161 Respect

Grinning at the stunned looked plastered across Noelle's face, Grim basically grabbed the front of her face and pushed her aside.

"And you." He turned to face the black haired girl standing next to the stone prince. "You're Asta's weird bird right? How'd you turn into a human?"

"Weird bird?" Secre sounded offended and tried to understand how she came across as weird.

"Yeah, you kept following us around and watched us whenever we bathed."

"Wait what!!" Noelle and Mimosa's head snapped in Secre's direction.

"But seeing you now *looks her up and down* I'm kinda glad I didn't eat you back then."

Practically teleporting behind her, he pulled and rubbed the little horns attached to her head.

"Whoa, they're real."

"H-Hey stop that!" Secre moaned turning red in the face.

Watching Secre getting teased by Grim and his descendants, Lumiere couldn't help but break out in harmonious laughter at the heart warming sight laid out before him.

'Looks like you'll be fine even without me.'

"Your highness!" Secre called out with tears in her eyes.

"Stop playing with her horns Grim!" Noelle snapped feeling a pang of jealousy well up in her chest.

"Yeah!" Mimosa jumped in. "I-If you want to play with anyone's head it shouold be m-mine!"

Unfortunately for them, Grim shut them both down with a simple sentence.

"But yall are hornless."

!!!

Realizing that the problem was something that they couldn't compete with, both girls of royal blood held their heads low while a look of dejection appeared on their faces.

"Okay, I'm bored now." The moment he let go of her, Secre jumped away with both hands on her head covering her horns. Combined with the fact that she was a bright shade of red and that she was hiding behind the prince, the glare she sent Grim's way came off looking more cute than threatening.

"So wizard ki-

*Crack*

Before he could finish his sentence and challenge the first wizard king to a spar, several cracks began spreading throughout the prince's stone body.

"Oh?" The prince looked down at his body before smiling. "Looks like my link to this body is weakening."

"Your highness." Secre whispered understanding that her reunion with the prince was coming to an end.

"Secre..." Lumiere said her name softly and gently stroked her cheek. "I know I have no right to ask this of you. Not after the last 500 years you spent watching over the kingdom in my place. But please, guide them towards the future we strived for."

"I *sniff* I don't want you to go."

Smiling and caressing her face, he turned to look at Grim and the others.

"Five hundred years ago when I expended everything I had, it should have been it for me then and there. But thanks to you I was not only able to protect the future, I was able to see a world where my descendants are happy, a commoner boy who has the potential to be the next wizard king, and the manifestation of mine and Licht's dream standing next to all of them."

*Turns to look back at her*

"All of this, it was all possible because of you. *Smiles gently* Thank you Secre."

"I-I was so happy. To be able to serve you for so long. I was truly happy."

"As was I." The prince smiled as the sound of his body breaking became more and more audible.

'I guess its time for me to go.'

"I'll leave the future of the clover kingdom is your capable hands."

Smiling one last time, he left a single sentence behind before turning into dust and scattering with the winds.

"I know you'll make me proud."

Falling to her knees, it took everything Secre had to hold back her tears.

"Your highness." She mourned.

*Sigh*

Using what little magic he had recovered, Grim walked up next to kneeling Secre and turned on [Breath of the wind]. With that familiar green hue surrounding his body, he held his arm out and used his magic to create a gentle stream of wind that would help scatter the wizard king's remains all over the clover kingdom.

"Grim..." She raised her head and looked up at him.

"Don't think about it to deeply." He waved her off. "I'm just paying my respect to the strongest mage of his time, nothing more."

"I- Thank you."

[A/n: Probably the nicest thing Grim has ever done]

Without saying anything in return, he stuffed his hands into his pocket and turned his back on her. Jumping off the edge of the platform they were standing on, he floated down to the ground.

'Man how long has it been since I properly walked on the ground?'

With his mana still in the recovery phase, he didn't want to impede its speed by wasting it on him levitating off the ground. Speaking on recovery, he was in desperate need of rest.

Looking at the destroyed city ahead of him, he couldn't help but wonder how much of it was due to him. His battle with elf Luck stretched throughout the entire capital. Not to mention the amount of random elves he encountered and killed off.

Thinking about it now, he was probably responsible for a lot of collateral damage. Most of which could have been avoided if he wasn't power tripping on his newly awakened elven state.

Shrugging his shoulders, he figured he could just blame it all on needing to protect the kingdom's citizens.

Afterall, there were plenty of people who saw him fight. Even if his hair was a different colour and he was somewhat better looking, there was no way that the Grim loving commoner populace wouldn't recognize him.

'Its almost to easy.'

Laughing to himself, he walked into a destroyed pastry shop and raided the food that hadn't been crushed or covered in dust. As for payment? Saving the kingdom should be payment enough.

And if they disagreed... He didn't mind introducing them to one of his many swords.