Impartial Enforcement

Olen stood by the pool. It was already his third day here.

He watched the skeletons watering the plants in the distance, his eyes filled with scrutiny and contemplation.

Having stayed in the camp for some time now, he had not touched a single drop of water or eaten a single crumb of food here. He relied entirely on the supplies he had brought with him.

The captain of the guard had sent a message to the princess the evening before last. According to his reply, the princess was expected to return today.

At this thought, Olen shifted his gaze from the skeletons and looked down at the ground beneath his feet.

During this time, he had discovered that the magic elements around Silver Sand Lake were slightly more stable than those in the surrounding sea of sand, which allowed him to cast multi-circle spells here without much trouble.

This discovery sparked his curiosity while also bringing a touch of understanding. It seemed the princess had realized this, which was why she was desperately trying to plant trees in the Golden Sea.

For a moment, a figure surfaced in his mind. It had lingered in his memory for so long that he had almost forgotten the person's face.

“Lord Olius.”

An attendant's voice suddenly came from behind him. Olen pulled back his thoughts and looked at him.

The attendant bowed slightly and said softly, “Her Highness has returned. She is just outside the camp.”

Her Highness had not entered the camp directly but was waiting outside? And she had even sent an attendant to notify him.

Did she expect him to go out and receive her?

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Olen's mind, but he suppressed them all. Even if the Magical Council did not fear the imperial family, that applied to the Council as a whole, not him as an individual. Therefore, he had no reason not to go.

Once he stepped outside the camp, Olen immediately spotted the fiery-red figure riding on a camel.

She was leading her party slowly down from the ridge of a sand dune. Elon, the dark-green-haired druid, rode beside her, while Shane followed half a step behind on a skeletal warhorse, nearly level with Elon.

This discovery made Olen's eyelid twitch. An exiled convict actually held such a high status in the princess's party.

Next, Olen narrowed his eyes. As the group drew closer, he noticed a silver-haired girl tightly wrapped in bands of emerald-green light following behind Shane.

Her prominent cat ears drooped listlessly, and her heterochromatic eyes lit up the moment she saw Olen. However, her gagged mouth only allowed her to let out muffled whimpers.

Sern Lancaster, the Judgment Knight of the Church of Life.

Olen had not expected to meet this lunatic here. Moreover, she looked quite miserable, having clearly been subdued by the princess and her companions.

Reaching this conclusion, Olen looked further back. The tall sand scaler and his clansmen gradually came into view.

Finally, there were the princess's guards.

“Your Highness.”

As soon as the princess arrived before him, Olen stepped forward to bow and greet her. His flawless etiquette and timing gave the princess no opportunity to find fault.

His words were also extremely humble, showing not a hint of arrogance: “Olen Olius, Fourth Seat of the Magical Council, here by order of the Council to investigate the sentence status of the convict, Shane Leynas.”

The princess sat atop her camel, looking down at the flawless man. She then dismounted, walked up to Olen, and offered a polite smile. “Welcome, Lord Olius. I have heard much about you.”

She turned slightly, her gaze sweeping over the crowd behind her before resting on Elon. “This is Elon Windrunner, my instructor. I assume you know him. As for the others...”

She looked at Shane, speaking directly without any attempt to hide the truth. “Shane Leynas, my business partner. He is the one who planted all these trees, as you must have seen.”

Olen stiffened slightly, looking up at Shane.

He had never imagined that the greenery here was not the work of Elon, but of a necromancer. It was simply too absurd.

Olen did not take the princess's words to heart. After casting a glance at Elon, he stated his purpose. “Your Highness, I have come because the Council detected an abnormal trigger event from the Ring of the Exiled.”

“According to regulations, I must verify if the band is damaged and, depending on the situation, re-evaluate the convict's sentence status.”

The princess frowned. She had not expected him to disregard her words so completely and continue stating his objective so bluntly.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Olen beat her to it. “Furthermore, I have observed the camp for two days. The convict, Shane Leynas, continues to cast spells at a high frequency even while serving his sentence. This clearly violates the Council's regulations regarding restrictions on a convict's power.”

“Therefore, after inspecting the band, I may increase the restrictions placed on Shane Leynas by the device.”

Olen looked at the princess, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. “I ask that Your Highness cooperate with the Council's work.”

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

The polite smile did not fade from the princess's face, but her gaze grew sharp. After studying Olen for a moment, she finally spoke. “You must be joking, Lord Olius. We will naturally cooperate with the Council's work. However, I can guarantee on my honor that Leynas's actions in this desert have not violated any Council regulations.”

“As for why the band was triggered...”

The princess looked at Sern. “It was a misunderstanding between this Judgment Knight and Leynas. The band's punishment was triggered accidentally during their conflict.”

“My instructor, Elon, can testify to this, as can all the guards present.”

Sern nodded frantically from the back of the camel, her muffled whimpers rapid and high-pitched, her face practically begging to be released from her current predicament.

Olen followed the princess's gaze to Sern. He fell silent for a moment, appearing to contemplate. Then, he nodded slowly. “Since Your Highness guarantees it on your honor, it must indeed be the case. I have also heard of Judgment Knight Sern Lancaster.”

“If she was the one in conflict with the convict, then the trigger can indeed be considered an accident.”

Hearing this, a smile touched the corners of the princess's eyes. She was about to steer the conversation further toward a 'misunderstanding,' but Olen turned back to face Shane. “Even so, the convict's ability to continuously cast spells and maintain undead creations in the Golden Sea is still highly inconsistent with the intended design of the Ring of the Exiled.”

“Therefore, I must inspect the state of the band myself.”

The princess's eyes narrowed, a flash of cold light passing through them, but she suppressed it and turned to look at Elon.

Elon shook his head almost imperceptibly, signaling the princess not to act rashly.

The Magical Council's investigative authority was nominally independent of the imperial crown. As the Fourth Seat with official Council documents in hand, any attempt to forcibly block Olen would only invite criticism.

Shane, on the other hand, showed no change in expression. Hearing their conversation, he dismounted smoothly, walked up to Olen, and bared his wrist.

Behind him, Sern also hopped down from the camel. She bounced over to stand behind Shane with a cheerful rhythm, staring expectantly at his band.

Soon after, Elon dismounted and stepped to Olen's flank, while Ksaz closely followed, blocking Olen's other side.

Olen seemed completely oblivious to this. His gaze locked onto the band, and he reached out to probe its interior.

The internal magic circuits were operating normally; there seemed to be no issues.

Yet he did not rush to withdraw his hand. Instead, he gripped Shane's wrist, an action that seemed all the more dangerous given his next words: “Shane Leynas, this band doesn't seem to affect you at all.”