manage the territory.

"If I don't show up, the Sword Saint Family might be regarded as a traitor."

"Please don't say that, sir. The Astraea family definitely doesn't have such thoughts!"

"...You are really boring."

Zun Zun rolled his eyes.

To be honest, even if Reinhard told everyone now, "I do whatever I want," others would just let it go. However, the knight in front of him was too upright. He was like a perfect knight with absolutely no ulterior motives.

“What are the impacts of different values?”

"Yes, I will fulfill my loyalty even until my death."

Reinhardt calmly stated his true nature, "Also, although I really want to have you leave for the capital right now, but before that—"

beep.

There was a knock on the guest room door.

A man with short gray hair pushed open the door and said, "Master Felt, Master Reinhard, we have a distinguished guest."

"It looks like the timing is perfect."

Reinhard said with a smile.

----

Walking along the corridor of Astraea's house, I saw a trio of hooligans still being trained in the courtyard. These three guys who hadn't been seen for a long time were still useless, and Grandpa Rom who trained them had hardly changed from before.

"How should I put it? It's really reassuring that there's no change, but..." Zun Zun looked at someone following behind him and asked, "Who is this?"

He was asking the man who had come to announce the distinguished visitor.

He has short grey hair and dead fish eyes, and looks like he is about to die.

how to say.

By looking at his collar, I found that he was only a little taller than Felt. The aura between him and Otto was really similar. Standing together, it would be no problem to say that they were half-brothers.

"Who is this……"

"Ezzor Gardner."

He bowed very respectfully and said, "I'm really sorry for introducing myself late. I'm Ezo Gardner, currently serving as the internal affairs officer of Lord Firut's camp."

"Oh, hello, Aizo."

Zun Zun greeted him casually.

Reinhardt said that Astraea's current development was due to his and Otto's efforts. No wonder the two of them had similar auras, it must be because they always worked together.

Come to the reception room.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Did you get any tea?"

"Yes, yes! Please don't mind it!"

Reinhardt's casual question was met with a nervous and rigorous answer, which was a bit stiff and stereotyped.

The person I saw when I crossed my line of sight was a beautiful teenager with a thin face and regular features. His slender body was wrapped in a proper dress, and his long hair was tied in a lavender braid. He was about 17 or 8 years old, and his expression was slightly nervous. The monocle on his left eye also contributed to this stereotype.

Firut pulled at her skirt very politely and said, "I am Firut, one of the candidates for the kingdom. Please give me your guidance."

"Thank you very much! I am here as an envoy of Lady Anastasia Hessin, Joshua Euclius!"

The handsome young man was so excited at being noticed that his cheeks flushed slightly.

Zun Zun also followed suit and spoke social etiquette.

"Your Excellency, I am one of the candidates for the King's Choice. Your name is Joshua, right? Please give me your guidance."

"Your Excellency...?"

"What's wrong with me?"

"No, nothing... It's just that my brother often mentions you, saying that you are the Elf Knight second only to him, and that with your talent you will surpass him sooner or later..."

"Oh my, I'm really grateful that he thinks so highly of me."

I didn't expect Julius to have such high expectations for me. Maybe he thought it was incredible that I, who didn't have the [Divine Protection of Attracting Sperms], could sign a contract with 6 fairy spirits, so he said that.

"But I don't want to admit it!"

"Ok?"

"Because my brother is an extremely outstanding person. He became a famous figure in the Kingdom's Knights at a young age and served as the de facto second-in-command of the Royal Guards Knights. Even Lord Reinhard--"

Joshua's face froze.

It's not wrong for him to talk big about his brother, and it's understandable that he compares himself with others, but when he does it in person, and compares himself with the knight among knights - the Sword Master, then that's very problematic.

If the situation gets more serious, it could turn into a diplomatic incident.

"me……"

"It's okay, I'm not angry. And as a close friend, Julius is indeed very strong. He will definitely surpass me in time."

“Right!?”

No, no, no, that's absolutely impossible, right?

Even if Julius is given another 100 years, he still won't be able to surpass Reinhard, and he can even give him a hand.

Joshua seemed to take Reinhard’s humility seriously.

Soon, he calmed down.

"I'm so sorry. I can't help but lose control of myself when it comes to my brother."

"no problem, no problem."

This was clearly Firut's base camp, but the one who dominated the conversation was Zun Zun, and Joshua didn't find it strange at all, as if he had known it would be like this.

"So what's Joshua's purpose here?"

"Yes, as the messenger of Master Anastasia Hesin, I will convey the words of our Lord to Master Felt and Master Zunzun."

Joshua also turned serious when he heard Zun Zun asking about serious matters. He took out a letter from his arms. On the letter spread out on the table, the content written in black ink was - "Lady Anastasia, I hope to invite and entertain Master Felt and Master Zun Zun to visit the Watergate City of Priestera."

"Pristella?"

Felt showed a puzzled expression at the right moment.

Otto did his job as an internal affairs officer and explained, "It is one of the five largest cities in the Kingdom of Lugnica. It is located to the west of the capital and has a population of about 100,000 people."

"I know that! I mean..."

"Yes, it is located on the border between Lugnica and Karalaki City-State. It is also the town that the Hexin Chamber of Commerce is currently developing."

Joshua did not hide.

It is better to say that as long as you are willing to investigate this little thing, you will always know it. Besides, as candidates for the king election, how could Feruto and Zunzun not investigate the movements of their opponents?
"So what's the matter with us going there?"

"It seems to be an invitation to a party. It's a kind gesture from Lady Anastasia, who wants to establish a good relationship with you... Of course, it's not for this reason."

Seeing Felt's somewhat irritable question, Joshua did not get angry, but narrowed his yellow eyes and showed a faint smile. His expression and appearance were very similar to Julius.

"Actually, I want to exchange information with you, for example... the Witch Cult."

"Ok?"

The word "Witch Cult" can easily arouse people's vigilance. In the past year, there have been almost no rumors about the Witch Cult on the mainland, but no one thinks that they have become more restrained. They must be making some big news.

"You mean to say that a witch cult will appear in Watergate City?"

"You misunderstood, I didn't say that."

Joshua waved his hands quickly.

He looked nervous, not because he was panicked by having his thoughts exposed, but because he was really afraid that Felt and the others would misunderstand him.

"Then what do you mean?"

"According to my Lord Anastasia, she wants to tell you about the Witch Cult in exchange for your information."

"Hmph, I refuse."

Firut refused decisively.

As the topic progressed, she didn't bother to behave politely, but crossed her legs like a gangster and puffed her lips in annoyance.

"Why should I go there? There's no benefit for me, right? The news about the Witch Cult is not important to me at all. It makes no difference whether I have it or not, okay?"

"So you are planning to withdraw from the royal election?"

"--what!?"

Felt's expression became frightening, and her tone became more violent. However, Joshua was not afraid, and looked directly into her eyes, his monocular lens reflecting light slightly.

“Lord Felt, as far as I know, you haven’t done anything substantial yet, right?”

"...What do you want to say?"

"Among the five chosen kings, Lord Crusch and Lady Anastasia were considered the winning candidates, and the other three adults... to be frank, they were just making up the numbers. However, this situation was soon broken, and the reason was naturally-"

"Witch Cult."

"You're absolutely right."

Joshua nodded, satisfied with Felt's answer, and continued to explain: "Because Emilia-sama is the most outstanding among the five chosen kings, the successive subjugations of White Whale, Sloth, and Big Rabbit have made her reputation very high, which has had a great impact. If this continues for a long time, you understand what will happen, right?"

Emilia will be the popular choice and will successfully sit on the throne amid everyone's cheers.

It was easy for the others, as both Crusch and Anastasia had participated in the campaign to defeat the Witch Cult, and their reputations had increased significantly. The only one who was anxious now was Firut, who hadn’t made any move.

"Humph, but that arrogant busty girl also didn't do anything, did she?"

"You are right. But that gentleman is so eccentric that there is no way to persuade him. I hope you can understand this."

"Yeah, you're right."

Firut was well aware of this.

There were a lot of frictions between the two of them at the beginning, even though Zun Zun was the lubricant between them, but some things are destined. Two people who don't like each other just don't like each other.

"But I think that guy will definitely come uninvited."

Zun Zun took the opportunity to intervene in the topic.

Priscilla is the epitome of arrogance, and having fun is her nature. Even if she is not invited to such a party, she will definitely come and disrupt the venue, and then laugh out loud to the sky to express that such a party is better.

“Besides, I don’t understand why Master Felt has to worry.”

Joshua pushed up her monocle again, looked at the sword master standing behind her, and said, "Lord Reinhard's strength is obvious to all. He alone can flatten the entire Watergate City. Are you still afraid to act? It's a waste to have Lord Reinhard under your command."

"Hey, you guy..."

“Lord Felt!”

Seeing that Firut was about to explode in anger, Reinhard wanted to step forward to stop her, but unexpectedly, she took two deep breaths to calm down, and glared at Joshua with a bad look.

"You use the provocation method well."

"hehe."

Joshua just smiled and said nothing.

"Ah, it's true what you said. Reinhard is a waste under my command, but I want to make it clear that he has been forcing me to do this. Do you understand!?"

“Your words are engraved in my heart.”

"Okay! Since you said so, how can I refuse! I accept your invitation to the party! But don't blame me if you make a mess by accident!"

"It seems that you have agreed. Then, we will prepare everything and look forward to your arrival."

Joshua bowed gracefully.

Then he let out a light breath and his expression relaxed.

Even though his social skills were great, whether it was seduction, provocation or emotions, he had a good grasp of almost every aspect, but after all, he was still a 17 or 8-year-old teenager, and he was always good at these things, so he was always tense.

"Stand up straight, Joshua."

"Your Excellency...?"

"You did a great job, better than Julius. That guy can do the same, but he always has a stern face and is annoying. In comparison, you are much better."

"Really!?"

Although it was his brother who was being belittled, for the first time Joshua did not get angry but felt happy instead.

It's not because of anything else.

Instead, he thought that he could help his brother. Although they could not go to the battlefield together, it would be worth it if he could make up for his brother's shortcomings in this aspect.

In the end, it was all because of Julius.

"Speaking of which, Joshua, how are you going to persuade me?"

“Anastasia-sama said that you would come here on your own initiative, so you just need to be present when she tells Felt-sama.”

"Hey!"

"in addition--"

Joshua paused, looked at Zun Zun seriously and said, "When we meet, Lady Anastasia will propose to you again. I hope you will be ready."

(End of this chapter)