Debuff Master

Arrest? Who was going to arrest who?

“Huh? You are going to arrest me?” Siegfried asked while pointing at himself.

“Precisely!” Count Clark replied.

“But why?”

“You’re a king of another kingdom, yet you illegally crossed the borders of our kingdom! You’re an illegal immigrant!”

“But I am an Adventurer…?” Siegfried replied with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Adventurers were beings from another world, so they were allowed to cross whichever border they desired.

“S-Silence!” Count Clark shouted and ignored Siegfried’s defense, and then he continued, “Also, you illegally joined a war within our lands! You were meddling in our internal affairs!”

“But I helped you? Your capital would have been conquered in a week’s time if it weren’t for me.”

“I said shut it!”

Count Clark did not seem to be interested in whatever logical defense Siegfried was presenting.

“Siegfried van Proa! You have infiltrated our kingdom and meddled in our affairs!”

“…”

“This is a blatant disregard of our sovereignty and an act of crime! The royal family of the Lexus Kingdom has concluded that you are here to spy on our kingdom, and you are a threat to our kingdom’s security! Therefore, the Lexus Kingdom will be apprehending you as a criminal of war!”

Count Clark gave the command to the Royal Knights after reading out Siegfried’s crimes.

“Knights!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Arrest Siegfried van Proa at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

Then, the knights placed cuffs on Siegfried’s wrists.

Clack! Clack!

Siegfried did not resist the arrest as it was not difficult for him to release himself from these cheaply-made cuffs even without using his mana.

“Wow… Is this a new kind of trolling? I never knew even NPCs can troll this hard now…”

The only reason he did not snap the cuffs into two was simply because he was too flabbergasted right now.

“Count Clark!”

The feudal lord of the Magnus Territory was the first to speak up, albeit carefully.

“I am not sure how the royal family has decided to charge His Majesty Siegfried van Proa with such crimes, but His Majesty is not someone that will endanger our kingdom. No, he actually helped us and is our savior.”

“That’s right!”

“King Siegfried fought and defended our lands from the golem invasion!”

The feudal lords of each territory petitioned for Siegfried. It was only logical for them to do so as the accusations against him were completely absurd in their eyes.

This was akin to saving someone from drowning, only to be sued for assault later on.

“Silence!” Count Clark shouted.

He did not seem to be interested in whatever the feudal lords had to say.

“Are you aiding and abetting a foreign spy?! Anyone that dares to defend Siegfried van Proa from now on will be branded as a spy, too!”

Most of the feudal lords were marquis or viscounts, so none of them could dare to go against Clark, who was a count from the capital. Not only that, Clark was also the Captain of the Royal Knights, so he was in a completely different league compared to the feudal lords of the outskirt territories.

“Kyu? Have you lost your mind?”

“Wow, did you hear what this crazy bastard said?”

Hamchi and Seung-Gu muttered in amazement, and even Reventon chimed in, too.

“They’re going to arrest His Majesty? Humans are truly despicable…” Reventon muttered as it prepared to pull its gigantic greatsword out.

“Heok!” Count Clark gasped in horror as his face turned ghastly pale.

He was the Captain of the Royal Knights, but he was nothing but a weakling who would die in a single punch from Hamchi or Seung-Gu.

The Lexus Kingdom was as weak as the old Proatine Kingdom. Therefore, there was no way a knight from such a weak kingdom could defeat either Hamchi or Seung-Gu, not to mention Reventon.

In fact, Reventon and his golem army would have decimated and conquered the entire Lexus Kingdom if it weren’t for Siegfried’s intervention.

“A-Are you threatening the Captain of the Royal Knights?! I-If you dare lay a single finger on me, it’ll be an act of aggression against our kingdom! I’m sure you know what will happen then. War! You will be committing an act of war!” Count Clark threatened Hamchi and Seung-Gu with war.

“Kyu? Will you be able to continue talking shit with your head severed from your body? Do you wanna check?” Hamchi asked before he suddenly grew bigger and was about to kick Count Clark’s head off of his body.

“Wait, don’t do it,” Siegfried stopped him.

“Kyu? What’s wrong, owner punk? Don’t tell me you’re going to hold back?”

“He says I’m a spy that has to get arrested, right? Just let them do what they want,” Siegfried said with a shrug.

“Kyu?”

“We can’t go around creating diplomatic issues, right?” Siegfried said with a smirk, and then he asked, “Hey, did you say your name was Count Clark?”

“Y-Yes, I am!”

“I’ll cooperate with you, so why don’t you let my comrades go? I think that’s the best since they don’t seem to be willing to cooperate.”

“Ahem!”

“I’m fine with whatever you do, but I don’t think they’ll be as gracious as me. So, what do you say? Don’t you agree letting them go will be the best for everyone?”

“I was about to do that!”

“Good~” Siegfried said with a satisfied smile, and then he said, “You heard him, right? Go back to the kingdom.”

“But hyung-nim!”

“Go.”

“O-Okay…”

“Oh, make sure you ask the Bavarian Workshop to find another material to use other than the Golem King’s Core, okay?”

“Yes, I will.”

Seung-Gu had no choice but to listen since Siegfried asked him to.

“Drag the criminal away!” Count Clark gave the command to apprehend the criminal after seeing that the situation was resolved and he was no longer in danger.

Siegfried was now on his way to the capital of the Lexus Kingdom.

***

The Lexus Kingdom was infamous, along with the Renoma Kingdom, for being the weakest nation on the continent. If the Proatine Territory hadn’t been promoted to a kingdom, the title of the weakest kingdom on the continent would have undisputedly belonged to the Lexus Kingdom.

The Lexus Kingdom was just that weak.

Perhaps that was the reason, but the Lexus Kingdom had always dreamt of expanding its borders. Unfortunately, their military was utterly hopeless, so there were no neighboring nations that they could invade.

And that was when Siegfried suddenly appeared...

“Your Majesty! The King of Proatine, Siegfried van Proa, has appeared and defended the Magnus Territory from the invading golem army!”

“What? The King of Proatine?”

The King of the Lexus Kingdom, Fernandes the Third, was delighted at the news.

“Oh! Who would’ve known he would help us out in this manner? Should I personally thank King Siegfried for his assistance?”

King Fernandes was initially quite grateful to Siegfried. The Lexus Kingdom did not possess the military required to stop the Golem King and his army. However, his gratitude lasted only for a moment.

“I congratulate Your Majesty for achieving your royal ambition of expanding our borders!”

King Fernandes was perplexed when the highest-ranking noble in the Lexus Kingdom, Duke Alto, congratulated him.

“C-Congratulate me for expanding my borders? What do you mean by that, Duke Alto?”

“Your Majesty! While it is true that our kingdom was able to avert a catastrophic crisis thanks to King Siegfried, he is still the king of another kingdom!”

“So?”

“A foreign king joining our war without our approval is tantamount to meddling in our internal affairs, do you not agree?”

“Y-Yes, I guess you could put it that way, but the situation is…”

“Your Majesty, the Proatine Kingdom is the weakest of the weakest nations on the continent. Everyone knows how hopeless their military is,” Duke Alto said sternly.

“Hmm?”

“A king of such a weak kingdom had actually dared to infiltrate our lands and carry out covert activities! How can Your Majesty stand around and do nothing when we have a spy running around?!”

“D-Don’t tell me…!” King Fernandes understood what the duke was saying, but he asked, “Don’t you think that’s too despicable, Duke Alto…?”

“Hoho! What do you mean by despicable, Your Majesty?” Duke Alto replied with a laugh before explaining, “You are rightfully punishing the Proatine Kingdom for threatening our kingdom’s security! How can anyone blame Your Majesty for being despicable?”

Duke Alto looked back at the officials of the Lexus Kingdom gathered in the throne room and asked, “Do you not agree?”

“Duke Alto is correct, Your Majesty!”

“The duke has given sound advice, Your Majesty!”

Expanding their borders had always been the grand ambition of the Lexus Kingdom, and they were not in a situation to weigh whether it was despicable or not when a golden opportunity presented itself.

How could they pass up on this opportunity when the criminal was the king of a kingdom known to be weaker than their kingdom?

“Please remember that Your Majesty has a valid casus belli,” Duke Alto emphasized before he continued. “The Proatine Kingdom is under the protection of the empire, but that is only against unprovoked wars waged on them.”

“Ahem! I guess you’re right!” King Fernandes said.

“Then what is Your Majesty concerned with that you are hesitating? Please issue an arrest for Siegfried van Proa and punish the Proatine Kingdom! Such an opportunity will not come twice!”

The other officials exclaimed in unison as soon as Duke Alto finished speaking.

“Punish the Proatine Kingdom, Your Majesty!”

“Punish the Proatine Kingdom, Your Majesty!”

“Punish the Proatine Kingdom, Your Majesty!”

King Fernandes flinched for a second, but he was soon convinced.

‘That’s right! I can’t continue being the king of a weak kingdom like this! This is my chance to swallow the Proatine Kingdom and use it as a stepping stone to becoming a great power on the continent!’

The same ambition existing in every king’s heart bloomed in Fernandes the Third’s heart.

“Alright,” King Fernandes said after he made up his mind, and then he issued the royal edict, “Arrest the criminal, Siegfried van Proa, at once!”

This was the backstory of how Siegfried became a criminal.

***

That evening…

“Hello, King Siegfried van Proa.”

A middle-aged noble man visited Siegfried at the prison underneath the royal palace of the Lexus Kingdom.

“My name is Duke Alto. I apologize for having to meet under such unfortunate circumstances.”

“So? By the way, this tea’s aroma is excellent,” Siegfried said as he brought a teacup closer to his nose before asking, “Do you mind packing some for me later?”

“You seem to be quite calm,” Duke Alto said with a grin, and then he said, “I hope Your Majesty is aware that you are charged with numerous crimes, and you are currently imprisoned.”

“Oh, I’m aware of that.”

“That tea is served since Your Majesty is still a king despite being a criminal.”

“That’s why I’m enjoying it. Wow, this tea is really something.”

Siegfried did not blink an eye despite being repeatedly threatened by Duke Alto.

Actually, what was on his mind right now was…

‘Woo-hoo! This tea smells like TERRITORY EXPANSION!’

He was actually quite happy about how things had turned out.

‘Should I just conquer it, or should I turn it into a puppet state like the Renoma Kingdom? Hohoho! I can’t make up my mind~’

Siegfried was almost second to none when it came to being cunning, and he immediately caught the intention of the Lexus Kingdom when they first came for him.

Did he have to do anything? No! He just had to go with the flow!

The Proatine Kingdom had already grown powerful enough to stomp a weak kingdom such as the Lexus Kingdom, so he really did not have any reason to avoid clashing with them.

“You will regret being so calm quite soon,” Duke Alto threatened.

He was completely oblivious that Siegfried had seen through their plans, and he was grinning from ear to ear as he further pressured him.

“All right, I guess Your Majesty leaves us with no choice since you cannot understand the gravity of the situation.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“Your Majesty didn’t attack our kingdom, but your actions can be considered as an act of aggression toward us. In other words, your actions will cause war between our kingdoms! Do you really think you can handle us?”

“That is a bit…” Siegfried muttered. He acted scared after hearing the word war.

‘Hoho! Excellent! That’s what I wanted to see!’ Duke Alto was satisfied after seeing Siegfried’s reaction. He took out a document from his pocket and said, “If Your Majesty wants to stop the war between our kingdoms, then you will have to sign this document.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a written confession of you admitting to some of your crimes!”

“Oh! So I can stop the war as long as I sign here?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then I should sign it!” Siegfried exclaimed as he grabbed the pen and was about to sign the document.

‘Bwahahaha! You imbecile!’ Duke Alto couldn’t help but rejoice inwardly, and he had to exert superhuman self-control not to break out into laughter.

Why?

Siegfried was about to sign the document that would become the justification that the Lexus Kingdom would use to invade the Proatine Kingdom.