Debuff Master

Chapter 788

Chapter 788

“Ugh... What’s going on here?”

Siegfried groaned in frustration and clutched his face with one hand. He found this situation to be quite absurd and headache-inducing. The baffling behavior of Metatron and the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky made his head throb in pain.

To summarize...

Metatron, despite causing such a ruckus, had admitted that he was unaware of the young man's identity.

To make things even more confusing, even the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky had no idea of his own identity.

The situation was pure chaos—illogical and unreasonable chaos.

Siegfried let out a sigh and asked, “Okay, let me get this straight. You are telling me that you do not know who you are?”

“Yes,” the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky replied with a polite nod.

“Do you at least know your name?” Siegfried asked, raising a brow.

“Hmm...” the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky furrowed his brows, straining to search for a long-lost memory. Then, he shook his head and replied, “I'm afraid I do not.”@@@@

“I see...”

“I have no idea who I am or where I came from. I must apologize, for it feels shameful not to even introduce myself to the one who saved me,” the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky admitted, and his voice was laced with genuine regret.

Still, he gave a courteous bow to show his gratitude, but the confusion on his face was unmistakable.

“Truly... I have no recollection of anything. Nothing at all,” he added with a voice tinged with distress while grabbing his hair.

Siegfried watched him carefully, suspicion flickering in his eyes. Then, he turned to Chaos and said, “Deputy Steward.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!” Chaos, who was busy trying to calm Metatron down, snapped to attention.

“Go bring Dame Oscar.”

“But, sire, Metatron is still—”

“Now.”

“Y-Yes, sire!”

Chaos darted off without hesitation.

‘Fool me once, shame on me. But fool me twice? Not a chance,’ Siegfried growled inwardly.

He was not about to be deceived again. He had learned his lesson the hard way after being duped by Acheron, the so-called Immortal Alchemist, who turned out to be the leader of the Church of Osric.

The price he paid for trusting someone so easily that time was grave, so he was not going to start trusting people that easily anymore.

After a while, Oscar arrived.

“Have you called for me, sire?”

“Yes, I need you to verify something for me,” Siegfried replied. Then, he pointed at the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky and added, “I want you to verify if he is telling the truth or not.”

Oscar bowed and replied, “As you command, sire.”

She walked toward the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky and drew her sword, the Sword of Truth: Fragarach. She then placed its blade near the young man’s throat.

“W-What is the meaning of this?” the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky asked, sounding alarmed. His wide eyes darted between Siegfried and the sword.

“Oh, no need to be so alarmed. This is just standard procedure,” Siegfried replied with a dismissive wave.

“Pardon...? Standard procedure?”

“Just play along, and you will see.”

Oscar, unfazed, met Siegfried’s gaze and gave a subtle nod. Then, she turned to the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky and started her interrogation.

“Who are you?” she asked.

A soft hum filled the air as Fragarach began to glow, bathing the room in a light that felt ethereal and pristine.

The Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky gulped nervously and replied, “I... I do not know.”

“Do you know your name?”

“No.”

“Do you remember anything about yourself?”

“Nothing.”

Oscar was relentless in her interrogation as if she was dead set on finding any hint of deception from the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky.

No matter how many times she asked, his answer remained the same.

“I do not know.”

“I do not remember.”

“I have no recollection of anything...”

Every response from the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky was accompanied by the pure glow of Fragarach, which meant that he was indeed telling the truth.

It seemed that the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky had truly lost all of his memories.

***

After the interrogation, Siegfried immediately apologized upon confirming the truth.

“The sudden questions must have startled you. I hope for your understanding, as we have suffered some serious security issues lately,” Siegfried said to the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky.

“I understand,” the Golden-Haired Young Man Who Fell From the Sky replied with surprising composure. He didn't have even a hint of resentment in his expression despite having a sword pressed to his throat just moments ago. Then, he even added with a smile, “It is only natural to be wary and cautious of strangers, is it not?”

“Huh? What’s wrong with you? What’s with the sudden formalities?” Siegfried asked, looking baffled.

“I heard the news. Your Majesty has finally vanquished the leader of that vile cult,” Michele replied.

“Oh, that... I promised you, didn’t I? I said I’d avenge your enemies for you,” Siegfried replied nonchalantly.

Michele’s allegiance to Siegfried stemmed from the grudge he had been holding against the Church of Osric. He had lost his family when he was abducted by the cult, and he barely survived, thanks to Siegfried.

Back then, Siegfried had vowed to avenge Michele’s loss, and Michele placed his faith in that promise, which led him to serve the Proatine Kingdom.

And that day had finally arrived...

Siegfried had defeated Immortal Alchemist Acheron, who was also the Leader of the Church of Osric. This made him not only Michele’s savior but the one who had avenged his family as well.

“I know your family cannot be brought back, but I hope this brings you some peace and closure.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Michele replied, lowering his head even further. Then, he added with brimming gratitude, “It is a great relief and joy to know that my vengeance has finally been fulfilled.

“Good.”

“I am eternally grateful to you, sire.”

“There’s no need for that. A promise is a promise, so let’s put that behind us and get down to business.”

“Your wish will be my command, sire. Please, tell me what I should do,” Michele said, looking at Siegfried with unwavering respect.”

“First off, what should we do now that the war is over?”

“Your Majesty’s role is to encourage and comfort the soldiers who fought in the recent war. I will handle all other administrative matters.”

“Really? That sounds good,” Siegfried replied with a nod. Then, he turned to Schmidt and asked, “How’s our treasury looking?”

“If I may speak bluntly, it is not looking good, sire," Schmidt, now the kingdom’s financial manager, replied in a grave voice. “We used a lot of resources during the war. On top of that, the special allowances, compensations for the families, and medical expenses used for the soldiers are staggering.”

“Hmm...”

“If we use the assets and territory we seized from the Zavala Kingdom, perhaps our treasury could return to a surplus. But that will take about six months.”

“So you’re saying that we don’t have enough cash right now, right?”

“Precisely, sire. And with winter approaching, the kingdom’s finances will be further strained.”

“I’ll take care of that problem.”

“Pardon...?”

“Come with me for a moment,” Siegfried said, leading Schmidt to the palace runway.

This was the landing strip built solely for Siegfried’s personal airship, the Huracan.

“Hold on,” Siegfried said as he opened his spatial inventory.

Wooong...!

Siegfried opened his Inventory which let out a low hum that grew louder and louder. The Inventory, usually compact in size, expanded far larger than usual. Moments later, a colossal red dragon’s corpse fell onto the runway.

Thud!

“There. Problem solved, right?” Siegfried asked, turning to Schmidt.

“...”

Schmidt was speechless. He stood frozen on his spot, unable to respond.

Where did Siegfried even obtain a dragon of this size? How did he even manage to kill it? And why did he pull it out the moment it was mentioned that the kingdom was undergoing financial troubles?

“Is it not enough?”

“N-No, sire. This will be more than enough.”

“Good.”

Siegfried left Schmidt with the dragon and headed back to his office.

‘Alright, that takes care of one problem,’ he thought, satisfied.

Meanwhile, a different idea crossed Schmidt’s mind as he stared at Siegfried's back.

‘D-Does he go hunt dragons every time the kingdom’s coffers are empty...?’

He knew just how absurd this thought was, but he couldn't help but secretly wonder if Siegfried was actually a professional dragon hunter.

After instructing Schmidt to dismember the dragon and allocate the funds appropriately, Siegfried went back to Michele.

“So, what’s next after this?” Siegfried asked.

“We should first award medals and merits to the soldiers who distinguished themselves in the war. However, the list of honorees is still far from complete.”

“Then what else should I do while waiting for the list to be complete?”

“I suggest visiting the military hospital to comfort the wounded soldiers.”

“Oh? That sounds good.”

It was then.

Ding!

A message popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: You have received a new Quest – Path of Wise King (1)!]

It had been quite a long time since he last received a chain quest.