It was already afternoon when Emile reached the top of the mountain, and after climbing the last flight of the stairs, he collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.

Ophelia stood beside him, cross-legged.

"You can't do this, it's too lacking in training, you can still survive on the battlefield."

"Hehe, I'm smiling at you."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to laugh at you, but I want to say that I'm going to train you for a long time as a devil."

"What?" The emir was stunned and quickly begged for mercy, "Don't, don't do this, I'll be exhausted." ”

"Don't say that," Ophelia smirked, "it's better for me to do this for your own sake than for you to die on the battlefield in the future, you know, humans can't keep a whole corpse at the hands of monsters." ”

"Then you don't need devil training, I, I'll learn magic from Anne later."

"Huh? Who said magic doesn't need training," Ophelia said seriously, "Magicians also need a strong physique, otherwise the body will not be able to withstand it after only a few spells." ”

"Uh...... You're not going to lie to me, are you? The emir will be skeptical.

"Hmph, is it any good for me to lie to you? If you really don't believe me, ask Anne. ”

"That'...... Oh well, I'll take your training. The emir agreed with a wry smile.

"That's what you do." Ophelia held out her hand to him.

Her white hands were bare, and the emir was afraid to touch them, for fear of soiling them.

However, Ophelia didn't care about any of this, seeing that he was hesitant to reach out, so she bent down and pulled him up.

"Let's go, don't be nervous when you see Leonard later, don't be frightened by his bravado, if he rewards you anything, try not to show surprise, in short, don't be taken care of."

"Uh, what do you mean?"

Ophelia stared into his eyes, then covered her mouth and laughed.

"Haha, Emir, you are so innocent, it reminds me of when I was a child."

"Hey, hey." The emir scratched his head and giggled.

Ophelia then explained, as she walked forward.

"Leonard is a man who cherishes talents very much, and everyone under him is willing to do things for him, because he has a special talent, that is, he can quickly judge the needs of the other person through his words and deeds, and as long as he can meet the needs of this person, he can make the other party obey."

"Uh, such a wicked one?" The emir was surprised, and then a little puzzled, "However, this is not a bad thing, for example, I just want to rebuild the town of Blackpool, since he is willing to make me a nobleman, then it is not difficult to give me some people, and I don't ask for more." ”

Ophelia, however, shook her head.

"Alas, that's why you say that you are too young, you don't know much about human feelings, as the so-called taking people with short hands and eating people softly, when you accept his reward, do you think you don't need to pay the corresponding price? Of course, it's not difficult for you to do things for him, just do your best, but the point is that sometimes you don't want to do what he asks you to do, what should you do? Resist? No, you can't resist, and to resist is to betray him. ”

Hearing this, Emir couldn't help but fall into deep thought, at first he really thought it was very simple, as long as he accepted Leonard's reward, he could go back to rebuild Blackpool Town, but now it seems that once he accepts it, it means that he has also lost his freedom, at least he can't act according to his own wishes as before.

Take the matter of standing in line, in order to avoid getting into a dispute, he doesn't want to stand on either side, but if he accepts it, it will be equivalent to standing on Leonard's side, Leonard's competitors will not care so much at all, and will definitely regard him as a threat, so he will unknowingly fall into the dispute and can't help himself.

"So what should I do? Do you want me to refuse? ”

"No, it's not, I just said, as long as you don't get taken care of, as long as you are a nobleman, try to refuse the others as tactfully, of course, if it doesn't work, I will help you when the time comes."

"Oh, that's good." The emir was finally reassured.

Then, after walking for a while, a huge iron fence gate appeared in front of them, and then looking up, the blue-gray walls of the castle gave a solid and heavy feeling, and directly opposite the gate was a tall building, I don't know how many floors, and there was a sharp and long tower around the building every other place.

The two guards at the door seemed to have been waiting for a long time, and simply pushed the door open, making an inviting gesture to them.

The emir took a deep breath and took a step, for some reason, when he stepped into the confines of the castle, he felt that the air had become cold and heavy, and he had some difficulty breathing.

Until Ophelia noticed his face and quickly patted him on the shoulder to remind him to cheer up.

……

After that, they passed through several more doors before finally reaching the hall of the castle.

As soon as he entered the spacious hall, the emir saw a middle-aged man in a gorgeous costume standing in the middle.

There are several flights of stairs in the depths of the hall, and at the end is a large, square seat with a high backrest behind it, and a rectangular flag hanging on the wall at the top of the seat, on which are painted various exotic beasts, it is clear that this is Leonard's exclusive seat.

At first, the emir subconsciously thought that this man was Leonard, but when he thought about it, he did not sit in Leonard's seat for an audience, which was completely inconsistent with his status as a candidate for the throne.

Sure enough, the man saw the two of them coming, and said with a smile on his face.

"You're Ophelia, I'm glad." After the man finished speaking, he bowed slightly.

Emile looked around and saw that Ophelia had put on her helmet at some point, and the man recognized her because it was a female knight in pure white armor.

"I've kept you waiting, Mr. Abdullah." Ophelia bowed to him in return.

"Hehe, I'm not waiting for you, someone will come later, but you wait a moment, and I'll go and inform Lord Leonard." With that, the man walked straight to the back of the hall.

When Emir heard this, he realized that this man's identity was equivalent to Leonard's assistant.

"Hey, Ophelia, who is this? Could it be Lord Leonard's assistant? ”

"Hahahaha," Ophelia couldn't help laughing, "Don't let him hear what you say, he is the representative of the nobility of Baifeng Town, you must know that the person who can be the representative is not an ordinary nobleman, he is the only marquis in the entire Baifeng Town, and the status of other nobles is below him." ”

"I see, forgive my clumsiness."

"Alright, stop gossiping, Leonard is here." Ophelia hastened to remind him.

At the end of the steps, the emir looked and saw a man surrounded by several servants, dressed in a wide and splendid robe, some of which were even dragged to the ground, and one of them hastily reached out and pulled it.

He wore a headband in the shape of an olive branch, which looked like it was carved from jadeite, and he looked to be in his forties, with an expressionless face and a rather majestic appearance.

Soon he was seated in his exclusive seat, with the servants standing around him, and then two beautiful young girls came up, one carrying a fruit bowl before him, the other holding a bottle of red wine, and then poured a glass and passed it carefully.

When Leonard had sat down, he took the glass rather rudely, then snatched the bottle again, waved impatiently at the people around him, signaled them to leave, and the servants and maids quickly bowed and withdrew.

The maid with the fruit bowl didn't seem to understand what she was supposed to do, after all, there was no place to put the plate here, so it couldn't be left on the ground, so after a while, Leonard noticed this, and actually stood up and slapped her, and the fruit bowl in her hand fell to the ground.

"Damn it, don't you understand when you tell you to fuck off?"

"Yes, yes."

The maid covered her face with one hand, and with tears in her eyes, she ran out as fast as she could.

This movement clearly frightened the Emir, and he was not so scared when he faced the Dark Knight now.

Because this Leonard is so contrasting, the emir thought he was a very gentle man, but this was actually his inherent impression from the storybook, and now he realized that the so-called ruler is definitely not compatible with moderation.

At this time, Ophelia quickly pulled the corner of Emir's clothes, and he immediately understood.

"Honorable Lord Leonard, my name is Emir, and I am sorry that I have waited so long for you to come to meet you at your call."

After the emir finished speaking, he quickly knelt on the ground, and did not dare to raise his head.

"Oh? You are the emir? Leonard said lightly as he sipped his wine.

At this point, in order to facilitate his movements, he took off his wide robe and threw it aside, and then nestled in a chair with one foot resting on the armrest.

Ophelia was not surprised by his behavior, and fell to one knee like the Emile.

"Yes, down there is the emir from the town of Blackpool."

"Hey, it's really a hairy boy as rumored, I heard about your deeds, and you dare to face monsters on the battlefield, what a hero."

Leonard said with a smile, but his smiling appearance was really frightening, but fortunately Emir kept his head down, otherwise he would have been even more nervous.

"You've won a prize."

"Hehe, it's really good, and you know how to be humble, so do you know what I asked you to do?"

"I don't know." The emir hastened to answer.

"By the way, you seem to be a little nervous," Leonard stared at him, "relax, look up, I won't eat you again." ”

"Yes."

The emile raised his head as requested, and met Leonard's eyes, and in the face of that aggressive gaze, he had to force his composure, just as he had faced the Dark Knight before.

"Very good, nice young man," Leonard nodded and continued, "It is said that you became the city lord of Blackpool Town, but, according to the rules, the city lord must be appointed by the royal family, and your behavior is already against the law, so ......"

"I'm really ......sorry," Emir was about to apologize, but Leonard interrupted him.

"Since you are forced to do so, and you have also eliminated the traitor Chrysti, the merits outweigh the demerits, I can pardon your crimes, and at the same time, in order for Blackpool Town to continue to exist, I plan to officially crown you as a nobleman, and then make you the rightful lord of the city, what do you think?"

"......" Emir didn't know how to answer for a while.

Ophelia couldn't help but secretly complain that Leonard was so difficult for a fledgling teenager, and it was enough to directly award the reward, but he didn't expect him to ask Emir's opinion in the end.

If the Emir answers in the affirmative, thanking Leonard for the reward, it means that he is satisfied with the decision, accepting what he deserves and being satisfied with what he has obtained, which are two completely different meanings, the latter of which will make Leonard think that Emir has accepted his favor and can use him as a subordinate at will.

But if he refused, who knows if Leonard would be like he did with the maid just now, and maybe he would be angry and put him in prison.

Just as the two sides were at a stalemate, footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

Leonard looked over and saw an old man in a gray robe rushing in, the other party looked like he was in his seventies, with white beard and hair, short stature, rickety, about only one meter five, his long beard was almost hanging to the ground, he was on a cane about one meter long, however, his movements were not slow at all, but he walked like a fly, which was completely not suitable for his age.

"Lord Leonard, my subordinates strongly recommend that you take back your fate, this kid is not qualified for the status of nobility at all, let alone the lord of the city."

The old man came to the center of the hall, and before he could salute, he said this, but he did not expect his voice to be as loud as that of a young man.

"Tsk."

Leonard smacked his lips secretly, he also seemed to find this old man troublesome.

"And what do you want? Who are you going to make the lord of Blackpool Town? He asked patiently.

"Hmph, that piece of projectile land in Heitan Town, don't do it, just take the people there." The old man said without hesitation.

Unexpectedly, Leonard didn't dare to do anything to the old man, but began to think about the feasibility of this proposal.

After a while, a man who looked to be in his twenties walked slowly into the hall, as if following the old man closely.

"Oh, old Mr. Cornes, how are your legs and feet sharper than my young man, how many children have you stolen and eaten?"

"Eh, Lord Byron, how can you talk like that, it would be bad if someone misunderstood, after all, the old man is not an ogre." Cornes hurriedly said with a smile, but it was obvious that he was hiding a knife in his smile.

"Hehe, who knows? Monsters can disguise themselves as humans. ”

Byron smiled slightly, ignoring him and looking at Ophelia.

"Alas, O Byron, you have come just in time, and I cannot make up my mind about the affairs of the emir, what is your opinion?" It was as if Leonard had found a savior.

"My opinion? Of course, I listened to Mr. Cones, how could we let such a young man be a nobleman, even if it was me, I only had a knighthood after I was twenty years old," Byron was saying, under Ophelia's surprised gaze, but suddenly changed his words, "However, if the Emir can help Mr. Zelens, who is a paladin, forge a weapon of high quality, then it is not impossible for us to set a precedent." ”

Leonard fell into deep thought, he was going to take the opportunity to win over the emir, but he didn't expect to leak the news and let the old guy Kones know.

Seeing that things were getting more and more troublesome, he had to listen to Byron's advice, who had always been most afraid of trouble.

"Well, as you think, Cornes, what do you think?"

The old man named Cornes looked at Emir, thinking to himself that this thin body, even if he wanted to forge a weapon, he probably couldn't even hold a hammer, after all, there had never been such a thin person among the forges of the empire, so he also nodded and said that he had no objection.