"This is the demon continent, bandit or not, I fight on the side of the guards".

  He threw all five mana cores in his possession at five bandits, the bandits in reflex catched them only to be hit by a gust of wind from Noir. And the guards as if in coordination with him pushed the bandits off the train. But his plan did not end there, while they were falling Noir used their shadows to damage the mana cores they held. The train was moving really fast so he was not worried about the resulting explosion catching up. He called the guards to attention.

  "I'll handle one you take care of the rest".

  Noir faced one of the bandits, wielding a sword and equipped with minimal armor. Noir controlled the bandits shadow, using it as weapon to counter and attack. After a few exchanges he cut down the bandit by splitting the shadow into two, one blocked the bandit's sword and the other attacked the bandit from behind when he let his guard down. When the guards also dealt with the remaining bandits, their leader approached him.

  "Thank you, we're in your debt. If it wasn't for you we would have failed our mission. If you don't mind please come with me and speak to the princess I'm sure you will be rewarded".

  Noir thought for a while before replying.

  "We are heading in the same direction I don't mind, lead the way ".

  The guard leader commanded the other guards to return to their stations then led Noir to the cart they were protecting. Inside was the princess, she looked no older than 12, but with demons their appearance rarely matched their age. The guard knocked on the door then she and Noir entered upon approval, he was surprised to see such a young person but he dared not to think of her as a child. The princess gestured for him to sit while listening to the guard who went out after, she looked at him with discerning eyes that seemed to see through anything.

  "I would like to reward you for assisting the guards and protecting me but I do not have anything on me that I can give you. So will you accompany me to meet the Demon lord of the East, there I can find something suitable for a reward".

  He wasn't sure how to act infront of royalty but so far she did not seem to mind his attitude and presence so he acted like he would when meeting a high ranking official.

  "You are too kind your highness and of course I will be happy to accompany you".

  Their destination the demon lord castle located at the heart of dukedom, which was on the east of the continent. The closest territory to the Holy Empire's continent, his home town was on the outskirts of the dukedom, one of the areas close to the Slumbering forest which connected the two continents, having continental size but on the smaller scale. When the train finally arrived at the dukedom's capital, at the closest train station they switched to a horse drawn carriage. The princess's entourage now consisted of her, the guard leader and Noir, he and the princess shared the carriage while the guard drove the carriage.

  "Tell me what are you still doing here and not the academy?".

  "It hasn't been that long since I had my rite of passage so the soonest I could manage is tomorrow".

  He was not sure if that was really the case but he did believe it to be so.

  "Understandable but unfortunate, it would have been better if you left today or even earlier if possible".

  He could not understand her words but one thing he was sure of she looked sorry as she said that and he didn't have the courage to ask so he could only stare out the window. Not long after they arrived at the demon lord's castle, the carriage doors were opened, and the man who opened them extended his hand to the princess, offering to walk her in. Last to get out was Noir, he was amazed to see how big the castle was, and not too far off he saw another castle of similar size and unbeknownst to him it was the Archduke's residence, who was lord of their dukedom. As the man guided the princess with Noir following from behind, they passed the bowing butlers and maids of the castle lined on either side on the way to the castle. At the entrance the lord of the castle greeted them.

  "Princess please come in and tell me about your journey here, your companion is welcome too".

  Along the way to where ever they were going the princess asked for the demon lord to give Noir a suitable reward for his assistance. The lord came to a halt and pulled out a scroll from his coat and handed it to Noir.

  "I hear you were of great help during the train incident, even if such action is to be expected of a citizen of our kingdom it does not make it any less deserving of a reward. And as thanks I reward you with a prize meant for nobles".

  Noir received the scroll not sure what it was but as much as he wanted to open it he held himself back.

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  "One other thing I suggest you stay the night, in fact I insist it is getting late after all".

  He could tell from the tone of the lord, he was serious about him staying the night but not the latter part, but he couldn't stay tomorrow he would be going to the academy and it was likely it had to be in the morning.

  "I wish I could stay but today it's just not possible my lord".

  The lord had a regrettable expression for a fraction of a second and Noir failed to see it.

  "It cannot be helped then, you can be on your way".

  And with that Noir left, he could use shadow movement to arrive in an instant but he chose the train, he did not mind wasting time.

  "Sigh, I guess I'll be returning with you back to the capital princess".

  Back at the castle in the lords study the princess and demon lord had just finished discussing why she had come here.

  "Forgive me for not coming to deal with the trespassers in my domain and please don't think ill of me for not doing anything".

  With a calm and understanding tone the princess replied.

  "From a logical perspective there is nothing to forgive I was never in any form of danger. It is too late to save them, if you went you would be another casualty before the war".

  "What about him then?".

  "If you told him would he believe you and if he did would stay. The meeting is about to start we should go".

  The two got up then teleported directly inside demon king's castle, appearing in the throne room. With their arrival, the total number of people in the room were seven, the other four demon lords and the demon prince. They were gathered here to discuss their course of action which would affect the entire continent. The prince who looked to be just as old as the princess stepped forward.

  "Sister you and I are neither king nor lords, let us excuse our selves".

  The princess nodded and followed the prince out. The demon lords then moved to conference room within the castle, there the sixth demon lord was already waiting, he appeared younger than the others, 19 years old at most and his most prominent feature was his red hair. They took their seats at the round table, they all looked serious.

  "I assume you're all aware of what happened during the princess trip to my domain".

  "We all know holy knights from the empire disguised themselves as bandits and attacked her highness' transport, but we can over look that after all she is not some child in need of protection".

  Said the demon lord of the south.

  "Yes it was nothing more than a message signaling the birth of the hero. What matters is what comes after, so tell us demon lord Freign what does the demon king plan to do with the hero crossing into our land".

  The red haired demon lord looked at his fellow demon lords and with resignation he replied.

  "He says it is nothing but a preemptive strike before the war and won't act".

  "In other words the war will still take place as scheduled"

  Another demon lord said, this one a woman and lord of the west.

  "Yes and he wants the head of the cardinal behind the assault on the princess".

  The counterparts of the demon lords the icardinals, were having a similar discussion. They sat around a similar table in private room of the grand cathedral. They had temporarily withdrawn from the night party of their celebration when the first prince disappeared to places they weren't aware of.

  "Alright speak up which one of you is responsible for the attack on the demon princess?"

  "Does it matter, it's unlikely to provoke them into starting the war early".

  One who seemed uninterested responded.

  "So you're the reason we lost elite holy knights".

  The cardinal that called for the meeting said with anger, to him who was a pope before being cardinal, wasting the lives of fellow holy man was unacceptable.

  "I do not t recall admitting to that, what I was trying to say was our generations war ends with our victory".

  There was no evidence that linked him to the attack but by process of elimination he was undoubtedly the culprit. A third who wanted to know the source of his confidence asked.

  "What makes you so sure we'll win".

  The second smiled.

  "Isn't it obvious there are eight of us whereas they are seven, the second prince though not an apostle massively shifts the odds of victory in our favour".

  His deliverance of the matter made it seem like everything was fact and in accordance with his will.

  "You have no authority over him so you can't force him and even if you did he is the future holy emperor and shouldn't risk his life".

  The first cardinal argued against the idea.

  "Aren't we here to discuss where the hero has gone?".

  "Your right..

  At the imperial palace neighboring the cathedral, Faust was returning to his book room. He wore the same uniform as the holy knights, if not for the behavior of the palace servents and guards he passed by, he could be mistaken for an imperial knight. He entered his book room, the number of books inside were comparable to a small library and he'd read them all. The only reason he came here was because few would come to disturb him, making it a personal space. He sat comfortable on couch, looking at the ceiling.

  "Of the seventeen honorary cardinals to ever exist, none have been this close to realising our dream. I cannot fail not when I'm this close".

  Back on the demon continent where it was not night yet, Noir was on the train heading home. Being the only passenger it was like he was reserving the whole train for himself.

  "What a crazy day this is, running into human bandits and ending up aiding the the princess not to mention the beast king, how many can have such encounters, few if any I'd guess... I wonder what excuse I'll need for arriving late but then again I may not need one".

  He looked out the window seeing the rapidly changing scenery making it hard to admire. The train stopped at his town station only to see it was deserted, he disembarked walking into town. He would see clothes on the ground every so often as he walked further in, running into other demons was rare but the absence of the homunculi gave him a dreadful feeling. While walking, there was a sudden pain, one so great it seemed to eminate from the soul, the pained Noir looked at himself. There were no injuries but the pain continued to increase that he fell on the ground unable to withstand it anymore, every part of the body hurt. Then the pain decreased that he could stand without issue, he got on his knees trying to get up, gasping for air as he did so. His walk was unstable he staggered while walking to the buildings planning to use them to balance his walk.

  "Let me help you walk no need to use the walls".

  He turned to look at the source of the voice, a man he had never seen before but he instinctively knew who he was, the hero and cause of the pain.