But even counting it generously, it's only been a few years at most—far too short.

Alka looked at Balazs in front of him with eyes wide open. "You've already reached Middle Tier of the Third Stage, huh. You've grown pretty fast."

If he remembered correctly, when he left back then, Balazs had just capped at the Second Stage, not even close to the Third Stage.

Of course, Balazs had his own Treasure, so this kind of growth in strength was still within the bounds of normal.

Balazs raised his head and looked at Alka. "I still can't see through your strength. Since you've come back again, obviously you've got confidence now."

Alka nodded. "Of course. I wouldn't come back just to die."

Balazs nodded. Since Alka had said so, there was no need to ask any more. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Looks like you really did bet right. You must've been doing okay these past few years?" Alka asked, looking at Balazs.

"I saw when I came that your trading company has reopened."

Balazs gave a slightly bitter smile, then shook his head. "In the eyes of outsiders, I'm just Kriel's dog now. And this trading company isn't even mine."

Alka nodded, able to understand. Even if Balazs had bet right, Kriel clearly wasn't going to trust him that easily—maybe he would never trust him for the rest of his life.

He simply thought Balazs was still useful, so naturally he unceremoniously made him a subordinate.

He didn't need his loyalty.

Then Balazs reached out and tapped the tabletop. A faint Sound Insulation Spell flickered, cutting off the sound around their table.

Only then did Balazs look at Alka and speak.

"This time, you're set on taking Kriel out, right?"

Alka nodded. "That's right. I'm the type who holds a grudge."

If they hadn't had some trump cards back then, Kriel really would've wiped them out to the last man.

Even though they'd escaped in the end and even turned misfortune into a blessing, Alka wasn't about to be grateful to his enemy for that.

This man had to die by their hands.

Balazs nodded, confirming Alka's exact target.

Then he said, "I don't know how long you've been here, but I have to tell you: the Royal Capital is pretty unstable right now."

Alka nodded. "We were notified when we docked that we couldn't leave the port city for the Royal Capital at will."

"That's right. The specific reason is that Kriel killed his father, his younger brother, and everyone who might stand in his way."

Hearing this, Alka stared at him, a bit stunned. "Huh? Why would he do that?"

If he remembered correctly, Kriel used to be this country's general, holding all of its military power in his hands.

Simply put, the King back then could be described as a mascot—no threat to him at all.

Kriel was the true ruler of this country.

So under those circumstances, why kill those people? There was no point in wiping out his own relatives for no reason.

All it did was saddle him with infamy.

People always said there was no family affection in royal bloodlines, but pointless slaughter clearly only left hidden dangers behind.

"There were several reasons. For example, the King had already started contradicting some of Kriel's governance proposals at certain times." As he spoke, Balazs tapped his temple.

"That King's not too bright up here."

Hearing that, Alka basically understood. The King who'd been pushed onto the throne had obviously been led on by someone.

He really thought he was the King, in control of this country.

"Besides, Kriel successfully advanced to the Fifth Stage last year. Seems he's developed a certain ambition, and he's been very active diplomatically lately.

And those royal family members who refuse to be under his thumb have been making trouble from within all these years. He just got fed up. He doesn't have that much time to deal with all these rats inside, so he just…"

After listening to Balazs's explanation, Alka roughly nodded.

"So you're sure you all can kill a Fifth Stage King? He's also got guards and the like around him."

"You're sure he only advanced to the Fifth Stage last year?" Alka asked.

"That I can guarantee. He did indeed only advance to the Fifth Stage last year, and only then did he start truly showing himself."

Hearing this, Alka nodded. "Then it's fine. Of course, we can't do it in broad daylight."

Put simply, Alka was confident he could kill Kriel, even with guards around him.

But they obviously couldn't just have him charge straight into the Imperial Palace, killing his way through. That would be a bit too exaggerated.

After listening, Balazs nodded, thought for a while, and said, "I suggest we wait a bit longer. Now isn't a good time."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because, much as I hate to admit it, Kriel does have an extremely strong talent for governing.

The more you get to know, the more you're forced to acknowledge that. And now he's practically wiped out all the royal family members who might interfere with him, so if he dies, this country might fall into extreme chaos."

Hearing that, Alka frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked at Balazs opposite him.

"I'm going to kill him. Even if he's important to this country, he still has to die."

"I completely agree with that. But we need to wait a while."

"Since you say that, you must have a reason." Alka looked at Balazs. He needed a reason that could convince him.

Balazs nodded. "Of course. The previous King might've been dim-witted, but he did have one good son.

I had the fortune to meet him once—talented, charismatic, just not ambitious enough, and with very decent political ability."